Mark Lawson
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Mark Gerard Lawson is an English
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, broadcaster and author. Specialising in culture and the arts, he is best known for presenting the flagship
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
arts programme '' Front Row'' between 1998 and 2014.Padraic Flanaga
"Mark Lawson to leave BBC show 'for personal reasons'"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 5 March 2014
He is also a ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' columnist, and presented ''Mark Lawson Talks To...'' on
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
from 2006 to 2015.


Life and career

Born in
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
, north London,"Mark Lawson to leave BBC's Front Row"
BBC News, 5 March 2014
Lawson was raised in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, where his father was a marketing director for the
Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
and
British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
. Both of his parents originated from the northeast of England. He was brought up a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and was educated at the independent Catholic school St Columba's College in
St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
. He then took a degree in English at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, where his lecturers included John Sutherland and
A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy ( Drabble; born 24 August 1936), known professionally by her former marriage name as A. S. Byatt ( ), is an English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer. Her books have been widely translated, into more than t ...
. Lawson became a
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
contributor to numerous publications in 1984, beginning on ''
The Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Ac ...
'' in that year, and for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' from 1984 to 1986. He has written a column for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' since 1995, having previously written for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' (1986–95), and has twice been TV Critic of the Year, as well as winning many other journalism awards. However,
Richard Gott Richard Willoughby Gott (born 28 October 1938),Winchester College: A Register. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. pp. 271 (Short Half 1952 list heading) & ...
, a former colleague, commented in 2002 that the "prevalence of the bland and the obsequious" on ''The Guardian'' is typified by Lawson's "embedded presence". Lawson presented ''
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 ...
'' on
BBC2 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 ...
in the 1990s and presented its offshoot ''The Late Review'' (later ''Sunday Review'' and from 2000 ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
Review'') until the 2005 "review of the year" edition of ''Newsnight Review'', broadcast on 16 December, which marked the end of his association with the format. In 2004, Lawson made a documentary for
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
called ''The Truth About Sixties TV'', criticising what he called "golden ageists" who, he said, have a rose-tinted view of television's past. Lawson became the main presenter of
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's daily arts programme, '' Front Row'', in 1998. He has written several radio plays for the network, including ''St Graham and St Evelyn'' (2003) on the friendship between the Catholic novelists
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
and
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
and ''The Third Soldier Holds His Thighs'' (2005) on
Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...
's unsuccessful litigation against the National Theatre production of
Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...
's play ''
The Romans in Britain ''The Romans in Britain'' is a 1980 stage play by Howard Brenton that comments upon imperialism and the abuse of power. It was the subject of a private prosecution brought by the conservative moral campaigner Mary Whitehouse for gross indecency. ...
''. He has also written episodes of the television version of the BBC sitcom '' Absolute Power'' appearing as himself in the series 1 episode 2, "Pope Idol", and is one of many celebrities impersonated by the '' Dead Ringers'' team, referred to as "Britain's brainiest potato" and "the thinking woman's potato" because of his baldness. In 2002, '' Viz'' ran a spoof of his ''Newsnight Review'' programme, featuring Lawson engaged in a desperate search for hard-core pornography, entitled "The Artful Podger". His in-depth, one-to-one interviews for
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
, entitled ''Mark Lawson Talks to …'', ran from 2006 to 2015. In addition to his work in print journalism and the broadcast media, Lawson has written five books, both fiction and non-fiction. His first, ''Bloody Margaret'' (1991), is a collection of novellas on late 20th-century politics in the UK, including an eponymous satire concerning
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
. This was followed by ''The Battle for Room Service'' (1993), a travelogue of people, politics and culture encountered by Lawson as a journalist. His 1995 book ''Idlewild'' is an
alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...
novel in which both
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
and
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
survived the 1960s. ''Going Out Live'' (2001) focused on contemporary
celebrity culture Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...
and the media, and ''Enough is Enough'' (2005) is a satire set in the government of
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
during the late 1960s. Lawson chaired the judges for the 2011
Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine was founded in 2009 by Donald Singer and Michael Hulse. The founders "wished to draw together national and international perspectives on three major historical and contemporary themes uniting the disc ...
. In 2006, Lawson witnessed, and reported to the BBC, a sexual assault on a BBC staff member by
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 ...
, later found to have been a prolific sex offender. This was recorded in the
Dame Janet Smith Review In October 2012, Janet Smith (judge), Dame Janet Smith was appointed by the BBC to lead an inquiry into the corporation's connection to the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, sexual abuse committed by Jimmy Savile, a popular television and radio ...
report of 2016. In 2022, Lawson wrote about this encounter and his personal experience of Savile in British society. Lawson's connection with ''Front Row'' ended in March 2014 for "personal reasons" in a joint agreement with the BBC. An internal report completed in January investigated claims of bullying within the BBC Radio Arts, which produces ''Front Row'', and identified one producer and presenter as responsible. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' reported on 5 March that Lawson was the presenter involved and he had been accused of "browbeating junior staff" who are often young freelancers. Lawson denied bullying. In his 2016 novel ''The Allegations'', a lecturer at a fictional English university faces disciplinary action and dismissal for "B&H" (bullying and harassment). Dr Tom Pimm is accused of sighing during departmental meetings, "divisive social invitations" and "visual Insubordination (sic) towards senior management". Pimm attends a hearing during which he is told that "if someone felt you were being insensitive then, to all intents and purposes, you were". In the book's afterword, Lawson writes
It is the case that during a long, generally privileged and happy career in the media, I suffered one devastating experience of institutional group-think, baffling and contradictory management, false accusation and surreally sub-legal process; and have personal knowledge of the damage to reputation, employability and health that can result from such an ordeal.
Lawson supports
Northampton Town FC Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
and frequently goes to games, both at
Sixfields Stadium Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in Octo ...
and away. He lives near
Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...
in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
.


Bibliography

* ''Bloody Margaret: Three Political Fantasies '' (Picador, 1991) * ''The Battle for Room Service: Journeys to All the Safe Places'' (Picador, 1993) * ''Idlewild'' (Picador, 1995) * ''Going Out Live'' (Picador, 2001) * ''Enough Is Enough: or, The Emergency Government'' (Picador, 2005) * ''The Deaths'' (Picador, 2013) *


References


External links


''Guardian'' columns by Mark Lawson

BBC Radio 4 profile
*
Mark Lawson interview techniques
BBC Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Mark Living people Alumni of University College London English male journalists English radio personalities English television presenters Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature The Guardian journalists People educated at St Columba's College, St Albans People from Hendon Writers from Leeds The Times people Year of birth missing (living people)