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January 4, 2002updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

BBC commits to year-long review of political coverage

By Press Gazette

Sian Kevill’s three-month role reviewing the BBC’s political coverage has been extended for another year as the corporation attempts to revitalise its political output.

The former editor of Newsnight hosted a major conference on the future of the corporation’s political coverage in late November. The BBC decided it needed a radical review after the public apathy that accompanied last year’s General Election.

Programmes such as On The Record and Question Time could face the axe or a major overhaul as the BBC tries to make its political coverage more accessible and relevant to the public.

George Entwistle, acting news editor of Newsnight, takes on the job full time. He took up the position on 10 September, just a day before the attack on the World Trade Center.

Entwistle impressed his bosses with the programme’s coverage and analysis of the attacks and the aftermath.

A BBC spokesman said: "It was a baptism of fire for him, but George stepped into the breach straight away."

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Entwistle said: "I’ve wanted this job for years. It’s one of the best in television and I’m really looking forward to developing the programme."

He began his career as a journalist working for Haymarket, before joining the BBC as a news trainee in 1989. He has worked on Panorama, On The Record and Tomorrow’s World.

 

By Martin McNamara

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