The political editor of a newspaper or broadcaster is the senior political reporter who covers politics and related matters for the newspaper or station. They may have a large team of political correspondents working under them.
In publishing, because of their seniority, a political editor's byline is often added to stories which actually are the work of more junior colleagues to give the story more credibility and to indicate their seniority within the publication. The political editor usually carries out the major interviews with a country's prime minister and senior government figures and covers major events like party conferences.
BBC News introduced the role of political editor in 1970. [1] In addition to the nation-wide political editors, Glenn Campbell has been political editor for BBC Scotland since 2021, Felicity Evans has been political editor for BBC Cymru Wales since 2018 [2] and Nicholas Watt has been political editor for Newsnight since 2016. [3]
| Political editor | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hardiman Scott | 1970–1975 | Then Chief Assistant to the Director-General of the BBC |
| David Holmes | 1975–1980 | |
| John Simpson | 1980–1981 | Now BBC World Affairs Editor |
| John Cole | 1981–1992 | |
| Robin Oakley | 1992–2000 | Now at CNN |
| Andrew Marr | 2000–2005 | Now at LBC |
| Nick Robinson | 2005–2015 | Political editor of ITV News 2002–2005, now a Today programme presenter |
| Laura Kuenssberg | 2015–2022 | |
| Chris Mason | 2022–present |
ITN produces news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The ITN brand was used on ITV until 1999, when it was rebranded as ITV News.
| Political editor | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Haviland | 1975–1981 | Subsequently political editor of The Times newspaper |
| Glyn Mathias | 1981–1986 | Subsequently political editor of BBC Wales and Electoral Commissioner |
| Michael Brunson | 1986–2000 | Retired |
| John Sergeant | 2000–2002 | Retired, previously Political Correspondent of BBC News 1981–1992 and Chief Political Correspondent 1992–2000 |
| Nick Robinson | 2002–2005 | Political editor of BBC News 2005–2015, now a Today programme presenter |
| Tom Bradby | 2005–2015 | Now an ITV News at Ten presenter |
| Robert Peston | 2015–present |
Additionally, Bernard Ponsonby has been the political editor for STV News in Scotland since 2000, when he replaced Fiona Ross.
Political editors for Channel 4 News include:
ITN produced the 5 News programme for Channel 5 from the channel's launch in 1997 until 2005 and again from 2012, with Sky News providing news coverage in the intervening years. Andy Bell has been the programme's political editor since 1999.
Sky News launched in 1989 with Adam Boulton as political editor. Faisal Islam took over the role in 2014 before moving to the BBC as Economics Editor in 2019. Islam was replaced as Sky's political editor by his former deputy, Beth Rigby.
| Political editor | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Aitken | 1975–1990 | |
| Michael White | 1990–2006 | |
| Patrick Wintour | 2006–2015 | |
| Anushka Asthana | 2016–2018 | Asthana was political editor in a job share arrangement with Heather Stewart beginning in early 2016 |
| Heather Stewart | 2016–present | |
| Political editor | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trevor Kavanagh | 1983–2005 | |
| George Pascoe-Watson | 2006–2009 | |
| Tom Newton Dunn | 2009–2020 | |
| Harry Cole | 2020–present | |
| Political editor | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Isabel Oakeshott | 2010–2014 | |
| Tim Shipman | 2014–2021 | |
| Caroline Wheeler | 2021–present | [6] |
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washington, D.C.
Channel 4 News is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982.
Newsnight is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, that provides "in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines." It broadcasts on weekdays at 10:30pm on BBC Two, and is also available on BBC iPlayer.
The ITV News Channel was a 24-hour television news channel in the United Kingdom which broadcast from 1 August 2000 to 23 December 2005. It was available on Sky, NTL:Telewest, ITV Digital, Freeview and analogue cable, presenting national and international news plus regular business, sport, entertainment and weather summaries. Priority was usually given to breaking news stories. There was also an added focus on British stories, drawing on the resources of the ITV network's regional newsrooms.
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since continued to produce all news programmes on ITV. The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the ITV Evening News held the title of "RTS News Programme of the Year". The flagship ITV News at Ten has won numerous BAFTA awards, and also being named "RTS News Programme of the Year" in 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2022.
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Formerly presenting for ITV News, he joined GB News as a presenter in 2021. He has won the Royal Television Society's News Presenter of the Year award twice.
The ITV Evening News is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Mary Nightingale.
The ITV Lunchtime News is the afternoon news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 1:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Nina Hossain.
Michael Lawrence Crick is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a founding member of the Channel 4 News Team in 1982 and remained there until joining the BBC in 1990. He started work on the BBC's Newsnight programme in 1992, serving as political editor from 2007 until his departure from the BBC in 2011. Crick then returned to Channel 4 News as political correspondent. In 2014 he was chosen as Specialist Journalist of the Year at the Royal Television Society television journalism awards.
Thomas Matthew Bradby is a British journalist and novelist who currently presents the ITV News at Ten. He was previously political editor for ITV News from 2005 to 2015, and presented The Agenda with Tom Bradby, a political discussion series, from 2012 to 2016.
Stephen James Young Scott is a British journalist and presenter employed by ITN as the sports editor and newscaster for ITV News. In 2021 he was named both broadcast journalist of the year and sports news reporter of the year at the annual Sports Journalists' Association Awards.
5 News at 5, also known as Channel 5 News, is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by ITN from its main newsroom on Gray's Inn Road, London.
The Department of Journalism at City, University of London, is a journalism school in London. It is regarded as one of the best universities in the United Kingdom for the study of journalism. as well as the nation's largest centre for journalism education. It was described by Michael Hann of The Guardian, along with Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, as the "Oxbridge of journalism".
Laura Juliet Kuenssberg is a British journalist. She succeeded Nick Robinson as political editor at the BBC in July 2015, and was the first woman to hold the position. Kuenssberg stepped down as political editor on May 6, 2022, after reporting on the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. She had previously served as the BBC's chief political correspondent and was the first business editor of ITV News. She was also the chief correspondent for Newsnight between February 2014 and July 2015.
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as Downing Street Press Secretary under Boris Johnson from November 2020 to April 2021.
David Charles Walter, was a British journalist and a former Political Correspondent for Independent Television News programmes on ITV from 1980 to 1986, then on ITN's Channel 4 News from 1986 to 1988, followed by Paris Correspondent for BBC News, a BBC television and radio producer and presenter, and a Liberal Democrat contender for a seat in the British Parliament. He was a direct descendant of John Walter, the founder of The Times newspaper, whilst his mother was a cousin of former Home Secretary William Whitelaw.
Katherine Mary Razzall is a British journalist and television newsreader.
This is a timeline of the history of television news in the UK.
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