Sally Magnusson
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Sally Anne Magnusson (born 1955) is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter and writer, who currently presents the Thursday and Friday night edition 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 ...
's ''
Reporting Scotland ''BBC Reporting Scotland'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Scotland, broadcast on BBC One Scotland from the headquarters of BBC Scotland at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. History Although BBC Television was established in Scotl ...
''. She also presents ''Tracing Your Roots'' on
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' ...
and was one of the main presenters of the long-running religious television programme ''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
.''


Early life

Magnusson was born in 1955 in the city of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. She is the eldest daughter of
Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...
, an Icelandic-born broadcaster and writer, and Mamie Baird, a newspaper journalist from
Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
. Her maternal uncle, Archie Baird, was a Scottish
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
, who played for
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and St Johnstone. Magnusson's paternal grandfather, Sigursteinn Magnusson, opened an office to handle fish exports to Europe in Edinburgh. She spent her early years in
Garrowhill Garrowhill ( sco, Garraehill or , gd, An Cnoc Garbh)
 i ...
in Glasgow, before moving to
Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
, where she grew up with her younger siblings Margaret, Anna,
Jon Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Balmore Balmore (from the Scottish Gaelic "Baile Mòr" meaning a large settlement) is a small village formerly in the county of Stirlingshire, but now lies in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, located 1 km west of Torrance and 5 km east of Milng ...
, just north of Glasgow. In May 1973, Magnusson's youngest brother, Siggy, died aged 12 three days after being hit by a lorry.


Education

Magnusson was educated at
Laurel Bank School Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (m ...
for Girls, a former
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
which later merged with another independent school, The Park School, to form Laurel Park School, itself to merge in 2001 into
Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school for pupils aged 3-18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641 It is a selective school, m ...
, in the city of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh. She graduated in 1978 with a
First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
degree.


Career

Magnusson started her career in journalism at ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' newspaper in Edinburgh in 1979 and then the ''
Sunday Standard ''The Sunday Standard'' was an English-language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Standard Newspapers (Private) Limited, part of Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Limited (CBE). It was founded in 2006 and published from Colo ...
'' in Glasgow as a news/feature writer. In 1982, she became Scottish Feature Writer of the Year. She later joined
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 ...
to present the weekly TV show ''Current Account''. Magnusson moved to London to present ''Sixty Minutes'', the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's successor to ''Nationwide'', for network television. Following the shows demise, she presented ''
London Plus ''London Plus'' was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. Launched on Monday 3 September 1984, the programme represented the BBC's attempt to boost regional news service for the South East. Prior to the launch ...
'' for a year. In October 1986, Magnusson joined
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 ...
's ''Breakfast Time'' as one of the main presenters. In 1987 she was part of the ''Breakfast Time'' team, including Frank Bough,
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 ...
and
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 ...
, which covered the results of the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. From 1989 onwards, she co-presented the programme's replacement, ''
Breakfast News ''Breakfast News'' was a breakfast news programme which first aired on BBC1 on 2 October 1989. The programme was previously known as '' Breakfast Time''. It was planned to launch on 18 September 1989 but was held back by two weeks due to tech ...
'', initially with Laurie Mayer, and in later years, with
Justin Webb Justin Oliver Webb (born Justin Oliver Prouse, 3 January 1961 in Portsmouth, Hampshire) is a British journalist who has worked for the BBC since 1984. He is a former BBC North America Editor and the main co-presenter of BBC One's '' Breakfast ...
. In 1996, she won a
Scottish Bafta BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...
for her commentary on the BBC's ''Dunblane: A Community Remembers'', and in 1998 was awarded a
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 ...
award for her exclusive television interview with Earl Spencer, ''Diana: My Sister the Princess''. Magnusson narrated the '' Q.E.D.'' documentary ''Saving Trudy'' in 1999. As a reporter, she covered the
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and 2005 General Elections, as well as the
funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. The coffin was carried ...
and the opening of the new Scottish Parliament. She also commentated for the BBC on the funerals of the inaugural
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...
, Cardinal Basil Hume and Cardinal
Thomas Winning Thomas Joseph Winning (3 June 1925 – 17 June 2001) was a Scottish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Glasgow from 1974 and President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland from 1985 until his death. Winning ...
. Magnusson has presented many television programmes, ranging from ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' to ''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
''. In 2005 she joined
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 ''
The Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas a ...
'' as its Friday presenter. In 1997, Magnusson returned to Glasgow and became a main presenter for
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 news programme ''
Reporting Scotland ''BBC Reporting Scotland'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Scotland, broadcast on BBC One Scotland from the headquarters of BBC Scotland at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. History Although BBC Television was established in Scotl ...
.'' She shared the role with
Jackie Bird Jacqueline Bird (née Macpherson, born 31 July 1962) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster, best known as a former anchor of the BBC Scotland national news programme ''Reporting Scotland''. Early life Jacqueline Macpherson was born on 31 ...
and now
Laura Miller Laura Miller (born November 18, 1958) is an American journalist and politician who served as the 58th mayor of Dallas, Texas from 2002 through 2007. She decided not to run for re-election in 2007. She was the third woman to serve as mayor of Da ...
and presents the programme's Thursday and Friday edition.


Books

Magnusson is the author of ''Life of Pee: The Story of How Urine Got Everywhere''. She has also written books about the Scottish runner
Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...
, who refused to run on the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
day due to his
Christian beliefs Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Teachings of Jesus, teachings of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. It is the Major religious groups, world's ...
, and about the Cornish Christian poet
Jack Clemo Reginald John Clemo (11 March 1916 – 25 July 1994) was a British poet and writer who was strongly associated both with his native Cornwall and his strong Christian belief. His work was considered to be visionary and inspired by the rugged Corn ...
and his marriage to Ruth Peaty. Magnusson wrote the children's book ''Horace and the Haggis Hunter'', which was illustrated by her husband, Norman Stone. ''The Seal Woman's Gift'', Magnusson's first novel for adults, was published in February 2018. ''The Ninth Child'', her second novel, published in 2020, is set in 19th-century Scotland, weaving folklore and Victorian social history.


Personal life

Magnusson is married to Norman Stone, a TV director, she is the mother of the Scottish film director
Jamie Magnus Stone Jamie Magnus Stone (born 15 December 1985) is a Scottish film director and animator, who studied at the National Film and Television School. He is the son of Sally Magnusson and grandson of Magnus Magnusson and Mamie Baird. Career Stone st ...
, and has four other children. She lives in the village of
Torrance, East Dunbartonshire Torrance is a relatively affluent village in East Dunbartonshire, formerly Stirlingshire, Scotland, located north of Glasgow city centre. Torrance used to mainly consist of farmland. The village was once famous as a resting place for workers on ...
.


Awards and honours

She has received
Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
s from several institutions: in 2009 a
Doctorate of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
from
Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...
, in 2015 an honorary degree from the
University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...
and from the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
on 29 October 2016. In 2007 the Institute of Contemporary Scotland awarded her a place in the Scottish Academy of Merit for services to the media.


Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links

*
''Sunday Morning''
(BBC Radio Scotland) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnusson, Sally 1955 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh BBC Scotland newsreaders and journalists BBC Radio Scotland presenters British reporters and correspondents British women television journalists Living people Mass media people from Glasgow Scottish Christians Scottish television presenters Scottish women television presenters Scottish people of Icelandic descent People from East Dunbartonshire Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish women radio presenters