Process of decision

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 15

Process of decision

Tonight on Television One a series of documentaries made by Granada Television of England begins on the subject of decision.

The producer-director, Roger Grael, says: “The films are made in the belief that in a democratic society everybody has the right to know how the decisions that affect them are arrived at.”

With this as a starting point Grael approached about 40 organisations with his ideas for these films. “We are looking for important decisions,” he told them, “but not necessarily controversial ones.

e “We require access to all s encounters, no mater how casual or accidental.” And he got it. Three of the organisations which took part were willing

to co-operate fully and this series is the product of 100 hours of film shot in offices, lifts, cars, and phone boxes across Britain. Nothing was staged, rehearsed, reconstructed or re-

shot. The result is a record of decisionmakers at work. “The Korf Contract” is the first film in the series. The British Steel Corporation has to make a decision: should they go ahead with a S43M

iron-ore processing plant in Scotland? Although current demand for steel is down, the longterm future of the industry must be considered. How much steel will Britain be using in the 1980 s? Will a new plant really be needed? Is Hunterston the right site? All these questions must be answered while the British Steel Corporation is locked in negotiations with its unions and with the Government over plant closings and huge redundancies.