"After the count down to a new channel ends.. A new countdown begins..." Channel Four at 30

So Channel Four is thirty, looking at its midriff pinching it and wondering why it has got larger in the past couple of years, granted there are some good shows still on the channel now such as Peep Show and the excellent Friday Night Dinner. But apart from that, its got a bit bland and a bit beige. From this young upstart wanting to rip down the conventions of television though its entertainment and music, focussing on programmes for different sections of society, breaking new ground as it went. Everyone has their memories of the channel and how its developed, both the good and the bad.

I can think of several shows which would stand out and would be the ones everyone thinks about when asked about Channel Four. But the gems in their schedules were just as good, for instance Superchamps, a mini We Are The Champions with quadbikes excited me enough to send loads of empty packets of Smiths Crisps to get a poster of the show. The power of television, eh? Chips Comic containing Andrew 'Son of Sir Harry' Secombe as a dog, a thought which might have sprung out a conversation saying 'Do we think this is mad enough to work?' They were the only channel in this country to show Worzel Gummage Down Under, to revive Quizball as an American Football game, introduced the country to wheelchair basketball long before the 2012 Paralympics.

Four in its self could be said to be a slice of life, sometimes maybe the butt of other jokes as the wheelchair basketball on a Saturday morning didn't get enough viewers to register on the RAJAR ratings. But it was a place where it could be tried without people noticing at all, much like other output involving disability such as 'Boom' and 'Hand in Hand' were allowed to take place, some people would say it was worthy television all of this but if it wasn't for Channel Four would these programmes have even been commissioned. At one time Four was the goto place for minority groups such as the Gay and Lesbian community, even offering a programme for the trade unions on a weekly basis. The purpose was there to cater to these communities  but to the casual viewer, it offered something else like a window outwards to show what was happening in the real world apart from the one usually on television at the time. Channel Four offered social realism always and pushed it as reality with later on reality becoming entertainment.

Over the years, the channel can claim that it started off the careers of some performers and it can be said it finished off others as well. Saturday and Friday Night Live showcased so many different acts who went on to carve careers of their own and into the new millennium The Friday/Sunday Night Project launched Jimmy Carr and Alan Carr into the spotlight. But for that it also launched Justin Lee Collins too as well.. The clipshow started here, with its countdowns as well both with 'The 100 greatest..' series of programmes copied and copied over and over again by other channels as well the domain of the late Richard Whitlely. The first face on Four may not have been bombastic, but in the way the first controller Jeremy Isaacs put it " I wanted that first night schedule to be typical of what night to night the viewer could see on Channel Four." With a documentary of Max Boyce meeting the Dallas Cowboys, the television film premier of 'Network' and also the first Film Four production 'Walter' starring Sir Ian McKellen this was what Four would be about nightly including the news at 7pm as well.

This is the alternative that television needed, but for long time it was a yes and no situation with Four. In the 1960's the frequencies for the VHF transmitters were worked out with a spare slot for Channel Four to go into. Now, BBC 2 had launched in 1964 but the Conservative government of that time had promised the spare capacity to the then Independent Television Authority. Come election time the Tories lost power to Harold Wilson's Labour Party and with this the tune changed so the new government wanted the BBC to run the service instead, the problem was that the BBC presented their case by putting how much money it would cost to set up 'BBC3' and also to increase the licence fee as well to cover it. Either way they were stuck, so by not giving the frequency to either the BBC or the ITA, it laid dormant for many years as governments changed like the seasons. Though slowly after the second 1974 election discussions were held to see what type of form a fourth channel could be. What came of it was a television foundation much along the line of what PBS had done in America, but in 1977 when  the Annan Report was published and a white paper written that an 'Open Broadcasting Authority' would take over the control of the channel with a notional date of 1979 or 1980 for a launch.

With the Tory Goverment committed to the idea of Channel Four, they had to go through with it and handed responsibility to the IBA for the channel to be set up. Such as a lot of things have changed in the last thirty years, the channel itself has changed. For the better, maybe... But in the end if it wasn't Paul Coia welcoming us to Channel Four nearly thirty years ago this week, we wouldn't have had children saving up empty crisp packets to get a poster, eh?

"Everyone find a space on the floor.." Schools programmes and the way we learned...

About a week ago, my associate TellyCabbage when out looking for new and interesting things for my archive, when he found a set of booklets for the BBC Radio Schools Programme 'Time and Tune' ranging from the early 1960's upto the early 1980's. Now schools television is more prevalent in minds whatever age they are because of the imagery which they conjured up.  But BBC Schools Radio has been an equal partner to its televisual counterpart and some would now say more so with the radio service still continuing today albeit in the middle of the night like the television service as well.

The history of schools broadcasting starts at the beginning of radio in the UK itself with experimental schools broadcasts commencing in 1924 on the London station of the British Broadcasting Company (2LO) with talks by Sir Henry Walford Davies and E. Kay Robinson on music and natural history respectively. With Lord Reith's beliefs to 'Educate, Inform and Entertain' the education of the nation's children at heart, with the introduction of a schools service in 1925 to allow a broader curriculum to be broadcast.

As time went on secondary schools were included and the introduction of foreign language learning, but they BBC found with that there was adult audience who also followed these programmes as well.  But as the twenties moved into the 1930's and with the outbreak of the Second World War, the regional services were merge together to form a single home service for children which lead to any confusion about the new service being a laid by special news bulletins to explain the circumstances which had led for the service to be united together. By 1942 it meant that half of Britain's schools were listening to the wireless for their education.

After the Second World War, the Schools Broadcasting Council was set up in 1947 to replace what had gone before, allowing a uniting council to regulate the broadcasts and to create a varied curriculum which meant during the 1950's, the radio was there to educate the nation's children. With varying programmes covering the core subjects of Mathematics, English both Language and Literature, the sciences as well as foreign languages. But by the late fifties such was happening else where, television was becoming the dominate force which led to Associated-Rediffusion setting up Britain's first television for schools in 1957. Though the television was still a luxury it meant that radio was still an integral part of schooling, the style of programme had slowly started to move on too, from the lecture into a programme which taught.

But the 1950's was the decade that many of the longest running radio schools programmes started in including 'Stories and Rhymes' for 7 to 9 year old children which ran until 1983, these series came back year after year allowing the schedules for both the Autumn and Summer school terms themselves, though it was the introduction of television which changed schools broadcasting forever, allowing things to be seen which would have been described on radio. The world around children had become alive, some people would have said at the time with television there was no need for a teacher at all, that pupils could have been taught through the screen itself. Of which these broadcasts became, a whole class watching the same thing at the same time. The BBC started television broadcasts also in 1957, realising it was a continuation of the Reithan values of it first ever director general.

As the sixties came into view and more ITV franchises came onto the air, it allowed franchises to concentrate on a more focused range of programming, such as the bigger franchises taking the major subjects and also regional stations especially such as Scottish Television, TWW and Ulster to produce programmes specific to their area and also in different languages such as Welsh or Gaelic. The BBC itself made high quality programmes sticking close to their public service values, though as the decade went on the style changed again to from a starched up formal style to education with presenters rather then teacher and processors at the heart of it. Therefore with television set getting cheaper, it allowed more schools to slowly swap over from radio to television and with the introduction of colour slowly and surely at the start of the 70's, the programmes had settled down into a pattern. Mixing the serious subjects in programme like Scene to others teaching maths in a new way by using the newer educational techniques of the time. With these new techniques being introduced by successive governments, the public service ethos was always there.

But it did have a strange effect which a lot of people will tell you about, that these programmes were becoming entertaining in which the actual educators couldn't guess. Programmes like Look and Read were becoming like mini-drama serials, You and Me was strangely entertaining leading to Lenny the Lion and later Basil Brush to teach young children to read. This was education breaking away from itself, even the adult audience at home were interested in the programmes, with How We Used to Live getting late night repeats on Yorkshire Television because the subject matter was interesting to the viewers. With an audience being recognised for television at that time of day, meant there was an appetite for programmes during the day which I will come onto in a later blogpost. 

For myself the first experience of school programming came during the 1980's with steady reliable show such as Stop Look Listen, You and Me and My World having been on since the 70's. The likes of Science Workshop brought their own brand of humour to the school room, which included David Hargreaves and Malcolm McFee but as the years went on and technology moved into their realm with video recorders, computers and laterly the internet. The room for these programme was not needed and given away to more daytime programmes overall, with BBC Schools moving over to BBC2 in 1983 and also ITV Schools moving over to Channel Four in 1987, much like using up the spare airtime like the Open University and latterly the Open College as well so schools could have a set pattern for children to sit down in front the television at a certain time. But as the video recorded came into use, there was no need for teachers to do that and just record a programme to be used at a later time.

As the 90's drew in, the more venerable shows were politely moved out for the schedule and with the introduction of DVD's and MP3's there was no need for them to be hardly on the television at all as they were shunted to overnight on both BBC2 and Channel 4, the deathknell came when Channel 4 withdraw and the BBC as part of the their public broadcasting commitment carried on but not producing new programmes.

So schools programmes came, conquered and went and to some they will not be missed but they have educated us at some point, entertained us when we have been sick and off school and even found a new audience at time so programmes can be put in their place. Does it educate, inform and entertain? It does in a way, we can be grateful for it and if it wasn't for the education which they gave us then the next generations of teachers... So everyone find a space on the floor and celebrate these programme for what they were.... 

Carlton - Television for Government...

What is political conviction and where does it come from? Most people would say it is the way people are brought up and what they see as they are growing up to make their country a better place to live. Which is true to a point, as that shapes a person's view on life. Over time though a person's political feelings can change. But what about if you get the top job? Where exactly do you get your style of how to run your government?

Some may say, it comes from what has gone before and learning from other's mistakes or that does seem what it used to be, as in for the greater good. It can be said that Saatchi and Saatchi had a major influence on the style and presentation of Margaret Thatcher's election campaign in 1979, though even before when she became leader of the Tory Party in 1975, that influence was slowly moving into place.

That maybe all well and good, but its since 1997 and the election of Tony Blair as Prime Minister that we have seen some taking a business style to politics and using their experiences in their previous experiences, in his case of being a lawyer, that he took into government. In law making, the legal case was used, but not always that was the case. I am speaking more of the style that a lawyer uses in court and in serving a client by using legalese in what ever policy was put forward. In some cases, that worked and in others this spectacularly went wrong. Meaning a mish-mash of policy decisions and the government of that time right upto the 2010 General Election.

Because of the result of that election which left no party in overall control and the need for government, that the coaltion government which is now in power. David Cameron, who is the Prime Minister was the Head of PR at Carlton Television, though it seems that some of the coaltion's ideas and style have come from his days working there. 

For example, the Big Society was launched with the government looking for people to give up their time to help projects by volunteering. Though this does seem similar to ITV's year 200 project 'The Day of Promise' where people were encouraged to give up their time to volunteer for community projects. It can be said that with the policies which have been put forward are like Carlton Television itself in their franchise form, lots of show but no substance. This has never been more the case during the past week when the row over VAT on hot food and also the comments made by Francis Maude to store petrol have seen to be attention grabbing statements without nothing behind it, making sure farce has become real and better then anything Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn could have written for Jim Hacker himself. Seemingly it is ironic that Gold has commissioned a new version of Yes, Prime Minister in the same week that this has all happened. So maybe life has become art after all as the business way becomes the normal way of dealing in politics.