Editing World in Action (section)

==Leading contributors==

===Journalists===
''World in Action'' employed many leading journalists, among them [[John Pilger]]; [[Michael Parkinson]]; [[Gordon Burns (television)|Gordon Burns]]; [[Nick Davies]], [[Ed Vulliamy]] and [[David Leigh (journalist)|David Leigh]] of the ''Guardian''; Alasdair Palmer of the ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]''; John Ware, BBC ''Panorama'''s leading investigative reporter; [[Tony Wilson]], whose second career as a music impresario was immortalised in the feature film ''[[24 Hour Party People]]''; Michael Gillard, creator of the ''Slicker'' business pages in the satirical magazine ''[[Private Eye]]''; [[Donal MacIntyre]]; the writer Mark Hollingsworth; Quentin McDermott, since 1999 a leading investigative reporter for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]; Tony Watson, editor of the ''[[Yorkshire Post]]'' for 13 years and editor-in-chief of the [[Press Association]] from December 2006; and [[Andrew Jennings]], author of ''Lords of the Rings'' and ''The Dirty Game'', who has campaigned vigorously for more than a decade against corruption in international sport.

Two former ''World in Action'' journalists uncovered one of the biggest broadcasting scandals of the 1990s. Laurie Flynn, a central figure in the British Steel papers case, and Michael Sean Gillard revealed that large parts of a 1996 [[Carlton Television]] documentary, ''The Connection'', about drug trafficking from [[Colombia]], had been fabricated.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inquiry ordered into faked TV programme|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=6 May 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/88866.stm|title=Guardian renews claims of 'faked' documentary|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=7 May 1998|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>
Flynn and Gillard's exposé in ''the Guardian'' in May 1998 led to an inquiry and a record £2 million fine for Carlton from the then-regulator, the Independent Television Commission,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/237715.stm|title=Carlton fined £2m for 'faked' documentary|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=18 December 1998|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> as well as provoking a passionate debate about truthfulness in broadcast journalism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr1199/bwfr8b.htm|title=The primrose path: faking UK television documentary, "docuglitz" and docusoap|first=Brian|last=Winston|work=Screening the Past|date=12 November 1999|access-date=30 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206204451/http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr1199/bwfr8b.htm|archive-date=6 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/may/23/johnarlidge.theobserver|title=TV accuracy and ethics 'at all-time low'|work=[[The Observer]]|first1=John|last1=Arlidge|first2=Michael|last2=Collins|date=23 May 1999|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>

===Presenters===
Unusually for a current-affairs programme, ''WIA's'' standard format was as a [[voice-over]] documentary without a regular reporter, although a handful of ''WIA'' journalists did appear in front of camera, including [[Chris Kelly (TV presenter)|Chris Kelly]], [[Gordon Burns (television)|Gordon Burns]], John Pilger, Gus Macdonald, Nick Davies, [[Adam Holloway]], [[Stuart Prebble]] (who later became the programme's editor), Mike Walsh, David Taylor, [[Donal MacIntyre]], and [[Granada Reports]] journalist and [[Factory Records]] supremo [[Tony Wilson]], who became the show's first in-vision anchor in the early 1980s. Guest presenters were used on rare occasions, among them [[Jonathan Dimbleby]], [[Sandy Gall]], Martyn Gregory, [[Sue Lawley]], and [[Lynn Faulds Wood]]. Perhaps its most celebrated guest presenter was distinguished American [[anchorman]] [[Walter Cronkite]], who came out of retirement to cover the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 UK general election]] for the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=105092|title=TV Interview for Granada ''World in Action''|publisher=[[Margaret Thatcher Foundation]]|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>

A small group of narrators delivered the vast majority of ''WIA's'' voice-overs. The two original narrators were [[Derek Cooper (journalist)|Derek Cooper]], later to become well known as a broadcaster and writer about food, and Wilfrid Thomas. The science presenter. [[James Burke (science historian)|James Burke]], did a number of commentaries on early editions of the programme. Other major contributors included [[David Plowright]], [[Chris Kelly (TV presenter)|Chris Kelly]], [[Jim Pope]], Philip Tibenham, and Andrew Brittain. Among the guest narrators who contributed occasional commentaries were popular actors [[Robert Lindsay (actor)|Robert Lindsay]] and [[Jean Boht]].

===Producer-directors===
The series was known for its gritty visual style, almost always shot on location, and a number of its producer-directors went on to work on major film projects. Those working on the series in its early years included [[Michael Apted]], later to direct ''[[Coal Miner's Daughter (film)|Coal Miner's Daughter]]'', ''[[Gorillas in the Mist]]'', and the [[James Bond]] film ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'', as well as the ''[[Up Series]]'' documentaries (the earliest programmes were part of the ''WIA'' series), and [[Mike Hodges]], who went on to direct ''[[Get Carter]]'' and ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]''. Director John Goldschmidt made several films for the series in the early 1970s. Later, [[Paul Greengrass]], director of the feature films ''[[United 93 (film)|United 93]]'', ''[[The Bourne Supremacy]]'', and ''[[The Bourne Ultimatum (film)|The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' and of the drama-documentaries ''[[Bloody Sunday (TV drama)|Bloody Sunday]]'' and ''The Murder of [[Stephen Lawrence]]'', cut his directing teeth on ''World in Action''. [[Leslie Woodhead]], director of ''The Stones in the Park'', the award-winning ''[[A Cry From The Grave]]'', many ''[[Disappearing World (TV series)|Disappearing World]]'' films and also regarded by many as a founder of the [[docudrama|drama-documentary]] movement,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1103146/index.html|title=Drama Documentary|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> worked on ''World in Action'' for many years as a producer-director and executive. Long-time ''World in Action'' alumni who went on to direct and produce Granada's international award-winning ''Disappearing World'' films include Brian Moser, its instigator and original producer, and Charlie Nairn.

Among the more recent generation of filmmakers to emerge from ''World in Action'' were [[Alex Holmes]], who became editor of the [[BBC2]] documentary strand ''Modern Times'' and went on to write and direct the [[BAFTA]]-winning dramatised documentary series ''Dunkirk'' for the BBC and ''[[House of Saddam]]'' for the BBC and [[HBO]]; and Katy Jones, a former ''WIA'' producer who became a key collaborator with the screenwriter [[Jimmy McGovern]] as a producer on the drama-documentaries ''[[Hillsborough disaster|Hillsborough]]'' (1996) and ''[[Sunday (2002 film)|Sunday]]'' (2002).

===Broadcasters===
''WIA'' was a starting point for several key programme-makers who went on to major roles in British broadcasting. John Birt became director-general of the BBC, having been programme controller of the ITV station [[London Weekend Television]], where he created the current-affairs flagship, ''[[Weekend World]]''.

Several ''WIA'' staffers were promoted to significant roles in Granada Television, among them [[David Plowright]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1859671,00.html|title=Obituary: David Plowright|first=Philip|last=Purser|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=28 August 2006|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> who became its chairman and later went on to become deputy chairman of [[Channel 4]]. Steve Morrison became chief executive at Granada. Gus Macdonald held the same role at another ITV franchise, [[Scottish Television]].

Stuart Prebble, a former editor, became chief executive of ITV, and Steve Anderson became head of news and current affairs for that channel. Both have since moved on to the independent production industry. Ian McBride, who led the team that made the Birmingham Six programmes, became managing editor of Granada TV, and was director of compliance for ITV until 2008.

Dianne Nelmes, who worked as a researcher and executive producer of ''WIA'', was the founding editor of Granada TV's hugely successful ''[[This Morning with Richard and Judy]]'' and went on to head daytime and factual programmes at ITV.

Dorothy Byrne, a former ''WIA'' producer, went on to become head of news and current affairs at Channel 4. Julian Bellamy, who worked as a young researcher on one of ''WIA's'' last big foreign investigations – about [[weapon|arms]] deals between Britain and [[Indonesia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/572434|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112045332/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/572434|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2007|title=World in Action: Making a Killing|work=Film & TV Database|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> – later headed Channel 4's entertainment channel [[E4 (channel)|E4]] and was programme controller of the BBC digital channel [[BBC Three]] before rejoining Channel 4 as its head of programming from 2007 to 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6420005.stm|title=Channel 4 poaches BBC Three boss|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=5 March 2007|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> In 2012, Bellamy was appointed creative director of Discovery International.

===TV production companies===
A number of ''WIA'' veterans went on to set up and run their own independent television production companies. [[John Smithson]] and [[David Darlow (film producer)|David Darlow]], who set up the production company Darlow Smithson, responsible for the feature films ''[[Touching the Void (film)|Touching the Void]]'' and ''Deep Water'' and many factual TV programmes including ''[[Survival in the Sky|Black Box]]'' and ''[[The Falling Man]]'', worked together on ''WIA''. Claudia Milne founded twentytwenty TV, which made a successful current-affairs strand for ITV, ''The Big Story'', as well as popular factual series such as ''Bad Boys' Army''' on ITV and ''[[That'll Teach 'Em]]'' on Channel 4. Brian Lapping set up the much-garlanded Brook Lapping company, which made ''[[The Death of Yugoslavia]]'' and many other landmark contemporary history programmes. Stuart Prebble, a former editor of ''World in Action'', runs Liberty Bell, best known for the popular ''[[Grumpy Old Men (TV series)|Grumpy Old Men]]'' series on the BBC. Another former editor, Steve Boulton, started an [[eponymous]] company, which made ''Young, Nazi & Proud'', a [[Bafta]]-winning profile of the young [[British National Party]] activist [[Mark Collett]]. Simon Albury went on to lead the Campaign for Quality Television and was a founder director of the ITV company [[ITV Meridian|Meridian Broadcasting]].

One of the biggest British independent production companies is All 3 Media, which controls several other leading companies, including [[Lime Pictures]], formerly [[Mersey Television]], makers of ''[[Hollyoaks]]''. It is run by Steve Morrison, a former ''WIA'' producer.

===Political connections===
Although in its early days, ''World in Action'' was reputed never to employ anyone who was on first-name terms with any politician, a number of subsequent British [[Member of Parliament|parliamentarians]] have ''World in Action'' on their [[curriculum vitae|''curricula vitae'']]. The most recent is the Conservative MP [[Adam Holloway]], elected to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] in 2005. Former British [[Cabinet Minister|cabinet minister]] [[Jack Straw]] worked on ''World in Action'' as a researcher, as did [[Margaret Beckett]], who served as [[Tony Blair]]'s last [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]]. [[Chris Mullin (politician)|Chris Mullin]], Labour MP for [[Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)|Sunderland South]] from 1987 to 2010, played a major role in the programme's campaign on behalf of the Birmingham Six. Gus Macdonald, now Baron Macdonald of Tradeston, and from 1998 to 2003 a government minister, was formerly an executive on the programme. John Birt (by then ennobled as Baron Birt), was personal adviser to British Prime Minister Tony Blair between 2001 and 2005.

===Editors===
Editors of the programme (sometimes with the title of executive producer) were, successively, [[Tim Hewat]], [[Derek Granger]], Alex Valentine, David Plowright, Jeremy Wallington, [[Leslie Woodhead]], John Birt, Gus Macdonald, David Boulton, [[Brian Lapping]], Ray Fitzwalter, [[Allan Segal]], David Cresswell, [[Stuart Prebble]], Nick Hayes, Dianne Nelmes, [[Charles Tremayne]], Steve Boulton, and Jeff Anderson. Anderson also became editor of ''World in Action's'' replacement, ''Tonight'', before becoming head of current affairs at ITV in 2006. Mike Lewis, a former ''WIA'' producer, was appointed editor of ''Tonight'' in October 2006.

===Academic connections===
[[Brian Winston]], Pro-Vice Chancellor (External Relations) at the [[University of Lincoln]], who has also held leading posts at the Universities of [[University of Westminster|Westminster]], [[Cardiff University|Cardiff]], [[Pennsylvania State University|Pennsylvania State]] and [[New York University|New York]], was a researcher and producer in the early series of ''World in Action''.

Ray Fitzwalter, ''WIA's'' longest-serving editor and the man behind the ground-breaking Poulson investigations, became a visiting fellow at the [[University of Salford]] School of Media, Music, and Performance.

The late Gavin MacFadyen, who worked on early series of ''World in Action'' as a producer-director, best known for his undercover human-rights films, became a visiting professor at [[City University London|City University]] in 2005. He was also director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism.

[[David Leigh (journalist)|David Leigh]], who made ''Jonathan of Arabia'', the film which provoked [[Jonathan Aitken]]'s self-destructive libel action,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,288254,00.html|title=Corruption unbecoming|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=David|last=Leigh|author-link=David Leigh (journalist)|date=9 June 1999|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> was made Britain's first professor of reporting at City University, London, in September 2006.

===Camerawork===
Although a great many director/producers, journalists, and editors passed through the programme, one [[camera operator|cameraman]] played an overwhelming role in shaping the appeal of the series. George Jesse Turner served on the programme from 1966 until its end. By his own count, he shot the principal footage for some 600 of its 1,400 editions, and filmed all of Michael Apted's documentaries in the ''Seven Up!'' series.<ref>George Jesse Turner & Jeff Anderson, ''Trouble Shooter'', p. viii.</ref> Turner was shot himself – in the backside – by an Israeli bullet while filming a clash between [[Fatah]] guerrillas and the [[Israeli Army]] in 1969.<ref>George Jesse Turner & Jeff Anderson, ''Trouble Shooter'', pp. 7–13.</ref> Shortly before he retired from Granada, Turner was honoured by BAFTA in 1999 for his work as a documentary cameraman.

Among the many cameramen who also contributed to ''WIA'' was [[Chris Menges]], who went on to become a distinguished cinematographer – ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]'', ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'', and ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]'' are among his credits – and a film director for ''[[A World Apart (1988 film)|A World Apart]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/February2010/ChrisMenges/page1.php|title=Artistry and Conscience|work=The ASC – American Cinematographer|first=Mark|last=Hope-Jones|date=February 2010|access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>