Channel 4 - The First 25 Years
Conference at BFI Southbank
Sat 17 - Sun 18 November 2007
The Tube
Channel 4 first started broadcasting in November 1982. The BFI has undertaken a major project reviewing the channel to mark its 25th anniversary. As the national television archive with a remit to preserve Channel 4 output for the nation we have appraised and interpreted our holdings of C4 programmes and made them available for research. There was also a season of Channel 4 programmes and films at the BFI Southbank in November, and the BFI has published a definitive book on the channel, Channel 4: A History by Maggie Brown.
Over the years Channel 4 has transformed the experience of television in Britain. Never far from controversy, it could be argued that C4 has played a part in changing wider attitudes in society, for good or ill, and debates continue to rage about its influence.
One of the most important elements in the project is a major academic conference organised by the BFI, which took place on the 17-18 November. Leading scholars assessed these debates and discussed C4's impact on British television and culture through papers and discussion on the channel and its programmes; from Channel 4 News to The Tube, from Out on Tuesday to G.B.H and Big Brother.
Keynote speakers:
- Professor John Ellis (University of London, Royal Holloway College)
- Professor Georgina Born (University of Cambridge)
- Dr Catherine Johnson (University of London, Royal Holloway College)
Other speakers:
Jane Arthurs, Dorothy Hobson, Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn, Michael Tracey and Cinzia Padovani, Rod Stoneman, Julia Hallam, Lez Cooke, and many others discussing C4's past, present and future.
