Channel 4 Announces new series editor and recommission for 4thought.tv

3 August 2011

Channel 4's Head of Specialist Factual Ralph Lee has recommissioned the religion and ethics strand 4thought.tv for another year and appointed a new series editor, Eamon O Connor.

Lee has asked Northern Irish independent production company Waddell Media to make a further 365 films for the strand in which a single speaker, filmed in a studio, reflects on religious and ethical issues or aspects of their spiritual lives. Since July 2010, 4thought.tv has aired each night, seven days a week after Channel 4 News. The majority have run in thematically-linked mini seasons - providing an eclectic range of opinions on a single topic.

Ralph Lee says: "I am delighted Eamon is joining the 4thought.tv team. As an experienced journalist, he will help make 4thought.tv even more topical - providing ethical and spiritual reaction and insight to breaking stories and key global events."

"In its first year, 4thought.tv has provided a space for views about religions and ethics that receive virtually no coverage on any other channel, from Jainism to Mormonism, and stimulated great discussion and debate. Viewers representing a range of ethical and religious viewpoints have inundated the website with comments and responses - this is a strand whose audience is clearly engaging with it."

"The week themed: Is it possible to believe in God and Darwin? generated over 1,300 comments during the week of tx, whilst over 1,300 comments were also made during the week entitled Should Muslims adapt to Britain or Britain adapt to Muslims? - the most comments across channel4.com that week.

"It is an incredibly diverse strand - whilst it has featured outspoken contributors from Martin Amis to Anjem Choudhary and Sinead O'Connor and dealt with controversial themes such as Is Homosexuality a Sin? it has also produced very moving quiet moments of reflection, tears, worship and song."

O Connor is an award-winning producer/director who began his career with World in Action, making more than 60 films for ITV's former flagship current affairs series. He has produced major investigations for British and international broadcasters, and has also worked in America with The New York Times and Granada USA and produced and directed programmes for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

O Connor says: "I'm delighted to have this opportunity to work on one of Channel 4's most distinctive and revealing series. I'm joining a team that has already successfully established the programme's unique identity, and I look forward to working with them to ensure that 4thought.tv continues to offer an astonishing range of real people speaking directly to us all about their deepest and most strongly held views."

In one of his first themed weeks for 4thought.tv, O Connor is producing seven films reflecting on the recent events in Norway and exploring how we should respond to this attack (txing from August 8th),  to be followed by a week of films on the subject of the British press.

Waddell Media's Managing Director, Jannine Waddell says: "4thought.tv is a great commission for us and for the television sector in Northern Ireland.  It is great for nurturing talent and generating ideas and demonstrates Channel 4's commitment to production in Northern Ireland."