Category : News
Date : 13.05.2004
Printable version
Richard Sambrook, Â鶹Éç's Director
of News, today announced the formation of a new Radio Current Affairs
department.
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The new department, which unites Â鶹Éç radio's journalism of ideas and
investigation, and is now independent of TV Current Affairs, will be
headed up by Gwyneth Williams, previously Executive Editor, Radio
Current Affairs.
Radio Current Affairs and its 80-strong staff currently work on special
programmes such as Diplomatic Jigsaw and the Sony Awards' News
Programme of the Year, Crossing Continents: India, as well as
strands including Analysis, From Our Own Correspondent,
The Reith Lectures, Moneybox, In Business, Euronews
and The Five Live Report.
The reorganisation means that Radio's flag-ship investigative programme,
File on 4, now rejoins Radio Current Affairs from TV current
affairs.
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File on 4 will retain its Manchester base. An investigative unit will
be set up there which will draw on the journalistic skills of established
and successful strands like File on 4, The Five Live Report and Money
Box Investigates.
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The unit will be based around File on 4's award-winning editor David
Ross.
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Richard Sambrook said: "This reorganisation is an unambiguous
statement of confidence in the core values of radio journalism.
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"Â鶹Éç Radio is the best in the world and this new structure enables
us to pool the talents of current affairs staff to create a new and
unrivalled powerhouse of radio journalism.
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"The new Radio Current Affairs department represents a distillation
of the finest Â鶹Éç qualities; core public service broadcasting, honesty,
curiosity, independence, and a dogged determination to unearth the facts.
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"We value original journalism highly and want to nurture the cultures
that generate it within News."
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Head of the new Radio Current Affairs department, Gwyneth Williams,
said: "Programmes like The Reith Lectures, Analysis and More or
Less invite our listeners to conjure with new and exciting ideas; the
special series such as Diplomatic Jigsaw add authority to broadcasting,
while investigative strands like File on 4 and The Five Live Report
demonstrate that rigorous, well-researched journalism can uncover vital
stories that daily news journalism has neither the time nor the resources
to explore in full.
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"In Manchester we plan to build on 25 years of gritty current
affairs journalism by making File on 4 the heart of a centre of excellence
for current affairs investigations."
