Tuesday, January 17, 2012

BBC appoints David Shukman as Science Editor

The BBC has appointed David Shukman as its new Science Editor.

David joined the BBC in 1983 and has worked as Northern Ireland reporter, Defence Correspondent and World Affairs Correspondent. He is currently the Environment and Science correspondent.

David has reported from more than 90 countries and has made a dozen trips to the polar regions. Most recently he covered the launch of the last space shuttle and filmed inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.

As well as reporting on science stories for BBC News, the new post will also involve working with science programme makers across the BBC.

Fran Unsworth, Head of Newsgathering, said: “I’m delighted to appoint David as Science Editor. His ability to make complex scientific issues accessible will be a great asset in this new role and ensure that our audiences get the most out of the BBC’s science coverage.”

David Shukman said: "It's a privilege to be given this new role as part of the BBC's drive to enhance its science coverage. The science story has never been so compelling and I'm delighted to be given this opportunity to lead our reporting and analysis of it."

The appointment is a new role, created as a result of recommendations made in an independent review of the BBC’s science coverage, published by the BBC Trust in 2011.

The review was carried out by Professor Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London, and included in-depth content analysis by Imperial College London for two separate periods in 2009 and 2010.

The role was advertised externally and the wider BBC science community were involved in the recruitment process, contributing to the job specification and sitting on the preliminary and final interviews.

(Source: BBC Press Office)

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