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  • Editors' Note: 40 Years of Channel 4

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Welcome to ViewFinder Issue 121: 40 Years of Channel 4 This term we are marking the 40th anniversary of Channel 4. At the time of its first transmission Channel 4 was committed to providing an alternative to existing British television; a cultural mission that was embodied in its programming for minority groups, and in its… continue reading.

  • Long Lost Movies: Old Films on Channel 4

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    In this article, I will be mainly concerned not with Channel 4 as a producer or distributor of theatrical movies, but as an exhibitor of films on television. While charged with the need to be innovative, experimental and to provide a real alternative to the existing TV channels, the channel was also obligated to cater… continue reading.

  • A Call for Solidarity-Focused Programming

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Channel 4’s Disability Code and the Representation of Tourette Syndrome in Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery - Scarlett Moffatt Investigates Introduction and Context Channel 4 has a history of broadcasting documentary-series that feature social minority groups, and in recent years there has been significant documentary coverage surrounding the theme of disability aired by the broadcaster, from Crip… continue reading.

  • Visions of Other Cinemas: International Film and the Early Days of Channel 4

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Imagine turning on your television set (or whichever platform you happen to watch on) and coming across a season of films from Vietnam with expert introductions, a documentary about the history of Hong Kong cinema featuring clips from rare films and interviews with local filmmakers, or a report from a film festival in Burkina Faso… continue reading.

  • Cinema Action and Channel 4

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Television at the Intersection of Radical Politics and Independent Film This article draws upon oral histories and archival analyses conducted as research for my MA dissertation on Cinema Action. I would like to thank all the participants for their invaluable help in producing this research. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the growth of… continue reading.

  • ‘4 All the UK’: The Policies and Politics of Relocation

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Under the mantra ‘4 All the UK’, Channel 4 completed a much-publicised relocation out of London in 2018-19, opening a new headquarters in Leeds and two ‘creative hubs’ in Bristol and Glasgow. Channel 4’s CEO, Alex Mahon, heralded the move as ‘the largest structural shake-up in Channel 4’s history’, claiming that these regional centres made… continue reading.

  • Channel 4 and its Remit: Defining Difference

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Channel 4 was launched in November 1982 to entertain, educate and experiment (in the form and content of programmes), and to appeal to tastes and interests not catered for by ITV - these principles were enshrined in its ‘remit’, under the terms of the 1980 Broadcasting Act. It was immediately duped Channel Bore or Snore… continue reading.

  • The role of early Channel 4 commissions in the development of the freelance film and television workforce in Scotland

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    The Scottish screen sector is a prolific hub for feature film, high-end TV, and factual television production, valued at more than £500 million per year, according to the national screen unit, Screen Scotland. With a freelance pool of 3,400 people across creative and craft roles, the sector has gained an international reputation for its highly… continue reading.

  • Channel 4 and Woke Neoliberalism

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    The story of Channel 4 is also the story of the unexpected relationship between neoliberalism and identity politics. In the 1980s, the channel was widely seen as a forum for cultural counter-attack against Margaret Thatcher’s free-market authoritarianism. Forty years on, things look very different. Could it be that the radical cultural politics of the era… continue reading.

  • What was that channel for? Remembering the origins of Channel 4

    Published on: 7th December 2022

    Introduction In his 1979 McTaggart lecture to the Edinburgh International Television Festival, the distinguished TV producer Jeremy Isaacs (2005) spoke optimistically about Britain’s fourth television service that he said would galvanize the UK’s independent TV production sector widening opportunities for new and minority audiences. Isaac’s hopes for the fourth service were shared by a Conservative… continue reading.

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