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
Material World (radio programme) were made in collaboration with the Open University. Material World (radio programme) Material World was a weekly science magazine programme on BBC Radio 4 broadcast on a Thursday afternoon. The programme's regular presenter was Quentin Cooper, with contributions from scientists researching areas under discussion in each programme. The programme began as "The Material World" in April 1998. It was presented by Trevor Phillips, a chemistry graduate of Imperial College. In September 2000 Phillips was told that he could no longer work at the BBC due to his close links with the Labour Party, which broke BBC rules of impartiality. He