Letter: What's on Channel 4 these days?

From Mr Waldemar Januszczak

Sir: I was interested to read Melvyn Bragg's extraordinary claim that Channel 4 has cut its arts output ("Bragg claims Channel 4 has lost the plot", 13 December).

This is news to me.

In fact, the arts budget for 1996 has been increased by a massive pounds 3m. It could have been more but, as you know, money that might have been spent on arts programmes is being diverted into the pockets of ITV shareholders by the iniquitous Funding Formula.

One of the reasons the arts budget has gone up as much as it has is because we are making a major series about music in the 20th century, presented by Simon Rattle, and produced by a certain Melvyn Bragg.

Melvyn is right to worry about cuts in arts output. But I think he has been watching his own channel, not ours.

Yours sincerely,

Waldemar Januszczak

Commissioning Editor

Arts and Music

London, SW1

13 December