Channel profile
Channel 4
What Channel 4 chose to cover, what it left out, and how its agenda compares with the rest of the roster.
How much the agenda changed
This channel changes its topic mix sharply from day to day, often moving quickly between categories.
Stories this channel missed
Number of times this broadcaster did not cover stories that several other channels covered.
Time spent on news stories
33h 47m 16s of this channel's 42h 55m analysed was identified news stories — ad breaks, weather, sport and trails count as “not news”.
Recent broadcasts
The latest broadcasts behind this channel's analysis — open one to see its annotated timeline.
Channel 4 News
The lead story concerned a fatal crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough. A Volkswagen Passat believed to have cloned number plates was chased by police and collided head-on with a police car, killing both officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, and all five young men in the Passat. PC Clough's family described him as a hero. The police watchdog is investigating, and a similar fatal crash involving teenagers in Ireland was noted.
Channel 4 News
Seven people died in a collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way hit a police car. The two officers killed were named as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. A pursuit had begun after officers spotted a suspicious vehicle, and all occupants of both vehicles died. The Prime Minister and police chiefs expressed condolences and urged against speculation, and the incident will be reviewed by the IOPC.
Channel 4 News
Prince Harry and six other claimants were ordered by the High Court to pay £9.5 million in initial indemnity costs to Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, after their privacy case was thrown out. The claimants, including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Baroness Lawrence, face potential further costs of up to £34.5 million, with only £16 million covered by insurance. The judge found the claims were exceptionally broad and lacked credible evidence.
Channel 4 News
The Prime Minister announced a new approach to tackling illegal waste dumping, involving the National Crime Agency and the Environment Agency, but with no new funding, and taxpayers will still pay to clear existing dumps. The report noted that the previous administration had allocated £45 million, while this plan brings zero new money. Separately, GCSE results showed regional disparities, with London improving and the West Midlands falling, and the Education Secretary discussed plans to reform resits with a "Stepping Stones" scheme.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Repeatedly missed categories
Categories where this broadcaster often missed stories that other channels covered.
This channel missed a relatively high number of stories in this category.
This channel missed a relatively high number of stories in this category.
Category trend (last 30 days)
How this channel's coverage changed by category over the past month.
Flagged quotes over time
Contested and charged quotes per hour of analysed airtime. Flagged quotes reflect the language this broadcaster aired, not a judgement of its accuracy.
Distinctive vocabulary
Words and phrases this channel used far more often than the rest of UK TV news over the last 30 days. Distinctive vocabulary describes word choice relative to other channels, not accuracy or bias — terms reflect the stories a channel covered as much as how it framed them.
- clear spells 4.8× more often · 15 uses
“Dry tonight with clear spells and patchy cloud.” Channel 4 News · Sunday 23 August 2026
- breezy 3.5× more often · 16 uses
“Sunny on Monday for much of the south, but breezy along the coast,” Channel 4 News · Saturday 22 August 2026
- professor 3.3× more often · 65 uses
“Well, earlier I spoke to Professor Sonia Livingstone, who's director of the” Channel 4 News · Saturday 22 August 2026
News agenda by category
How this channel divided its coverage compared with the cross-channel average.
Timeline
This channel's topic coverage day by day — what it ran, and how much time each story got.
Monday 24 August 2026
Topics covered
No topics recorded for this channel on this date.
Stories missed
No coverage gaps for this channel on this date.