Deadline is a British fly-on-the-wall documentary series following the journalists at Yorkshire Television's local news service, Calendar. It was broadcast as a series of six episodes on Channel 4 from 20 March to 1 May 1995 as part of its Whose News? season.[2]
| Deadline | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by |
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| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6[1] |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Editor | Stuart Briggs |
| Running time |
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| Production company | Real Life Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 20 March – 1 May 1995 |
Production edit
Yorkshire Television agreed to allow access to Channel 4's fly-on-the-wall documentary series following ITN's refusal to take part in the project.[3] Most of the Calendar team took part in the documentary rather than be accused of hypocrisy; Christa Ackroyd says, "how could I, a TV journalist whose job it is to persuade others to appear on camera, refuse to take part when the tables were turned?".[3]
The documentary crew spent three months following the newsgatherers at Yorkshire TV.[4] Some material was removed from the broadcast version. Journalist Alan Hardwick was captured making some, what The Guardian's media editor labels "fairly abusive", remarks about criminals.[3] Ackroyd reports that some people refused to sign release forms, and 'no filming' areas were established.[3]
Yorkshire TV were unhappy at the documentary's press release, which began: "Coming up in just a moment, the biggest petunia in the world – and the man whose grown it. But first, the Bradford murder." Channel 4 thought that the sentence reflected Calendar's diverse content, but Yorkshire were concerned that it made them look silly. The press was requested not to use the offending words.[3]
Episodes edit
The first episode focussed upon the media coverage of the disappearance of schoolgirl Lindsay Rimer in November 1994,[2] whose body was recovered shortly after the episode was broadcast.[5] This first episode also covered more trivial stories, such as the launch of a new cheese, and a live interview with Coronation Street actress Lynne Perrie, who was promoting her autobiography.[2]
Reception edit
Tom Sutcliffe, in The Independent, expressed concern over the length of the series, suggesting that it might become "too much of a good thing" and the focus upon a regional news service ("a little local runabout", writes Sutcliffe) rather than "the great national juggernauts".[2] Much of Sutcliffe's criticisms were about the journalistic practices and integrity of the Calendar team; he questions its staging of police briefings, and the decision to devote airtime to the launch of a cheese.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Television: Monday". The Observer. 19 March 1995. p. 98.
- ^ a b c d e Sutcliffe, Thomas (21 March 1995). "REVIEW : Drop the dead donkey, we'll run with the cheese". The Independent.
- ^ a b c d e Brooks, Richard (20 March 1995). "Focus on the newshounds". The Guardian. p. 14.
- ^ Episode 1, Deadline, 20 March 1995, Channel 4
- ^ Rimer, Geri (4 November 2006). "I don't know what happened to my daughter". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
