This year the library at Whitgift School, South Croydon, in association with the Percy family, initiated an annual essay prize for its pupils to consider the legacy of an individual, born 100 years ago, who is included in the Oxford DNB. The first competition was won by Alex Forzani who chose for his subject the broadcaster and writer, Alistair Cooke (1908-2004).
Here we reproduce an edited version of Alex’s winning essay.
You can also read the Oxford DNB entry on Alistair Cooke, or listen to the biography as a podcast (also available to download):
Further ideas for using the Oxford DNB online in schools are available in our Learning Resources section.
The legacy of Alistair Cooke today Alex Forzani
In the run up to the Second World War anti-American sentiment in Europe, and particularly in Britain, was rife. Recently it has been stated that ‘anti-American feeling had been the Establishment’s secret vice’ (A Marr, A History of Modern Britain, 2007, 9). It is also fair to say that this sentiment was the commonly held opinion of the majority of ordinary Britons. There was a desperate need for someone to bridge the cultural and political fissure between the United Kingdom and the United States of America—someone who could embody both perspectives.
The person who was well equipped to act as moderator between the UK and the USA was the broadcaster and writer Alistair Cooke. At a distressing time in British history Cooke was able to help the British people to understand the benefits of what Winston Churchill described in 1946 as Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the USA. Cooke’s legacy in modern times is twofold. Firstly, he can be credited with effectively opening up post-war America to the average Briton. He ensured that the two countries better understood one another by providing a common journalistic link. Secondly, his brilliance and longevity as a journalist brought an innovative approach to radio broadcasting through which he endeavoured to promote knowledge, and a sense of the potential, of the post-war world. He also pioneered a groundbreaking television broadcasting technique which is still mirrored in contemporary reporting and journalism.
The first element of Cooke’s legacy is that he exposed Britons to America, a country that many in the mid-to-late 1940s regarded as strange but also of great international importance. Prior to the Second World War the majority of British people had little concern for events in the USA, due in part to the belief that Pax Britannica still reigned supreme. But the post-war situation was remarkably different; as Andrew Marr puts it, ‘the country was broke’ and now both militarily and economically dependent on the United States. The new 50-year loan of $3.75 billion, negotiated by John Maynard Keynes, was a prime example of Britain’s post-war dependence on its transatlantic ally. In this new international climate Cooke’s aim as a journalist who had recently arrived in America may be likened to that of an earlier European commentator, Alexis de Tocqueville. In Democracy in America (1835, trans. 1835-40), de Tocqueville had provided European readers with a pioneering description of the country and the experiences and values of its people. Alistair Cooke likewise sought to prepare his British audience for a new phase in the transatlantic relationship by sharing with them his enthusiasm for and fascination with post-war America. Both writers addressed the fears of their countrymen and endeavoured to eradicate common prejudices. Cooke’s journalism was also characterized by the reassurances he offered a British public anxious about what to expect from an American-dominated world.
Cooke’s determination to help Britons better understand modern American proved crucial in the years that followed. His weekly radio correspondence—originally entitled American Letter (and later renamed Letter from America)—offered an impartial insight into American current affairs and trends. His impartiality stems from the fact that Cooke was uniquely placed to offer the British public reassurance because of his accent, but was also able to convey the subtleties of American life thanks to the American citizenship that was granted to him in 1941. He could therefore ensure that Britons could, at the very least, begin to appreciate what kind of a country the USA actually was.
To Britons Alistair Cooke will always be best known for his Letter from America broadcasts (initially fortnightly, and then weekly), which began on the 24 March 1946. In the first episode Cooke used his journalistic flair to contrast the United Kingdom, a nation mired in post-war austerity, with the USA, a country that was filled with possibilities and potential. Apart from the contrast between the relative economic positions of the two countries, Cooke endeavoured to explain the American way of life with reference to everyday events. He described the game of baseball, for example, as follows: ‘I find baseball fascinating. It strikes me as a native American ballet—a totally different dance form. Nearly every move in baseball—the windup, the pitch, the motion of the infielders—is different from other games. Next to a triple play, baseball's double play is the most exciting and graceful thing in sports.’ This understanding of baseball may seem somewhat trivial, but this and other illustrations helped his British audience identify with the ‘regular’ American—not least by highlighting shared interests. However, Cooke’s principal achievement was that these simple explanations of the American way of life, and of the hopes and aspirations of the ‘American dream’, inspired Britons to inquire about the world and to be less constrained by their pre-war prejudices.
The second part of Cooke’s legacy is his ability as a journalist. It would be incorrect to remember Cooke simply for bonds he forged between Britain and America. His weekly 15-minute radio letter was amazing, and stands as the cornerstone of Cooke’s journalistic legacy. The programme ran (with a short interruption in 1965) for 58 years, making it the longest-running spoken radio programme in the world. However, Cooke’s contribution to journalism and broadcasting far exceeds the durability of his celebrated radio programme. Indeed, the way in which the letters were presented was novel in itself. They were narrated in a relaxed, talkative style with the archetypal civility, wisdom, and wry humour that defined Alistair Cooke.
At the same time Cooke significantly shaped the development of broadcasting in his adopted country, notably through his television series, Omnibus. Broadcast across the USA, the programme introduced a blend of culture, science, and technological innovation into the American way of life. Cooke appeared with renowned figures such as Leonard Bernstein and Orson Welles, which helped many viewers to appreciate civilization, art, and technology, and to embrace new experiences. Cooke supplemented this notion with his series Masterpiece Theatre which is credited with introducing Americans to high-quality British drama. Omnibus and similar programmes were designed as a new form of broadcasting, one that was intended to educate, inform, and—without an overriding political message—relate to Americans what was happening in the wider world. Omnibus revolutionized American television during the 1950s, influencing its production and appeal to a wide and diverse audience. It is perhaps fair to say that Cooke pioneered the earliest form of purely altruistic broadcasting. The aim of both Omnibus and later series such as America (Cooke’s ‘personal history’ of the country) was to engage with his audience, but also to educate and to foster Americans’ interaction with other parts of the world. As Cooke’s official biographer, Nick Clarke, has stated: ‘this series [America] so impressed his adopted homeland that the tapes were placed in every public library in the land; a stream of successful books culminating in America, which sold two million copies.’
Cooke’s legacy is one of subtlety and intricacy. He facilitated communications between Britain and America, at a time of mutual suspicion and unease. He readied the British people and helped them better to understand the United States, which was unfamiliar to many. Cooke was important, therefore, for nurturing and protecting the transatlantic ‘special relationship’. At the same time, he also gave his American audience new perspectives vis-à-vis cultural and technological events. His two lasting achievements—Letter from America and Omnibus—gave hope to Britons who were mired in post-war depression and hope to Americans about future developments in their country. Cooke’s ability as a journalist meant that he understood the intricacies of the British and American mindset. On account of his unique and distinctive insight into the attitudes, interests, and concerns of everyday Britons and Americans, it may be argued that Cooke contributed more to post-war transatlantic relations than very many politicians have done. In Britain, of course, this legacy rests principally on his radio serial, Letter from America. It was in this correspondence that Cooke displayed both the archetypal wit and civility of an English gentleman, and the passionate enthusiasm of his adopted homeland. This combination of civility and ardent understanding is the reason that Alistair Cooke is synonymous with the bridging of cultural divides and the exploration of possibilities.
