In the light of increasing concern today about the uncertain future of Brit
ish television, this article investigates the effectiveness of the public i
nquiry as a means of broadcasting reform. In particular, it focuses on the
1977 Annan Committee on the Future of Broadcasting and assesses the extent
to which the committee was a victory for those who wished to open up broadc
asting structures. Pressure for a full-scale review of British broadcasting
had been building up since the late 1960s and the case for broadcasting de
mocratization was, by 1974, clearly identified with the left. The article e
xamines both the contributions made by those on the left of the Labour Part
y to the committee together with the motivations of the Labour government i
n agreeing to an inquiry, and suggests that the final report was a model ex
ample of a compromise between different visions of broadcasting.