Newsnight

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For the CNN programme see NewsNight with Aaron Brown
Newsnight

The Newsnight titles
Genre News and Current Affairs Programme
Creator(s) BBC News
Production
Producer(s) BBC News
Running time 50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC Two
Picture format 720x576 (1998-present anamorphic 16:9, pre-1998 4:3)
Original run 30 January 1980 – Present
Chronology
Related shows Newsnight Scotland

Newsnight is a British daily news analysis, current affairs and politics programme broadcast between 22:30 and 23:20 on weekdays on BBC Two.

The programme's main presenters are Jeremy Paxman (1989-), Gavin Esler (2003-) and Kirsty Wark (1993-), Emily Maitlis (2006-) and the programme's political editor, Martha Kearney. From time to time (usually when one or more of the regular presenters are on holiday), the programme is presented by others including Jon Sopel or PM's Eddie Mair.

Newsnight also has a semi-separate arts slot known as Newsnight Review. On BBC Two Scotland, an opt-out slot, Newsnight Scotland, replaces the final twenty minutes of Newsnight from Monday to Thursday.

Contents

[edit] History

The latest Newsnight set is based around the new 'flexible but fixed' design, to allow other programmes to use it without too many changes.
The latest Newsnight set is based around the new 'flexible but fixed' design, to allow other programmes to use it without too many changes.

Newsnight has been running since 30 January 1980. Peter Snow (1980-1997) presented the programme for its first 17 years and still helps out for special broadcasts, such as those covering wars and elections. Other former presenters include Peter Hobday, Charles Wheeler (latterly the BBC's chief reporter in Washington, DC), John Tusa, Olivia O'Leary, Francine Stock, Sarah Montague, and Jeremy Vine (1999-2002). Vine's style grew so close to that of the incumbent main presenter, Paxman, that the latter was said to refer to the former as Mini-me. The theme music was composed by George Fenton and various different arrangements have been used over the years.

Newsnight also appeared (in repackaged form) on BBC World Service Television and its successor, BBC World, until 1999.

[edit] Interviews

Newsnight remains the UK's flagship television news and current affairs programme and regularly breaks major stories, such as the fact that the leader of the London suicide bombers (7 July 2005) had been monitored by British security services. The programme also features interviews with high-profile figures, including Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Jimmy Carter, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac and several other world leaders.

One of Newsnight's most famous interviews took place on 13 May 1997, between Jeremy Paxman and Michael Howard, who had until 13 days earlier been Home Secretary. Howard was questioned regarding a meeting he had convened with Derek Lewis, the head of the Prison Service, regarding the potential dismissal of John Marriott, the governor of Parkhurst Prison, following a well-publicised jail-break. Lewis had argued against dismissing Marriott. During one continuous sequence Paxman put the same question — "Did you threaten to overrule him?" — twelve times (not fourteen as is widely believed)[1] to Howard, who on each occasion gave a qualified or evasive answer, such as "I did not overrule him". It was revealed during Newsnight's 20th anniversary special programme that after Paxman introduced the next report and the film started rolling, he politely asked Howard, "Was that okay?". Howard, whilst disconnecting his microphone, rhetorically replied, "Well, what do you think?"

This was later revealed to be a stalling strategy by Paxman on being told that the studio was having technical trouble with one of the reports which was to follow. In 2004, Paxman broached the subject with Howard, who was then Conservative leader. Again, Howard laughed the question off, but did say he "didn't" threaten to overrule the Head of the Prison Service. The clip was later repeated on the satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You, and has been voted the best Newsnight moment ever by members of the show's production team.

[edit] Newsnight Review

On Friday evenings, Newsnight gives way at 23:00 to Newsnight Review, a 35-minute slot looking at cultural developments across the board, from literature (including occasionally children's novels) to opera via the latest contemporary art exhibitions to prime-time TV programming. Presenters have included Tom Sutcliffe (who presents a similar programme, Saturday Review, on BBC Radio Four) and Tim Marlowe, though Mark Lawson was the programme's original presenter in its Late Review format as part of BBC Two's The Late Show strand. He continued to chair the critical discussion among the panel of guest reviewers frequently since its becoming Newsnight Review in 2000, but in December 2005 retired from the lineup. His replacements as presenter currently include Martha Kearney, Kirsty Wark and Hardeep Singh Kohli. Recent panellists have included Mark Kermode, Nikki Gemmell, Bonnie Greer, Tom Paulin, Germaine Greer, Ian Hislop, Grayson Perry, Ian Rankin, John Mortimer, PD James and many others. Bands have also played on the programme, albeit recorded. The most recent to play was Guillemots. The comedy programme Dead Ringers parodies the programme, with impressions of Lawson, Greer and Paulin.

[edit] Stock market update vs. Weather

Traditionally at the end of the programme the there is a short stock market update. In 2005, Newsnight's editor, Peter Barron, replaced it with a 30-second weather report, arguing that the market data was available via the Internet and that weather would be more useful. However, the change brought a flurry of complaints. On one occasion, Jeremy Paxman said in his usual sarcastic tone, "So finally and controversially, tomorrow's weather forecast. It's a veritable smorgasbord. Sun, rain, thunder, hail, snow, cold, wind. Not worth going to work really." Another occasion saw him quip, "It's April, what do you expect?" and "Take an umbrella." Nonetheless, he claimed he was happy presenting the weather.

Consequently, Newsnight conducted a telephone poll. Michael Fish, a former weather forecaster, was seen arguing in favour of the weather report, while Norman Lamont (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) campaigned for the market update. 62% of viewers voted in favour of the market update, and as a result it returned on Monday, 18 April 2005. Since Channel 4 News, a British news anaylsis programme of similar length, managed for a long time to include both short market and weather reports within its allotted time, it is unclear why Newsnight could not, or would not, do likewise.

Taking up another populist cause, for a week at the end of January 2006, Newsnight played out its closing credits accompanied by the Radio 4 Theme which was facing the axe from BBC Radio 4. Continuing the motif, the 24 April 2006 edition played out with the signature tune of the soon-to-be-cancelled BBC sports programme, Grandstand. On 11 December, 2006. Newsnight played out with the signature tune but being played with what sounded like a saxophone and a xylophone.

[edit] Newsnight via other media

Newsnight is now available via broadband for viewing up to 24 hours post-broadcast. In March 2006 the programme launched a weekly Podcast, and a blog by business correspondent Paul Mason. In July 2006, a weekly video podcast was launched featuring 20 minutes of highlights from the previous week's programmes. Scheduled for 2007, Newsnight will be linked to Project Phoenix, BBC World's largest-ever investment in a news-based magazine. Newsnight podcasts for the last week are available here.

[edit] List of Current Newsnight presenters

[edit] List of Former Newsnight presenters

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ BBC News website: Newsnight 25 — Paxman versus Howard

[edit] External links

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