Mark Urban to leave the BBC

Mark Urban has announced he is leaving the BBC.

He will leave at the end of May after 35 years at the corporation.

Newsnight will undergo a change in format at the end of May, which will see many posts go. Mark said he has decided to not apply for another job at the BBC.

?personal news?I’ll be leaving the BBC at the end of May. Newsnight in its current format will end then, so most posts will go. I decided not to apply for other BBC jobs. Working there for 35 yrs has been life defining: an eyewitness to history collaborating with such brilliant…

— Mark Urban (@MarkUrban01) April 14, 2024

Urban joined the BBC in 1983 as an assistant producer, working on several BBC news programmes.

From 1986 to 1990 he was the defence correspondent of The Independent, before rejoining the BBC as a general reporter on Newsnight.

From 1993 to 1994 he was Middle East correspondent for BBC News, before becoming Newsnight’s diplomatic editor, a role he has held since 1995.

In his years on Newsnight, he has reported on the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, War in Kosovo, the War in Afghanistan and War in Iraq.