BBC ‘Newsnight’ Editor Quits Amid Plans To Slash Flagship Current Affairs Show’s Budget
11.10.2023 - 15:45
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Newsnight editor Stewart Maclean has unexpectedly quit as the BBC considers making dramatic cuts to its flagship current affairs show.
After less than two years leading Newsnight, Maclean has decided to become BBC World News Content’s Africa bureau chief, meaning he will relocate to Nairobi, Kenya.
Sources said the timing of Maclean’s departure has left colleagues “aghast” because it coincides with a period of uncertainty for Newsnight.
BBC News managers are looking to make up to £5M ($6M) of cuts to Newsnight, with talks ongoing over axing its team of correspondents and making the show more debate-led in its content.
Many think stripping Newsnight of its original reporting could sound the death knell for a show that has been an agenda-setting fixture on BBC2 since 1980.
A BBC insider acknowledged that the timing of Maclean’s exit was not ideal, but said he was moving for reasons that were unrelated to the discussions about Newsnight’s future.
In an email to colleagues, Maclean said his move to Africa could not have been “timed more badly,” but stressed that he was leaving for “deeply personal” family reasons.
“I’m acutely aware of how stressful the last few weeks have been for our team amid speculation about proposed changes to the programme. I know there’s a huge amount of uncertainty and I’m sorry to be signalling my departure at a time of such instability,” he said. “Despite the current uncertainty, it is clear that Newsnight will continue into the future and I have no doubt it will thrive.”
Paul Danahar, BBC World News Content executive news editor, told staff: “Stewart is one of the BBC’s most creative and accomplished editors in News. As the head, and deputy head, of Newsnight he has consistently