World in Action output. For the first 35 years of its existence, ITV had a near-monopoly of television advertising revenue. Roy Thomson, who ran Scottish Television famously described ITV as a "licence to print money". In return for this income, the broadcasting regulator insisted that the ITV companies broadcast a proportion of their programmes as public service TV. Out of this was born the network's reputation for serious current affairs, eagerly grabbed by programme makers under Granada's founder Lord Sidney Bernstein. Some of the most prominent figures in 20th-century British broadcasting helped to create "World in Action", in particular Tim Hewat, "the maverick
World in Action who became a key collaborator with the screenwriter Jimmy McGovern as a producer on the drama-documentaries "Hillsborough" (1996) and "Sunday" (2002). "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, who became its chairman and later went on to become deputy chairman of Channel 4. Steve Morrison became