Exclusive: Oona King to join Channel 4


by Sunny Hundal    
January 9, 2009 at 9:00 am

The former MP is joining Channel 4 as its new head of diversity. I wonder if this will stop various people trying to push her forward as Labour’s next London Mayoral candidate. I hope it does. An announcement is imminent.
Her remit will be to push C4 to: “reflect all kinds of social diversity including ethnicity, disability, nationality, regionality, age, gender and beyond.”

· About the author: Sunny Hundal is editor of Liberal Conspiracy. He works full time as a journalist, commentator, blogger, activist and general layabout. He was voted Guardian blogger of the year in 2006. Also at: Pickled Politics, Comment is free, / sunnyh*at*liberalconspiracy*dot*org
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30 Comments in response   ||  



at 9:11 am on January 9, 2009
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1.  comment by
     cjcjc

What a perfect non-job.
Can’t the line management of C4 manage to do this themselves?

at 9:17 am on January 9, 2009
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2.  comment by
     The Orator

“I wonder if this will stop various people trying to push her forward as Labour’s next London Mayoral candidate. I hope it does.”

Why? She’s rather good I always thought.

at 9:51 am on January 9, 2009
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3.  comment by
     the a&e charge nurse

Oona King - didn’t she write “The Tommyknockers” ?

Incidentally, is it possible for the Big Brother house mates to be MORE diverse ?

at 9:59 am on January 9, 2009
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4.  comment by
     Newmania

[troll]
She once said that listening to Gordon brown talk about the economy was better than having sex with her husband and won the Brown nose of the year award. She makes my teeth itch and mostly because she is one of those dreadful people who is a nerd trying not to be .

What a boring talentless waste of space , she should go far

at 10:22 am on January 9, 2009
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5.  comment by
     Aaron

What’s wrong with being a nerd?

Everyone knows that one day nerds will inherit the earth.

at 10:37 am on January 9, 2009
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6.  comment by
     Rayyan

Oona King should be in the celebrity big brother house

at 10:43 am on January 9, 2009
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7.  comment by
     Sunny Hundal

cjcjc - say something new for once… like, shock me by saying I’m not totally expecting you to say!

at 11:01 am on January 9, 2009
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8.  comment by
     the a&e charge nurse

I look forward to Oona Kings special ‘political’ edition of BB.

Different factions, including Hamas, Agudat Israel as well as American religious fundamentalists could all be brought together in the BB household.

After all Gorgeous George had the time of his life playing cat with Rula Lenska

at 11:05 am on January 9, 2009
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9.  comment by
     chavscum

Why do leaders of “diversity” in public organisations have to be of black or asian ethnicity? Is it because the people running the show and doing the prejudicial appointing are all white middle-class lefties, peddling political correctness and racist positive discrimination for everyone else, but themselves?

at 11:06 am on January 9, 2009
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10.  comment by
     Tom Miller

“I wonder if this will stop various people trying to push her forward as Labour’s next London Mayoral candidate.”

Are you talking about Nick Cohen and Martin Bright’s ’secret’ facebook group?

at 11:16 am on January 9, 2009
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11.  comment by
     cjcjc

Sunny - pot calling kettle by the way, but I thought I might have done the other day by supporting taking the poor out of tax and raising the top rate?

at 11:17 am on January 9, 2009
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12.  comment by
     cjcjc

Oh, and it is a f***ing non-job!

at 11:21 am on January 9, 2009
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13.  comment by
     Neil

What’s your job title, cjcjc?

at 11:25 am on January 9, 2009
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14.  comment by
     chavscum

Head of diversity for the BBC Inuit lesbian culture promotion team

at 12:13 pm on January 9, 2009
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15.  comment by
     cjcjc

“Partner”

at 12:58 pm on January 9, 2009
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16.  comment by
     Leon

So she’s leaving N10 and wont be Brown’s adviser anymore?

I doubt this will curtail those who want her to be Labour’s candidate for Mayor, in fact this will probably do the opposite…

at 2:01 pm on January 9, 2009
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17.  comment by
     Newmania

[troll]
“reflect all kinds of social diversity including ethnicity, disability, nationality, regionality, age, gender and beyond.”

This should lead to a reduction in the numbers of gays , blacks Lesbians et al, who are currently vastly over represented on our screens by comparison to their numbers , not to mention the young ,( As that nice Trevor Phillips pointed out ). hurrah for diversity if it reflects reality

In order that my views are represented on the BBC ( or Channel Four which is even worse) , I am obliged to present them in rap form and pretend to be biggy mania my alter ego.

Yo Ooona King
Tell you some ‘ting
You aint diverse
YOooz worse
You Ming

Word.

With best wishes from the Liability Underwriters Massive

at 2:14 pm on January 9, 2009
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18.  comment by
     Lee Griffin

Diversity representation != equal representation, Newmania. You know this. They’re two different agendas.

at 2:39 pm on January 9, 2009
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19.  comment by
     Sunny Hundal

Oh, and it is a f***ing non-job!

Not really. What you have is a situation where a bunch of middle class white (mostly male) commissioners at channel 4 think the world looks and acts like them. Shock horror.

The issue then doesn’t just become about race or ethnicity - two things you whiners love… erm whining about, but also about class, gender and disability. And that homogenised bullshit is what is broadcast on our screens every day.

All I’d like to see is Channel 4 reflect the nation as it is today, not simply the values of some middle class commissioners.

C4 didn’t have a diversity dept for ages and found that frankly the commissioners didn’t care or commission any programmes outside of their narrow world-views. So now C4 has had to bring in someone from outside.

at 3:04 pm on January 9, 2009
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20.  comment by
     the a&e charge nurse

What a dreadful thought - film makers more concerned about pleasing a diversity guru rather than their own fetid, idiosyncratic and personal imagination.

at 3:19 pm on January 9, 2009
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21.  comment by
     Newmania

Yo Griffin
Iz you spliffin ?
Or izit glue
You sniffin
Diversity
Equality
Iz wot I say
No diffn’

We all not the same
Just coz we got no name
Not on your list
Of pepes not to be missed.

I is I
We is we
Nah want Oona identity.

Shabba

at 3:22 pm on January 9, 2009
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22.  comment by
     Rayyan

Working in TV is a prerequisite for being a major party candidate for London Mayor. Look how well it turned out for Boris - although I reckon Labour might put up Cheryl Cole to beat Boris, and if he loses, the Tories will put up Clarkson in 2016

at 4:09 pm on January 9, 2009
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23.  comment by
     tim f

is Cheryl Cole Labour?

at 5:19 pm on January 9, 2009
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24.  comment by
     Aaron

“Partner” ~ cjcjc

An unmarried stay-at-home dad then.

at 5:27 pm on January 9, 2009
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25.  comment by
     chavscum

Sunny, genuine question: do you find positive discrimination offensive, patronising or an opportunity?

at 5:32 pm on January 9, 2009
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26.  comment by
     cjcjc

Aaron = very good!

at 6:55 pm on January 9, 2009
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27.  comment by
     sarah

Great as always to see DisAbility making the Diversity list.

at 1:03 pm on January 10, 2009
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28.  comment by
     asquith

Her remit will be to push C4 to: “reflect all kinds of social diversity including ethnicity, disability, nationality, regionality, age, gender and beyond.”

They’re already very diverse in terms of ability, since they commission more than enough work from people who’ve got none.

at 12:06 pm on January 12, 2009
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29.  comment by
     David Keen

“…beyond…”?

programmes made by aliens?

normal people in the Big Brother house?

at 1:25 pm on January 12, 2009
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30.  comment by
     Goran

Her remit will be to push C4 to: “reflect all kinds of social diversity including ethnicity, disability, nationality, regionality, age, gender and beyond.”

But of course there wont be any push to reflect real diversity, that is, diversity of opinion. Channel 4 is not going to allow any conservative opinions or any opinions which dissent from their narrow left-wing world-view.

“All I’d like to see is Channel 4 reflect the nation as it is today, not simply the values of some middle class commissioners.”

And so would I Sunny.

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