BBC News today announced the appointment of two new editors to further strengthen its on-air reporting and analysis of health and education.
Penny Marshall, currently Social Affairs Editor for ITV News, is appointed Education Editor, while Hugh Pym, currently Chief Economics Correspondent for BBC News, is to become Health Editor.
BBC News says the pair will be charged with increasing the number of stories broken in the fields of health and education as well as bringing a greater depth of understanding and analysis to these crucial areas.
Penny Marshall joined ITN as a graduate trainee in 1985 and has covered events as diverse as the Romanian Revolution, the release of Nelson Mandela and President Clinton’s inauguration. Her report exposing Serb-run detention camps in Bosnia in 1992 won a host of awards including an Emmy, BAFTA and RTS award. As Social Affairs Editor since 2012, Penny has led in-depth reporting and analysis of immediate issues affecting the lives of the British public, from education to welfare and public services.
Hugh Pym has been Chief Economics Correspondent for BBC News since 2009. Before that he stood in as Economics Editor during the financial crisis while Stephanie Flanders was on maternity leave. The role included analysing Government spending trends and the challenges to public finances because of changing demographics and an ageing population. He has worked at BBC News since 2001 and positions before that included a spell as political correspondent at ITN.
Penny says: “I am very excited to be joining the BBC to work alongside journalists I have long admired. I think the creation of this post rightly puts the issue of education at the heart of the domestic news agenda at a critical time of change. I can’t wait to start.”
Hugh says: “I am honoured to be appointed to this new post. I grew up close to the NHS as my late father was a GP in a West Country town and I have always admired the hard work and commitment of health staff. The future shape and direction of the NHS, with financial and demographic pressures, is one of the major issues of our time. I look forward to covering this agenda along with important new developments in patient care and research. Serving BBC audiences on TV, radio and online in these areas will be an exciting challenge.”
Jonathan Munro, Head of Newsgathering at the BBC, says: “These two new appointments will significantly strengthen the BBC’s on-air team. Penny is a remarkable journalist, whether revealing the detention camps of Serbia or the relating the effects of the economic downturn. In recent years, her coverage of Education has been superb. Hugh will bring his invaluable economic and political journalism into a new area about which the public cares very deeply.”
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