Cross post - Micheal Rosenblum

Got a nice hello-ping from Michael Rosenblum, who trained me and several other VJs- the first in the UK back in 1993/94.

I posted longish giving some background to the Channel.

Often people confuse Channel One with Live TV - that did Topless darts and Bunny news - and a post on Michael's blog illustrates this.

There's scant info on Channel One which often gives rise to this.

NY1 which it was modelled on has been going strong now for 15 years.

Happy Burfday NY1.

I had the pleasure of visiting it twice; in its early days and when one of the trainers, peter, became its head of news.

Anyway's here's what Julian Aston had to say about Channel One from the Daily Mail site on 3rd September 1998

Channel One, the local information television station for London and Bristol, which is wholly owned by DMGT, is to close this month.

Says Managing Director Julian Aston: "Our projected level of cable subscriptions will not enable Channel One to break-even by the end of the present licence period so, sadly, the Channel will stop transmitting this month."

"During four years on air, Channel One has pioneered quality, local television news and information programming, introducing fresh technical and news-gathering techniques that have since been adopted by both terrestrial and satellite broadcasters. The Channel has also been, over the last four years, the broadcast industry's unofficial training school."

A very British history of Videojournalism

A very British history of videojournalism probably warrants a slim book. There's a lot to be said. The title says a lot for me as it's always been a reluctant media form, but belatedly has found growing support

You could argue it started in 1994 with Channel One TV, but you could go further back to the 60's the Cliff Michelmore era and a BBC producer film maker Percy, whose surname I should dig up.

In 1992 working on reportage the programme used hi8 to film, and then there's the BBC's Correspondent who would disguise herself as a member of the cloth to film clandestine stuff on foreign assignments.

But 1994 is an epoch moment nonetheless.

Channel One modelled on New York One was a revolution, like Today's Telegraph studios, which has never been replicated. It did however attract all the major broadcasters from around the world, attempting to model their outfit on a sation whose budget was miniscule compared the networks.

Remember also if you didn't know the first VJs in the UK belonged to a newspaper company, Associated Newspapers.

The press loved and loathed us in equal measure and such was the vehemence from broadcasters, Channel 4 and BBC, that it would take another seven years - a bidding war between the BBC and Channel 4 - to gain the services of Rosenblum and re-introduce the format in the UK.

At Channel One, much to Rosenblum's annoyance, we were being taught one aspect of videojournalism only to be told by management to adopt a televisual convention.

There are I say today at least three identifiable genres of VJism.

So here's an account - a personal one with film from the era - which I will expand upon.

The originals from the Channel One TV still meet up but many have gone on to carve out big careers in the media.