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Computer science and information technology[link]

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Manufacturing[link]

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Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
Member countries in the G-20   Members of the European Union not individually represented
Abbreviation	G-20 or G20
Formation	1999 2008 (Heads of State Summits)
Purpose/focus	Bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.[1]
Membership	20  Argentina  Australia  Brazil  Canada  China  European Union  France  Germany  India  Indonesia  Italy  Japan  Mexico  Russia  Saudi Arabia  South Africa  South Korea  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States
Current chair	Mexico (2012)[2]
Staff	None[3]
Website	www.g20.org

The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.^[3] Their heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for more than 80 percent of the gross world product (GWP),^[4] 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and two-thirds of the world population.^[3] They furthermore account for 84.1 percent and 82.2 percent of the world's economic growth by nominal GDP and GDP (PPP) respectively from the years 2010 to 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin^[5] (later, Prime Minister) for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system. It studies, reviews, and promotes discussion (among key industrial and emerging market countries) of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability, and seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. With the G-20 growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.^[6]

The heads of the G-20 nations met semi-annually at G-20 summits between 2008 and 2011. Following the most recent summit, which was held in Cannes in November 2011, all future G-20 summits are to be held annually.^[3]

History[link]

A group photo of the participants of the 2008 G-20 Washington summit.

2009 G-20 London summit group photo.

2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit group photo.

2010 G-20 Toronto summit group photo.

2010 G-20 Seoul summit group photo.

2011 G-20 Cannes summit group photo.

The G-20, which superseded the G33 (which had itself superseded the G22), was foreshadowed at the Cologne Summit of the G7 in June 1999, but was only formally established at the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting on 26 September 1999. The inaugural meeting took place on 15–16 December 1999 in Berlin. In 2008, Spain and the Netherlands were included, by French invitation, in the G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy.

The theme of the 2006 G-20 meeting was “Building and Sustaining Prosperity”. The issues discussed included domestic reforms to achieve “sustained growth”, global energy and resource commodity markets, ‘reform’ of the World Bank and IMF, and the impact of demographic changes due to an aging population. Trevor A. Manuel, MP, Minister of Finance, South Africa, was the chairperson of the G-20 when South Africa hosted the Secretariat in 2007. Guido Mantega, Minister of Finance, Brazil, was the chairperson of the G-20 in 2008; Brazil proposed dialogue on competition in financial markets, clean energy and economic development and fiscal elements of growth and development. In a statement following a meeting of G7 finance ministers on 11 October 2008, US President George W. Bush stated that the next meeting of the G-20 would be important in finding solutions to the (then called) economic crisis of 2008. An initiative by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown led to a special meeting of the G-20, a G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, on 15 November 2008.^[7]

Despite lacking any formal ability to enforce rules, the G-20's prominent membership gives it a strong input on global policy. However, there remain disputes over the legitimacy of the G-20,^[8] and criticisms of its organisation and the efficacy of its declarations..^[9]

Summits[link]

The G-20 Summit was created as a response both to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and to a growing recognition that key emerging countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. The G-20 Summits of heads of state or government were held in addition to the G-20 Meetings of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors who continued to meet to prepare the leaders' summit and implement their decisions. After the debut summit in Washington, D.C. during 2008, G-20 leaders met twice a year in London and Pittsburgh in 2009, Toronto and Seoul in 2010.^[10][11]

Since 2011, when France chaired and hosted the G-20, the summits have been held only once a year.^[12] Mexico will chair and host the leaders' summit in 2012.^[13]

	Date	Host country	Host city	Website
1st[14]	November 2008	United States	Washington, D.C.
2nd[14]	April 2009	United Kingdom	London	[3]
3rd[14]	September 2009	United States	Pittsburgh	[4]
4th[15]	June 2010	Canada	Toronto	[5]
5th[16]	November 2010	South Korea	Seoul	[6]
6th[17]	November 2011[18]	France	Cannes	[7]
7th[13]	June 2012[19]	Mexico	Los Cabos	[8]
8th[20]	2013	Russia	Saint Petersburg
9th[20]	2014	Australia	TBA
10th[20]	2015	Turkey	TBA

G-20 leaders' chair rotation[link]

To decide which nation gets to chair the G-20 leaders' meeting for a given year, all 19 nations are assigned to one of five different groupings. Each group holds a maximum of four nations. This system has been in place since 2010, when South Korea, which is in Group 5, held the G-20 chair. France, the host of the 2011 G-20 summit, is in Group 4, and Mexico, the host of the 2012 summit, is in Group 3. In 2013, Russia, which is in Group 2, will host the G-20 leaders' summit. The table below lists the nations' groupings:^[21]

Organization[link]

The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the Troika. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term, which coordinates the group's work and organizes its meetings. The role of the Troika is to ensure continuity in the G-20's work and management across host years. The current chair of the G-20 is Mexico; the chair was handed over from France after the November 2011 G-20 Summit.

Proposed permanent secretariat[link]

In 2010, President of France Nicolas Sarkozy proposed the establishment of a permanent G-20 secretariat, similar to the United Nations Security Council. Seoul and Paris were suggested as possible locations for its headquarters.^[22] China and Brazil supported the establishment of a secretariat, while Japan and Italy expressed opposition to the proposal.^[22] South Korea proposed a "cyber secretariat" as an alternative.^[22]

Role of Asian countries[link]

A 2011 report released by the Asian Development Bank predicted that large Asian economies such as China and India would play a more important role in global economic governance in the future. The report stated that the rise of emerging market economies heralded a new world order, in which the G-20 would become the global economic steering committee.^[23]

The report furthermore noted that Asian countries had led the global recovery following the late-2000s recession. It predicted that the region would have a greater presence on the global stage, shaping the G-20 agenda for balanced and sustainable growth through strengthening intraregional trade and stimulating domestic demand.^[23]

List of members[link]

As of 2012, there are 20 members of the G-20. These include, at the leaders summits, the leaders of 19 countries and of the European Union, and, at the ministerial-level meetings, the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and of the European Union. In addition, the Netherlands have taken part in the first four G-20 heads of state meetings, while Spain has participated in every meeting so far, despite neither country being formally recognized members.^[3][24] The table below lists the member entities and their leaders, finance ministers and central bank governors, as well as listing relevant statistics such as population and GDP figures. Total GDP figures are given in millions of US dollars.

Region	Member	Official title	Current leader	Official title	Current finance minister	Central bank governor	Total international trade mil. USD (2011)	GDP (nominal) mil. USD (2011)[25]	GDP (PPP) mil. USD (2011)	GDP per capita (nominal) USD (2011)[26]	GDP per capita (PPP) USD (2011)	HDI (2011)	Population
Africa	South Africa	President	Jacob Zuma	Minister of Finance	Pravin Gordhan	Gill Marcus	187,070	408,074	555,340	8,066	10,977	0.619	49,320,500
N.America	Canada	Prime Minister	Stephen Harper	Minister of Finance	Jim Flaherty	Mark Carney	910,200	1,736,869	1,391,114	50,436	40,457	0.908	34,088,000
N.America	Mexico	President	Felipe Calderón	Secretary of Finance	José Antonio Meade Kuribeña	Agustín Carstens	678,200	1,154,784	1,659,016	10,153	15,121	0.770	112,211,789
N.America	United States	President	Barack Obama	Secretary of the Treasury	Timothy Geithner	Ben Bernanke	3,825,000	15,094,025	15,094,025	48,386	48,386	0.910	309,173,000
S.America	Argentina	President	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner	Minister of Economy	Hernán Lorenzino	Mercedes Marcó del Pont	155,440	447,644	710,690	10,945	17,376	0.797	40,117,096
S.America	Brazil	President	Dilma Rousseff	Minister of Finance	Guido Mantega	Alexandre Tombini	470,400	2,492,908	2,309,138	12,789	11,845	0.718	193,088,765
East Asia	China	President	Hu Jintao	Minister of Finance	Xie Xuren	Zhou Xiaochuan	3,561,000	7,298,147	11,316,224	5,414	8,394	0.687	1,339,724,852
East Asia	Japan	Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda	Minister of Finance	Jun Azumi	Masaaki Shirakawa	1,595,500	5,869,471	4,395,600	45,920	34,362	0.901	127,390,000
East Asia	South Korea	President	Lee Myung-bak	Minister of Strategy and Finance	Park Jae-wan	Kim Choong-soo	1,084,000	1,116,247	1,556,102	22,778	31,753	0.897	48,875,000
S.Asia	India	Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh	Minister of Finance	Pranab Mukherjee	Duvvuri Subbarao	749,200	1,676,143	4,469,763	1,389	3,703	0.547	1,210,193,422
SE.Asia	Indonesia	President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono	Minister of Finance	Agus Martowardojo	Darmin Nasution	381,000	845,680	1,122,638	3,509	4,668	0.617	237,556,363
W.Asia	Saudi Arabia	King	Abdullah	Minister of Finance	Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf	Muhammed Al-Jasser	457,200	577,595	677,663	20,504	24,056	0.770	27,123,977
Eurasia	Russia	President	Vladimir Putin	Minister of Finance	Anton Siluanov	Sergey Mikhaylovich Ignatyev	808,700	1,850,401	2,376,470	12,993	16,687	0.755	141,927,297
Eurasia	Turkey	Prime Minister	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Minister of Finance	Mehmet Şimşek	Erdem Başçı	345,200	778,089	1,114,629	10,522	15,321	0.699	72,561,312
Europe	European Union	European Council President[27] Commission President[27]	Herman Van Rompuy José Manuel Durão Barroso	Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs	Olli Rehn	Mario Draghi	3,791,000 Extra-EU27 (2010)	17,557,691	15,788,000	35,742	31,548	0.853	501,259,840
Europe	France	President	François Hollande	Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment	Pierre Moscovici	Christian Noyer	1,263,000	2,776,324	2,216,769	44,008	35,048	0.884	65,447,374
Europe	Germany	Chancellor	Angela Merkel	Minister of Finance	Wolfgang Schäuble	Jens Weidmann	2,882,000	3,577,031	3,089,471	43,742	37,935	0.905	81,757,600
Europe	Italy	President of the Council of Ministers	Mario Monti	Minister of Economy and Finance	Mario Monti	Ignazio Visco	1,050,100	2,198,730	1,828,601	36,267	30,165	0.874	60,325,805
Europe	United Kingdom	Prime Minister	David Cameron	Chancellor of the Exchequer	George Osborne	Sir Mervyn King	1,150,300	2,417,570	2,253,585	38,592	35,974	0.863	62,041,708
Oceania	Australia	Prime Minister	Julia Gillard	Treasurer	Wayne Swan	Glenn Stevens	502,300	1,488,221	918,978	65,477	40,836	0.929	22,328,632

In addition to these 20 members, the following forums and institutions, as represented by their respective chief executive officers, participate in meetings of the G-20:^[3]

• the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
• the Chairman of the International Monetary Fund
• the President of the World Bank
• the International Monetary and Financial Committee
• the Chairman of the Development Committee

Membership does not reflect exactly the 19 largest national economies of the world in any given year. The organization states:^[1]

All 19 member nations are among the top 29 economies as measured in GDP at nominal prices in a list published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 2011.^[28] Not represented by membership in the G-20 are Switzerland (19), Norway (24), Iran (25), and Taiwan (26), even though they rank higher than some members. Spain (12), the Netherlands (17), Sweden (21), Poland (22), Belgium (23), and Austria (28) are included only as part of the EU, and not independently. When the countries' GDP is measured at purchasing power parity (PPP) rates,^[29] all 19 members are among the top 25 in the world in April 2012, according to the IMF. Iran (17), Taiwan (19) and Thailand (24) are not G-20 members, while Spain (13), Poland (20) and the Netherlands (22) are only included in the EU slot. However, in a list of average GDP, calculated for the years since the group's creation (1999–2008) at both nominal and PPP rates, only Spain, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Poland appear above any G-20 member in both lists simultaneously. Spain, being the 12th largest economy in the world and 5th in the European Union in terms of nominal GDP, is a 'permanent guest' of the organization, although the Spanish government's policy is to not request official membership.^[30][31] As such, a Spanish delegation has been invited to, and has attended, every G-20 heads of state summit since the G-20's inception.

Invitees[link]

Typically, several countries that are not permanent members of the G-20 are extended invitations to participate in the summits. The invitees are chosen by the host country. For the 2010 summits, for example, both Canada and South Korea invited Ethiopia (chair of NEPAD), Malawi (chair of the African Union), Vietnam (chair of ASEAN), and Spain. Canada also invited the Netherlands (the world's 16th-largest economy), while South Korea invited Singapore. Both Canada and South Korea invited seven international organizations: the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization, and the Financial Stability Board.^[32][33]

Criticisms[link]

Exclusivity of membership[link]

Although the G-20 has stated that the group's "economic weight and broad membership gives it a high degree of legitimacy and influence over the management of the global economy and financial system,"^[34] its legitimacy has been challenged. With respect to the membership issue, U.S. President Barack Obama has noted the difficulty of pleasing everyone: "everybody wants the smallest possible group that includes them. So, if they're the 21st largest nation in the world, they want the G-21, and think it's highly unfair if they have been cut out."^[35]

Norwegian perspective[link]

In an interview with Der Spiegel,^[36] Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called the G-20 "one of the greatest setbacks since World War II." Although Norway is the seventh-largest contributor to international development programs in the United Nations,^[37] it is not a member of the EU, and thus is not represented in the G-20 even indirectly.^[36] Norway, like the other 170 nations not among the G-20, has little or no voice within the group. Støre characterized the G-20 as a "self-appointed group", arguing that it undermines the legitimacy of organizations set up in the aftermath of World War II, such as the IMF, World Bank and United Nations:

Global Governance Group (3G) response[link]

According to Singapore's representative to the United Nations, UN members who are not G-20 members have responded to the G-20's exclusivity by either reacting with indifference, refusing to acknowledge the G-20's legitimacy, or accepting the G-20's status while hoping to "engage the G-20 as the latter continues to evolve so that our interests are taken on board."^[38] Out of this latter group Singapore has taken a leading role in organizing an informal "Global Governance Group" of 28 non-G-20 countries, with the idea being that by working collectively they might channel their views into the G-20 process more effectively.^[39][40] Singapore's chairing of the Global Governance Group was cited as a rationale for inviting Singapore to the November 2010 G-20 Summit in South Korea.^[41]

[edit] Foreign Policy critique

The American magazine Foreign Policy has published articles condemning the G-20, in terms of its principal function as an alternative to the so-called exclusive G8. It furthermore questions the actions of some of the G-20 members, and advances the notion that some nations should not have membership in the first place. For example, it has suggested that Argentina should be formally replaced with Spain, because Spain's economy is larger.^[42]

With the effects of the Great Recession still ongoing, the magazine has criticized the G-20's efforts to implement reforms of the world's financial institutions, branding such efforts as failed.^[43]

Wider concerns[link]

The G-20's transparency and accountability have been questioned by critics, who call attention to the absence of a formal charter and the fact that the most important G-20 meetings are closed-door.^[44] The economist Frances Stewart proposed an Economic Security Council within the United Nations as an alternative to the G-20. In such a council, members would be elected by the General Assembly based on their importance in the world economy, and the contribution they are willing to provide to world economic development.^[45]

The cost and extent of summit-related security is often a contentious issue in the hosting country, and G-20 summits have attracted protesters from a variety of backgrounds, including information activists, nationalists, and opponents of Fractional Reserve Banking and crony capitalism. In 2010, the Toronto G-20 summit sparked mass protests and rioting, leading to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.^[46]

See also[link]

• List of G-20 summits
• BRICS
• Great power
• MIKT
• Regional power

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Haas, P.M. (1992). "Introduction. Epistemic communities and international policy coordination," International Organization 46,1:1–35.
• Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 system and the G20 : Evolution, Role and Documentation. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. 13-ISBN 978-0-7546-4550-4/10-ISBN 0-7546-4550-9; OCLC 277231920
• Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-415-16486-9/13-ISBN 978-0-415-16486-3; 13-ISBN 978-0-203-45085-7;10-ISBN 0-203-45085-X; OCLC 39013643
• Augusto Lopez-Claros, Augusto, Richard Samans and Marc Uzan. (2007). The international monetary system and the IMF, and the G-20 : a great transformation in the making? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10-ISBN 0-230-52495-8/13-ISBN 978-0-230-52495-8; OCLC 255621756

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: G20

• Official G-20 website (English version), also available in Spanish
• 2010 Seoul G20
• G-20 Information Centre from the University of Toronto
• A Guide To Committees, Groups, And Clubs from the International Monetary Fund
• G20 Special Report guardian.co.uk
• IPS News – G20 Special Report
• The G20's role in the post-crisis world by FRIDE
• The Group of Twenty—A History, 2007
• Economics for Everyone: G20- Gearing for Growth

Charlie Brooker
Brooker at the 2011 Royal Television Society Awards
Born	Charlton Brooker (1971-03-03) 3 March 1971 (age 41) Reading, Berkshire, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Polytechnic of Central London
Occupation	Broadcaster, writer, columnist, comedian, critic
Years active	1998–present
Religion	None (Atheist)[1]
Spouse	Konnie Huq (2010–present)

Charlton "Charlie" Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is a British journalist, screenwriter and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism. He presents TV shows Screenwipe, Gameswipe and Newswipe, wrote a review column for The Guardian newspaper and currently writes a comment piece each Monday for The Guardian supplement G2, and is one of four creative directors of comedy production company Zeppotron. His five-part horror drama Dead Set for E4 earned him a nomination for a BAFTA. Brooker won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his column,^[2] and the Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009. He is co-presenter of 10 O'Clock Live on Channel 4. He has also presented the documentary series How TV Ruined Your Life on BBC Two and created the Channel 4 satirical drama trilogy Black Mirror (writing and co-writing Episodes 1 and 2 respectively).

Early life and education[link]

This section requires expansion.

Brooker was born in Reading, Berkshire ^[3], growing up in the village of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire^[4]. He first worked as a writer and cartoonist for Oink!, a comic produced in the late-1980s.^[5]

After attending Wallingford School, Brooker attended the Polytechnic of Central London (which became the University of Westminster during his time there) – studying for a BA in Media Studies. He did not graduate because his dissertation was written on video games, which was not an acceptable topic.^[5][6]

Career[link]

[edit] PC Zone

Brooker wrote for PC Zone magazine in the mid-1990s. Aside from games reviews, his output included the comic strip "Cybertwats" and a column titled "Sick Notes", where Brooker would insult anyone who wrote in to the magazine and offered a £50 prize to the "best" letter.

In February 1998, one of Brooker's one-shot cartoons caused the magazine to be pulled from the shelves of many British newsagents. The cartoon was titled "Helmut Werstler's Cruelty Zoo" and professed to be an advert for a theme park created by a Teutonic psychologist for children to take out their violent impulses on animals rather than humans. It was accompanied by photoshopped pictures of children smashing the skulls of monkeys with hammers, jumping on a badger with a pitchfork, and chainsawing an orang-utan, among other things. The original joke was supposed to be at the expense of the Tomb Raider games, known at the time for the number of animals killed, but the original title, "Lara Croft's Cruelty Zoo", was changed for legal reasons.

In October 2008, Brooker and several other ex-writers were invited back to review a game for the 200th issue. Brooker reviewed Euro Truck Simulator.

SuperKaylo[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

A number of Brooker's artworks were available to the public on his website. This body of work is drawn both from the commissions of his various patrons, and began as a paper comic that was sold to customers at Brooker's former workplace CeX. In addition to its counter presence, Brooker sold issues to mail order customers when they called up to place orders for games.

One aspect of the SuperKaylo site was a series of recorded phone conversations, that had originally started from a commissioned featured for PC Zone on technical support phonelines. Brooker took things further than this half serious investigation, when in 1999 he called up the then editor of Edge magazine, Jason Brookes. Pretending to be an angry father, he phoned up enraged by an advert that had appeared in a previous issue for CeX, one that Brooker himself had written and drawn.

TVGoHome[link]

From 1999 to 2003 he wrote the satirical TVGoHome website,^[7][8] a regular series of mock TV schedules published in a format similar to that of the Radio Times, consisting of a combination of savage satire and surreal humour and featured in technology newsletter Need To Know. A print adaptation of the site was published by Fourth Estate in 2001. A TV sketch show based on the site was broadcast on UK digital station E4 the same year.^[9]

Newspaper columns[link]

Brooker began writing a TV review column titled "Screen Burn" for The Guardian newspaper's Saturday entertainment supplement The Guide in 2000, a role he continued through to October 2010.

From the autumn of 2005, he wrote a regular series of columns in The Guardian supplement "G2" on Fridays called "Supposing", in which he free-associated on a set of vague what-if themes. Since late October 2006 this column has been expanded into a full-page section on Mondays, including samples from TVGoHome and Ignopedia, an occasional series of pseudo-articles on topics mostly suggested by readers. The key theme behind Ignopedia was that, while Wikipedia is written and edited by thousands of users, Ignopedia would be written by a single sub-par person with little or no awareness of the facts.^[10]

On 24 October 2004, he wrote a column on George W. Bush and the forthcoming 2004 US Presidential Election^[11] which concluded:

The Guardian withdrew the article from its website and published and endorsed an apology by Brooker.^[12] He has since commented about the remark in the column stating:

Brooker left the "Screen Burn" column in 2010. In the final column,^[14] he noted how increasingly difficult he found it to reconcile his role in mainstream media and TV production with his writing as a scabrous critic or to objectively criticise those he increasingly works and socialises with. Longtime covering contributor Grace Dent took over the column. He continues to contribute other articles to The Guardian on a regular basis.

Television[link]

From 1999 to 2000, Brooker played hooded expert 'the Pundit' in short-lived show Games Republic hosted by Trevor and Simon on BSkyB.

In 2000, Brooker was one of the writers of the Channel 4 show The Eleven O'Clock Show and a co-host (with Gia Milinovich) on BBC Knowledge's The Kit, a low-budget programme dedicated to gadgets and technology (1999–2000). In 2001, he was one of several writers on Channel 4's controversial Brass Eye special on the subject of paedophilia.

In 2003, Brooker wrote an episode entitled "How to Watch Television" for Channel 4's The Art Show.^[15] The episode was presented in the style of a public information film and was partly animated, and gave advice on how to view television.

Together with Brass Eye's Chris Morris, Brooker co-wrote the sitcom Nathan Barley, based on a character from one of TVGoHome's fictional programmes. The show was broadcast in 2005 and focused on the lives of a group of London media 'trendies'. The same year, he was also on the writing team of the Channel 4 sketch show Spoons, produced by Zeppotron.

In 2006, Brooker began writing and presenting his signature television series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe on BBC Four, a TV review programme in a similar style to his Screen Burn columns in The Guardian. After an initial pilot series of three editions in April of that year, the programme returned in the autumn for a second run of four episodes plus Christmas and Review of the Year specials in December 2006. A third series followed in February 2007 with a fourth broadcast in September 2007, followed by a Review of the Year in December 2007. The fifth series started in November 2008 and was followed by another Review of the Year special. This series was also the first to be given a primetime repeat on terrestrial television (BBC Two), in January 2009.

Screenwipe's format mostly consists of two elements. The first is the playing of clips from other television shows – both mainstream and obscure – interspersed with shots of Brooker, sitting in his living room,^[16] delivering witty critiques on them. The second is where Brooker explains, again with a slice of barbed humour, the way in which a particular area of the television industry operates. Also occasionally present are animations by David Firth and guest contributions, which have included the poetry of Tim Key, and segments in which a guest explains their fascination with a certain television show or genre.

Brooker has regularly experimented with Screenwipe, with some editions focusing on a specific theme. These themes have included American television, TV news, advertising and children's programmes. (The last of these involved a segment where Brooker joined the cast of Toonattik for one week, playing the character of "Angry News Guy".) Probably the most radical departure from the norm came with an episode focused on scriptwriting, which saw several of British television's most prominent writers interviewed by Brooker.

As per the development of his career with The Guardian, a similar show called Newswipe, focusing on current affairs reportage by the international news media, began on BBC Four on 25 March 2009. A second series began on 19 January 2010. He has also written and presented the one off special Gameswipe which focused on video games and aired on BBC Four on 29 September 2009.

Brooker has appeared on three episodes and one webisode of the popular BBC current affairs news quiz Have I Got News for You. He appeared on an episode of the Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Would I Lie To You?. In December 2006 reviewed two games written by the presenters of VideoGaiden, on their show. He also made a brief appearance in the third and final instalment of the documentary series Games Britannia, discussing the rise and popularity of computer games.

Brooker wrote for the BBC Three sketch show Rush Hour.

In 2009, Brooker began hosting You Have Been Watching, a panel comedy TV quiz on Channel 4 which discusses television. A second series was broadcast the following year.

On 6 May 2010, Brooker was a co-host of the Channel 4 alternative election night, along with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr and Lauren Laverne.^[17] The telethon was interspersed with contributions from Brooker, some live in the studio but mostly pre-recorded. Notably, an "Election Special" of You Have Been Watching and two smaller segments in an almost identical style to Screenwipe (the only noticeable difference being that Brooker was sitting in a different room). Brooker described the experience of live television as being so nerve-wracking he "did a piss" during the broadcast.^[18] A spin-off series, 10 O'Clock Live, started in January 2011 with the same four hosts.^[19]

Brooker's "2010 Wipe", a review of 2010 in the style of Screenwipe/Newswipe/Gameswipe, was broadcast on BBC2 on 27 December 2010, and a new documentary series How TV Ruined Your Life started on BBC 2 on 25 January 2011. He has co-written a feature-length spoof crime drama along with Daniel Maier for Sky1 called A Touch Of Cloth (due early 2012).^[20]

Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe, an hour-long review show of 2011, was broadcast on BBC Four on 30 December 2011.^[21][22] It was repeated on BBC Two on 3 January 2012.

Dead Set[link]

Brooker wrote Dead Set, a five part zombie horror thriller for E4 set in the Big Brother house.^[23] The show was broadcast in October 2008 to coincide with Halloween and was repeated on Channel 4 in January 2009 to coincide with Celebrity Big Brother, and again for Halloween later that year.^[24] It was produced by Zeppotron, which also produced Screenwipe.

Brooker told MediaGuardian.co.uk it comprised a "mixture of known and less well known faces" and "Dead Set is very different to anything I've done before, and I hope the end result will surprise, entertain and appall people in equal measure." He added that he has long been a fan of horror films and that his new series "could not be described as a comedy". "I couldn't really describe what it is but it will probably surprise people," Brooker said, adding that he plans to "continue as normal" with his print journalism.

Jaime Winstone starred as a runner on the TV programme, and Big Brother presenter Davina McCall guest starred as herself.^[25] Dead Set received a BAFTA nomination for Best Drama Serial.^[26]

Black Mirror[link]

In December 2011, Brooker's Black Mirror a three-part television drama series aired on Channel 4 to largely positive reviews.^[27][28][29] As well as creating the show, Brooker wrote the first episode and co-wrote the second with his wife Konnie Huq.

The series is produced by Zeppotron for Endemol. Regarding the programme's content and structure, Brooker noted, "each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they're all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time if we're clumsy."^[30]

An Endemol press release describes the series as "a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world", with the stories having a "techno-paranoia" feel.^[31] Channel 4 describes the first episode as "a twisted parable for the Twitter age".^[32]

Brooker explained the series' title to The Guardian, noting: "If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The "black mirror" of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone."^[30]

Radio[link]

Beginning on 11 May 2010, Brooker presented a 5-part BBC Radio 4 series celebrating failure titled So Wrong It's Right, in which guests compete to pitch the worst possible ideas for new franchises and give the 'most wrong' answer to a question. Also featured are guests' recollections about their own personal life failures and their complaints about life in general in a round called 'This Putrid Modern Hell'. Guests have included David Mitchell, Lee Mack, Josie Long, Frank Skinner and Richard Herring.^[33] The second series began airing on 10 March 2011.^[34] A third series has been commissioned for broadcast in May 2012.^[35] In common with Screenwipe's use of a Grandaddy track (A.M. 180) from the album Under The Western Freeway as its theme tune, So Wrong It's Right uses another track from the same album, Summer Here Kids.

Personal life[link]

Brooker became engaged to former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq after dating for 9 months, having met whilst filming an episode of Screenwipe.^[36][37] They married on 26 July 2010 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.^[38][39] On 23 March 2012 Huq gave birth to their first child, Covey Brooker Huq. ^[40]

Brooker is an atheist and contributed to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas.^[41]

Brooker has become an avid running enthusiast, running for up to an hour every day.^[42]

Awards[link]

Brooker won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his Guardian column, where the judges described Brooker as "edgy, entertaining and wonderfully surreal, he has the explosive writing skills that can turn your thinking upside down. A definite destination read and a jewel of a column. Acerbic, nasty, spiteful, yet clearly in love with every subject he writes about at the same time. Must read stuff".^[2] He won Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009 and the Royal Television Society award 2010 for Best Entertainment Programme (Newswipe), beating The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. His show (Newswipe) won Best Comedy Entertainment Show at the 2011 British Comedy Awards.

Publications[link]

• TV Go Home, 2001 (rescanned reprint in 2010) (ISBN 1-84115-675-2)
• Unnovations, 2002 (rescanned reprint in 2011) (ISBN 1-84115-730-9)
• Screen Burn, 2004 (ISBN 0-571-22755-4)
• Dawn of the Dumb: Dispatches from the Idiotic Frontline, 2007 (ISBN 9780571238415)
• The Hell of it All, Charlie Brooker, 2009 (ISBN 9780571229574)^[43]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Charlie Brooker

• Charlie Brooker's Official Biography Page on zeppotron.com
• Charlie Brooker's Agents and Production Company – zeppotron.com
• Charlie Brooker at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie Brooker on Twitter
• TV Go Home
• Charlie Brooker's Guardian columns
• Shuffle's Cue & Ehh? with Charlie Brooker
• Charlie Brooker's made-up film awards
• Charlie Brooker Interview about You Have Been Watching
• Charlie Brooker's page, Conville and Walsh literary agents