Randall becomes BBC Business Editor

Jeff Randall is to be the BBC’s first Business Editor, spearheading a new drive to strengthen business coverage across all services, BBC Director-General Greg Dyke told the Confederation of British Industry conference in Birmingham on Monday.

Currently editor of Sunday Business and former City and Business Editor of The Sunday Times, Randall will join the BBC next March when his current contract ends.

Mr Dyke said: "I am confident that Jeff will make a significant difference to our output and one of the things that I want Jeff and his team to capture is the extent to which a great deal of ideology that surrounded the very word ‘business’ is no longer relevant in the first decade of the 21st century."

Mr Dyke went on to tell the conference that public attitudes to business had changed in recent years and that these changes needed to be better reflected in the BBC’s output. "Interest in entrepreneurship now flourishes. In a poll of 16 to 24-year-olds carried out by the BBC’s Essentials website recently, half said they wanted to start their own business in the future - and many of those had ambitions to go solo within two years."

He also said that twenty-six thousand people now took business studies ‘A’ level, twice as many as seven years ago; and that there were more people than ever taking MBAs. "But the interest in business today," said Mr Dyke, "is far wider than people simply wanting to follow a business career. There has been a huge increase in the number of people with a direct financial interest in business prosperity; and an even bigger increase in the number of people who want to understand what is going on - and why."

Talking about all broadcasters’ coverage of business in the UK, Mr Dyke said: "Whilst the news coverage of politics and international affairs has been first class, coverage of business hasn’t always been of the same quality."

Praising the BBC’s record in leading the field in business features, he believes that there aren’t enough programmes like The Money Programme, Troubleshooter, Trouble At The Top and Back To The Floor on BBC-2 or Radio 4’s In Business and that more needs to be done.

Mr Dyke told the CBI conference: "We need to make certain that our own journalism is informed by an understanding of how complicated business can be. We need to understand what profits are for. That companies have a duty to make profits and that investment can’t happen without them."

Urging business leaders to appear on BBC television and radio programmes more often, he said: "I want people in business to come onto our programmes and say what they really think. A few of you already do this, and have survived the experience. We want to see and listen to more of you. It is sad that in Britain today most people can only name one businessman - Richard Branson. Maybe more of you should take to power boats and balloons!

"In the States or Australia, where business coverage is very different and business success is recognised, business leaders can be heroes… and villains."

Mark Damazer, Assistant Director of BBC News, said: "Jeff is one of the most respected journalists around with a track record which speaks for itself. We are delighted he will now lead our business team. His energy and drive will help build on our developments in this area and provide a real boost to the range of our specialist reporting."

The initiatives for boosting business coverage in both news and factual programming across BBC television, radio and online include:

* Robert Thirkell, who won BAFTA awards for innovative business programming including Troubleshooter, Blood on the Carpet and Back to the Floor, now heads a new Business Features Unit.
* The appointment of Jeff Randall as the BBC’s first Business Editor.
* Newsnight will get its own dedicated business reporter.
* BBC News 24 will get a regular evening business programme with its own journalistic team, and at least one of its regular daytime business slots will be expanded.
* As an experiment, BBC-2’s Working Lunch will double in length to an hour a day, presented by Adrian Chiles and Adam Shaw.
* The Money Programme on BBC-2 now tackles one subject, in depth, each week.
* The BBC will develop a weekly panel programme for business people to comment on current issues based on the US’s acclaimed Wall Street Week in Review.
* BBC Online’s editorial business team will be increased from seven to 13, to add more coverage of Nasdaq results and historical analysis.
* Two new BBC programme area "brands" - BBC Money and BBC Business - will be launched next year.
* Business coverage on BBC World has been strengthened, with more input from business bureaux in Singapore and New York.