Toffs at the top | PressGazette
- ️Wed Jun 14 2006
Private education produces more than half of UK's top journalists
A new report has revealed that more than half of the UK's top 100 news and current affairs journalists were privately educated.
According
to a survey by the Sutton Trust, 54 per cent of leading national
newspaper editors, columnists, broadcast editors and news presenters
went to school in the private sector. Private school pupils account for
just 7 per cent of the school population.
The report also reveals
that 33 per cent of the top 100 went to grammar schools, and 14 per
cent attended comprehensive schools. Comprehensive schools currently
educate almost 90 per cent of children.
The Trust claims
journalism has become more private school-dominated over the past 20
years with the number of top journalists coming from the sector
increasing by 5 per cent. In 1986, 49 per cent of the top 100
journalists were privately educated, while 44 per cent attended grammar
schools and 6 per cent went to comprehensives.
The report says:
"Without exception every journalist we spoke to agreed that news and
current affairs is increasingly becoming a preserve for those from more
privileged backgrounds — more often than not those educated in private
schools. In particular there is perceived to be a systematic bias at
the beginning of careers towards those who are well off and from the
London area."
It claims the perception was based on the belief that privately educated journalists were more likely to:
■ Survive the low pay and insecurity that are endemic at junior levels in news journalism;
■ Afford the costs of living in London and postgraduate journalism courses;
■ Have family contacts within the industry.
The
survey also reveals that of the 81 per cent of the leading journalists
in 2006 who had been to university, more than half were educated at
Oxbridge, including a third who went to Oxford. Among the 1986 sample,
78 per cent were university graduates, 67 per cent of whom had been to
Oxbridge, including two-fifths to Oxford.
Among Oxbridge-educated
national editors are Roger Alton, of The Observer, Lionel Barber, of
the Financial Times, John Bryant, at the Daily Telegraph, Alan
Rusbridger of The Guardian and Peter Wright of the Mail on Sunday.
But
the survey also shows that some national editors made it to the top
without a university education. They include Robert Thomson of The
Times, Richard Wallace at the Daily Mirror, Dawn Neesom at the Daily
Star and the News of the World's Andy Coulson.
Oxbridge educated
broadcasters include Adam Boulton of Sky News, Channel 4's Krishnan
Guru-Murthy and the BBC's David Dimbleby and Matt Frei. The BBC's John
Humphrys and ITV's James Mates and Trevor McDonald did not go to
university.
A section in the report about nepotism says: "Family ties remain a powerful force in the newsroom.
There
are countless examples of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters,
partners and former partners who have followed in the footsteps of
relatives in pursuing successful careers in journalism."
The
report further reveals that the proportion of women among the top 100
news journalists increased from 10 per cent in 1986 to 18 per cent in
2006.
Lee Elliott Major, news editor of the Times Higher
Education Supplement, who led the research, said: "What the research
does not suggest is that editors routinely favour those from privileged
educational backgrounds. But it does point to a systematic bias towards
the better off at the crucial entry level into national news
organisations."
NUJ national newspapers officer Barry Fitzpatrick
told Press Gazette: "Clearly we are concerned about anything that would
appear to restrict or limit entry into the profession. We're very
concerned with the current situation where entry into the industry is
quite an expensive career choice.
Because of low pay and the cost
of people's degrees and qualifications it means that people from poorer
backgrounds and families simply don't have journalism as an option.
"Again the report does highlight that position.
We would agree with that as one of the conclusions it makes."
Sutton
Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl, who set up the Trust in 1997 to promote
social mobility by providing educational opportunities to young people
from non-privileged backgrounds, said: "It cannot be healthy for our
media leaders to come mostly from backgrounds that are so different
from the vast majority of the population. The newspaper and
broadcasting industries are not attracting a rich diversity of recruits
and should look urgently at their recruitment processes."
The
Sutton Trust is an educational charity that has previously researched
the educational backgrounds of the UK's top lawyers and MPs.
| Kevin Bakhurst | BBC Ten Oclock News | Haberdasher's Aske's, Elstree | IND | Cambridge |
| Peter Barron | BBC Newsnight | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | SEL | Manchester (UMIST) |
| Helen Boaden | BBC News | Northgate Grammar for Girls, Norwich; Cedars Grammar, Bedfordshire | SEL | Sussex |
| Mark Calvert | Five News | Heath Grammar, Halifax | SEL | No |
| George Carey | Independent | Downside | IND | Oxford |
| Amanda Farnsworth | BBC Six Oclock News | St Paul's Girls, London | IND | LSE |
| Roger Graef | Independent | Putney, Vermont | INT | Harvard |
| Jim Gray | Channel 4 News | John Neilson High | COMP | Stirling |
| Colin Hancock | BBC World at One | Lawrence Sheriff Grammar | SEL | Edinburgh |
| Peter Horrocks | BBC | King's College, Wimbledon | IND | Cambridge |
| David Kermode | BBC Breakfast News | Ryde School, Isle of Wight; Highbury College, Portsmouth | IND | No |
| David Mannion | ITV News | Long Eaton Grammar, Derbyshire | SEL | No |
| Kevin Marsh | BBC Today | The Grammar, Doncaster | SEL | Oxford |
| Stephen Mitchell | BBC Radio News | Loughborough Grammar | IND | Manchester |
| Nick Pollard | Sky News | Birkenhead | SEL | No |
| Peter Rippon | BBC PM and Broadcasting House | Gillott's Comprehensive | COMP | East Anglia |
| Deborah Turness | ITV Network News | St Francis Convent, Hertfordshire; The Knight's Templar, Baldock | COMP | Surrey |
| Fran Unsworth | BBC | St Dominic's High for Girls, Stoke-on-Trent | IND | Manchester |
| Adrian Van Klaveran | BBC | Bristol Grammar | SEL | Oxford |
| Roger Alton | Observer | Clifton College | IND | Oxford |
| Lionel Barber | Financial Times | Dulwich College | IND | Oxford |
| John Bryant | Daily Telegraph | Sexey's, Bruton, Somerset | SEL | Oxford |
| Andy Coulson | News of the World | Beauchamps Comprehensive, Essex | COMP | No |
| Paul Dacre | Daily Mail | University College | IND | Leeds |
| Matthew d'Ancona | Spectator | St Dunstan's College | IND | Oxford |
| Tristan Davies | Independent on Sunday | Douai | IND | Bristol |
| Bill Emmott | Economist | Latymer Upper | SEL | Oxford |
| Peter Hill | Daily Express | Hulme Grammar | SEL | Manchester |
| Ian Hislop | Private Eye | Ardingly College | IND | Oxford |
| John Kampfner | New Statesman | Westminster | IND | Oxford |
| Simon Kelner | Independent | Bury Grammar | SEL | Preston Polytechnic |
| Geert Linnebank | Reuters | European, Brussels | INT | Vrije, Brussels |
| Gareth Morgan | Daily Star Sunday | Codswall, Wolverhampton | COMP | Manchester |
| Dawn Neesom | Daily Star | Valentines High, Ilford Essex | COMP | No |
| Paul Potts | Press Association | Worksop College | IND | No |
| Alan Rusbridger | Guardian | Cranleigh | IND | Cambridge |
| Sarah Sands | Sunday Telegraph | Kent College, Pembury | IND | Goldsmiths |
| Mark Thomas | People | Rutlish, Merton | COMP | No |
| Robert Thomson | Times | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology | INT | No |
| Martin Townsend | Sunday Express | Harrow County Grammar For Boys | SEL | London College of Printing |
| Rebekah Wade | Sun | Appleton Hall, Chesire | IND | Sorbonne |
| Veronica Wadley | Evening Standard | Francis Holland, Benenden, Kent | IND | No |
| Richard Wallace | Mirror | Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire | IND | No |
| John Witherow | Sunday Times | Bedford | IND | York |
| Peter Wright | Mail on Sunday | Marlborough College | IND | Cambridge |
| David Aaronavitch | Times | Holloway County Comprehensive; William Ellis | COMP | Oxford; Manchester |
| Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Independent | Uganda | INT | Oxford |
| Craig Brown | Daily Telegraph | Eton | IND | Bristol |
| Jonathan Freedland | Guardian | University College | IND | Oxford |
| Andrew Gilligan | Evening Standard | Grey Court, Ham | COMP | Cambridge |
| Simon Heffer | Daily Telegraph | King Edward VI, Chelmsford | SEL | Cambridge |
| Peter Hitchens | Mail on Sunday | The Leys,Cambridge; Oxford College of Further Education | IND | York |
| Sir Simon Jenkins | Sunday Times | Mill Hill | IND | Oxford |
| Boris Johnson | Daily Telegraph | Eton College | IND | Oxford |
| Richard Littlejohn | Daily Mail | Deacon's Grammar, Peterborough | SEL | Harlow Technical College |
| George Monbiot | Guardian | Stowe, Buckinghamshire | IND | Oxford |
| Jane Moore | Sun | Worcester Girls Grammar school | SEL | No |
| Allison Pearson | Daily Mail | Market Harborough Upper; Lincoln Christ's Hospital | COMP | Cambridge |
| Quentin Peel | Financial Times | Wellington College | IND | Cambridge |
| Melanie Phillips | Daily Mail | Putney High | SEL | Oxford |
| Andrew Rawnsley | Observer | Lawrence Sheriff Grammar | SEL | Cambridge |
| Brian Reade | Mirror | De La Salle Grammar | SEL | Warwick |
| Peter Riddell | Times | Dulwich College | IND | Cambridge |
| Will Self | Evening Standard | University College | IND | Oxford |
| Philip Stephens | Financial Times | Wimbledon College | SEL | Oxford |
| Polly Toynbee | Guardian | Holland Park Comprehensive | COMP | Oxford |
| Alan Watkins | Independent on Sunday | Amman Valley Grammar | SEL | Cambridge |
| George Alagiah | BBC | St John's College, Portsmouth | SEL | Durham |
| Mark Austin | ITV | Bournemouth | SEL | No |
| Adam Boulton | Sky News | Westminster | IND | Oxford |
| Jeremy Bowen | BBC | Cardiff High | SEL | University College London |
| Tom Bradby | ITV | Sherborne | IND | Edinburgh |
| Fiona Bruce | BBC | International school of Milan; Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Girls' , New Cross | SEL | Oxford |
| Nicky Campbell | BBC Five Live | Edinburgh Academy | IND | Aberdeen |
| Evan Davis | BBC | Ashcombe, Dorking | SEL | Oxford |
| David Dimbleby | BBC Question Time | Glengorse, Battle; Charterhouse | IND | Oxford |
| Jonathan Dimbleby | ITV | Charterhouse | IND | UCL |
| Huw Edwards | BBC | Llanelli Boys Grammar | SEL | Wales in Cardiff |
| Gavin Esler | BBC Newsnight | George Heriot's, Edinburgh | IND | Kent |
| Matt Frei | BBC | Westminster | IND | Oxford |
| Krishnan Guru-Murthy | Channel 4 News | Queen Elizabeth's Grammar, Blackburn | IND | Oxford |
| John Humphrys | BBC Today | Cardiff High | SEL | No |
| Martha Kearney | BBC Newsnight | George Watson's Ladies College, Edinburgh | IND | Oxford |
| Andrew Marr | BBC | Dundee High, Craigflower, Fife, Loretto, Musselburgh | IND | Cambridge |
| James Mates | ITV | Marlborough College, Farnham College, Leeds | IND | No |
| Trevor McDonald | ITV Tonight | Schools in Trinidad | INT | No |
| Robert Moore | ITV | Dragon, Oxford; Repton, Derbyshire | IND | Oxford |
| James Naughtie | BBC Today | Keith Grammar | SEL | Aberdeen |
| Bill Neely | ITV | St Malachy's Belfast | SEL | Queen's Belfast |
| Mary Nightingale | ITV | St Margaret School, Exeter; King Edward VI, Totnes | IND | Bedford College (London), now Queen Mary |
| Jeremy Paxman | BBC Newsnight | Malvern College | IND | Cambridge |
| Nick Robinson | BBC | Cheadle Hulme | SEL | Oxford |
| John Simpson | BBC | St Paul's | IND | Cambridge |
| Jon Snow | Channel 4 News | St Edwards | IND | Liverpool |
| Martin Stanford | Sky News | Chichester High for Boys; Wood Green, Witney | COMP | Brunel |
| Edward Stourton | BBC Today | Ampleforth College | IND | Cambridge |
| Jeremy Thompson | Sky News | Sevenoaks, Kent; King's, Worcester | IND | No |
| Jeremy Vine | BBC Politics show | Epsom College | IND | Durham |
| Kirsty Wark | BBC Newsnight | Wellington, Ayr | IND | Stirling/Edinburgh |
| Kirsty Young | Five News | High of Stirling | COMP | No |