The World Tonight
Encyclopedia
The World Tonight is a British
current affairs
radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4
, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10pm news. It features news, analysis and comment on domestic and world issues. It is usually presented by either Robin Lustig
or Ritula Shah
, but makes frequent use of other presenters, including David Eades
, Jane Hill
and Felicity Evans, and those from World Service programmes.
, to create "the serious current affairs programme of the day" on the new Radio 4
, as one survivor recalls.
Broadcast live at 10 pm, as now, but initially for only thirty minutes, its tone was set by presenter, Douglas Stuart, a former Washington and Bonn correspondent for the BBC. The first edition contained interviews on Northern Ireland and relations between West Germany (something else which has been replaced) and the United States. Later that week, ideas for better government in Scotland and peace in the Middle East were featured.
Its focus on international news was set early on by events in Washington surrounding Watergate. The US time zone (five hours behind the UK) meant that the programme could bring up the minute developments at 10 pm. Its first reporters came from within the ranks of the programme's own producers, which meant that packages or features were cut from a different cloth than standard news reports. Today's World Tonight reporters may not have come from the same stable but the emphasis on perceptive, contextual reporting has remained.
Key to the programme's reputation for authoritative coverage has been the distinguished presenters, all with strong journalistic credentials, including John Tusa
, Anthony Howard
, Richard Kershaw
, Isabel Hilton
and Robin Lustig
.
Other names to have graduated from the ranks of The World Tonight include Dominic Lawson
, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Gray, Editor of Channel 4 News, Jonathan Freedland
of The Guardian and Henry Kelly
.
One thing veterans recall was the traditionally 'relaxed' figure of the Editor. The laisser faire approach of the boss over the years created a culture in which Output Editors, responsible for daily editions, were able to take risks, some of which have led to notable scoops; such as the predicted arrest on war crimes charges of General Augusto Pinochet
in 1998.
Although it has been a staple of the Radio 4 schedule for nearly four decades The World Tonight has stood the test of time and retains a loyal following of 1.7m listeners, representing 16.7% of the national radio audience at 10pm .
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC 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...
, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10pm news. It features news, analysis and comment on domestic and world issues. It is usually presented by either Robin Lustig
Robin Lustig
Robin Francis Lustig is a BBC journalist and radio broadcaster who presents programmes for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.- Early Career :...
or Ritula Shah
Ritula Shah
Ritula Shah is a journalist and news presenter on BBC Radio. As of January 2009, she is a regular presenter of The World Tonight, the Saturday edition of PM, and Woman's Hour on Radio 4, and The World Today on the World Service....
, but makes frequent use of other presenters, including David Eades
David Eades
David Eades is a journalist and newsreader working for BBC News. He presents the news between 0800 - 1200 on BBC World News. He previously has been a Northern Ireland correspondent for the BBC, as well as Europe Correspondent and senior Sports News Correspondent.He has presented the evening slot on...
, Jane Hill
Jane Hill
Jane Hill is a British newsreader working for the BBC.She is one of the main presenters on the BBC News Channel, the corporation's 24-hour rolling news service, and is a relief anchor for the BBC News at One, as well as regularly presenting the BBC Weekend News...
and Felicity Evans, and those from World Service programmes.
History
The World Tonight was introduced following the changes at Broadcasting House which ushered in Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, to create "the serious current affairs programme of the day" on the new Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC 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...
, as one survivor recalls.
Broadcast live at 10 pm, as now, but initially for only thirty minutes, its tone was set by presenter, Douglas Stuart, a former Washington and Bonn correspondent for the BBC. The first edition contained interviews on Northern Ireland and relations between West Germany (something else which has been replaced) and the United States. Later that week, ideas for better government in Scotland and peace in the Middle East were featured.
Its focus on international news was set early on by events in Washington surrounding Watergate. The US time zone (five hours behind the UK) meant that the programme could bring up the minute developments at 10 pm. Its first reporters came from within the ranks of the programme's own producers, which meant that packages or features were cut from a different cloth than standard news reports. Today's World Tonight reporters may not have come from the same stable but the emphasis on perceptive, contextual reporting has remained.
Key to the programme's reputation for authoritative coverage has been the distinguished presenters, all with strong journalistic credentials, including John Tusa
John Tusa
Sir John Tusa is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. From 1980 to 1986 he was a main presenter of BBC 2's Newsnight programme. From 1995 until 2007 he was managing director of the City of London's Barbican Arts Centre...
, Anthony Howard
Anthony Howard
Anthony Howard may refer to:* Anthony Howard , British journalist* Anthony Howard , British swimmer...
, Richard Kershaw
Richard Kershaw
Richard Kershaw is a retired United Kingdom television reporter and interviewer, perhaps best known for his contributions to the BBC current affairs and magazine programme Nationwide in the 1970s and as a reporter on Panorama....
, Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Nancy Hilton OBE is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster based in London.-Biography:She was educated at Edinburgh University where she studied Chinese to post-graduate level...
and Robin Lustig
Robin Lustig
Robin Francis Lustig is a BBC journalist and radio broadcaster who presents programmes for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.- Early Career :...
.
Other names to have graduated from the ranks of The World Tonight include Dominic Lawson
Dominic Lawson
Dominic Ralph Campden Lawson is a British journalist.-Background:Educated at Westminster School and then Christ Church, Oxford, he is the elder son of a former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lawson and socialite Vanessa Salmon, heir to the Lyons Corner House empire, who died of...
, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Gray, Editor of Channel 4 News, Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Saul Freedland is a British journalist, who writes a weekly column for The Guardian and a monthly piece for the Jewish Chronicle. He is also a regular contributor to The New York Times and The New York Review of Books, and presents BBC Radio 4’s contemporary history series,...
of The Guardian and Henry Kelly
Henry Kelly
Patrick Henry Kelly is an Irish television presenter and radio DJ.Henry Kelly was born in Athlone, Co Westmeath, Ireland. He was educated at Belvedere College SJ, and at University College Dublin where he was Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society...
.
One thing veterans recall was the traditionally 'relaxed' figure of the Editor. The laisser faire approach of the boss over the years created a culture in which Output Editors, responsible for daily editions, were able to take risks, some of which have led to notable scoops; such as the predicted arrest on war crimes charges of General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
in 1998.
Although it has been a staple of the Radio 4 schedule for nearly four decades The World Tonight has stood the test of time and retains a loyal following of 1.7m listeners, representing 16.7% of the national radio audience at 10pm .
Presenters
- Robin LustigRobin LustigRobin Francis Lustig is a BBC journalist and radio broadcaster who presents programmes for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.- Early Career :...
(current regular presenter) - Ritula ShahRitula ShahRitula Shah is a journalist and news presenter on BBC Radio. As of January 2009, she is a regular presenter of The World Tonight, the Saturday edition of PM, and Woman's Hour on Radio 4, and The World Today on the World Service....
(current regular presenter) - Felicity Evans (current occasional presenter)
- David EadesDavid EadesDavid Eades is a journalist and newsreader working for BBC News. He presents the news between 0800 - 1200 on BBC World News. He previously has been a Northern Ireland correspondent for the BBC, as well as Europe Correspondent and senior Sports News Correspondent.He has presented the evening slot on...
(current occasional presenter) - Jane HillJane HillJane Hill is a British newsreader working for the BBC.She is one of the main presenters on the BBC News Channel, the corporation's 24-hour rolling news service, and is a relief anchor for the BBC News at One, as well as regularly presenting the BBC Weekend News...
(current occasional presenter) - Jackie Hardgrave
- Claire Bolderson
- Julian WorrickerJulian WorrickerJulian Worricker is a British journalist, currently working as a presenter of You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 and a relief presenter on BBC News, the corporation's 24 hour rolling news channel...
- Isabel HiltonIsabel HiltonIsabel Nancy Hilton OBE is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster based in London.-Biography:She was educated at Edinburgh University where she studied Chinese to post-graduate level...
- David Sells
- Richard KershawRichard KershawRichard Kershaw is a retired United Kingdom television reporter and interviewer, perhaps best known for his contributions to the BBC current affairs and magazine programme Nationwide in the 1970s and as a reporter on Panorama....
- Alexander Macleod
- Anthony HowardAnthony HowardAnthony Howard may refer to:* Anthony Howard , British journalist* Anthony Howard , British swimmer...
- John MorganJohn Morgan-Arts and entertainment:*John Morgan , British painter*John Morgan , Welsh clergyman, scholar and poet*John Morgan , American broadcaster and television producer...
- John TusaJohn TusaSir John Tusa is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. From 1980 to 1986 he was a main presenter of BBC 2's Newsnight programme. From 1995 until 2007 he was managing director of the City of London's Barbican Arts Centre...
- Douglas Stuart
Editor
- Alistair Burnett (Current)
- David Stevenson (Acting Editor for 2 years)
- Prue Keely
- Prue Keely & Jenni Russell (Joint Editors)
- Ann Koch
- Margaret Budy
- Blair Thompson
- Ken Goudie
Awards
- In 2011, The World Tonight was nominated for a SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
award for Best News & Current Affairs Programme. - In 2009, Jonty Bloom won the Royal Statistical SocietyRoyal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
award for Statistical Excellence in Journalism. - In 2006, Paul Moss won the Foreign Press Association's award for Environment Story of the Year for his reports on the environmental impact of India's economic growth
- In 2006 & 2004 Jonty Bloom's reporting on business and economics won the World Tonight the Wincott Foundation award, for radio programme of the year.
- In 1998, Robin Lustig won a SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Silver award as Talk/News Broadcaster of the Year. - In 1992, Robin Lustig was awarded a Gold Medal at the New York Radio Festival for a special edition of The World Tonight broadcast live from Moscow on the last day of the Soviet Union
See also
- Today (BBC Radio 4), Radio 4's early morning stablemate to the World Tonight programme.
- The World At OneThe World At OneThe World at One, or WATO for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, which is broadcast from 1pm to 1:30pm from Monday to Friday. The programme describes itself as "Britain's leading political programme. With a reputation for rigorous and original...
, Radio 4's lunchtime stablemate to the World Tonight Programme. - PMPM (Radio 4)PM, sometimes referred to as the PM programme to avoid ambiguity, is BBC Radio 4's long-running early evening news and current affairs programme.-Broadcast times:...
, Radio 4's early evening stablemate to the World Tonight programme.