The BBC Lacks Warrior Leaders And Without Them It could soon lose what is left of its independence
Book Review in The European Summer 2025 Edition (page 116): The BBC’s Last Warrior-Statesman My…
Interview with Arun Verma, BBC Radio
Stephen discusses how Sir Richard Francis defended the BBC against pressures from Margaret Thatcher. He…
Press release
New book lifts the lid on the BBC’s greatest Crisis…and the man who faced down…
Stephen francis interview Southside broadcasting
A fascinating insight into the recently published biography of Sir Richard Francis with his son Stephen in conversation with Alex Lewczuk & Merryn Hobson.
How Sir Richard Francis Helped Revolutionise the BBC
From pioneering live satellite broadcasts to creating Ceefax, Sir Richard Francis transformed the BBC into a global, visual, and immediate force.
Memories of My Father, Richard ‘Dick’ Francis
My father was a brilliant but elusive BBC titan — a risk-taker and adventurer whose sudden death left me searching for the man behind the myth, and finally understanding his legacy.
The BBC vs the British Government
Sir Richard Francis stood firm when Thatcher tried to tame the BBC, upholding its duty to inform the public, not serve the state.
The BBC Needs no Lessons in Patriotism: Thatcher’s battle with the BBC over the Falklands War
During the Falklands War, Sir Richard Francis defended the BBC’s impartiality against PM Margaret Thatcher’s fury, refusing to turn journalism into jingoism, even as political pressure reached unprecedented heights.
BBC’s Sir Richard Francis v Thatcher
Thatcher saw the BBC as elitist and unaccountable; Sir Richard Francis saw it as a pillar of democracy. Their clash defined a critical moment in the fight for media independence.
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