Not alone
Sir: P. J. Kavanagh is right (Postscript, 31 March) to praise Channel 4 but less right to suggest that nobody else has. My successor at the Observer, Julian Barnes, has been praising Channel 4 from the day he took over. It is generally true, however, that critics whose job should have been to detect quality did spend too much time parroting cheap editorial stuff about zero ratings. When the first of Channel 4's Voices programmes, the one about the dilemma of the liberal intelligentsia in Israel, scored a zero, too many critics forgot to point out that it was a model discussion of its type, well worth the effort even if a zero rating actually meant what it seems to mean until explained. Channel 4 is not yet a triumph but it is a good thing. The Spectator's role in misunderstanding this has, of course, been impeccable — which is probably what P. J. Kavanagh is on about.
Clive James
C/o LWT, Upper Ground, London SEI
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