HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Today Programme

OR:

Today Programme on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs

radio programme A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

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' ...

. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced 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 ...

and is the highest-rated programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. In-depth political interviews and reports are interspersed with regular news bulletins, as well as ''

Thought for the Day ''Thought for the Day'' is a daily scripted slot on the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7:45 each Monday to Saturday morning. Nowadays lastin ...

''. It has been voted the most influential news programme in Britain in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening audience around 7 million.

History

''Today'' was launched on 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. ...

...

Home Service Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. Their career is generally agreed to have peaked with the album ''Alright Jack'', and has had an ...

on 28 October 1957 as a programme of "topical talks" to give listeners an alternative to listening to light music. The programme's founders were

Isa Benzie Isa Donald Benzie (4 December 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a British radio broadcaster. She played a key role in the launch of ''Today'' on BBC Radio 4, and served as its first senior producer. Early life and education Benzie was born in 1902 in ...

and

Janet Quigley Janet Muriel Alexander Quigley MBE (1902–1987) was a British radio broadcaster associated with the ''Today'' programme and ''Woman's Hour''. Life Quigley was born in Belfast in 1902, in the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. She ...

. Benzie gave the programme its name, and served as its first ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' editor. It was initially broadcast as two 20-minute editions slotted in around the existing news bulletins and religious and musical items. It became part of the BBC's Current Affairs department in 1963, and started to become more news-orientated. The two editions also became longer, and by the end of the 1960s it had become a single programme two hours in length that enveloped the news bulletins and the religious talk that had become ''

'' in 1970. In May 1977, Radio 4 controller

Ian McIntyre Ian McIntyre (9 December 1931 – 19 April 2014) was a British BBC Radio producer, journalist, broadcaster and author. who was Controller of BBC Radio 4 from 1976 to 1978 and then Controller of BBC Radio 3 between 1978 and 1987. After joini ...

cut it to two 25-minute parts, filling the gap with ''

Up to the Hour ''Up to the Hour'' was a programme on BBC Radio 4 that ran from May 1977 to June 1978. There were two editions every weekday morning, each 25 minutes long and finishing at 7am and 8am respectively (hence the title). Both parts were followed by the ...

''. The new format was unpopular with BBC staff, including

Peter Donaldson Peter Ian Donaldson (23 August 1945 – 2 November 2015) was an English newsreader on BBC Radio 4. Early life Donaldson was born in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to Cyprus in 1952 at the time of the overthrow of King Farouk. He was a frequen ...

who on at least one occasion openly ridiculed the programme on air. It also provoked comments in the diary columns of the daily newspapers. From July 1978, ''Today'' returned to its previous length and ''Up to the Hour'' was dropped.

Jack de Manio Giovanni Batista "Jack" de Manio MC and Bar (26 January 1914 – 28 October 1988) was a British journalist, best known as a radio presenter. Life and work He was the son of Jean and Florence de Manio. His father was an Italian aviator, who died ...

became its principal presenter in 1958. He was held in affection by listeners, but became notorious for on-air gaffes (announcing a documentary on

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

titled 'The Land of Niger' as 'The Land of Nigger', and referring to

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

as "Yoko Hama, or whatever her name is", for instance). In 1970 the programme format was changed so that there were two presenters each day. De Manio left in 1971, and in the late 1970s the team of

John Timpson John Harry Robert Timpson, (2 July 1928 – 19 November 2005) was a British journalist, best known as a radio presenter. Early life Born at Ridgeholme, 53 The Ridgeway, Kenton, Middlesex, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, a boys' ...

and

Brian Redhead Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the Today (BBC Radio 4), ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. ...

became established. Timpson had been critical of the content, style and professionalism of ''Today''—describing it once as "not so much a programme, more a way of telling the time" and being filled with "eccentric octogenarians, prize pumpkins, and folk who ate lightbulbs and spiders". In the late 1970s and early 1980s, under editors

Ken Goudie Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

and Julian Holland, ''Today'' made moves to broaden its appeal away from broadcasting a lot of national politics with London-centric bias. Presentation was split for a time between London, usually by

, and from Manchester, usually by

. The objective was to make it more of a balanced, national programme. The on-air humour of the two presenters and the split of locations made the programme very popular and influential. Brian Redhead was quoted, "If you want to drop a word in the ear of the nation, then this is the programme in which to do it." This pairing lasted until Timpson's retirement in 1986. Other presenters during this period included

Libby Purves Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. Early life and career Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...

in the late 1970s.

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

and Sue MacGregor joined the rotating list of presenters in 1986. Peter Hobday, who had first broadcast on the programme in the 1950s, was a regular presenter from the early 1980s and a favourite with listeners because of his relaxed, urbane style. By this time the programme was benefiting from publicity gained after it became known that Prime Minister

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 ...

was a regular listener. Ministers thus became keen to go on the programme, but the tough, confrontational interviewing they encountered led to accusations that the BBC was biased. Criticism was particularly directed against Redhead, who was often seen as being on the left. Chancellor

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margaret ...

accused him, during a live interview in 1988, of having been a Labour voter all his life. The style of the male interviewers was analysed and contrasted with the approach of MacGregor, who was alleged to be giving subjects an easier time. The 'Big 8.10' interview that follows the 8 o'clock news had become an important institution of British politics, a position it retains. After

died in January 1994,

James Naughtie Alexander James Naughtie FRSE (surname pronounced ; born 9 August 1951) is a British radio and news presenter for the BBC. Between 1994 and 2015, he was one of the main presenters of Radio 4's the ''Today programme''. In his 21-plus years on ...

became a member of the team. Peter Hobday presented the programme regularly until 1996;

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 ...

replaced MacGregor in 2002.

Carolyn Quinn Carolyn Quinn (born 22 July 1961 in Camberwell, London) is a British journalist best known for her work on BBC Radio 4 as a political correspondent and for presenting the ''Today'' programme and '' PM''. Early life Quinn attended St Joseph's RC ...

was a regular presenter until 2008 as was Edward Stourton until 2009. Other more occasional presenters include the BBC's

Stephen Sackur Stephen John Sackur (born 9 January 1964) is an English journalist who presents ''HARDtalk'', a current affairs interview programme on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. He was also the main Friday presenter of '' GMT'' on BBC World News. ...

and Tim Franks.

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 ...

and

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 ...

were the newest regular presenters to join the roster until

Mishal Husain Mishal Husain (born 11 February 1973) is a British newsreader and journalist for BBC Television and BBC Radio. She is the main Sunday presenter of the ''BBC News at Ten'' and ''BBC Weekend News'' and one of the main presenters of BBC Radio 4's ' ...

in 2013. Husain became the second regular female presenter when

began to cover the

Scottish Independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side wo ...

as a ''

Good Morning Scotland ''Good Morning Scotland'' ( gd, Madainn Mhath Alba) is a Scottish breakfast radio news programme. It is broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland weekdays from 06:00 to 09:00. Established in 1973, it is the longest-running radio show broadcast from Scotl ...

'' presenter for two days a week, and across the BBC's output. Naughtie returned to ''Today'' before the 2015 general election.Jason Deans and Josh Hallida
"BBC's Mishal Husain to join Today"
''The Guardian'', 16 July 2013 On 7 July 2015, the BBC announced that

was to leave the programme, to become a Special Correspondent for

. Two days later,

Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to: * Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist * Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist * Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...

was announced as Naughtie's replacement. In April 2018,

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 ...

joined the team in a straight swap with

, who left to take over Kearney's old role as lead presenter of ''

The World at One ''The World at One'', or ''WATO'' ("what-oh") for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, produced by BBC News, which is currently broadcast from 13:00 to 13:45 from Monday to Friday. The programme de ...

''. On 19 September 2019,

hosted his last edition of ''Today'', after 32 years on the show. His last major guests were former Prime Ministers

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, as well as drag personality

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, th ...

Current presenters

Former presenters

The longest serving presenter on Today was

, who presented the programme for 32 years and 260 days between 1987 and 2019. *

(1958–1971) * Robert Hudson (1964–1968) *

(1964, 1970–1976, 1978–1986) *

John Tidmarsh John Alan Tidmarsh (13 August 1928 – 30 May 2019) was a British broadcaster and journalist who spent ten years with domestic radio and television and more than thirty years with the BBC World Service magazine programme ''Outlook''. Biogra ...

(1968–1969) * Douglas Cameron (1970–1974) * Robert Robinson (1971–1974) *

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...

(1974–1976) *

Desmond Lynam Desmond Michael Lynam, (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, presentin ...

(1974–1975) * Paul Barnes (1975–1977) *

(1975–1993) *

Gillian Reynolds Gillian Reynolds (née Morton; born 15 November 1935) is an English radio critic. After writing for ''The Guardian'' from 1967 to 1974, she was the radio critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' for over 42 years, from 1975 to 2018. She then continued ...

(1975–1976) *

Nigel Rees Nigel Rees (born 5 June 1944 near Liverpool) is an English writer and broadcaster, known for devising and hosting the Radio 4 panel game '' Quote... Unquote'' (1976–2021) and as the author of more than fifty books, mostly works of reference on ...

(1976–1978) *

(1978–1981) *

Hugh Sykes Sir Hugh Ridley Sykes (born 12 September 1932) is an English industrialist and investor, noted for championing regeneration in and around Sheffield. Early life Sir Hugh was born in Bristol. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Clare Col ...

(1978–1982) * Peter Hobday (1983–1996) *

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 ...

(1985–1987) * Sue MacGregor (1984–2002) *

Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...

(1993–1999) * Edward Stourton (1999–2009) *

(2004–2008) *

(2007–2014) *

(1994–2015) *

Winifred Robinson Winifred Robinson (born 7 December 1957) is a BBC Radio presenter of the ''You and Yours'' programme. Early life Robinson was born in Liverpool, the fourth of six daughters of a docker and a housewife. She attended Notre Dame Collegiate School (n ...

(1996–2000) *

(2001–2018) *

(1987–2019)

Newsreaders

Among the newsreaders are

Chris Aldridge Chris Aldridge is a continuity announcer and newsreader for BBC Radio 4. Biography He grew up in Horsham, West Sussex. After one term studying medicine at London Hospital Medical College, Aldridge studied mathematics at Bedford College (Unive ...

, Viji Alles, Charles Carroll, Mark Forrest, Caroline Nicholls, Alan Smith,

Tom Sandars Thomas John Sandars (born February 1976, Marylebone, St. Marylebone, London) is a continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4 and a newsreader for the BBC World Service. Education From 1989 to 1994, Sandars was educated at The Oratory School,

, and Jane Steel.

Editors

Jenny Abramsky Dame Jennifer Gita Abramsky, (born 7 October 1946) is a British media producer and philanthropist. She was chairman of the UK's National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). The NHMF makes grants to preserve heritage of outstanding national importance ...

(1986–1987) * Phil Harding (1987–1993) *

Roger Mosey Roger Mosey (born 4 January 1958)"Rose ...

(1993–1997) *

Rod Liddle Roderick E. Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme. His published works include ''Too Beautiful for You'' (2003), ''Love Will Destr ...

(1998–2002) * Kevin Marsh (2002–2006) *

Ceri Thomas Ceri Thomas is a British executive who is the director of public affairs and communication at Oxford University. A former radio news producer and media executive, he is a former editor of the BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme and BBC One's '' Pan ...

(2006–2012) * Jamie Angus (2013–2017) *

Sarah Sands Sarah Sands (''née'' Harvey; 3 May 1961) is a British journalist and author. A former editor of the ''London Evening Standard'', she was editor of ''Today'' on BBC Radio 4 from 2017 to 2020. Early life and education Sands was born in Cambridge ...

(2017–2020) * Owenna Griffiths (2020–present)

Guest editors

Beginning in 2003, for over one week at the end of December, guest editors have been invited to commission items for one edition of the programme. These usually reflect their social or cultural interests and at the end of each edition the guest editor is interviewed by a member of the regular presenting team about the experience. Guest editors participating in the inaugural year of this feature were

Monica Ali Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut nove ...

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

, Stephen Hawking, and

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (born 29 March 1931) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trad ...

, who is a frequent critic of the programme. Since its inception, notable guest editors have included:

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...

, who used the programme as an opportunity to 'turn the tables' on John Humphrys in 2005;

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, whose appearance on 29 December 2006 encompassed discussions of his growing concerns about the 'justification' for the invasion of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, Britain's role in the affair, and the consequences for British armed forces; and

Peter Hennessy Peter John Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, (born 28 March 1947) is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary Unive ...

, who, on 28 December 2007, led a visit to HMS ''Vigilant'' (a British

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

submarine) alongside its base at

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

. Others including

Queen Noor of Jordan Noor Al-Hussein ( ar, نور الحسين; born Lisa Najeeb Halaby; August 23, 1951) is an American-born Jordanian philanthropist and activist who is the fourth wife and widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was Queen of Jordan from their marriag ...

(2005),

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

(2004) and

Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III ...

(2004) have also pitched in for this one-day editorial stint to promote their causes and interests.

Notable features

''Today'' regularly holds an end-of-year poll. For many years this took the form of write-in votes for the Man and Woman of the Year. This was stopped after an episode of organised

vote-rigging Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

in 1990, but was soon revived as a telephone vote for a single Personality of the Year. A further episode of vote-rigging, in favour of

in 1996, forced the programme-makers to consider more innovative polling questions. In 2004 listeners nominated candidates for a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, in 2005 the question was set of "Who Runs Britain?" (though this, too, turned out to be rigged). Recent years have also included nominations for a "Listener's Law" (which an MP agreed to sponsor as a parliamentary bill, although he did not support the winning nomination, which he thought was not appropriate), and, in 2006, nominations were sought for the law that listeners would most like to see repealed. In ''Thought for the Day'', featured since 1970, a speaker reflects on topical issues from a theological viewpoint, the editorial responsibility lying with BBC's Religion and Ethics Department (a point often made on the ''Today'' programme). Notable contributors to the slot have included Rabbi

Lionel Blue Lionel Blue (6 February 1930 – 19 December 2016) was a British Reform rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the most respected religious figures in the UK". He was best known for his longstanding work wit ...

, the academic

Elaine Storkey Elaine Storkey (''née'' Lively; born 1944) is an English philosopher, sociologist, and theologian. She is known for her lecturing, writing and broadcasting. Early years and education Born Elaine Lively on 1 October 1944, Storkey is the eldest of ...

, the Sikh

Indarjit Singh Indarjit Singh, Baron Singh of Wimbledon (born 17 September 1932), sometimes transliterated Inderjit Singh, is a British journalist and broadcaster, a prominent British Indian active in Sikh and interfaith activities, and a member of the Hou ...

and

Richard Harries Richard Douglas Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, (born 2 June 1936) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and former British Army officer. He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Profes ...

, the former

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

. Over the years the slot has featured an increasing number of speakers from religions other than Christianity, though Christian speakers remain in a substantial majority. In August 2002,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

professor

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

gave a non-religious

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

thought for the day; however, this did not replace the regular thought and was broadcast an hour later as an alternative thought. In 1983 the long-running " Prayer for the Day", which had always gone on air at 6.50am, was moved to 6.25am and replaced by a "Business News" slot. It was later moved out of ''Today'', in the face of protest from listeners, to 5.43am where it is still received by an appreciative audience. The programme has a regular slot for sports news and items, 'Sports Desk', between 26 and 30 minutes past each hour, regularly presented by

Garry Richardson Garry Richardson (born 1956/1957) is a British radio presenter. He presented the Sunday morning sports programme '' Sportsweek'' on BBC Radio 5 Live until 15 September 2019, and remains a sports presenter on the weekday morning ''Today'' show o ...

Jonathan Legard Jonathan Legard (born 7 July 1961 in Cardiff, Wales), is a sports journalist, best known as the lead commentator for the BBC's Formula One TV coverage in 2009 and 2010. Legard has been the BBC's motor racing and football correspondent as well a ...

Rob Bonnet Robert Bonnet (born ) is a BBC sports journalist. He has presented bulletins across the BBC News Channel and BBC World News and presents '' Extratime'', an interview programme on BBC World and BBC News. Bonnet is currently one of the main sports ...

and occasionally by

Alison Mitchell Alison Mitchell (born 17 January) is an English-Australian cricket commentator and sports broadcaster, working for the BBC, Australia's Channel 7 and the Australian Open among others. She was the first woman to become a regular commentator on the ...

Karthi Gnanasegaram Karthi Gnanasegaram is a British television and radio presenter working for the BBC, Amazon Prime Video, Classic FM, Royal Opera House and Premier League Productions. As of 2011 she is a regular presenter on the BBC for sports programmes and o ...

or Chris Dennis. If

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

is in session the previous day there will be a summary at about 06:50 (Yesterday in Parliament) presented by two from Robert Orchard, David Wilby, Rachel Hooper and Susan Hulme. Journalist and historian

has made an assertion in one of his books that a test that the commander of a British nuclear-missile

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

must use to determine whether the UK has been the target of a

nuclear attack Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

(in which case he has sealed orders which may authorise him to fire his nuclear missiles in retaliation), is to listen for the presence of ''Today'' on Radio 4's frequencies. If a certain number of days (said to be three) pass without the programme being broadcast, that is to be taken as evidence that the orders must be executed. The true conditions are of course secret, and Hennessy has never revealed his sources for this story, leading Paul Donovan, author of a book about ''Today'', to express some scepticism about it. However, the

longwave In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...

signal of Radio 4 is capable of penetrating to surface depths where submarines can rise, although it does not have the range required to be heard at this depth far from the UK's coastal waters.

Message boards

In 2001, the ''Today'' programme created a system of message boards allowing the users of its web site to challenge thinking on current affairs with all those contributing. Available statistics indicate the amassing, over five years, of up to 18,000 separate discussions – topic threads – sometimes with as many as 3,000 contributions per thread. However, on 16 November 2006 the programme changed its board policy so that only the producers of ''Today'' could start a thread, but all contributors could still join in with them. This action appeared to have been unattractive to past contributors and, it seems, many stopped dealing with ''Today'' in favour of other outlets. After the changes there were fewer contributions, but, on occasion, contributions made by the public were featured on-air in the ''Today'' programme. Message boards dedicated to the ''Today'' programme were discontinued around mid-2008 and listeners were invited to use the general BBC 'Have Your Say' board.Have Your Say
BBC News (1 January 1970).

Podcast

A podcast, ''Beyond Today'', was launched on 29 October 2018. Presented alternately by

Tina Daheley Tina Daheley (born ) is a British journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC, both on television and radio. She currently reads the news on ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' with Zoe Ball, often contributing to discussions during th ...

and

Matthew Price Matthew William Price (born 5 June 1972 in Hampstead, London) is a British journalist who currently works as Chief Correspondent for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. Education Matthew Price was educated at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ...

and aimed at a younger audience, the production team contains the same number of women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds as it does men.

Controversy

''Today'' found itself in the midst of controversy again in 2002, when its editor

wrote a column in ''

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 ...

'' that was extremely critical of the

Countryside Alliance The Countryside Alliance (CA) is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as farming, rural services, small businesses and field sports, aiming to "Give Rural Britain a voice". History The Countryside Alliance ...

and which raised questions about his own impartiality. In the article, he wrote that catching "a glimpse of the forces supporting the Countryside Alliance: the public schools that laid on coaches; the fusty, belch-filled dining rooms of the London clubs that opened their doors, for the first time, to the protesters; the Prince of Wales and, of course, Camilla ... and suddenly, rather gloriously, it might be that you remember hy you voted Labouronce again." He resigned from his post on ''Today''. In the summer of 2003, ''Today'' once again found itself at the centre of allegations of political bias, this time against a Labour government. The controversy arose after ''Today'' broadcast a report by its correspondent

Andrew Gilligan Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November 1968) is a British policy adviser and former transport adviser to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister between 2019-22. Until July 2019, he was senior correspondent of ''The Sunday Times'' and had also served ...

. The report alleged that a dossier the British Government had produced to convince the British public of the need to invade

had been "sexed up" (deliberately exaggerated), and that the government had known this prior to publishing it. In his live 2-way (interview with presenter John Humphrys), just after 6.07 a.m., Gilligan asserted that the dossier and the Government "probably knew" that one of the main claims in the dossier "was wrong". Gilligan's

anonymous source In journalism, a source is a person, publication, or knowledge other record or document that gives timely information. Outside journalism, sources are sometimes known as "news sources". Examples of sources include but are not limited to officia ...

for the claim was Dr David Kelly, a key adviser on biological weapons who had worked in Iraq – though it was never established whether Dr Kelly had actually used the words Gilligan attributed to him. In the furore that followed Gilligan's report, David Kelly's name became public and he was forced to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Shortly afterward he was found dead having presumably committed suicide. In the ensuing public inquiry (the

Hutton Inquiry The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour government to investigate the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, a biological warfare expert and f ...

), which reported in January 2004, the BBC was heavily criticised. This led to the resignation of the BBC's chairman,

Gavyn Davies Gavyn Davies, OBE (born 27 November 1950) is a former Goldman Sachs partner who was the chairman of the BBC from 2001 until 2004. On 28 January 2004 he announced that he was resigning his BBC post following the publication of the Hutton Inqui ...

, the Director-General,

Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...

, and Andrew Gilligan. On Friday 5 November 2010, the programme failed to be transmitted due to 48-hour strike action at the BBC. Transmission continued the next day, in spite of ongoing industrial action, as

and

decided to break the strike.

Criticism

"Radio 4 on the whole is good for using serious female presenters, but the ''Today'' programme lets it down badly", commented former ''Today'' newsreader

Alice Arnold Alice Arnold may refer to * Alice Arnold (broadcaster) Alice Arnold (born 1962) is a British broadcaster and journalist. She was a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 for more than twenty years until the end of December 2012. ...

early in 2013, pointing out that Sarah Montague was (then) the only female presenter among the regular presenters. During 2010, editor

acknowledged that the gender balance was not ideal, but faced criticism for saying in an interview that the programme was not going to be the "first place you'll see those changes because it's just too tough an environment for novices, frankly". Radio 4 presenter

Mariella Frostrup Mariella Frostrup (born 12 November 1962) is a British journalist and presenter, known in British television and radio mainly for arts programmes. Early life Frostrup was born in Oslo, Norway, to Peter and Joan Frostrup, but moved with her fam ...

described the men involved in running the programme in an interview as "a bunch of misogynists", but later retracted this statement by saying she had been "careless" in her vocabulary. In 2011, ''

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 ...

'' journalist

Kira Cochrane Kira Cochrane (; born 1977) is a British journalist and novelist. She is the Head of Features at ''The Guardian,'' and worked previously as Head of Opinion. Cochrane is an advocate for women's rights, as well as an active participant in fourth ...

and colleagues researched the female–male ratio in the British media for a month. Concerning ''Today'' they found 83.5% of the contributors were male and the remaining 16.5% female. The issue was thought important enough for culture minister

Ed Vaizey Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Baron Vaizey of Didcot, (born 5 June 1968) is a British politician, media columnist, political commentator and barrister who was Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from 2010 to 2016. A memb ...

to request a meeting with the BBC in January 2012, and for Director-General

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 ...

, at the start of his brief period in charge of the BBC, to advocate that the next new ''Today'' presenter should be female. An interview with

conducted by John Humphrys in 2006 received 200 complaints concerning Humphrys' aggressive approach and "excessive" interruptions.James Silve
"'Humphrys could see me off too'"
''The Guardian'', 10 April 2006 Ceri Thomas became the programme's editor shortly afterwards, and was asked about this issue. "I'm not going to rule out the confrontational interview as it is on occasion necessary... l the evidence we've got shows that the audience is overwhelmingly behind John Humphrys in general and support our right to do

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

kind of interviews." In a 2012 article decrying the BBC's attitude to science reporting, ''Guardian'' science columnist Martin Robbins wrote: "The ''Today'' programme claims to be serious, but seems to work on the basis that the best way to enlighten viewers is to take two people and force them into a sort of intellectual-masturbation death match.

Graham Linehan Graham Linehan () (born 22 May 1968) is an Irish television writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), ''Black Books'' (2000–2004) and '' The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013). He has also ...

appeared on the show last year to discuss his adaptation of '' The Ladykillers'' and found himself ambushed by questions that weren't just hostile, but sometimes completely bizarre." Expert Women's Days, intended by the BBC as a training exercise intended in part to increase the number of female interviewees on ''Today'', took place in several locations in 2013.Maggie Brow
"BBC to hold Expert Women's Days in Salford, Glasgow and Cardiff"
''The Guardian'', 18 March 2013

References

External links

Official website
*
''All Our Todays: Forty Years of Radio 4's "Today" Programme''. Book review''Thought for the Day'' official site
*
The Today Programme
– Review and analysis at the Journalism Now! project {{DEFAULTSORT:Today (Bbc Radio 4) 1957 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes British radio breakfast shows