What the Papers Say
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What The Papers Say (1956–2008)[1] is the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama.[2] It is a review programme of stories published in British newspapers.
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[edit] Format
The format, consisting of readings from the previous week's newspapers, linked by a studio presenter, has remained essentially unchanged for half a century. The show has always been made by Granada Television, the longest-running broadcasting company in the UK other than the BBC, and is the only programme surviving from the company's original line-up of programmes in 1956.
[edit] History
For the first 26 years of its run the series was broadcast on ITV. The first programme, on 5 November 1956, was presented by Brian Inglis, deputy editor of The Spectator; the following week Kingsley Martin, editor of the New Statesman, presented the show. Martin presented the show on a total of 6 occasions, Brian Inglis became the most used presenter with about 170 programmes. In 1969, the programme was briefly relaunched as The Papers, with Stuart Hall, of the Open University, as the first presenter. This version of the programme lasted for only 10 weeks, after which it reverted to its original title, and took on the format it still has today, with a different presenter (almost always a journalist) each week.
[edit] Host channel
Originally the programme ran for 25 minutes, later dropping to 20. The show moved from ITV to Channel 4 when the latter launched in 1982, but was dropped in 1989, to be taken up by BBC2 where it was broadcast on Saturday afternoons, now with a running time of 10 minutes, with the presenters now placed in a virtual studio. In 2008, the BBC decided not to recommission the series, also dropping coverage of the What the Papers Say Awards.[2] ITV Productions has stated it hopes to find a "new home" for the show.[3]
[edit] Music
The show's distinctive theme music was originally The Procession of the Sadar, by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov. The 10 programmes titled The Papers used the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F as opening and closing music; when it reverted to the original title, it was replaced by Allegro Non Troppo, the fifth movement from Malcolm Arnold's Second Set of English Dances Opus 53, which is still used to this day.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ As of May 2008, a new series has yet to be commissioned by any channel.
- ^ a b Holmwood, Leigh (2008-05-29). What the Papers Say axed by BBC. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ "BBC cancels What the Papers Say", BBC News, BBC, 2008-05-29. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
[edit] External links
- "What the Papers Say in pictures" – gallery of presenters at guardian.co.uk
- Allegro non troppo – theme music
