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Ambridge Ohne Ende
15 March 2002
… or Ambridge Without End,
which is the title of a 35,000 word, 100 page dissertation which has just
won an MA degree for a German listener to The Archers, Anja Beinroth.
 Anja grew up
in the town of Vlotho, Eastern Westphalia, which is in the heart of
the British Forces Germany area. Just about wherever British forces
are to be found, the Archers will follow, broadcast on the British
Forces Broadcasting Service.
"I started listening to
BFBS once I had picked up enough English from a wonderful, inspirational
teacher I had from 1983-85, Mr. Matthew Martin from Paisley, Scotland.
I think it was about spring 1986 that I started to follow the Archers
regularly. One of my earliest memories is Shula worrying that she might
be pregnant when she didn’t want to be. This was long before she realised
she had infertility problems.
"When I was still living at home
my mother quite often used to listen with me. She always got annoyed at
Joe Grundy because she couldn't understand a word he said."
 Anja went to the university
of Münster (or more properly "Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
Münster") to study Media, with English and Geography.
"One reason why I wrote
my dissertation about TheÌýArchers was that we had been advised by
well-meaning lecturers to choose a subject that we would still be
fascinated by after months of in-depth research and analysis. I
had been interested in TheÌýArchers for so long I thought I could
cope with devoting a year or so of my life to it without getting
fed up... I was right, fortunately!
"The department mostly concentrates
on journalism, so it took me a while to persuade them that this was a
worthwhile subject for academic study."
Once she gained approval, Anja
started her research: "I read all the books I could get hold of, both
about the The Archers and about soaps in general. I visited ´óÏó´«Ã½ Pebble
Mill to interview the Archers editor Vanessa Whitburn, and some of the
Archers team. And in 2000, I attended the Archers Addicts convention at
the Peacock Theatre in London."
The thesis aims
to analyse the reasons for the continued success of The Archers, in
the form of a case study in the research area of "media economics".
The final chapter discusses the chances of adopting this strategy
to create a successful soap opera in other countries.
"The degree I have now gained
permits me to call myself ‘Anja Beinroth MA’ - for "Magistra Artium" (German
universities still use the Latin). We don’t have the same degree system
as in Britain, so even though it's a Masters, this is effectively my first
degree. And we don’t have a degree ceremony either. You just get a certificate
through the post."
Anja is planning to move to Britain
to join her boyfriend, a London-based IT technician, in early April. And
despite getting so close to the inner workings of the The Archers, she
still enjoys the programme. "I suppose I listen on two levels now. I’m
more conscious of how it’s put together. It’s very efficiently organised."
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