Laura Kuenssberg moving on...

[MyOtherProfile]

www.theguardian.com/media/2021/oct/21/laura-kuenssberg-talks-step-down-bbc-political-editor

I read the headline and assumed she would be going off to do something with the government / Tory party but it seems she will present Today while leaving space for her successor to prepare for the next general election.

Just posting in the hope someone else finds it as interesting as me

I like Laura, was hoping she'd go to the USA to be North America editor as Jon Sopel is moving on too. But it seems Sarah Smith is tipped for that job.

Wasn’t she supposed to be moving to ITV this September? She even made an announcement last year. Or am I imagining it?

Does she have teenage kids? I got the impression that the media were reporting this as they couldn't report something bigger

Where is Jon Sopel going @TwinklyBranch ?

Bigger like what @PeggyGa ?

Good for her I like her. I can’t imagine how bloody stressful her job is though.

I'm not keen on Sarah Smith on the Today programme so I hope the rumours (SS going to America) are true. Laura's never married or had kids I don't think?

@MyOtherProfile He said on Twitter that he was coming back to London, still going to be working for the BBC but taking a break first.

@PeggyGa I don't think she has any kids but who knows? She seems to keep her private life private which is fair enough.

Disagree with some of the abuse she got, though she’s clearly right of centre, and as such found presenting a balanced take of Westminster politics when Corbyn was leader extremely “challenging”.

Having said that, I don’t think BBC should be in the business of current news reporting at all. Objectivity in news is basically an oxymoron - the very act of reporting one event or speech and not another is a political act. And as far as the BBC does strive for balance it does a terrible job of it - worse than many commercial media on certain issues, as many studies have attested to.

@supermoonrising

Disagree with some of the abuse she got, though she’s clearly right of centre, and as such found presenting a balanced take of Westminster politics when Corbyn was leader extremely “challenging”.

Having said that, I don’t think BBC should be in the business of current news reporting at all. Objectivity in news is basically an oxymoron - the very act of reporting one event or speech and not another is a political act. And as far as the BBC does strive for balance it does a terrible job of it - worse than many commercial media on certain issues, as many studies have attested to.

What studies?

I agree though, how can the BBC possibly be independent when it comes to politics when they’re effectively at the mercy of the government of the day? They have to beg the government for tv license rises etc and the government can (and do) make cuts to that license.

BBC is not independent as a result. That’s not their fault as such - the government should just give them the money and let an independent commission decide on rises etc. And keep their mantra of decent programming instead. They do make very good programmes. It’s just the political reporting which lets them down.

Personally, I’d love to see BBC scrap all of it political content, all its news reporting as well as scrapping all its low brow crap like the Soaps, Singing crap, Celebrity crap and pour it’s whole budget into producing loads of groundbreaking documentaries and other educational content. Either that or just go online and scrap the mandatory fee entirely/go subscription.

Oh I like her. The left thinks she's a Tory and the right thinks she's a leftie

I've always liked Laura.

@Iggly
Just a couple of issues here for starters. One interesting thing as I mentioned above is that, see how ITV was MUCH more balanced in its Corbyn Labour coverage than the BBC.

www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/report-finds-pro-israel-bias-in-bbc-reporting

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-media-bias-bbc_uk_579a3cd7e4b06d7c426edff0

Ultimately I agree with you though about the BBC having to tow the line of the government of the day. It’s essentially the voice of the British establishment, particularly when it comes to reporting foreign affairs. The overall tone and approach of the BBC reporting on, say, the “threats” of China, Russia, Iran and Palestine isn’t all that different to how China reports on the US, the U.K., HK/Taiwan issues. That might sound crazy, but having lived in China for a decade I find the similarities are really striking, though of course China’s state propaganda is even less subtle.

I'd like the BBC to continue political reporting but to be monitored more openly and to have to answer to that so they give a more balanced perspective.

And I think LK is married but no kids.

@Pythonista
I’ve heard this repeated a few times recently, and yet hadn’t been aware of it the past five years. I thought it was accepted that, at the very least, her election coverage (not to mention close acquaintances) leaned heavily Tory?

The fact is that in past decades, the vast majority of those on the political left were passionate in their defence of the BBC - they saw it as an incredibly important counterweight to the big hitters of Britians commercial media, largely private billionaire owned and leaning heavily Tory: the Times, the Mail, the Sun, the Telegraph, Sky News etc.

The fact that only a minority on the left would now shed a tear at the BBC’s demise tells its own story I think. The BBC is certainly very socially liberal - pro woke issues, minority representation etc. But that isn’t the same as being left wing.

No but it's not really right wing, either. 'Woke' issues are anathema to your average traditional Tory

People will read what they want into political coverage.

It's true people read what they want into it but even my Tory party member friend agreed with me (definitely more left) that LK was biased towards the right.

My parents are centre right wing and think she's left wing.

That is the point. Your friend sees one thing, my parents see another. It's individual perception.

Would America not be a sideways move?

DH and I are intrigued by the various job titles in the BBC - reporter, correspondent, editor etc trying to work out who is the most senior.

@Pythonista

Oh I like her. The left thinks she's a Tory and the right thinks she's a leftie

Exactly this ^^ and I wish her well for the future.

Also agree with supermoonrising that the Beeb should solve it's funding crisis and forget trying to be all things to all people and scrap all the low brow stuff and focus on state occasions, important national sport fixtures, and pursue it's educational and ground-breaking wildlife coverage and events like the proms, and be unashamedly high brow! There's something skewed in their strategy that equates high brow with elitist. Making the best of news documentaries, scientific research, arts, sport, etc readily accessible on the BBC is the opposite of elitist imho.

The sad thing is that low brow sells. Look at ITV2 - unmitigated shite across the board

I don't know too much about LK but did read she was loving on. I used to watch BBC 1 a lot - but now just wait for iPlayer as I can't be arsed to navigate through the celebrity stuff / soaps and all that. Could they transfer those things to BBC4 or something?
Radio 4 - I've listened to for years now and it is more noticeably diverse over the last year or so.

@PreparationPreparationPrep

I don't know too much about LK but did read she was loving on. I used to watch BBC 1 a lot - but now just wait for iPlayer as I can't be arsed to navigate through the celebrity stuff / soaps and all that. Could they transfer those things to BBC4 or something? Radio 4 - I've listened to for years now and it is more noticeably diverse over the last year or so.

BBC4 and BBC2 are the only BBC channels that actually have consistently good programmes

I live around where she lives - she has a partner, tween and cute dog :)