Leaving the BBC’s sinking ship

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?

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