The Media Show

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

This is the programme about a revolution in media.

Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.

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The Media Show: The Rehabilitation of Channel 5

15/04/2020

The Rehabilitation of Channel 5

BBC Radio 4 - The Media Show, The Rehabilitation of Channel 5

How Ben Frow turned the broadcaster into RTS Channel of the Year.

When Channel 5 launched in 1997, it promised to be "modern and mainstream". But it wasn't long before the schedule was filled with tacky game shows and even soft porn movies. The bad reputation stuck for years. Under the leadership of Ben Frow, Channel 5 has been transformed into RTS Channel of the Year, attracting upmarket viewers with documentaries about the National Trust and a Michael Palin travelogue. In this extended edition of The Media Show, Ben Frow tells Amol Rajan more about his strategy, and discusses his own career journey which began as a costume maker.

Producer: Richard Hooper

Photo: Still from the Channel 5 show, Michael Palin in North Korea

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