Jackson Leaves With Brass Eye Repeat
In his last move as chief executive of Channel 4, Michael Jackson has announced the repeat of the controversial edition of spoof documentary Brass Eye on paedophiles and the media.
In his final speech before he leaves for his new job in the US (see Jackson Quits Channel 4), Jackson defended the brain child of Chris Morris, which caused a storm of controversy when it was first broadcast in July (see
Channel 4 confirmed that the programme, which was branded “gratuitous” and “offensive” by the ITC (see Channel 4 Rapped For Brass Eye), would be repeated, but said that no specific date has been set.
Delivering his speech at the New Statesman lecture, Jackson called on broadcasters, including Channel 4, to end their obsession with ratings, saying: “We too, have been guilty of making share too much of a false idol. We should worry less about the magic ten percent and more about satisfying core channel 4 audiences – those people who value innovation and forward thinking. And those are the audiences that advertisers value the channel most for.
He spoke of the need to make innovation the new “gold standard” of British broadcasting and appealed to Channel 4 and its rivals to have “faith in programmes that challenge the inquisitive modern audience.”
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