BBC Bets on Katty Kay to Woo U.S. News Audiences
07.11.2023 - 14:15
/ variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In the midst of a great debate about the future of the U.S. news business, the British are coming. Katty Kay, the veteran BBC newscaster, is set to launch a new deep-dive interview program that will take her away — not permanently — from her usual role covering U.S.
politics in favor of long-form conversations with interesting figures. In the first nine-episode season of “Influential with Katty Kay,” the journalist will interview actor Wendell Pierce, dancer Misty Copeland and author Ken Follett, among others, all in a longform format that will put emphasis not only on what makes them famous but also some of their interests. “You interview people in one way in news or politics.
You are trying to catch them maybe saying something they don’t necesssarirly want to say or in an unguarded way. There’s a combative nature, which can be exhilarating, but it’s definitely combative,” Kay says in an interview. “This is not combative.
I’m not trying to trip anybody up, but I am hoping they’ll be honest with me and candid and personal. I’m not very interested in whatever their talking points are about their latest book or whatever it is they are trying to pitch.” Kay’s new program is slated to debut on November 16. “Influential” will air weekly across the BBC News channel, BBC.com and YouTube.
An audio version will be available on all major podcast platforms and on BBC iPlayer in the UK. Extended versions of the episodes will be available in North America on BBC Select in the new year. The BBC is viewed as a public utility in its home country, but many of its efforts abroad are commercial in nature.
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