Jon Snow has defended the salaries of Channel 4’s top executives, saying the broadcaster’s performance would justify a large reward in the commercial sector.
“This is a channel putting business the way of something like 300 independent film making companies,” said the Channel 4 News presenter. “It generates at least £1bn a year, it’s profitable. I think in the corporate sector that would attract a fair amount of reward.
“It’s a pretty amazing thing that a public service broadcaster can be wholly self supporting. And have a big impact.”
Channel 4’s results for 2014, released in June, showed the pay of chief executive David Abraham rose 16% to £855,000, almost twice as much as the director general of the BBC, while chief creative officer Jay Hunt took home £581,000, up 17% on 2013. Both received the maximum 30% bonus, despite a fall in audience share for its main channel.
At the time, former Home Office minister Damian Green, who was then in the running to become culture select committee chair, said the channel needed “to be sensitive at a time when the future of the channel is clearly under review”.
Snow was speaking on Thursday ahead of hosting his 20th One World Media Awards, which recognise the best coverage of the developing world.
He said that Channel 4’s public service status – it is commercially independent but owned by the government – was vital to its ability to cover the sort of global stories the awards recognise.
“I think one has to realistically say that a wholly commercial operation that had no state ownership, might well reduce its coverage of this sort of stuff,” he said.
“We don’t think there is any talk of privatising Channel 4, I don’t think it’s a prospect at the moment. I think if it did happen it would certainly alter what was possible, or what was probable.”
Winners at the awards, which have been presented by Snow since they were launched, included a video on one of Mexico’s most polluted rivers, Silent River, coverage of the Ebola crisis in Africa by BBC’s Panorama, and an ITV News report on the battle to save Iraq’s Yazidis from Isis.
Snow said the quality of entries had increased steadily in the 20 years since the first awards as journalists and film-makers from around the world used digital technology to produce high-quality storytelling.
“They’ve got their shit together,” he said “These people all over the world, film-makers journalists, one-man bands, are packaging and making documentaries and films of a quality that was completely absent.”
“You [previously] couldn’t honestly expect someone in parts of Africa, South America, to produce output on a par what we’ve been doing here. The digital age has allowed the entire world to catch up.”
One World Media Awards 2015 Winners
Television Award: Silent River, SplitFrame Media
Documentary Award: Virunga, Grain Media & Violet Films
Radio Award: Afghan Women: Speaking Out, Losing Lives, BBC Radio 4 & BBC World Service
News Award: The Desperate Struggle to Save Iraq’s Yazidis, ITV News
Corruption Reporting Award: Virunga, Grain Media & Violet Films
New Voice Award: Freelancer Katerina Vittozzi
Women’s Rights in Africa Award: Casablanca Calling, Redbird
Popular Features Award: Panorama: Ebola Frontline, Blakeway Productions for BBC
International Journalist of the Year Award: Guillermo Galdos of Channel 4 News
Digital Media Award: Pirate Fishing, Altera Studio for Al-Jazeera English
Refugee Reporting Award: Evaporating Borders, Ivaasks Films
Press Award: Tim Adams’ article Out in Africa: Why the Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina has spoken out about being gay in Observer New Review
Short Film Award: Bruce Lee – King of the Sewers, Ecostorm for Channel 4 News
Student Award: Julia Dahr, Goldsmiths University of London for KISILU: I’ll Start With Myself
Special Award: Welad El Balad, based in Egypt
A full list of all nominees can be found here.
