Religion 2009
AAQIL AHMED
Commissioning Editor, Religion and Multicultural
Editorial Assistant: Sarah Asante
AAQIL AHMED
Commissioning Editor, Religion and Multicultural
Editorial Assistant: Sarah Asante
After a successful period of a few years for Religion on the channel where the output has primarily focussed on films that explored conflict and the impact faith and religion has had on the make up of Britain and the world , the middle part of 2008 onwards has seen a change in direction on what the channel is looking for. There’ll still always be room for pieces about the impact of faith in conflict but the ideas in this area have started to all feel very similar and its time now for a fresh take to keep C4 religion at the top of the British TV religion tree.
How will this manifest itself? Well simply in trying to refresh the thinking behind what I want and how we place it. What this all means in terms of hours is very little change. The big change is in striving to get programme ideas that can explain belief and explore it through real peoples interaction with it., its about how the channel can get the message across that the films exist, stand out in the schedule, are noticed, get written about, win awards and are seen to be part of a co-ordinated range of Religious programmes rather than general classic Channel 4 output.
This approach is best defined by the week of programmes Islam Unveiled. This week consisted of the 2 hour film The Qur’an and the series The Seven Wonders of the Muslim World. Classic general subject area for Channel 4 but run together and treated as an ‘event’ they stand out in the schedule and illustrate to the viewer the difference between the channels output and that of another broadcaster better than if they were single films spread across the schedule. They also are powerful films about the basics of belief, they are films about big important subjects and they reach out to ordinary people as well as the great and the good – they answer questions people have about subjects they know very little about yet need to know. They are importantly programmes that have never been made before.
2009 will be an exciting time in Religion and for multicultural programming on the channel. In terms of the Religious programming we have in production a major landmark series on Christianity already in production. This will take up eight one hours from the slate. The length of this series plays into idea of trying to have clever thinking about subject matter and scheduling. It’s a big commitment and shows that there is an appetite for bold ideas. The detail is still confidential (Sept 2008) but its unique Channel 4 twist makes it stand out against the opposition, it delivers exactly what I believe our audience is looking for and it clearly lets every one know that the channel is committed to programming in this area.
Alongside this there will be a Christmas Day special, previous years including 2008 have consisted of two specials presented by Dr Robert Beckford. These projects are Bible mystery stories that use theology, history and modern day investigation to unravel and explore some of the basic building blocks of Christianity. Previous years have included subjects such as Who Wrote The Bible? and The Hidden Story of Jesus. 2008 will be an exploration of the nativity story. This style of programming has worked well for the past few years, the viewer feedback is excellent and its likely in 2009 we will go with a similar approach. That said I am more than happy to see new proposals that offer alternative approaches to Christmas Day.
The Qur’an and The Seven Wonders for me really felt like they had presence on the channel and I will be looking for an ‘event’ to work in the schedule in 2009. Probably a two hour piece or an interesting use of the kind of money that would make up a two hour piece. The Seven Wonders was six ten minute films and a ninety minute special stripped across a week and I would be keen to explore this again with another immersive subject matter (not seven wonders of another faith as that franchise is already in development!).
The final piece in the new Religion jigsaw will be the introduction of a weekly strand. The length of the run is to be decided but this will be an opportunity to make some of the classic single films that I believe have defined our Religious output over the last few years. The ability to put them together in a special run will help them have more impact in the schedule, often some of the films I have been incredibly proud of have limped out and I hope wrapping them up in a strand that has an editorial purpose will help them find a more reliable audience. Transmission time and date is still to be decided but it will be pre watershed and the focus of the strand will be to explore how Religion plays a part in the lives of people today rather than attempt to tackle heavy subject area in a classical talking head/archive way. The kind of films from the past that would work perfect for this slot are God's Waiting Room, Divorce: Sharia Style, Jesus Camp, God's Next Army and Reverend Death. In general these will be observational films but they can be presenter lead if the subject needs it. The main point is I want them to be authored films hopefully off screen by film makers with a vision and who want to show how religion is lived in peoples lives today.
I think there are a couple of things to say about what we are not going to be doing. We are not going to be doing 11pm religion in 2009. The bulk of the output will be pre watershed and though not exclusive to the UK I tend to prefer films that have a strong UK connection. We do spend a lot of time in the middle east and America and I still get a lot of ideas about stories in those regions so big stories that don’t focus on those two regions will be appreciated. Importantly I have to say that I am not looking for programmes you can see anywhere else. If you could imagine it working on the BBC or on ITV, then do not bring it to me. I know it might sound a bit silly or a bit arrogant, but you actually get a lot of those ideas. I think we are in the ascendancy in terms of our religious output, and I would like to keep it that way.
Dispatches
Next year, I have six Dispatches. We all know what works for our Dispatches. It obviously has to be an investigation, it has to be current affairs, and it has to be noisy and deliver decent ratings. We can also set the agenda rather than uncover hidden stories. This can be done by commissioning reports, establishing investigations or surveys about important issues. Ideas do not have to be religion themed. Previous Dispatches include a film on the credit card crunch, road pricing and the Jon Snow investigation in to the economic and social pluses and minuses of immigration.
Multicultural
A lot has been made of the Channels commitment to multicultural programming. The basics are the channel has always this type of programming be it through a specific department in the past or through general com ed’s. Over the past few years I have commissioned a number of targeted multicultural programming such as the series Hip Hop Nights and documentaries I Won’t Marry White and Ghetto Britain.
These projects were primarily 11 PM commissions and now in my new role as the dedicated commissioner of multicultural programming we’ll really be looking for projects that can work at 9 and 10PM for the channel rather than the above mentioned multicultural projects. Its important to look at what already works at nine and ten as the idea about targeting those slots is to ensure the programmes we commission sit in with the rest of the channel and feel ‘mainstream’ rather than niche.
It’s a hard ask to find ideas that will sit within a multicultural frame work yet also fit in with nine and ten PM sensibilities but that is the task. If the idea is a cutting edge or a major documentary series then that is more likely to work at nine. At ten you are looking at things which are potentially more fact ent driven and immersive. We could be talking about subject matter, significant contributors or on screen talent – the brief for these two slots is wide in terms of content.
Whatever the idea or format just get in touch with me. We have had a few projects in development so far (September 2008) and they have ranged from one off cutting edges to presenter lead immersive journeys into factually entertaining areas. This is an exciting period and I think we will need the ideas to be surprising to get through.
How will this manifest itself? Well simply in trying to refresh the thinking behind what I want and how we place it. What this all means in terms of hours is very little change. The big change is in striving to get programme ideas that can explain belief and explore it through real peoples interaction with it., its about how the channel can get the message across that the films exist, stand out in the schedule, are noticed, get written about, win awards and are seen to be part of a co-ordinated range of Religious programmes rather than general classic Channel 4 output.
This approach is best defined by the week of programmes Islam Unveiled. This week consisted of the 2 hour film The Qur’an and the series The Seven Wonders of the Muslim World. Classic general subject area for Channel 4 but run together and treated as an ‘event’ they stand out in the schedule and illustrate to the viewer the difference between the channels output and that of another broadcaster better than if they were single films spread across the schedule. They also are powerful films about the basics of belief, they are films about big important subjects and they reach out to ordinary people as well as the great and the good – they answer questions people have about subjects they know very little about yet need to know. They are importantly programmes that have never been made before.
2009 will be an exciting time in Religion and for multicultural programming on the channel. In terms of the Religious programming we have in production a major landmark series on Christianity already in production. This will take up eight one hours from the slate. The length of this series plays into idea of trying to have clever thinking about subject matter and scheduling. It’s a big commitment and shows that there is an appetite for bold ideas. The detail is still confidential (Sept 2008) but its unique Channel 4 twist makes it stand out against the opposition, it delivers exactly what I believe our audience is looking for and it clearly lets every one know that the channel is committed to programming in this area.
Alongside this there will be a Christmas Day special, previous years including 2008 have consisted of two specials presented by Dr Robert Beckford. These projects are Bible mystery stories that use theology, history and modern day investigation to unravel and explore some of the basic building blocks of Christianity. Previous years have included subjects such as Who Wrote The Bible? and The Hidden Story of Jesus. 2008 will be an exploration of the nativity story. This style of programming has worked well for the past few years, the viewer feedback is excellent and its likely in 2009 we will go with a similar approach. That said I am more than happy to see new proposals that offer alternative approaches to Christmas Day.
The Qur’an and The Seven Wonders for me really felt like they had presence on the channel and I will be looking for an ‘event’ to work in the schedule in 2009. Probably a two hour piece or an interesting use of the kind of money that would make up a two hour piece. The Seven Wonders was six ten minute films and a ninety minute special stripped across a week and I would be keen to explore this again with another immersive subject matter (not seven wonders of another faith as that franchise is already in development!).
The final piece in the new Religion jigsaw will be the introduction of a weekly strand. The length of the run is to be decided but this will be an opportunity to make some of the classic single films that I believe have defined our Religious output over the last few years. The ability to put them together in a special run will help them have more impact in the schedule, often some of the films I have been incredibly proud of have limped out and I hope wrapping them up in a strand that has an editorial purpose will help them find a more reliable audience. Transmission time and date is still to be decided but it will be pre watershed and the focus of the strand will be to explore how Religion plays a part in the lives of people today rather than attempt to tackle heavy subject area in a classical talking head/archive way. The kind of films from the past that would work perfect for this slot are God's Waiting Room, Divorce: Sharia Style, Jesus Camp, God's Next Army and Reverend Death. In general these will be observational films but they can be presenter lead if the subject needs it. The main point is I want them to be authored films hopefully off screen by film makers with a vision and who want to show how religion is lived in peoples lives today.
I think there are a couple of things to say about what we are not going to be doing. We are not going to be doing 11pm religion in 2009. The bulk of the output will be pre watershed and though not exclusive to the UK I tend to prefer films that have a strong UK connection. We do spend a lot of time in the middle east and America and I still get a lot of ideas about stories in those regions so big stories that don’t focus on those two regions will be appreciated. Importantly I have to say that I am not looking for programmes you can see anywhere else. If you could imagine it working on the BBC or on ITV, then do not bring it to me. I know it might sound a bit silly or a bit arrogant, but you actually get a lot of those ideas. I think we are in the ascendancy in terms of our religious output, and I would like to keep it that way.
Dispatches
Next year, I have six Dispatches. We all know what works for our Dispatches. It obviously has to be an investigation, it has to be current affairs, and it has to be noisy and deliver decent ratings. We can also set the agenda rather than uncover hidden stories. This can be done by commissioning reports, establishing investigations or surveys about important issues. Ideas do not have to be religion themed. Previous Dispatches include a film on the credit card crunch, road pricing and the Jon Snow investigation in to the economic and social pluses and minuses of immigration.
Multicultural
A lot has been made of the Channels commitment to multicultural programming. The basics are the channel has always this type of programming be it through a specific department in the past or through general com ed’s. Over the past few years I have commissioned a number of targeted multicultural programming such as the series Hip Hop Nights and documentaries I Won’t Marry White and Ghetto Britain.
These projects were primarily 11 PM commissions and now in my new role as the dedicated commissioner of multicultural programming we’ll really be looking for projects that can work at 9 and 10PM for the channel rather than the above mentioned multicultural projects. Its important to look at what already works at nine and ten as the idea about targeting those slots is to ensure the programmes we commission sit in with the rest of the channel and feel ‘mainstream’ rather than niche.
It’s a hard ask to find ideas that will sit within a multicultural frame work yet also fit in with nine and ten PM sensibilities but that is the task. If the idea is a cutting edge or a major documentary series then that is more likely to work at nine. At ten you are looking at things which are potentially more fact ent driven and immersive. We could be talking about subject matter, significant contributors or on screen talent – the brief for these two slots is wide in terms of content.
Whatever the idea or format just get in touch with me. We have had a few projects in development so far (September 2008) and they have ranged from one off cutting edges to presenter lead immersive journeys into factually entertaining areas. This is an exciting period and I think we will need the ideas to be surprising to get through.
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