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Press Releases
Evan Davis joins Today as new presenter
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Evan Davis, Â鶹Éç Economics Editor, is to join Â鶹Éç Radio 4's
flagship current affairs programme Today as a presenter, as Carolyn
Quinn leaves to concentrate on her other Â鶹Éç projects.
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Evan joins the Today team for 12 months, full time.
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Evan said: "It's perhaps a bit annoying to take a break from my current job just at
the very time the economy seems to be getting interesting.
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"But Today
is a radio institution and I'd obviously be mad to turn down a chance to
present it."
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He added:
"I tried it for two weeks over the summer, and found that if you can
mentally re-classify the early mornings as late nights, they really
don't seem so bad."
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Editor of the Today programme, Ceri Thomas, said:
"Evan is simply one of the outstanding Â鶹Éç journalists of his
generation.
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"He's knowledgeable, surprising, and brilliantly clear-sighted when it comes to working out what really matters on the big
stories. There's nobody better-qualified to present Today."
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Evan will present the programme on rotation alongside current regulars
John Humphrys, Sarah Montague, James Naughtie and Edward Stourton.
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Evan Davis' previous role was as the Â鶹Éç's Economics Editor, responsible
for reporting and analysing economic developments on a range of
programmes on Â鶹Éç radio and television, particularly the Ten O'Clock
News.
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He is also the presenter of Â鶹Éç Two's popular business programme
Dragons' Den.
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One of Radio 4's most respected political journalists, Carolyn Quinn
has presented Today part-time since January 2004.
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She presents Radio 4's
political staple The Westminster Hour full-time, as well as presenting
on PM.
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She anchored Radio 4's General Election programme with James
Naughtie in 2005.
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Carolyn said: "In recent months my energies have been increasingly split three ways
between working late nights as the presenter of The Westminster Hour,
early mornings on Today and afternoons on PM.
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"It's been a tough decision but in order to focus on presenting The
Westminster Hour full-time, now is the right moment to give up my part-time role on the Today programme.
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"I've had a hugely enjoyable and fulfilling four years with the Today
team, I wish them all the best for the future."
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Of Carolyn, Ceri Thomas said:
"We'll miss the depth of her political knowledge and her natural warmth
as a presenter on Today.
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"Carolyn was a success from the start on the
programme, and we wish her luck continuing with that success across the
rest of Radio 4."
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The changes to the Today line-up will take place in the Spring of next
year.
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More about Evan
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Evan read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at St John's College,
Oxford where he was editor of the student newspaper, Cherwell.
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He then went to Harvard where he obtained a Masters Degree in Public
Administration.
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Before becoming a broadcaster Evan worked as an economist for the
Institute for Fiscal Studies and the London Business School's Centre for
Business Strategy.
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Evan joined the Â鶹Éç in 1993 as an economics correspondent for Â鶹Éç radio
and daily TV news programmes.
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In 1997 Evan became the Economics Editor for Newsnight and then in 2001
he became the Â鶹Éç's Economics Editor.
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He also presents Â鶹Éç Two's popular
business programme Dragons' Den, where entrepreneurs line up to bid for
investors.
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Evan was born in 1962 in Ashtead, Surrey and attended The Ashcombe
School, Dorking.
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More about Carolyn
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After a French degree, Carolyn trained to be a teacher but had always
had a yearning to be a journalist.
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She gave up teaching, got a job as a ward clerk at Charing Cross
Hospital and started to volunteer on the hospital radio station.
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She freelanced before joining the Irish Post and was then selected for a
Â鶹Éç Local Radio trainee scheme.
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After training and two years at Â鶹Éç Radio Solent, Carolyn became a reporter
on the local radio desk for the Â鶹Éç at Westminster.
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She became political correspondent in 1994 where one of her first jobs
was doorstepping Tony Blair live on air, just after he had been elected
Labour leader.
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Later in 2001 Carolyn followed the Prime Minister across
the country on the election bus.
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Notes to Editors
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The Today programme, Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs
programme, reached a milestone on Sunday 28 October 2007, celebrating
its 50th birthday.
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Today is Radio 4's most popular programme and over the last 12 months
Today has reached an average of just over six million listeners every
week.
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At the Sony Radio Awards in 2007 Today picked up a number of awards
including:
Gold in the Breakfast Show Award category, Silver for News & Current
Affairs Programme of the Year, News Journalist of the Year Award: John
Humphrys (Gold) and Mike Thomson (Silver), Speech Broadcaster of the
Year Award: John Humphrys (Silver).
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