Anchorman pulled up over Channel attack

CHANNEL Television has disputed claims by ex-presenter Patrick Muirhead that the station is clinging tenaciously to its existence. A double-page feature attacking the local network appeared in yesterday's edition of The Times. Mr Muirhead talks about the difficult relationship he had with his co-presenter, modest perks, stress and cutesy Jersey cows he couldn't care less about.

However, CTV managing director Michael Lucas said that Mr Muirhead wanted to negotiate new terms, including fewer hours and more holidays, having been with CTV for just two months.

'He appears to find our news agenda a matter to poke fun at. That's not how our viewers assess us, since we are reflecting what's important about their lives day in, day out,' he said.

'Our staff are extremely hard-working, ultra-efficient and productive ' we have to be if we are to survive in today's hard commercial world and continue to provide our service. Patrick Muirhead found the going at Channel Television too tough.'

In the article, Mr Muirhead said that local TV presenters were stars only in the eyes of their mothers and a few grannies in supermarkets. He resigned after two months on Channel Report.

He wrote: 'To survive for decades as some venerable local anchormen have done, the beloved purveyors of bland, banal and often downright boring fare, is a remarkable feat indeed.'

Mr Lucas said: 'The thing which makes me most sad about the article is that he saw fit to attack his fellow presenter Kristina Moore.

'Particularly as Kristina went out of her way to help Patrick when he was finding the going hard, as he was adapting to television after radio and to the rigours of a small company.

'Patrick has got it completely wrong ' Kristina is a professional, a reporter and presenter of whom Channel Television is rightly proud; she is hard-working and well respected by the politicians and viewers with whom she comes into contact on a daily basis.

'She understands the community of the Channel Islands, she understands the way it operates and how important it is to the 150,000 people who live here. She also understands, as do the remainder of our staff, how vital is the service which Channel Television provides to our community.'

The article also suggested that commitment to local TV was diminishing each year and regional news would soon vanish.

Director of programmes Karen Rankine said that Mr Muirhead was wrong to suggest that ITV regional news was 'in terminal decline'.

'Ofcom, the regulator, has indeed made changes in its expectations of ITV regional services, but those changes are merely reflective of outdated and irrelevant obligations imposed when licences were granted in the early 90s,' she said. 'In fact, those changes have had no effect whatsoever on Channel Television's own licence obligations.

'We are more committed to our regional programmes service than ever before. All the ITV regions, including Channel Television, have been boosted by major investment in technology and facilities right across the network.'