National Viewers and Listeners Association

This collection comprises the papers of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, which was established by Mary Whitehouse (b. 1910-d. 2001) and others in 1965, to act as a watchdog and pressure group for decency in broadcasting.

Mary Whitehouse's life and aims may be summarised in brief as follows: she was born in 1910 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Her mother was a committed Christian who imparted to Mary her profound faith, while from her artistic father she acquired a life-long interest in the arts, and consequently became an art teacher. She married Ernest Whitehouse in 1940; they had three sons.

During her teaching career at Madeley School in Shropshire, Mary Whitehouse came increasingly to believe that a direct connection could be made between television standards and her pupils' moral outlook on life. In 1963, Mary Whitehouse, together with her husband Ernest and the Reverend Basil and Mrs Norah Buckland, launched the Clean-Up TV Campaign. Half a million signatures were gathered and a petition was presented to the Governors of the BBC. But Mary Whitehouse was convinced that this did not have sufficient impact. So in September 1964, she outlined her views on television standards in a Birmingham public meeting, famously declaring: 'if violence is shown as normal on the television screen it will help to create a violent society'. In 1965, she founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA).

Mary Whitehouse consistently claimed that her intention was not to restrict the media but to improve standards. She thus recognised the media's power, and believed that it could directly influence society's values.

NVALA immediately set about pressuring television authorities. In 1972, NVALA launched the Petition for Public Decency, backed by 1.5 million signatures. Such initiatives may have borne fruit. Certainly, simultaneously, several Parliamentary acts were passed. The Protection of Children Act in 1978 made child pornography illegal, and in 1981 the Indecent Displays Act was passed. NVALA campaigning also led to the establishment in 1989 of a media advisory body - the Broadcasting Standards Council (BSC). Meanwhile, the association sought to praise good programmes by presenting awards.

Mary Whitehouse was president of NVALA for thirty years. She courted controversy and opposition and was widely vilified for her views. Official recognition for her campaigning for better standards in British media was accorded her in 1980, when she was awarded CBE. She corresponded regularly with leading politicians, appeared frequently in conferences and television shows to promote NVALA in the United Kingdom and overseas, and also wrote a number of books. She lived in Ardleigh, near Colchester, Essex. On her retirement, John C. Beyer took over as director of NVALA, which became eventually Mediawatch-UK.

From the guide to the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association Collection, 1970-1990, (University of Essex: Albert Sloman Library)