Speaking to Amol Rajan, CEO of Channel 4, Alex Mahon, reflects on the successes of their Paralympics and General Election coverage, before updating us on the first nine months of the Fast Forward policy to transform Channel 4 into a public service streamer by 2030.
Mahon also touches on Channel 4's plans in the nations and regions, for growing their IP and supporting the indie sector, and responds to The Rest is Entertainment.
Has anyone managed to catch any Olympics and Paralympics TV coverage? Lol, I’m joking - you’d need to have spent six weeks on Mars to miss it.
TV has always had the power to influence society, going beyond merely reflecting it. This includes the power to influence our attitudes to disability and inclusion. For a couple of glorious weeks every four years, our screens are full of disabled people. There are the Paralympians themselves, the disabled presenters and reporters, and the disabled talent behind the screens.
Your dad’s favourite comedians team up with your cousin’s favourite pop star for a fourth series of armchair detective work.
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.
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.
Broadcaster and journalist Ade Adepitan chaired a panel of disabled talent to ask what can be done to help television reflect the reality of Britain today.
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.
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.
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.
