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Jon Sopel (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Jon Sopel is a television presenter and correspondent for the BBC
. He was educated at a boys' grammar school in Finchley
London, and then at Christ's College
; he received an honours degree in politics from Southampton University.
and later spent three years as the BBC's Paris
correspondent. Stories he covered while he was in Paris included the French ban on the importation of British beef, the millennium celebrations in Paris, the oil spill in Brittany
, the French presidency of the EU in 2000 and the Concorde crash
in July 2000. Sopel was a freelance writer and broadcaster before joining the BBC
in 1983 as a reporter and producer for Radio Solent. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, Sopel was the BBC's correspondent in Kuwait City
.
In 2005 Sopel joined The Politics Show
on BBC One
replacing Jeremy Vine
as the programme's main presenter. Broadcast every Sunday at noon, Sopel interviews key politicians and advisers, who in the past have included then Prime Minister Tony Blair
, opposition leader David Cameron
, Jack Straw
, Gordon Brown
and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
. The show will end in December 2011 and be replaced by Sunday Politics in January 2012, hosted by Andrew Neil.
He also co-presents the BBC News Channel on weekday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm - alongside Louise Minchin
each Tuesday-Thursday and alongside Emily Maitlis
on Mondays - following his appointment as a presenter on the channel in 2003.
During major political stories, such as elections, Sopel reports and presents on location for the BBC News Channel and BBC News at One. He makes occasional appearances on BBC One
news bulletins as a relief anchor. In his 16 years with the BBC, he has appeared on PM on Radio Four, Breakfast News, BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten as well as fronting BBC Two
's annual coverage of the UK political party conferences, Conference Live. He is an occasional stand-in presenter for Newsnight
, and has also made past appearances on Breakfast
, HARDtalk
and The Daily Politics
.
listed Sopel's hobbies as golf, travel and watching football. He is also an ambassador for The Prince's Trust
. Sopel is an alumnus of the University of Southampton
where he was the President of the Students' Union, for the National Organisation of Labour Students
during 1982 and 1983. He met his wife Linda while working at Radio Solent; the couple have a son and daughter and live in North London
.
On 20 October 2010 he broke his hip when he crashed his scooter on fallen leaves whilst on his way to Westminster to cover for the BBC the announcement of the government's spending cuts. He failed to realise the full extent of his injury until after he had completed his journey, and subsequently required surgery.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. He was educated at a boys' grammar school in Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
London, and then at Christ's College
Christ's College Finchley
Christ's College is a state comprehensive secondary school in East Finchley, London, United Kingdom. It falls under the London Borough of Barnet Local Education Authority. It is a boys' school up to and including Year 11, and the sixth form is mixed, admitting up to 25% girls. The school presently...
; he received an honours degree in politics from Southampton University.
Broadcasting career
Starting his broadcasting career in local radio at BBC Radio Solent, Sopel went on to become the chief political correspondent for BBC News 24BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
and later spent three years as the BBC's Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
correspondent. Stories he covered while he was in Paris included the French ban on the importation of British beef, the millennium celebrations in Paris, the oil spill in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, the French presidency of the EU in 2000 and the Concorde crash
Air France Flight 4590
Air France Flight 4590 was a Concorde flight operated by Air France which was scheduled to run from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On 2000, it crashed in Gonesse, France. All one hundred passengers and nine crew...
in July 2000. Sopel was a freelance writer and broadcaster before joining the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1983 as a reporter and producer for Radio Solent. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, Sopel was the BBC's correspondent in Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
.
In 2005 Sopel joined The Politics Show
The Politics Show
The Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
replacing Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Guy Vine is a British author, journalist and news presenter for the BBC. He is known for his direct interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa...
as the programme's main presenter. Broadcast every Sunday at noon, Sopel interviews key politicians and advisers, who in the past have included then Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, opposition leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, Jack Straw
Jack Straw (politician)
John Whitaker Straw is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackburn since 1979. He served as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons from 2006 to 2007 under Tony Blair...
, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
. The show will end in December 2011 and be replaced by Sunday Politics in January 2012, hosted by Andrew Neil.
He also co-presents the BBC News Channel on weekday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm - alongside Louise Minchin
Louise Minchin
Louise Minchin is an English journalist and presenter. She is currently a regular presenter on the BBC News channel, as well as being the main relief presenter for the BBC News at One and BBC Breakfast and a guest presenter on The One Show.-Early life:Born Louise Grayson in 1968 in Hong Kong , to...
each Tuesday-Thursday and alongside Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis is a Canadian-born British journalist and newsreader, currently employed by the BBC.-Career:Raised in Sheffield, she was educated at the local King Edward VII School...
on Mondays - following his appointment as a presenter on the channel in 2003.
During major political stories, such as elections, Sopel reports and presents on location for the BBC News Channel and BBC News at One. He makes occasional appearances on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
news bulletins as a relief anchor. In his 16 years with the BBC, he has appeared on PM on Radio Four, Breakfast News, BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten as well as fronting BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's annual coverage of the UK political party conferences, Conference Live. He is an occasional stand-in presenter for Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, and has also made past appearances on Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, HARDtalk
HARDtalk
Hardtalk is a flagship BBC television programme, consisting of in-depth half-hour one-on-one interviews.It is broadcast four days a week on BBC World News and the BBC News channel. Launched in 1997, much of its worldwide fame is due to its global reach via BBC World...
and The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is a British television show launched by the BBC in 2003. Presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn, the programme takes an in-depth and sometimes irreverent look at the daily goings on in Westminster and other areas across Britain and the world, and includes interviews with leading...
.
Personal life
The 2007 edition of Who's WhoWho's Who (UK)
Who's Who is an annual British publication of biographies which vary in length of about 30,000 living notable Britons.-History:...
listed Sopel's hobbies as golf, travel and watching football. He is also an ambassador for The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
. Sopel is an alumnus of the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
where he was the President of the Students' Union, for the National Organisation of Labour Students
National Organisation of Labour Students
National Organisation of Labour Students may refer to:* Labour Students, a student organisation affiliated to the British Labour Party* National Organisation of Labor Students, a former factional grouping operating within the National Union of Students of Australia...
during 1982 and 1983. He met his wife Linda while working at Radio Solent; the couple have a son and daughter and live in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
.
On 20 October 2010 he broke his hip when he crashed his scooter on fallen leaves whilst on his way to Westminster to cover for the BBC the announcement of the government's spending cuts. He failed to realise the full extent of his injury until after he had completed his journey, and subsequently required surgery.
Publications
- Tony Blair: The Moderniser (1995) Michael Joseph, London. ISBN 0-7181-3918-6 / 0-7181-3918-6