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About Channel 4 News
"Channel 4 News is one of the finest news programmes on terrestrial television, and the Channel is the only terrestrial channel to bring viewers a full, in-depth 30-minute news bulletin on Saturdays and Sundays. Jon Snow regularly works weekends. How many other news services feel like an integrated, seven-days-a-week, service? Well Channel 4 News isn't quite, but it's close."Andrew Bowden, Editor of EMC Newdesk
Beyond the remit
The original remit didn't require a heavy news output, but the idea of having an extended news bulletin on the new channel was seen as a mark of the distinctive nature of Channel 4.
Rival broadcasters were dismissive of the idea of an extended news bulletin at 7pm. The conventional wisdom was that no-one would watch it. It was thought to be too long, thirty minutes was seen to be the maximum length for a news bulletin, and on at the wrong time, it would ruin any chance of attracting and keeping a primetime audience, which would have an impact on advertising revenue.
During the first year, regular technological breakdowns, a badly designed set and inexperienced presenters, resulted in low audience figures, which seemed to confirm these reservations.
However, in 1984 the ratings improved, possibly because the year-long miners' strike was a topic that suited the hour-long format and the journalistic style.
The original quartet of presenters and reporters: Peter Sissons, Trevor McDonald, Sarah Hogg and Godfrey Hodgson were the public faces of what became Channel 4's flagship programme.
Heavyweight reputation
Despite of (or perhaps because of) the extended format and in-depth coverage, Channel 4 News has the youngest audience of any television news programme. Part of the appeal for younger audiences may be that it follows a self consciously progressive and inclusive agenda.
Programme Editor, Jim Gray, gives the following account of the programme's distinctiveness.
"We try to take an innovative approach to news reporting, aiming to think more laterally than other television news programmes. Because of the longer format, we are able to develop stories in-depth, dig behind the headlines, conduct probing interviews and discuss the news at length live with studio guests. It is our analytical approach to covering a wide-ranging news agenda in an appealing format that distinguishes us from news on other channels. This identity for Channel 4 News has been honed over the last three years, as we have broadened our agenda to fully reflect the changing social and cultural trends in Britain. We believe there is no other news programme on British television which has the breadth of agenda or originality of approach to feature such challenging work."
ITN ownership
Channel 4 News is produced by ITN, who also produce news programmes with very different formats for ITV and C5.
ITN is one of the largest news organisations in the world, producing news and factual programming for television, radio and new media platforms.
