''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
and
current affairs programme, providing in-depth
investigation and
analysis
Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
of the stories behind the day's
headline
The headline or heading is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents.
The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th centur ...
s. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also available on
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
.
History
''Newsnight'' began on 28 January 1980 at 22:45, although a 15-minute news bulletin using the same title had run on BBC2 for a 13-month period from 1975 to 1976. Its launch was delayed by four months by the
Association of Broadcasting Staff
The Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs (ABS) was a British broadcasting trade union.
The organisation was founded in 1945 with the merger of the BBC Staff (Wartime) Association and the Association of BBC Engineers to form the BBC St ...
, at the time the main BBC trade union.
[Andrew Bille]
"Flagship sails on"
, ''New Statesman'', 7 February 2000 ''Newsnight'' was the first programme to be made by means of a direct collaboration between BBC News, then at
Television Centre, and the current affairs department, based a short distance away at the now defunct
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England.
The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...
. Staff feared job cuts. The newscast also served as a replacement for the current affairs programme ''
Tonight
Tonight may refer to:
Television
* ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC
* ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...
''.
Former presenters include
Peter Snow
Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its laun ...
, a regular for seventeen years,
Donald MacCormick
Donald MacCormick (16 April 1939 – 12 July 2009)[Veteran BBC newsman dies aged 70](_blank)
...
,
Charles Wheeler,
Adam Raphael
Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael (born 22 April 1938) is an English journalist and author. In the British Press Awards of 1973, he was named Journalist of the Year for his work on labour conditions in South Africa, and he has also been a presenter of ...
and
John Tusa
Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to 1 ...
, later boss of the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
. In the early days each edition had an "auxiliary presenter", a phenomenon pejoratively known at the time as the "Newsnight's wife syndrome".
Usually a woman, it was her job to read the news headlines and to introduce minor items.
Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary (born 1949) is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.
Education
Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin (UCD), she worked with the ''Nationalist'' and ''Leinster Times'' in Carl ...
in 1985 became the first principal female presenter; the programme has had a single presenter since 1987.
["A history of Newsnight"](_blank)
, BBC News, 28 May 2009 ''Newsnight'' is now wholly managed by
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
.
Until 1988, the start time of ''Newsnight'' was flexible, so BBC2 could screen a film at 21:30 to dovetail with the conclusion of the ''
Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1. The fixed time slot of 22:30 was established in the face of fierce objections from the then managing director of BBC Television,
Bill Cotton
Sir William Frederick Cotton (23 April 1928 – 11 August 2008) was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal ...
, otherwise in charge of all scheduling decisions. The very announcement was made without him even being informed. The affair sparked a widely reported row within the corporation. One protagonist said it would "destroy the BBC". ''Newsnight'' moved to new facilities at
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...
on 15 October 2012.
Between 1999 and 2014 on
BBC Two Scotland
BBC Two Scotland ( gd, BBC Dhà Alba) was the national variation of BBC Two for BBC Scotland. It was broadcast via digital television and was the sister Scottish channel of BBC One Scotland and Gaelic-language BBC Alba. Unlike BBC One Scotland, ...
the offshoot, ''
Newsnight Scotland
''Newsnight Scotland'' is a current affairs television programme, broadcast by BBC Scotland from BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow as an opt out of the main London-based ''Newsnight'' programme. It was broadcast at 11pm from Mondays to Thursdays, rep ...
'', presented by
Gordon Brewer
Gordon Brewer is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, who worked for BBC Scotland. He presented the flagship ''Newsnight Scotland'' programme from 1999.
Early Life
He was educated St Modan's High School in Stirling, followed by th ...
, replaced the final twenty minutes of the UK programme from Monday to Friday. From May 2014, ''Newsnight'' is again shown in full in Scotland but delayed by half an hour to accommodate ''Newsnight Scotlands replacement, ''
Scotland 2014
''Scotland 2016'' is a news and current affairs programme from BBC Scotland, BBC Scotland News, presented by Sarah Smith (news reporter), Sarah Smith and Jonathan Sutherland.
Starting 28 May 2014, it was called ''Scotland 2014'' before being re ...
''. In more recent years, Scottish viewers have seen the full edition of the show without a separate programme. The flagship news programmes for BBC Scotland are now shown on their separate channel.
In 2020, ''Newsnight'' won the
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
's ''Daily News Programme of the Year'' award. It was succeeded in 2021 by the ''
ITV News at Ten
''ITV News at Ten'' (or more commonly ''News at Ten'') is the flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox in July 1967. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-min ...
''.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, ''Newsnight'' reverted to a 22:45 start time from 30 March 2020. This was due to ''Newsnight'' temporarily sharing a studio with the ''
BBC News at Ten
''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...
'' during the pandemic, to cut footfall in
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...
and allow turnover in the studio, with the ''News at Ten'' not finishing until 22:35. Further, during the pandemic, some editions presented by Kirsty Wark were presented from
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
's Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow. However, Wark still travelled to London during weeks she presented more episodes of the show (for example when main presenter Emily Maitlis was on holiday).
In October 2020 the show moved to a new studio, but continued to broadcast from 22:45. It returned to the 22:30 slot in May 2021.
''Newsnights
signature tune
A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in th ...
was composed by
George Fenton
George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several Ivor No ...
. Various arrangements have been used over the years.
Viewing figures
The programme's average audience in 2015 was 579,000, compared to 867,000 in 2008.
The average audience was 344,000 in September 2018 and by August 2020 around 300,000.
In January 2020
Victoria Derbyshire
Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented ''News ...
said ''Newsnights audience figures were 297,000.
Notable interviews
Jeremy Paxman interviews Michael Howard
In May 1997,
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ne ...
pressed former
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
about a meeting with head of the
Prison Service
His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...
Derek Lewis about the possible dismissal of the governor of
Parkhurst Prison
HM Prison Parkhurst is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison situated in Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Parkhurst prison is one of the two ...
. Faced with what he considered evasive answers, Paxman put the same question – "Did you threaten to overrule him?" (i.e. Lewis) – to Howard twelve times in succession.
This has become the programme's best known interview. Later, during the twentieth anniversary edition of ''Newsnight'', Paxman told Howard that he had simply been trying to prolong the interview because the next item in the running order was not ready. In 2004, Paxman raised the subject again with Howard, by then leader of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
to get a final answer. This time, Howard laughed it off, saying that he had not threatened to overrule the head of the Prison Service. During Paxman's final show in June 2014, Howard briefly appeared in the studio once more, with Paxman simply asking "Did you?", to which Howard replied "No Jeremy, I didn't, but feel free to ask another 11 times."
Emily Maitlis interviews Prince Andrew, Duke of York
In November 2019,
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor until the end of 2021 of ''Newsnight'', the BBC Two news and current affairs programme.
Early lif ...
interviewed
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
about his relationship with convicted
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
, who was found dead in August 2019 whilst awaiting trial. The interview had taken months to prepare and Maitlis received approval only 48 hours before the scheduled airdate.
In the interview, the Duke of York denied having sex with
Virginia Giuffre
Virginia Louise Giuffre (''née'' Roberts; born August 9, 1983) is an American-Australian campaigner who offers support to victims of sex trafficking. She is an alleged victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre created Vict ...
(then known by her maiden name Virginia Roberts) in March 2001, as she had accused, because he had been at home with his daughters, having taken his elder daughter,
Beatrice, to a party at
PizzaExpress
PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unit ...
in
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
. The Duke said that he had "no recollection of ever meeting" Giuffre and that he had "absolutely no memory" of a photograph taken of him with Giuffre at
Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British convicted sex offender and former socialite. In 2021, she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the financier and convicted sex o ...
's house. He said he had investigations carried out to establish whether the photograph was faked, but they had been "inconclusive".
Andrew's responses in the interview received negative reactions from both the media and the public. Maitlis won the Network Presenter of the Year award at the
RTS
RTS may refer to:
Medicine
* Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim
* Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma
* Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...
Television Journalism Awards in 2020, while the interview was awarded as the Interview of the Year and the Scoop of the Year.
Accusations of bias
In April 2001, the
BBC's Board of Governors ruled that ''Newsnights coverage of
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...
's resignation over
the Hinduja affair had been politically biased. The governors criticised the programme for only featuring
Labour Party supporters on the panel discussing the issue, and no opposition politicians appeared at any stage of the 45-minute episode. The broadcast attracted an outcry in the media with one critic describing it as a "whitewash worthy of a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
".
Emily Maitlis was deemed to have broken the BBC's rules on impartiality in the introduction to the 26 May 2020 edition, where she asserted a general perception that
Dominic Cummings
Dominic Mckenzie Cummings (born 25 November 1971) is a British political strategist who served as Chief Adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 24 July 2019 until Cummings resigned on 13 November 2020.
From 2007 to 2014, he was a ...
had broken COVID-19 lockdown rules and an associated public outrage. The BBC said that while the programme contained "fair, reasonable and rigorous journalism", it was "not made clear" that the remarks referred to matters that were questioned in the upcoming content.
Following the commencement of the
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
government in July 2019, ministers generally refused invitations to appear on the programme. This resulted in ''Newsnight'' presenters stating on an almost nightly basis that the government had been asked to appear but that "no one was available" or that they had declined outright. On 12 January 2022,
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council ...
made a rare government appearance on the programme to defend the government's position on "lockdown parties" at 10 Downing Street which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mogg referred to
Scottish Conservatives
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
leader
Douglas Ross as "quite a lightweight figure".
Coverage of sexual abuse scandals
In the weeks after the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
documentary ''
Exposure: The Other Side of
Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
'' was broadcast on 3 October 2012, allegations were made that a ''Newsnight'' investigation into Savile by reporter
Liz MacKean
Elizabeth Mary MacKean (30 November 1964 – 18 August 2017) was a British television reporter and presenter. She worked on the BBC's ''Newsnight'' programme and was the reporter on an exposé of Sir Jimmy Savile as a paedophile which was cont ...
and producer
Meirion Jones
Meirion Jones is a Welsh journalist. He worked for the BBC until 2015. He is now the Editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman described Jones as "a dogged journalist with that obsessional, sligh ...
in December 2011 had been dropped shortly before transmission because it conflicted with tribute programmes prepared after Savile's death. The BBC appointed
Nick Pollard
George Nicholas Pollard (born 15 November 1950) is a British journalist and the former head of Sky News.
Early life and education
Pollard was born in Birkenhead and educated at Birkenhead School, an independent school in the town.
Career in jo ...
, a former
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
executive, to examine why the investigation was dropped. On 23 October, the
Director-General of the BBC
The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.
The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
,
George Entwistle
George Edward Entwistle (born 8 July 1962) was Director-General of the BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. After a career in magazine journalism, he joined BBC Television in 1989, becoming a producer with a primary focus in factual and ...
, appeared before the Parliamentary
Culture, Media and Sport Committee
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the select committees of the British House of Commons, established in 1997. It oversees the operations of the Department fo ...
, and stated that it had been a "catastrophic mistake" to cancel the ''Newsnight'' broadcast.
On 2 November 2012, ''Newsnight'' broadcast a report falsely accusing, but not naming, a prominent Conservative,
Lord McAlpine
Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green (14 May 1942 – 17 January 2014) was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
McAlpine was descended from the McAlpine baronets ...
of child abuse. The veracity of this story collapsed after ''The Guardian'' reported a case of mistaken identity on 8 November and the victim retracted the allegation after belatedly being shown a photograph of McAlpine in an item broadcast on the following day. The production team had not contacted McAlpine about the allegations. An apology about the story was made on 9 November during that evening's broadcast of the programme. In an official statement, the BBC announced all ongoing ''Newsnight'' investigations were being suspended. The Director of
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
,
Ken MacQuarrie, investigated the circumstances around the programme. His findings were published on 12 November and stated that:
[BBC News, ''Ken MacQuarrie report: Summary of findings'', 12 November 2012]
. Retrieved 15 November 2012 The BBC announced that Karen O'Connor would take on the role of Acting Editor of ''Newsnight''.
[
The Pollard report was published on 19 December 2012. It concluded that the decision to drop the original ''Newsnight'' report on the allegations against Savile in December 2011 was "flawed", but that it had not been done to protect the Savile tribute programmes. However, it criticised George Entwistle for apparently failing to read emails warning him of Savile's "dark side", and that, after the allegations against Savile eventually became public, the BBC fell into a "level of chaos and confusion ]hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
was even greater than was apparent at the time". The BBC announced that ''Newsnight'' editor Peter Rippon and deputy editor Liz Gibbons would be replaced.[
]
Past elements
''Newsnight Review''
From 2000 until December 2009, on Friday evenings ''Newsnight'' was followed at 23:00 by ''Newsnight Review
''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture.
History
' ...
'', a 35-minute consumer survey of the week's artistic and cultural highlights. Mark Lawson
Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author. Specialising in culture and the arts, he is best known for presenting the flagship BBC Radio 4 arts programme ''Front Row (radio programme), Front Row'' between 1998 and 2014. ...
was the programme's main presenter in its ''Late Review'' incarnation, which began life as a strand of ''The Late Show The Late Show may refer to:
Books
* ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly
Film
* ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film
* ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl
Music
* ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...
''. He continued to chair the panel of guest reviewers when it was relaunched as ''Newsnight Review'' in 2000, up until December 2005. The programme was presented by Kirsty Wark
Kirsteen Anne "Kirsty" Wark FRSE (born 3 February 1955) is a Scottish television presenter with a long career at the BBC.
Starting on Radio Scotland, where she became a producer, Wark switched to television, presenting The Late Show and Newsnig ...
, Martha Kearney
Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme ''The World at One'' for 11 years, and in April 2018 became a presenter of the ear ...
, John Wilson, Tim Marlow
Timothy John Marlow (born 1962) is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian who is the Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum,Hannah McGivern (October 7, 2019)Tim Marlow leaves Royal Academy of Arts to head London’s Design Mu ...
, Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unti ...
and Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli (born 21 January 1969) is a Scottish presenter of Sikh heritage who has appeared on various radio and television programmes.
Background
Kohli was born in London and moved to Glasgow, Scotland, when he was four. His parents ...
. Regular reviewers included Mark Kermode
Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
, Tom Paulin
Thomas Neilson Paulin (born 25 January 1949 in Leeds, England) is a Northern Irish poet and critic of film, music and literature. He lives in England, where he was the G. M. Young Lecturer in English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford.
Earl ...
, Ekow Eshun
Ekow Eshun (born 27 May 1968) is a British writer, journalist, broadcaster, and curator. He is the editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine ''Tank'', a former editor of ''Arena'' magazine, and the former director of the Institute of Contempor ...
and Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Specializing in English and women's literatu ...
.
As part of the BBC's commitment to moving programmes out of London, ''Newsnight Review'' finished on 18 December 2009 with a special hour-long edition. The programme was replaced by ''The Review Show
''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture.
History
'' ...
'', produced from Glasgow, which started on 22 January 2010. It had the same producer as ''Newsnight Review'' and was still presented by Kirsty Wark
Kirsteen Anne "Kirsty" Wark FRSE (born 3 February 1955) is a Scottish television presenter with a long career at the BBC.
Starting on Radio Scotland, where she became a producer, Wark switched to television, presenting The Late Show and Newsnig ...
and Martha Kearney
Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme ''The World at One'' for 11 years, and in April 2018 became a presenter of the ear ...
.
Closing segments and frivolity
Traditionally, there was a short stock market update at the end of each edition. In 2005, ''Newsnight's'' then editor, Peter Barron, replaced it with a 30-second weather forecast, arguing that the market data was available on the internet and that a weather forecast would be "more useful". The change provoked a flurry of complaints.
Paxman on one occasion adopted a sarcastic tone and announced: "So finally and controversially, tomorrow's weather forecast. It's a veritable smorgasbord. Sun, rain, thunder, hail, snow, cold, wind. Almost worth going to work." On other occasions: "It's April, what do you expect?" and "Take an umbrella with you tomorrow." He claimed, nonetheless, that he was happy presenting the weather. Gavin Esler also joined in, announcing: "As for the spring, you can forget about that until further notice." The programme conducted a telephone poll. Michael Fish
Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather.
Career
Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the longe ...
, a former weather forecaster
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
, was seen arguing in favour of the weather forecast, while Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in ...
, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
, argued for the market update. 62% of viewers voted in favour of the markets, and the update duly returned on Monday 18 April 2005.
Other stunts included, for a week at the end of January 2006, ''Newsnight'' playing the Radio 4 UK Theme
The ''BBC Radio 4 UK Theme'' is an orchestral arrangement of traditional British and Irish airs compiled by Fritz Spiegl and arranged by Manfred Arlan. It was played every morning on BBC Radio 4 between 23 November 1978 and 23 April 2006.
Th ...
, which was facing the axe, over its closing credits, while the edition of 24 April 2006 played out to the signature tune of the soon-to-be-axed BBC sports programme, ''Grandstand
A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...
''. In 2005, following a discussion about the return of ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' to television after a nine-year absence, the programme ended with the Tardis
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
dematerialisation sound, while presenter Jeremy Paxton faded from view as if dematerialising like a Time Lord
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...
.
Between January and June 2006 the programme included ''Gordaq'', a spoof stock market index
In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance.
Two of the ...
measuring the political performance of Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
. The index started at 100 and moved up or down depending on Brown's political situation, finishing at 101 on 30 June 2006.
In an early day motion
In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a Motion (parliamentary procedure), motion, expressed as a single sentence, Table (parliamentary procedure), tabled by Member of Parliament, members of Parliament that formally ...
of 3 November 2016, as a celebration of the "Brexit" vote for UK withdrawal from the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
MP Andrew Rosindell
Andrew Richard Rosindell MP (; born 17 March 1966) is a British Conservative politician. He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Romford constituency in Greater London in 2001.
He has been the international director of the European ...
argued for a return to the broadcasting of "God Save the Queen
"God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...
" at the end of BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
transmissions each day. The practice was dropped in 1997 ostensibly due to BBC One adopting 24-hour broadcasting by simulcasting BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
overnight, rendering closedown obsolete. That evening, ''Newsnight'' ended its broadcast with host of that night Kirsty Wark saying that they were "incredibly happy to oblige" Rosindell's request, before playing out to the video of the Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
' punk song of the same name, much to Rosindell's discontent.
Other media
''Newsnight'' is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
for up to thirty days after broadcast. A weekly digest version of ''Newsnight'' is screened on BBC World News
BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...
, focusing on "the best of the week's films and discussions."
From August 2013, ''Newsnight'' had a dedicated YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel on which excerpts of programmes could be found. However, the channel was updated for the final time in September 2020 and replaced with sections of the episodes being released on BBC News' main YouTube channel.
KCET
KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...
, an independent public television station in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, broadcasts the weekly digest version.
Presenters, editors, and correspondents
Presenters
Editors and correspondents
Past presenters and reporters
*Peter Snow
Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its laun ...
, 1980–1997
*John Tusa
Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to 1 ...
, 1980–1986
*David Sells, 1980–2006
* Peter Hobday, 1980–1983
*Will Hutton
William Nicolas Hutton (born 21 May 1950) is a British journalist. As of 2022, he writes a regular column for ''The Observer'', co-chairs the Purposeful Company, and is the president-designate of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is the chair ...
, 1983–1988
*Jenni Murray
Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's ''Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020.
Early life
Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorks ...
, 1984–1986
*Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary (born 1949) is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.
Education
Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin (UCD), she worked with the ''Nationalist'' and ''Leinster Times'' in Carl ...
, 1985–1986
*Adam Raphael
Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael (born 22 April 1938) is an English journalist and author. In the British Press Awards of 1973, he was named Journalist of the Year for his work on labour conditions in South Africa, and he has also been a presenter of ...
, 1987–1988
*Gordon Brewer
Gordon Brewer is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, who worked for BBC Scotland. He presented the flagship ''Newsnight Scotland'' programme from 1999.
Early Life
He was educated St Modan's High School in Stirling, followed by th ...
, 1993–1999 (subsequently hosted ''Newsnight Scotland'')
* Steve Scott
*Martha Kearney
Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme ''The World at One'' for 11 years, and in April 2018 became a presenter of the ear ...
(Presenter and Political Editor), 1994–2010
*Sarah Montague
Sarah Anne Louise Montague, Lady Brooke (born 8 February 1966),''Who's who'' is a British journalist and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 current affairs programme ''The World at One''. For 18 years, prior to April 2018, she was a regular presenter ...
, 1998–2001
* James Cox
*Donald MacCormick
Donald MacCormick (16 April 1939 – 12 July 2009)[Veteran BBC newsman dies aged 70](_blank)
...
*Eddie Mair
Eddie Mair (born 12 November 1965) is a Scottish broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He presented his show on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last one, on 18 August 2022, after which he retired from broad ...
(guest presenter)
*Jon Sopel
Jonathan B. Sopel (born 22 May 1959) is a British journalist, television presenter and a former correspondent for BBC News. He was formerly the BBC's North America editor; chief political correspondent for the domestic news channel BBC News; a ...
(guest presenter)
*Francine Stock
Francine Stock is a British radio and television presenter and novelist, of part-French origin.
Early life
Born in Devon, and with early years in Edinburgh and Australia, Stock later attended St Catherine's School, Guildford, where she was head ...
*Sue Cameron
Sue Cameron is a British journalist and columnist. Cameron wrote primarily for ''The Daily Telegraph'', particularly about the UK Government's relationship with the Civil Service, and is a former presenter of ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''B ...
* Allegra Stratton (Political Editor)
* Charles Wheeler
*Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio personality, presenter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guest ...
, 1999–2002
* Michael Crick (Political Editor)
* Paul Mason (Economics Editor)
*Gavin Esler
Gavin William James Esler (born 27 February 1953) is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, ''Newsnight'', from January 2003 until January 2014, and pr ...
, 2003–2014
*Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ne ...
, 1989–2014
*Emma Barnett
Emma Barnett (born 5 February 1985) is a British broadcaster and journalist. She has been the main presenter of ''Woman's Hour'' on BBC Radio 4 since January 2021.
Barnett worked for BBC Radio 5 Live for six years, beginning in 2014, after th ...
, 2018–2022
*Evan Davis
Evan Harold Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC. He has presented ''Dragons' Den'' since 2005.
In October 2001, Davis took over from Peter Jay as the BBC's economics editor. He left this p ...
, 2014–2018
*Katie Razzall
Katherine Mary Razzall (born 31 October 1970) is a British journalist and television newsreader.
Early life and education
Razzall was born in Wandsworth, London, daughter of the British Liberal Democrat politician and parliamentarian Lord Razz ...
(Relief Presenter) 2020
*Faisal Islam
Faisal Islam ( bn, ফয়সাল ইসলাম; born 29 May 1977) is a British political and economics journalist who is the economics editor of BBC News and the occasional presenter of ''Newsnight''. He was the political editor of Sky N ...
(Relief Presenter) 2020
*Mark Urban
Mark Lee Urban (born 26 January 1961) is a British journalist, historian, and broadcaster, and is currently the Diplomatic Editor and occasional presenter for BBC Two's ''Newsnight''.
His older brother is the film-maker Stuart Urban.
Educat ...
(Relief Presenter) 2020
* James O'Brien
* Susan Watts (Science Editor)
*Nimrod Kamer
Nimrod Kamer (born 1981) is a comedy writer, gonzo journalist and club crasher based in London.
Life and career
Kamer was born in 1981 in Petah Tikva, Israel. Kamer claims to hold both Romanian and Israeli passports. In 2004, while attendi ...
(Buzz and Youth Correspondent)
*Laura Kuenssberg
Laura Juliet Kuenssberg (born 8 August 1976) is a British journalist who currently presents the BBC's flagship Sunday morning politics show.
She succeeded Nick Robinson as political editor of BBC News in July 2015, and was the first woman to ...
(Presenter and Chief Correspondent), 2014–2015
* Kavita Puri
*Liz MacKean
Elizabeth Mary MacKean (30 November 1964 – 18 August 2017) was a British television reporter and presenter. She worked on the BBC's ''Newsnight'' programme and was the reporter on an exposé of Sir Jimmy Savile as a paedophile which was cont ...
* Tim Whewell
*Greg Palast
Gregory Allyn Palast (born June 26, 1952) is an author and a freelance journalist who often worked for the BBC and ''The Guardian''. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but he has also worked with labour unions and consumer advoc ...
*Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor until the end of 2021 of ''Newsnight'', the BBC Two news and current affairs programme.
Early lif ...
, 2006–2022
''Newsnight'' editors
*George Carey
George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
During his time as archbishop the Ch ...
(1980–1981)
*Ron Neil Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
(1981–1982)
*David Lloyd (1982–1983)
*David Dickinson (1983–1985)
* Richard Tait (1985–1987)
*John Morrison (1987–1990)
*Tim Gardam
Timothy David Gardam (born 14 January 1956), is a British journalist, media executive and educator. He was Director of Television at Channel 4 until 2003, after which he served as Principal of St Anne's College, Oxford until 2016. He now serves ...
(1990–1993)
*Peter Horrocks
Peter John Gibson Horrocks CBE (born 8 October 1959) is a broadcast executive and a former Vice-Chancellor (chief executive) of The Open University. He was educated at the independent King's College School in Wimbledon and at Christ's College, ...
(1994–1997)
*Sian Kevill (1998–2001)
*George Entwistle
George Edward Entwistle (born 8 July 1962) was Director-General of the BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. After a career in magazine journalism, he joined BBC Television in 1989, becoming a producer with a primary focus in factual and ...
(2001–2004)
* Peter Barron (2004–2008)
*Peter Rippon
Peter William Rippon (born 22 August 1965) is a British broadcasting executive. He is Editor of BBC Online Archive. Prior to this he was Editor of BBC Television's current affairs programme ''Newsnight''.
Early life
Peter Rippon was born in ...
(2008–2012)
*Ian Katz
Ian Alexander Katz (born 9 February 1968) is a British journalist and broadcasting executive who is currently Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, overseeing all editorial decision making and commissioning across Channel 4's linear channels, str ...
(2013–2017)
*Esmé Wren (2018–2021)
References
Footnotes
Newsnight 25
BBC mini-site to mark Newsnight's 25th anniversary in 2005
Newsnight at 20: the awkward squad
''Broadcast'', 28 January 2000
External links
*
*
*
Paxarotti packs punch in Newsnight opera
BBC News, 5 September 2003 – ''Newsnight: The Opera''
The Guardian, 15 April 2005
{{BBC News
1980 British television series debuts
1990s British television series
2000s British television series
2010s British television series
2020s British television series
BBC television news shows
British television news shows
Current affairs shows
Peabody Award-winning television programs