- Right to Reply
Infobox Television
show_name = Right to Reply
caption = "Right to Reply" logo, 2000s
genre = Op-ed,Discussion oftelevision
runtime = Usually 25-30 minutes
creator =
developer =Channel Four (sic), Third Eye, et al
producer =
executive_producer =
presenter =Gus Macdonald (1980s), et al
starring =
voices =
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country = flagicon|UKUnited Kingdom
location =
language = English
network =Channel 4
first_aired = 14 November 1982 [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/12823 BFI.org.uk (episode capsule)] ]
last_aired = 20 April 2001
num_seasons =
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imdb_id = 0199266
tv_com_id ="Right to Reply" (sometimes called "R2R") was a British television series shown on
Channel 4 from 1982 until 2001, which allowed viewers to voice their complaints or concerns about TV programmes. It featured reports, usually presented by a viewer, and interviews with the programme-makers concerned.History
"Right to Reply" was more serious and less humorous than its BBC equivalent "
Points of View ". Also, "R2R" discussed all channels' programmes, although, originally, only "Channel Four programme makers [were] called to account" [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/332401 BFI.org.uk (episode capsule)] ] ; after a few years "R2R" started to discussITV shows as well, and soon also added BBC, and later satellite/cable shows. "Points of View" only commented on BBC programmes, and continues to today.Some notable episodes and reports included:
*"Manhattan Transfer" (first broadcast 8 February 1985) [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/332403] , an entire episode aboutJohn Wilcock , who hosted a New York cable TV public access show about TV.
*"Right to Reply"'s covering of a controversialsex scene in "The Singing Detective " in 1986, which caused some viewers to complain about "Right to Reply".A notable feature of "Right to Reply" was the "video box", which gave viewers a third means of communicating with the programme in the 1980s, alongside letter or
telephone . In the late 1990s (until 2001) the "Right to Reply 500", a group of 500 TV viewers, answered weekly online surveys about current television issues.Cancellation
Channel 4's 2001 decision to end "Right to Reply", after a run of more than 18 years, was criticised by its fans, since nothing similar remains in its place. Some have said that the cancellation was representative of Channel 4's move into the
mainstream and unwillingness to take risks like it did in the 1980s - said one viewer, "the Channel 4 that I view today has evolved into just another TV channel" [ [http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/halcyondays/1980s/before.php Transdiffusion.org: Andrew Hesford-Booth - "Before and After"] Retrieved 26 March 2007] .Re-instatement
On 24 May 2007,
Ofcom ordered the re-instatement of a Channel Four "right to reply" programme in its adjudication of the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother race row [ [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/ocsc_adjud/channel4_cbb/channel4_cbb.pdf Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee] ]External links
* [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/12823 BFI.org.uk: Overview of content in many "Right to Reply" episodes, 1982-2001]
* [http://www.dvdfever.co.uk/reviews/r2r.shtml Viewer Dom Robinson reviews his experience on "R2R", 2001]References
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