Tahu Hole
Encyclopedia
Tahu Ronald Charles Pearce Hole CBE
(29 March 1908 - 22 November 1985) was a New Zealand
born journalist who worked as the BBC's
television news editor during the period immediately following the Second World War.
, most notably the Sydney Morning Herald. He was the Herald's news editor for a time and in 1937 travelled to the United Kingdom
as their London
correspondent.
Hole was in London when the UK joined the Second World War and was able to make use of the facilities of the BBC
to send news of the conflict back to Sydney
. He later acted as a news commentator for the BBC and became a permanent member of staff in 1943. Soon after the war, the BBC's Director-General
, William Haley
, formed a news editorial board with himself as Editor-in-Chief. Four other men were members of the board, the most junior of whom was Tahu Hole in the office of Overseas Talks Deputy. In 1947, the board's three more senior members departed, two choosing jobs elsewhere and one having to resign due to a serious illness. As the only remaining participant, Hole was promoted to the post of news editor in 1948.
said in his 1986 autobiography (hastily amended after Hole's death in 1985): "He (Hole) took good care to make no operational decisions himself for which he might be blamed if things went wrong."
. Once a day, the so-called Television Newsreel
would also be shown, essentially just a televised version of a cinema newsreel and intrinsically not up-to-the-minute. In order to avoid what he described as the "cult of personality", Hole continued the audio-only tradition of broadcast news, making only a slight concession to the demands of television. Thus was born the News and Newsreel on 5 July 1954. This programme lasted for about twenty minutes, the first ten consisting of current news reports read out over captions, still pictures and occasionally a live human hand pointing to locations on a map. The remainder of the programme was taken up with filmed footage in the manner of Television Newsreel. The Spectator
described this effort as a "lamentably non-telegenic presentation of television news... at once singularly clumsy and unrealistic". Hole's austere approach was challenged by the imminent arrival of the competing ITN service in 1955 and in fact it was only three weeks before ITN's launch on 22 September of that year that newsreaders (namely Richard Baker
, Kenneth Kendall
and Robert Dougall
) finally appeared in-vision on the BBC. Despite his questionable methods, Hole was awarded the CBE
for his services in 1956.
. He was replaced as news editor by Hugh Carleton Greene who himself became Director-General in 1960. Within days of taking the post, Greene offered Hole a golden handshake
to precipitate his early retirement at the age of 51. At this point, Hole appeared to be seeking a job with the BBC's newly formed competitor, the Independent Television Authority
. Indeed, Greene accused him of leaking a secret BBC document to one of the ITA's strongest advocates, Norman Collins
. (The document was part of the evidence that the BBC were to submit to the Pilkington Committee on Broadcasting
, concerning newspaper shareholdings in Independent Television
companies.)
Hole's wife, Joyce, was a lifelong friend of Elizabeth Bertie, Countess of Abingdon
. The Countess became especially close to Tahu and Joyce when her husband died in 1963 and when she herself died, fifteen years later, she bequeathed them all her possessions with a total value of over £1.5million. The collection was later passed onto the Victoria and Albert Museum
following Joyce Hole's death in 1986.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(29 March 1908 - 22 November 1985) was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
born journalist who worked as the BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television news editor during the period immediately following the Second World War.
Early life and work
Tahu Hole was born in New Zealand but was not, as may be inferred from his first name, of Māori descent. He trained as a journalist and worked for a number of newspapers in New Zealand and AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, most notably the Sydney Morning Herald. He was the Herald's news editor for a time and in 1937 travelled to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as their London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
correspondent.
Hole was in London when the UK joined the Second World War and was able to make use of the facilities of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to send news of the conflict back to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He later acted as a news commentator for the BBC and became a permanent member of staff in 1943. Soon after the war, the BBC's Director-General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
, William Haley
William Haley
Sir William John Haley, KCMG was a British newspaper editor and broadcasting administrator.-Biography:Early in his career on the Manchester Evening News, Haley was found to be too shy to work as a reporter...
, formed a news editorial board with himself as Editor-in-Chief. Four other men were members of the board, the most junior of whom was Tahu Hole in the office of Overseas Talks Deputy. In 1947, the board's three more senior members departed, two choosing jobs elsewhere and one having to resign due to a serious illness. As the only remaining participant, Hole was promoted to the post of news editor in 1948.
Work as BBC News Editor
Hole was unpopular among his staff, partly for his authoritarian approach to management, but also for his extreme caution in directing the newsgathering operation. He insisted that each news item be backed by at least two different sources, a requirement that was virtually impossible to fulfill and out of step with contemporary reporting practice. It was common for his staff either to miss reporting opportunities or to leak otherwise exclusive reports to other news agencies to create the impression of two separate sources. According to the Foreign News Editor of the time, Anthony Wigan, it is likely that Hole knew his staff were resorting to these tactics and, in this light, his policy can be seen as a measure to limit his own responsibilities rather than improve the quality of the news. Another reporter, Gerald PriestlandGerald Priestland
Gerald Francis Priestland was a news correspondent and newsreader for the BBC.-Early life and work:Gerald Priestland was educated at Charterhouse and New College, Oxford. He began his work at the BBC with a six-month spell writing obituary pieces for broadcast news...
said in his 1986 autobiography (hastily amended after Hole's death in 1985): "He (Hole) took good care to make no operational decisions himself for which he might be blamed if things went wrong."
Television news
In 1953, Hole was placed in overall charge of creating television news broadcasts. Up to that point, live news broadcasts had been in audio with the announcer/newsreader speaking over a still picture of Big BenClock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
. Once a day, the so-called Television Newsreel
Television Newsreel
Television Newsreel was a British television programme, the first regular news programme to be made in the UK. Produced by the BBC and screened on the BBC Television Service from 1948 to 1954 at 7.30pm, it adapted the traditional cinema newsreel form for the television audience, covering news and...
would also be shown, essentially just a televised version of a cinema newsreel and intrinsically not up-to-the-minute. In order to avoid what he described as the "cult of personality", Hole continued the audio-only tradition of broadcast news, making only a slight concession to the demands of television. Thus was born the News and Newsreel on 5 July 1954. This programme lasted for about twenty minutes, the first ten consisting of current news reports read out over captions, still pictures and occasionally a live human hand pointing to locations on a map. The remainder of the programme was taken up with filmed footage in the manner of Television Newsreel. The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
described this effort as a "lamentably non-telegenic presentation of television news... at once singularly clumsy and unrealistic". Hole's austere approach was challenged by the imminent arrival of the competing ITN service in 1955 and in fact it was only three weeks before ITN's launch on 22 September of that year that newsreaders (namely Richard Baker
Richard Baker (broadcaster)
Richard Baker OBE is a British broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the BBC News from 1954 to 1982. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first person to read the BBC Television News in 1954. At one time he lived in Barnet, North London...
, Kenneth Kendall
Kenneth Kendall
Kenneth Kendall is a retired British broadcaster. He was a contemporary of Richard Baker and Robert Dougall...
and Robert Dougall
Robert Dougall
Robert Dougall MBE was a British broadcaster and ornithologist, mainly known as a newsreader and announcer.-Television news:...
) finally appeared in-vision on the BBC. Despite his questionable methods, Hole was awarded the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his services in 1956.
Post-retirement
Hole was persuaded to move out of news production and into an administrative post in 1958 by Director-General Ian JacobIan Jacob
Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Ian Claud Jacob GBE, CB, , known as Ian Jacob, was the Military Assistant Secretary to Winston Churchill's war cabinet and later a distinguished broadcasting executive, serving as the Director-General of the BBC from 1952 to 1960.-Early life:Jacob was born in 1899 in...
. He was replaced as news editor by Hugh Carleton Greene who himself became Director-General in 1960. Within days of taking the post, Greene offered Hole a golden handshake
Golden handshake
A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses his or her job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement...
to precipitate his early retirement at the age of 51. At this point, Hole appeared to be seeking a job with the BBC's newly formed competitor, the Independent Television Authority
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
. Indeed, Greene accused him of leaking a secret BBC document to one of the ITA's strongest advocates, Norman Collins
Norman Collins
Norman Collins was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television network in the UK...
. (The document was part of the evidence that the BBC were to submit to the Pilkington Committee on Broadcasting
Pilkington Committee on Broadcasting
The Pilkington Committee was set up on 13 July 1960 under the chairmanship of British industrialist Sir Harry Pilkington to consider the future of broadcasting, cable and "the possibility of television for public showing"...
, concerning newspaper shareholdings in Independent Television
Independent Television
Independent television can refer to:* Independent Television , a Bangladeshi 24/7 news channel* ITV, a British television network.* Independent station, a terrestrial television station not affiliated to networks....
companies.)
Hole's wife, Joyce, was a lifelong friend of Elizabeth Bertie, Countess of Abingdon
Earl of Abingdon
Earl of Abingdon is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 30 November 1682 for James Bertie, 5th Baron Norreys of Rycote. He was the eldest son of Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey by his second marriage to Bridget, 4th Baroness Norreys de Rycote, and the younger half-brother of...
. The Countess became especially close to Tahu and Joyce when her husband died in 1963 and when she herself died, fifteen years later, she bequeathed them all her possessions with a total value of over £1.5million. The collection was later passed onto the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
following Joyce Hole's death in 1986.
External links
- The history of BBC News - The BBC's own news history page including a telerecording of the first transmission of News and Newsreel.