The long-serving presenters will be replaced by some who are more familiar with international audiences
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY UNSPLASH
In July 2022, BBC announced that they would be merging BBC News Channel and BBC World News, with only five positions available for news anchors. After this announcement, 18 presenters were required to audition for the five roles.
Rather than going through this competitive process, three presenters quit – Joanna Gosling, David Eades, and Tim Willcox. The 10 presenters that lost their roles are now having to search for new jobs – although there is talk of the BBC trying to identify opportunities within the corporation, at least some of these treasured presenters will have to seek work from other employers.
Jane Hill, one of the presenters who have been cut, shared this heartfelt message on Twitter:
I want to say a massive thank you for the mountain of lovely messages I’ve received today… from colleagues past & present, even people from rival news organisations! I’m overwhelmed & very touched. Sorry I’ve not yet had time to reply to everyone. #bbcnews
— Jane Hill (@JaneHillNews) February 2, 2023
Geeta Guru-murthy, on the other hand, seems to be taking this loss in stride:
On air now #bbcnews #bbc2 catch me whilst you can ! pic.twitter.com/0YwI6HwgU6
— Geeta Guru-murthy (@Geetagurumurthy) February 2, 2023
The five presenters who will hold the only anchor roles at BBC now, are Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Yalda Hakim, Lucy Hockings and Maryam Moshiri. They are said to be receiving significant pay rises, and their title will be “chief presenter”.
Deborah Turness, the head of BBC News, has commented “This team’s editorial leadership, talent, knowledge and flair make them the ideal presenters and to bring the BBC’s trusted journalism to people at home in the UK and around the globe, and to guide audiences through the big stories as they break”.
The new channel is due to launch this spring.
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