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
59h 59m 49s of this channel's 76h 35m 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 broadcast began with a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv in which one pilot appeared to have stabbed another and it was claimed he intended to crash the plane. Passengers and crew overpowered the attacker, while off-duty pilots on board landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia and the alleged attacker was arrested. Passengers later arrived in Tel Aviv, where Israeli politicians called it terrorism but authorities had not said what happened, and an aviation security expert discussed the insider threat from pilots. Andy Burnham then told Channel 4 News that Britain needed an honest conversation about its relationship with Europe, with rejoining the EU among options but nothing proposed at that moment. The prime minister also said there were strong indications Iran played a part in the incident near RAF Fairford, where five men were arrested and later released on bail, and MI5 warned academics about projects funded by a Chinese organisation with alleged intelligence ties.
Channel 4 News Summary
A plane carrying 180 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv touched down safely after an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia following what Israel described as a potential terrorist attack. Israeli media reported that one pilot stabbed the other as the plane plummeted almost 17,000 feet within a minute, and that passengers helped overpower the pilot while Israel scrambled fighter jets after the emergency call. Tabuk Airport said the captain and first officer had been taken to hospital.
Channel 4 News
The broadcast reported from Labour’s conference in Liverpool, where Andy Burnham gave an emotional speech promising to reset politics. He proposed a national care service with free personal care at the point of use, funded in part by adjusting the state pension triple lock from April 2030 so pensions would still rise by at least prices or 2.5% and hold value relative to earnings over time, but not rise as much. He said Brexit had done more harm than good and that he would set out options for a new relationship with Europe, including rejoining, and promised a strengthened water bill to repeal the ban on public ownership of water companies plus a possible manifesto commitment to electoral reform. A political editor described it as a seismic programme for a government potentially three years away, while an economics editor said the pension change was sensible but not radical and would not alone fund social care; Lisa Nandy defended the plan, saying basic care at home would be funded while residential costs remained means-tested.
Channel 4 News Summary
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said the events at RAF Fairford on Sunday clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor. Five men, all Londoners in their early 20s, were released on police bail after being questioned by counter-terrorist officers. They had been arrested at the airbase, which is used by the US military under the Explosives Act. The Iranian government denied any involvement in the incident.
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.
This channel missed a relatively high number of stories in this category.
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.
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.
Thursday 1 October 2026
Topics covered
No topics recorded for this channel on this date.
Stories missed
No coverage gaps for this channel on this date.