Newsbeat
Newsbeat is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. Newsbeat is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for young people.[1]
This article is about the BBC programme. For the more general journalist role, see Beat reporting. For the 1964–1971 Irish programme, see Newsbeat (Irish TV programme).Genre
15 minutes
United Kingdom
Danielle Dwyer
Broadcasting House, London (2013–2022)
The Mailbox, Birmingham (2022 – present)
10 September 1973 –
Present
The fifteen-minute Newsbeat programme is broadcast at 12:45 and 17:45 during the week on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. Short bulletins are also heard throughout the day on three stations on the half-hour with extra bulletins broadcast at peak times.
History[edit]
BBC Radio 1's remit as a public service broadcaster meant it had to broadcast news. Newsbeat was launched on 10 September 1973 in response to the launch of a network of commercial radio stations across the UK which supplied a news service very different from the style of traditional BBC News. The programme's first presenter was the Radio 1 DJ Ed Stewart and he was succeeded by Laurie Mayer and Richard Skinner.[2]
Although unconfirmed by the BBC, it is widely thought that the name "Newsbeat" was taken from the Radio Caroline news service of the same name, as was the concept of short bulletins on the half-hour. Caroline first used the name (and broadcast half-hourly headlines) in the 1960s. Roger Gale, who had previously worked on Radio Caroline North, was one of the show's first producers. The launch editor was Mike Chaney.
Until the start of the 21st century, the Newsbeat brand was only used for the 15-minute lunchtime and teatime bulletins as all other news bulletins, which were always broadcast at half-past the hour, were branded as Radio 1 News. Also, for the first four years of the 1990s, Newsbeat was only broadcast at lunchtime as the evening bulletin was a 30-minute programme called News 90/91/92/93.
Following changes in September 2012, the vast majority of Newsbeat bulletins are simulcast on both BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra. Previously, bulletins on 1Xtra were bespoke and branded as 1Xtra News, with bulletins on the half-hour (as with Newsbeat), but with 15 minute programmes at 12:30 and 5:30, a quarter of an hour before the Radio 1 equivalents. Each station continues to have bespoke bulletins during the weekday breakfast show, before shared bulletins begin at 10:30.[3]
Newsbeat won Gold for Best News & Current Affairs Programme at the Radio Academy Awards on 13 May 2013.[4]
It is believed that BBC World Service will pilot a global edition of Newsbeat, a bulletin on the station aimed at younger listeners.[5]
Newsbeat's The Story of Izzy Dix was named Podcast of the Year at the UK ARIAS 2016.[6] Newsbeat also won Best News Coverage at the awards in 2021.
In 2021, it was announced Newsbeat will relocate to Birmingham, signalling the departure of many on air staff and editor Debbie Ramsay. The move took place in the autumn of 2022.
Location[edit]
In keeping with its specific targeting of young audiences, Newsbeat had its own set of reporters and studios based at Radio 1 in Broadcasting House in London. Since 2022, the programme is based at The Mailbox in Birmingham, as part of the BBC's effort to move some of its services outside of London.
Many of the stories produced by Newsbeat are reported by other programmes across BBC News.
Editors[edit]
Danielle Dwyer was appointed editor of Newsbeat in October 2021. She oversaw the programme's move from London to Birmingham in Autumn 2022. The Newsbeat editor also oversees BBC Asian Network news, as well as all Newsbeat output across BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, BBC iPlayer and online.
Debbie Ramsay was Newsbeat's previous editor. She left Newsbeat in 2021 having been in charge since 2016. Newsbeat's executive editor was former daytime editor of BBC Radio 5 Live and editor of the Victoria Derbyshire programme on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel Louisa Compton until 2018.[8][9]
Rod McKenzie, himself was a former presenter of the programme and the news presenter on the Simon Mayo Breakfast Show on Radio 1 from 1988 to 1993, and was an editor until 2014, when he was dismissed from the station and moved to another position job within the BBC after bullying allegations.
Newsbeat's first editor was Mike Chaney – hired from The Sun by the Director-General to inject a populist flavour to the news coverage of Radio 1.
Newsbeat's Oddbox[edit]
In 2007, Newsbeat's Oddbox was launched. A four-minute video which looked at the week's strangest news, it was presented by Dominic Byrne, or by Tulip Mazumdar[10] or Natalie Jamieson when Byrne was unavailable. Old episodes are available to watch at BBC Online, on the BBC Red Button and on the BBC News channel. The last episode of Oddbox was released on 14 September 2012, to coincide with Byrne leaving Radio 1.[11]
Parody[edit]
Satirist and broadcaster Christopher Morris parodied the 1990s presentational style of Newsbeat as "Radio 1 Newsbanger". Some of these parodies were actually broadcast on Radio 1, though most featured in the Radio 4 comedy series On The Hour.[16]
In 1997, Morris further parodied Newsbeat by rearranging sentences of existing Newsbeat broadcasts to create nonsensical and blackly comic headlines, as part of a one-off segment on Blue Jam. Unlike On The Hour, Blue Jam was broadcast on Radio 1.