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Political Programme of the Year

Newsnight

THE JUDGES SAY BBC Newsnight was the jury’s unanimous choice for Political Programme of the Year. The panel commended BBC Newsnight for the consistently high quality of its reporting and the range of its stories . The content was always interesting, presentation was imaginative and topics were treated in depth.

In common with other news media, the BBC’s Newsnight has seen a marked upturn in viewing figures, first as a result of the crisis in financial markets and then of the scandal over MPs’ expenses. As always, viewers have turned to Newsnight for a considered, in-depth analysis of these and other political issues. First broadcast in 1980, Newsnight was anchored in its early years by the ‘holy trinity’ of John Tusa, Donald McCormick and Peter Snow. It quickly gained a reputation as a serious news programme that could on occasion be highly unpredictable: quirky cultural items were mingled with an objective but idiosyncratic coverage of the big news stories of the day, and with political interviews that went beyond the normal range of questioning. Jeremy Paxman’s 1997 grilling of the then home secretary Michael Howard over his role in the resignation of prisons boss Derek Lewis, in which Paxman asked Howard the same question 12 times without eliciting a response that satisfied him, was an iconic moment. In addition to McCormick, Tusa, Snow and Paxman, a string of other incisive journalists have anchored the show, including Charles Wheeler, Olivia O’Leary, Jeremy Vine, Kirsty Wark, Gavin Esler and Emily Maitlis. The standard of journalism has remained consistently high, despite the tightness of the show’s budget. Political coverage is Newsnight’s main strength, and its reputation has been boosted by a succession of outstanding political editors. Mark Mardell occupied the post for eight years from 1992 to 2000, covering events such as the sleaze allegations directed at the Major Government and the rise of Tony Blair’s New Labour. From 2000 to 2007 Martha Kearney took on the role. Among her notable reports was the filming of the moment in 2004 when then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw shook hands with Robert Mugabe at the United Nations. In February 2007 Kearney passed the baton to veteran Newsnight reporter Michael Crick, whose brilliant record as an investigative reporter, coupled with a highly individual style, are ideally suited to a news program of Newsnight’s depth and calibre.