Look Me in the Eye

by Jeremy Isaacs

Sir Jeremy Isaacs has spent more than 45 years in television, and has witnessed, and in some cases instigated, the major changes that made it the cultural force it is today. His first post in 1958 was with Granada; although a commercial company, Granada's ethos was closest to that of the BBC, and provided Isaacs with a solid start. After moving on to Rediffusion, Isaacs joined the BBC in 1965, editing Panorama, before a disagreement caused him to return to Rediffusion - now Thames - where he made The World at War. When a censorship issue provoked him to leave and go freelance, he continued to make ground-breaking programmes, and when in 1979 Channel 4 began the search for their first chief executive, Isaacs was the ideal candidate. He engineered a deliberately ecletic mix of programmes and put television into the hands of small, entrepreneurial film-makers; short-lived as after Isaac's departure in 1986 the channel became dependent on revenue from its advertisers. After a period as General Director of the Royal Opera House, and then making some award-winning documentary series with Ted Turner, Isaacs is currently heading Artworld for Sky.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 2006

About the author

Sir Jeremy Isaacs (born 28 September 1932) is a Scottish television producer and executive, winner of many BAFTA awards and international Emmy Awards. He was also General Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1987–96).