New signings at BBC Radio 2 -
James Moir signs new contract and confirms Jeremy Vine
James
Moir, Controller BBC Radio 2, has signed a new contract to run the
network and the digital service 6 Music until December 2003, and
confirmed that Jeremy Vine will present a new midday show for Radio
2 starting in January.
Jim
Moir says: "I'm very pleased to have been invited to remain
as Controller Radio 2 for another year.
"My
first task is to announce that Jeremy Vine has signed a contract
today to present a new show on the network starting in January,
confirming possibly the worst kept secret in the world!"
Jeremy
says: "I am absolutely thrilled to bits - there can't be a
better job for a journalist anywhere on radio.
"Stepping
into Sir Jimmy Young's shoes is a frightening thing to do, but I've
got a great production team and together we'll do our best to meet
the high standards of the Radio 2 audience.
"Some
time ago I decided I would have to leave Newsnight if I went to
Radio 2, and that's a wrench - but no journalist could turn down
such an magnificent offer from what is the UK's most successful
radio station."
Jenny Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio and Music, says: "I am
delighted that Jim is to stay for a further period at Radio 2.
"2003
will be an important year for us. I'm pleased to be able to have
Jim at the helm and Jeremy Vine fronting such a key strand."
The
post of Controller Radio 2 will be advertised in June of next year.
Jeremy
Vine, 37, became a full-time Newsnight presenter in 1999.
He
joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1987. His
first job after that was as a reporter for the Today programme.
From
1993 to 1997 he was a lobby correspondent based at Westminster,
and from 1997 Africa correspondent working out of Johannesburg where
he won an award for his exclusive on the beating of black suspects
by the South African police.
His
work on Newsnight included the 2001 election series from the Newsnight
van, which broke down in Hartlepool, caught fire outside
Hull, and crashed in Bristol.
He's
reported from the West Bank on the recent Israeli offensive and
from New York in the days after September 11th.
His
hobbies are supporting Chelsea football club and trying to understand
poetry; his favourite bands are The Smiths and Joy Division.
James
Moir took up his post as Controller, BBC Radio 2 in January 1996
and since then has successfully implemented a strategy to attract
a new audience without alienating existing listeners.
The
network is this year's Sony National Radio Station of the Year (a
title it also took in 2001 and 1999) and is currently enjoying record
listening figures.
Jim
was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in
the Queen's Birthday Honours 2002.
He
is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society and a Fellow of the
Radio Academy and an Honorary member of the Council of the NSPCC.
|
