Simon Hoggart
Encyclopedia
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
. He writes on politics for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and on wine for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
. Until 2006 he presented The News Quiz
The News Quiz
The News Quiz is a topical panel game broadcast on British radio BBC Radio 4.-History:It was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently it was chaired by Simon Hoggart, Barry Took , and then again by Simon Hoggart until March 2006. Hoggart was replaced by Sandi Toksvig in...
on Radio 4. His journalist sketches have been published in a series of books.
Personal life
Simon Hoggart was born on 26 May 1946 in Ashton-under-LyneAshton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Lancashire and educated at Hymers College
Hymers College
Hymers College is a co-educational independent school located on the site of the old Botanic Gardens of Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1893 as a boys' school, but expanded to include girls from the 1970s onwards.-History:...
in Hull, Wyggeston Boys' School
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, or "Q.E" is a sixth form college in Leicester, England.-Admissions:There are 1,865 full-time 16-18 year-old students and 140 teaching staff. More than 40 subjects are offered at A Level. Somewhat against the national trend Mathematics and Sciences account...
in Leicester, and then King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. He is the son of the sociologist Richard Hoggart
Richard Hoggart
Herbert Richard Hoggart is a British academic and public figure, whose career has covered the fields of sociology, English literature and cultural studies, with a special concern for British popular culture.-Career:...
and Mary Holt Hoggart. His brother is The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
television critic Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart is an English television critic and columnist. He is the youngest son of Richard Hoggart and brother of political journalist Simon Hoggart. His sister, Nicola, is a teacher.-Early life and Career:...
. He lives in South London with his wife, Alyson, a clinical psychologist and their two children, Amy and Richard.
Career
Hoggart joined The Guardian in 1968, later becoming the American correspondent for The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, and occasional guest commentator on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
. Hoggart then became the parliamentary sketch writer for The Guardian in 1993. He also writes a wine column for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
.
In the early 1980s he chaired the radio comedy show The News Quiz, returning to the show in 1996 for another ten years. In March 2006, Hoggart presented his last edition of The News Quiz commenting: "I'm getting a bit clapped out and jaded, and I think that's beginning to show."
In 1998 he was part of BBC Radio 4's 5-part political satire programme Cartoons, Lampoons, and Buffoons. He was also a contributor to the Grumpy Old Men
Grumpy Old Men (TV series)
Grumpy Old Men is a conversational-style television programme on BBC2 which debuted in 2003, The first run of four programmes was repeated several times before a second series, also of four episodes, was shown in 2004. A third series aired in April 2006. There were also 2003 & 2004 Christmas...
and in the past has written for Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
magazine and an occasional column for New Humanist
New Humanist
New Humanist is a monthly magazine published by the Rationalist Association in the UK. It has been in print for 125 years; starting out life as Watts's Literary Guide, founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885....
magazine (last entry May 2005). Hoggart was also an occasional celebrity panelist on BBC2's antiques quiz show Going, Going, Gone
Going, Going, Gone (TV series)
Going, Going, Gone was an antiques quiz show in the UK during the 1990s, which was shown on BBC Two and which was produced by BBC Scotland in Glasgow. The show ran from 16 October 1995 to 11 March 1998, and aired 144 programmes...
.
His published books to date form an eclectic list, including debunking the supernatural, anecdotes about Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, a biography, his thoughts about the United States, a serious political review, and collected Christmas round-robin letters.
When speculation appeared in the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
in December 2004 suggesting he was the "third man" in the Kimberly Quinn
Kimberly Quinn
Kimberly Quinn , is an American journalist, commentator and magazine publisher and writer. Latterly the publisher of British conservative news magazine The Spectator....
affair, Hoggart initially denied any involvement before issuing a statement admitting that he had an affair with Quinn before her marriage. The political sex scandal
Sex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
involving Quinn contributed to the resignation of David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
from the Cabinet.
Works
Books- Simon Hoggart, Send Up the Clowns, Guardian Books (October 17, 2011) ISBN 978-0852652435
- Simon Hoggart, A Long Lunch: My Stories and I'm Sticking to Them John Murray (14 Oct 2010) ISBN 978-1848543973
- Simon Hoggart, Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine Quadrille Publishing Ltd (18 Sep 2009) ISBN 978-1844007424
- Simon Hoggart, The Hands of History: Parliamentary Sketches 1997-2007 (2007) ISBN 1-84354-679-5
- Simon Hoggart and Emily Monk, Don't Tell Mum: Hair-raising Messages Home from Gap-year Travellers by Atlantic Books (27 Dec 2006) ISBN 978-1843545392
- Simon Hoggart, The Hamster That Loved Puccini: The Seven Modern Sins of Christmas Round-Robin Letters (2005) ISBN 1-84354-474-1
- Simon Hoggart, The Cat That Could Open the Fridge: A Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round-Robin Letters (2004) ISBN 1-84354-357-5
- Simon Hoggart, Punchlines: A Crash Course in English with John Prescott (2003) ISBN 0-7434-8397-9, on PrescotteseJohn PrescottJohn Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
language - Simon Hoggart, Playing to the Gallery: Parliamentary Sketches from Blair Year Zero (2002) ISBN 1-903809-66-5, parliamentary sketches
- Simon Hoggart and Steve BellSteve Bell (cartoonist)Steve Bell is an English political cartoonist, whose work appears in The Guardian and other publications. He is known for his left-wing views and distinctive caricatures.-Early life:...
, Live Briefs: A Political Sketch Book (1996) ISBN 0-413-70970-1, parliamentary sketches, with the Guardian political cartoonist - Simon Hoggart, House of Correction (1995) ISBN 0-86051-998-8, parliamentary sketches
- Simon Hoggart and Mike Hutchinson, Bizarre Beliefs (1995) ISBN 1-86066-021-5, on "the human desire to believe the unbelievable"
- Simon Hoggart, America: A User's Guide (1991) ISBN 0-00-637602-9, on his experiences living in the United States
- Simon Hoggart (editor), House of Cards: A Selection of Modern Political Humour (1988) ISBN 0-241-12451-4
- Simon Hoggart, House of Ill Fame (1985) ISBN 0-86051-350-5, parliamentary sketches
- Simon Hoggart, Back On the House (1982) ISBN 0-330-28148-8, parliamentary sketches
- Simon Hoggart, On the House: The Personalities and the Politics From the Irreverent "Punch" Column (1981) ISBN 0-330-26883-X, parliamentary sketches
- Simon Hoggart and David LeighDavid LeighDavid Leigh is a British journalist and author, currently investigations executive editor of The Guardian.-Early life:Leigh was born in 1946 and educated at Nottingham High School and King's College, Cambridge, receiving a research degree from Cambridge in 1968.-Career:Leigh has been a prominent...
, Michael Foot: A Portrait (1981) ISBN 0-340-27600-2, biography of politician Michael FootMichael FootMichael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992... - Simon Hoggart and Alistair Michie,The Pact: The Inside Story of the Lib-Lab Government, 1977-8 (1978) ISBN 0-7043-3236-1
- Bryan McAllister and Simon Hoggart, Little Boxes: A Selection of Bryan McAllister Cartoons From "The Guardian" (1977) ISBN 0-85265-024-8
Audiobooks
- The News Quiz: The First 25 Years (BBC Radio CollectionBBC Radio CollectionThe BBC Radio Collection was an imprint or record label used for audio books from the British Broadcasting Corporation, mainly of previously broadcast material...
) (2003) ISBN 0-563-49402-6 - Simon Hoggart's Pick of "The News Quiz": Vol 2 (2002) ISBN 0-563-52923-7
- Simon Hoggart's Pick of "The News Quiz": Vol 1 (2000) ISBN 0-563-47762-8
External links
- Column archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Simon Hoggart's week parliamentary sketch series at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Column archive at the New HumanistNew HumanistNew Humanist is a monthly magazine published by the Rationalist Association in the UK. It has been in print for 125 years; starting out life as Watts's Literary Guide, founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885....
- The News Quiz at BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
- 5 minutes with Simon Hoggart on Hot Dinners