Why documentary makers are 'unloved'

Poor Mike Lewis. The editor of ITV1's current affairs show Tonight got hearts bleeding at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer spring conference today when he described documentary makers as "the most unloved tribe" within the television industry. "The bean counters don't like us because our programmes don't always rate highly and they are hard to sell abroad," he said. But he did have one explanation for the lack of goodwill. "We are used to talking to despots and mobsters and corrupt politicians and sometimes we forget to change our tone when we are talking to commissioners or controllers." That may explain it, Mike.