The broadcaster is introducing an in-house investigative unit to ‘bolster’ the depth of stories covered.
Louisa Compton, Head of News and Current Affairs and Specialist Factual and Sport:
“This new unit shows our huge commitment to Dispatches as the home of powerful investigations which lead to real and meaningful change, creating headlines for days and weeks to come. Alongside the new strand aimed at 16 – 34 year olds, it shows our huge commitment to current affairs at Channel 4.”
Prioritising ‘ambitious and noisy investigations’ in its Dispatches strand the in-house investigative unit will pursue a wide range of in-depth stories with the dedicated team able to work across numerous projects in development before handing over to an independent production company.
The team of four will be led by a senior journalist who will report to Channel 4’s Dispatches commissioning editor Joanna Potts. Recruitment will go live soon, starting with a Team Leader – then a Senior Journalist, Producer and Researcher to follow.
Joanna Potts, Commissioning Editor of Dispatches:
“The unit will be tasked with developing long term and ambitious investigations of all kinds – undercover projects, open source and data led stories, and those based on exclusive interviews, sources and partnerships. I cannot wait to start recruiting for the team. They will form a core part of our department, and will enable us to produce more risk-taking, agenda-setting and original journalism in collaboration with the brilliant companies and producers who make films for us.”
