Editing Michael Grade (section)

===Channel 4===
Grade left the BBC in 1987 after an unsuccessful application to succeed [[Alasdair Milne]] as director-general and a conflict with the corporation's new deputy director-general, [[John Birt]], a former friend and colleague at London Weekend Television.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1057617/index.html | title= Grade, Michael (1943–) | work=Screenonline | first=Ann | last=Bloss | access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> He accepted the post of chief executive of [[Channel 4]], succeeding [[Jeremy Isaacs]], and took up his position at the beginning of 1988.<ref name="Newcomb"/> Isaacs criticised Grade's appointment and threatened to "throttle" Grade if the nature of the channel was altered.<ref>Howell Raines [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/20/arts/london-will-mrs-thatcher-squeeze-beeb-will-british-tv-be-americanized-stay-tuned.html "London: Will Mrs. Thatcher Squeeze the Beeb? Will British TV Be Americanized? Stay Tuned . . . "], ''The New York Times'', 20 December 1987</ref>

Grade phased out some of its more high-brow programming, for which he was accused of "[[dumbing down]]". His 1991 decision to axe the long-running and widely admired discussion series ''[[After Dark (TV programme)|After Dark]]'' is detailed [[After Dark (TV programme)#Channel 4 axing|here]]. Grade stated that in the same week that he moved to Channel 4, it had shown a repeat of the 1984 adaptation of ''[[The Far Pavilions]]'', featuring American actress [[Amy Irving]] "[[Blackface|blacked up]]" as an Indian princess. During this period, he was also criticised by the conservative press: ''[[Daily Mail]]'' columnist [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] dubbed him Britain's "[[Pornography|pornographer]]-in-chief".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michael Grade: Has his time finally come?|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/michael-grade-has-his-time-finally-come-567811.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/michael-grade-has-his-time-finally-come-567811.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=27 March 2004|work=The Independent|last=Burrell|first=Ian|language=en|access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Robinson|first=James|date=18 November 2010|title=Michael Grade in line for peerage|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/nov/18/michael-grade-peerage|access-date=3 May 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In addition to securing talent from the BBC, Grade recognised the improving quality of US television output, making series such as ''[[Friends]]'' and ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' the mainstays of the channel's schedule. In 1994, while at Channel 4, he was awarded the [[BAFTA]] fellowship in recognition of "an exceptional contribution" to television.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.bafta.org/about/bafta-fellows | title= Full List of BAFTA Fellows | work=bafta.org | date= 4 February 2020 | access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>

In 1997, Grade became involved in a dispute with [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] regarding the satire ''[[Brass Eye]]'' after repeatedly intervening in the production to order edits to various episodes, and rescheduling some instalments for sensitivity. Morris responded by inserting a frame stating "Grade is a cunt" into the final episode of the first run.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/gallery/2009/apr/23/michaelgrade-itv |title=In pictures: Michael Grade's highs and lows |work=The Guardian |last=Dowell |first=Ben |date=23 April 2009 |access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref> In the same year, Grade left Channel 4 to head [[First Leisure Corporation]] but departed two years later following a substantial internal re-structuring. His next job was as the chairman of the new Pinewood and Shepperton film studios company.