BBC’s Cole to anchor Al Jazeera International

Al Jazeera International, the 24-hour English-language news
channel launching in spring 2006, has appointed the BBC’s Stephen Cole
to anchor from their London broadcast centre.

Cole is currently senior anchor with BBC News 24 and BBC World. He also hosts the BBC’s Click Online programme.

He has previously worked for Sky News, CNN, and ITN. During industrial action at the BBC in May he fronted the 6 O’Clock and Ten
O’Clock bulletins and attracted higher than usual viewing figures.

Cole will be Al Jazeera International’s main male news anchor in their
London news broadcast centre, one of the channel’s four regional
broadcast centres – the others are in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, and
Washington DC. Al Jazeera International’s London bureau chief, Sue
Phillips said, “I am delighted that Stephen is joining the team here in
London. He brings a wealth of international broadcasting experience and
will help us to offer viewers around the world a fresh perspective on
global news.”

Cole said: “I am honoured to be joining Al Jazeera
International and to have the opportunity to be part of what is broadly
considered the most exciting project in television of this century. “I
firmly believe in the mission of the channel to bring viewers a 360
degree perspective on world events which shows all sides of the story
from all parts of the world,”.

Stephen was recently elected to
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and will be
hosting the Royal Television Society Technology Awards on December 8th.
He has written and presented the Oscars Special Show for BBC World and
BBC News 24 for the past five years.