Thread by @ElizMizon

Here is a concrete, little-known example of how @Channel4 provides value to UK citizens **without costing us any money**, and why privatising the broadcaster will 🚨strip this value away🚨

The year was 2010... 🧵🪡 1/15

C4 had won its bid for the rights to broadcast the 2012 Paralympic Games, citing its public service remit to "to champion unheard voices, to innovate and take bold creative risks, to inspire change and to celebrate diversity".
They took this win seriously... /2

...making a pledge not only to create great coverage, but: /3

As part of this mission to enhance representation of disabled people in the UK, they engaged in research alongside @bournemouthuni & @YouGov to ensure that they fully understood the current landscape, the impact they could/would have, and could communicate it after the fact /4

The research produced came in phases and documented comprehensively the wins of Channel 4's work, and as a result, wins for disabled Brits: channel4.com/media/document… /5

Here are a couple of snippets: only 14% of Brits polled said they were looking forward to the Paralympic Games

After C4's marketing campaign was seen by 86% of us, 40 million of us (66% of the population) tuned in to the games, with 25% of us watching every day. /6

83% of viewers agreed that Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics improved society’s attitude towards people with an impairment, while 64% of viewers felt more positive towards people with a disability. assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/… /7

C4 also identified, hired, and trained numerous disabled presenters (and committed further funding for this post-Games). This also gave us @TheLastLeg (making household names of @adamhillscomedy, @alex_brooker and token able-bodied presenter @joshwiddicombe) 🙏🤩 /8

This huge venture made a massive contribution to the attitudes of Brits to other Brits. It *helped to build social cohesion* (alongside others already doing that work)
It did this BECAUSE IT HAS A PUBLIC BROADCASTING REMIT which, unlike the BBC, costs the taxpayer nothing /9

Its remit is specific, diverse, free of government influence (until yesterday) and not simply to inform and entertain as per the BBC (that's another thread), but to *challenge*. @Channel4News has consistently taken politicians to task...

Coincidence? /10

Again, funded by ads... costs us nothing.

AND it sources its content from independent companies, supporting UK film/TV industry.

It's not perfect, many improvements could be made. @mediareformUK has done great work on this:
/11

All this is to say: C4 is a *crucial* part of the UK's public media landscape.
The Tories' desire to privatise is purely ideological, as ever. Strips it of its challenging position, rakes some cash, and neutralises its newsroom. /12

There is no functional mandate to privatise it.

@NadineDorries has offered only that "it needs to compete with streamers globally" (why?) and that it will "level up" creative sector 🤡🤔

C4 insiders have publicly said it's fine as is; financially, culturally, structurally. /13

For more info follow my updates @chompskyblog and @mediareformUK, and read this by actual expert @ta_mills:
tribunemag.co.uk/2021/07/fighti… /14

C4 may still have a public remit for now, but once it's privately owned, who knows.

What we do know is that profits are unlikely to be pumped into public good instead of private bank accounts.

Let's end on a writeup of the stats and wins in full:
channel4.com/press/news/res… 15/15

@Channel4 Obligatory "this is blowing up, here's how you can help" - we are continuing the @mediareformUK campaign for A People's Channel 4 - follow for updates SOON

#SaveChannel4 #Channel4NotForSale

@Channel4 crowdfunder for #SaveChannel4 now live! crowdfunder.co.uk/p/savec4
Share, if you would ;)

Now we have a crowdfunder…!

crowdfunder.co.uk/p/savec4