Paralympics

Channel 4 launches Paralympic Production training scheme

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Successful applicants will work within entertainment, factual, factual entertainment and sport, with some candidates getting the chance to work on the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The training scheme will begin with a week-long bootcamp, where trainees will hear from previous scholars as well as Commissioning Editors, to get a taste of what it takes to be in the industry. After this, their TV careers will officially begin, as they enter a 12-month paid scheme as a trainee researcher or trainee production coordinator.

Channel 4 announces ambitious broadcast plans for Paralympic coverage

(credit: Channel 4)

With a multi-location format broadcasting from Tokyo, Leeds and London, Channel 4’s coverage will feature an all-star presenting team, over 70% of whom are disabled.

The Paralympic Breakfast Show, presented by Arthur Williams and Steph McGovern, and the live morning sports competition, hosted by Clare Balding, will air live from Leeds, the home of Channel 4’s national headquarters.

Where have all the disabled people gone?

Adam Hills, Rosie Jones and Shannon Murray (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

That was the sobering conclusion from an RTS early evening event, Where Have All the Disabled People Gone?

Paradoxically the discussion was full of laughter and sly wit, not least from chair, the journalist and presenter Ade Adepitan.     

A panel of disabled men and women who work in TV and media told the audience of their experiences trying to make a living in TV.

Sir Bradley Wiggins completes The Jump 2017 line-up

The Tour De France winner and eight-time Olympic medallist will join a raft of famous faces taking part in the fourth series of the perilous winter sport contest, held in Austria.

This year’s competition could be the toughest yet, as a large number of sports personalities are due to take to the slopes.

They include former England Rugby Captain Jason Robinson OBE, former England footballer Robbie Fowler, Olympic medallists Louis Smith and Jade Jones and Paralympic medallist Kadeena Cox.

Was 2016 TV's defining year for diversity?

For many people who believe in diverse, multiracial societies, 2016 was a year of profound political setbacks. But, paradoxically, it may also go down as the year in which British television finally embraced real and permanent change in how it deals with diversity.

As we begin a new year, many influential voices are convinced that TV’s decision-makers are now determined to move towards a genuinely diverse workforce. They also hope to see big improvements in the on-screen ­representation of people from marginalised groups.

The Last Leg's Adam Hills fronts Channel 4 Paralympic coverage

Channel 4, Paralympic Games, sports,

2016 is Channel 4’s Year of Disability, marking its commitment to increasing on and off-screen representation of disabled people across the schedule.

Almost two-thirds of all on-screen talent during the Paralympics coverage are disabled.

The channel’s runaway hit from the 2012 Paralympic Games, The Last Leg, will be placed at the heart of the coverage, and will come live from Rio every evening at 8pm.

Channel 4 launch £1 million Superhumans Wanted prize

Channel 4, Superhumans, Competition, Year of Disability

The campaign is part of the broadcaster’s Year of Disability, and will award the brand or agency with the strongest campaign idea with an exclusive spot in the first break of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The competition is part of Channel 4’s commitment to improving diversity on- and off-screen beyond simply its editorial content and into Channel 4’s important commercial airtime.