Leaving the bbc’s sinking ship | thearticle

Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis are just the latest to leave BBC News. They have left to launch a new podcast for Global, owners of LBC, joining forces with executive producer Dino Sofos and his

production company Persephonica. It is an extraordinary exodus from the BBC and particularly worrying at such an important moment in modern European history. Listening to Nick Robinson and

Lyse Doucet reporting live from Kyiv as Russia invaded Ukraine, along with many other BBC journalists, was a timely reminder of how important BBC News is for all of us. The BBC can ’ t

afford to lose some of its most experienced reporters and presenters at such a time.   In just a few months we have seen the departure of John Pienaar (to Times Radio), Simon McCoy (to GB

News), Andrew Marr (to Global and _The New Statesman_), Andrew Neil (first to GB News and now Channel 4) and the retirement of reporters and presenters like Norman Smith, Huw Edwards, Alan

Johnston (who reported from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Gaza, where he was held hostage for 114 days in Gaza in 2007), Rory Cellan-Jones (long-time technology correspondent for BBC News

after 40 years with the BBC), David Shukman (former science editor), Simon Gompertz (personal finance correspondent, BBC News) and Sangita Myska. In addition, Emma Barnett has just announced

that she is leaving _Newsnight _to focus on presenting _Woman’_ _ s Hour, _ Esme Wren has left _Newsnight _after three years as editor to take over at _ Channel 4 News _ , Laura Kuenssberg

who will shortly leave her position as the BBC’s Political Editor after almost seven years, Katty Kay and Nick Bryant have left the BBC in North America and David Dimbleby left _ Question

Time _ in 2018 after presenting the programme for 25 years and left a huge vacuum when he stopped presenting the BBC’s election coverage.  The question is: why have so many leading news

reporters and presenters left the BBC in such a short time? Many have retired after years of service. But the really puzzling cases are Marr, Sopel and Maitlis. There is also still a big

question about what Laura Kuenssberg will do next and who will replace her. Andrew Marr had a terrific career at the BBC, after a brief stint as editor of _The Independent _(1996-98). First,

he was Political Editor of BBC News from 2000-05. Then he presented what became _The Andrew Marr Show _on Sunday mornings on BBC1 from 2005_ _until December 2021, was one of the regular

presenters of _Start the Week _on Radio 4 and wrote and presented a number of historical documentary series. This was a prestigious portfolio and with all due respect to Global and to _The

New Statesman, _it is puzzling that he left the BBC for these new positions. The same is true of Maitlis and Sopel. Emily Maitlis first joined _Newsnight _in 2006. By 2019, she was amongst

the highest paid member of the BBC news and current affairs staff, receiving a salary between £260,000-£264,999. She is perhaps best known for her _Newsnight _interview with Prince Andrew in

November 2019, which won _Interview of the Year_ and _Scoop of the Year_ awards at the 2020 RTS Television Journalism Awards. Sopel, like Marr in his early Sixties, was a regular presenter

on the BBC News Channel and then became the BBC’s North America Editor after more than seven years. He was hotly tipped to join the _Today _programme or to succeed Kuenssberg as the BBC’s

political editor. So why didn’ t he? What explains these departures? Money? It has not yet been revealed what Gobal are paying Marr, Sopel and Maitlis. Is it more than the BBC were paying

them, or even might pay them — especially if Maitlis or Sopel were promoted in the various pending reshuffles? Perhaps. But bear in mind their other commitments outside the BBC. Sopel has

published four books, three on US politics during his time in Washington. Maitlis published _Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News_ in 2019 and presents various non-broadcast events. She

was due to interview Howard Jacobson about his new memoir for next week’s Jewish Book Week. If not money, what about status? The most prestigious positions in BBC News and Current Affairs

are Political Editor, North America Editor, presenting _Today _on Radio 4 and presenting the BBC’s election coverage. Sopel has already been the North America editor and perhaps was not in

the running for any of these other jobs. As a white middle-aged male, he might have done the maths. Fiona Bruce has taken over _ Question Time _ , Sophie Raworth has succeeded Andrew Marr on

Sunday mornings, the current Political Editor is Laura Kuenssberg, Sarah Smith has succeeded Sopel as North America Editor, the hot favourite to succeed Kuenssberg is Alex Forsyth. Apart

from Nick Robinson, it’s over a decade since a white male has been appointed as a regular presenter of the _Today _programme or _Newsnight_. Then there’s the position of presenter of the

BBC’s election coverage. For years this was David Dimbleby. Amazingly, the job was handed over to Huw Edwards for the 2019 election, who was predictably dull. Maitlis, who has had a number

of brushes with the BBC over her partisan comments on_ Newsnight_ and on social media, was probably not the favourite to succeed Edwards. Finally, there is the future of the BBC itself and

indeed the future of network TV. Perhaps Marr, Maitlis and Sopel have worked out that podcasts are more fun and are, in short, the future of news broadcasting. They can mix print journalism

and podcasts (Marr), write the odd book (Marr, Sopel and Maitlis) and they can speak their minds without getting into trouble with the grey men (and women) of the Kremlin. That leaves just a

couple of questions. As so many of the biggest names leave the BBC, who will succeed Laura Kuenssberg and who will present the BBC’s election coverage? Is there anyone of the necessary

calibre who has not left the sinking ship? A MESSAGE FROM THEARTICLE _We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one

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