Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/LONDON: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has revealed the names of its new chief presenters for its revamped and relaunched TV news channel.
The announcement comes after a decision to combine the two existing news channels aimed at audiences in the United Kingdom and worldwide.
The BBC’s new line-up
The BBC’s new lineup will include senior presenter Matthew Amroliwala, Yalda Hakim, Christian Fraser, Lucy Hockings, and Maryam Moshiri. Jane Hill, Martine Croxall, and Ben Brown are among the other hosts on the two current channels.
They have yet to announce the name of one of the new significant presenters.
Geeta Guru-Murthy, another current presenter, tweeted soon before going on broadcast on Thursday: “Catch me if you can!” The two existing channels currently have 18 presenters. In addition to five UK-based lead anchors, the new channel seeks eight correspondents who would also co-present and two presenters based in US capital Washington, DC.
Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, said she was “delighted” to introduce the lead presenters. She said this team’s editorial leadership, talent, knowledge, and flair made them the ideal presenters to bring the BBC’s trusted journalism to people in the UK and worldwide and to take audiences through the important stories as they break.
Emotional farewell from BBC
Joanna Gosling, David Eades, and Tim Willcox, three more long-serving newsreaders, have recently announced their resignations from the corporation. During her final appearance after 23 years, emotional Gosling said an emotional farewell. The redesigned news channel is set to debut this spring. At certain times of day and if there is breaking news that is primarily of interest to a home audience, it will be able to divide into two separate feeds – for the UK and elsewhere.
In the UK, it would be anchored out of London during the day and night and out of Washington DC, and Singapore during the day.
Amroliwala currently hosts Global on BBC World News, while Fraser hosts The Context on both existing channels and is the founder of BBC Two’s Newsnight. While Hakim hosts the global Impact and Our World strands on both channels and Hockings hosts Live with Lucy Hockings on the BBC World News, Moshiri is a familiar face. As a result of the merger, some 50 jobs, both on and off-air, are expected to be lost.
Why are so many presenters leaving the BBC?
The additions to the relaunched news channel come as several well-known presenters leave the BBC. Dan Walker, Vanessa Feltz, Paul O’Grady, Emily Maitlis, and Ken Bruce are some broadcasters who have quit their positions to work in the private sector. In news anchors’ case, the merger of the two existing networks has resulted in employment losses.
However, there are other causes for the resignation of prominent entertainment figures, ranging from the release of their wages to the increasingly fragmented media sector.
