Cathy Newman
Cathy Newman (born 14 July 1974)[1] is an English journalist and presenter of Channel 4 News.
Born in Guildford, Surrey, Newman is a daughter of two teachers, and was on the path to a career as a violinist before changing her plans as a result of seeing BBC journalist Kate Adie on television.[2] After graduating with a first[1] from Oxford University, where she read English at Lady Margaret Hall,[3] she briefly worked for Media Week and The Independent (as business correspondent)[4] before joining the Financial Times at the age of 23. Her older colleague Alice Rawsthorn acted as a mentor at the FT,[5] where Newman worked as a media and then (for three years) political correspondent. In 2000, Newman gained a Laurence Stern fellowship to work at The Washington Post for four months.[4]
She joined Channel 4 News as a political correspondent (and deputy to political editor Gary Gibbon) in January 2006[6] in which role she managed in 2009 to challenge Peter Mandelson at the Labour Party conference, held in Brighton that year, over his claimed use of the 'c' word in a conversation with Rebekah Brooks, then CEO of News International.[7]
Newman became the first female co-presenter of the programme in 2011.[2] She has also headed the team behind the FactCheck blog which has resulted in several scoops for the programme.[6] From February 2013, she gained attention for her pursuit of a story about the allegations of improper conduct levelled at Lord Rennard, once a leading figure in the Liberal Democrats, including her participation in an LBC local London radio phone-in on 27 February to quiz deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on the issue.[8][9] Newman has commented that sexism was endemic at Westminster during her period as a lobby correspondent there, but has also recounted said that the newspaper industry is even worse.[10]
Newman blogs on women in politics for The Daily Telegraph[11] and Economia magazine.[12] She was long-listed for the Orwell Prize (Journalism) in 2010[13] and again in 2011 for the blog prize.[14]
In 2001 Newman married writer John O'Connell, whom she had met at university; the couple have two children.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lisa Campbell "Cathy Newman, C4 News", Broadcast, 20 October 2011. Newman's date of birth as given as "Bastille Day 1974".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Neil Midgley "Cathy Newman: The time I feel the need for plastic surgery is the time that I leave TV", Evening Standard, 6 December 2011
- ↑ "Prominent LMH alumni" Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University website
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Cathy Newman - News and Current Affairs", Knight Ayton Management
- ↑ Sophie Morris "My Mentor: Cathy Newman On Alice Rawsthorn", The Independent, 28 August 2006
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Cathy Newman - Presenter", Channel 4 News website
- ↑ "Did Mandelson use the 'chump' word?", Channel 4 News, 30 September 2009
- ↑ Jessica Elgot "Lord Rennard Allegations: Channel 4 Cathy Newman Calls Clegg Phone-In", The Huffington Post United Kingdom, 27 February 2013
- ↑ Media Monkey "Lord Rennard row: Nick Clegg called to account by Cathy Newman", The Guardian (blog), 27 February 2013
- ↑ Lisa O'Carroll "Cathy Newman claims to have been propositioned at political conference", theguardian.com, 26 February 2013
- ↑ "Cathy Newman", contributor page, telegraph.co.uk
- ↑ "Cathy Newman", Economia contributor page
- ↑ "Cathy Newman - Political correspondent", The Orwell Prize, Journalism Prize, 2010
- ↑ "Cathy Newman - The FactCheck Blog - Channel 4 News", The Orwell Prize, Blog Prize, 2011