A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors. A news program can include live or recorded interviews by field reporters, expert opinions, opinion poll results, and occasional editorial content.

A special category of news programs are entirely editorial in format. These host polemic debates between pundits of various ideological philosophies.

Over the last several years, news programs (especially commercial network ones) have tended to become less oriented on hard news, and often regularly include "feel-good stories" or humorous reports as the last items on their newscasts, as opposed to news programs telecast more than thirty years ago, such as the ''CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite''. From their beginnings up until the last fifteen years or so, evening television news broadcasts continued featuring serious news stories right up to the end of the program, as opposed to today's editions featuring such anchors as Katie Couric, Brian Williams, and Diane Sawyer.

See also

24-hour television news channels

24-hour news cycle

Broadcast Journalism

Electronic field production (EFP)

Electronic news-gathering (ENG)

Journalism

Local news

News broadcasting

News presenter

Newsroom

Outside broadcast

Reporter

Category:Television news

ar:أخبار تلفزيون el:Δελτίο ειδήσεων id:Program berita ja:報道番組 pl:Program informacyjny sv:Nyhetsprogram zh:新聞節目

name	Anni Dewani
birth name	Anni Ninna Hindocha
birth date	March 12 1982
birth place	Mariestad, Sweden
disappeared place	Gugulethu, South Africa
disappeared date	(aged 28)
death cause	Gunshot to neck
body discovered	November 14, 2010Lingelethu West, South Africa
nationality	Swedish
ethnicity	Indian
religion	Hindu
occupation	Engineer
residence	Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England
partner	Shrien Dewani
known for	Murder victim }}

Anni Dewani (née Hindocha; March 12 1982), was a Swedish-born ethnic Indian Hindu woman, who while on her honeymoon in South Africa, was kidnapped and then murdered whilst taking a taxi on a slum tourism trip through Gugulethu township near Cape Town on 13 November 2010. Taxi driver Zola Robert Tongo later admitted guilt on the charges of murder in a plea bargain, and was sentenced on 7 December 2010, to 18 years in jail. Two further defendants, Xolile Mnguni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

In his admission of guilt statement, Tongo alleged that Dewani's husband, British national Shrien Dewani of Bristol, had offered him a sum of 15000 rand to murder his wife. South African authorities are currently trying to extradite Shrien back to South Africa via the British legal system, while Shrien Dewani continues to claim innocence within the kidnap and murder plot. Shrien Dewani's family described the allegations of Tongo as "totally ludicrous."

Background

Anni Dewani

The Hindocha family, Hindus living in Uganda, were forced to leave the country in the early 1970s after ruler Idi Amin expelled them. Granted residence in Sweden, they settled in Mariestad, where their daughter Anni was born and raised. After training as an engineer, she joined Ericsson. After collecting Anni's ashes from a London-based undertaker in the first week of March 2011, the Hindocha family scattered them in her favourite area of the Vänern lake.

Shrien Dewani

Shrien Dewani was born in Bristol, and raised at the family home in Westbury-on-Trym. Educated at Bristol Grammar School and the University of Manchester, he qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, working in the City of London. In 2005 he resigned his position, to help found and run his families chain of PSP Healthcare old peoples homes.

Marriage

Anni Hindocha visited her cousin Sneha in Luton, Bedfordshire, England in 2009, and met Shrien Dewani through mutual friends. Their first formal date was to watch ''The Lion King'' at the Lyceum Theatre in London's West End, and they then alternated their weekend meetings between Bristol and Stockholm. After gaining permission from her family, Shrien proposed to Anni at the Hôtel Ritz, Paris, in June 2010, with a £25,000 diamond engagement ring balanced on a red rose. Shortly afterwards, Anni moved to Bristol to help her fiancé run his families care home business. Under her maiden name, in 2010 Anni entered Bristol's Top Model competition. The couple married at the Lake Powai resort outside Mumbai, India, on 29 October. 200 guests attended the traditional three day Hindu marriage event. They were planning a civil ceremony that would take place in the UK in 2011, for friends who could not attend the Indian ceremony.

Murder

After landing at Cape Town International Airport on 7 November, the couple took an internal flight, and stayed for four nights at the Kruger National Park. On 12 November, the couple returned to Cape Town International Airport, and were then driven by Zola Tongo to the five-star Cape Grace hotel.

Shrien then commented to the South African Police Service and the press, that his wife had wanted to see the real Africa. They decided to traveled to Mzoli's BBQ restaurant, as recommended by chef Jamie Oliver in his magazine that year. Located in the Gugulethu township, the couple arranged to be driven there by Tongo in his VW Sharan taxi.

But after dining at a restaurant in Strand, and while being driven around the township while undertaking slum tourism, Shrien stated that the taxi had been hijacked by two armed men, who removed Tongo. Now held at gunpoint, the couple were driven around the township, being told by the kidnappers: "We are not going to hurt you. We just want the car." After 20 minutes, at a distance of from the original hijacking, after being threatened at gunpoint Shrien was thrown out of the back window of the moving taxi.

After Shrien flagged down a passing car and contacted the police, a police helicopter spotted the Sharan taxi abandoned away in the township of Khayelitsha. At 07:50 on the morning of 14 November, Anni Dewani was found dead inside the back of the VW Sharan in Lingelethu West. Severely beaten and brusied, she had suffered a single gunshot wound to her neck. Police later confirmed that Anni's Giorgio Armani wristwatch, a white-gold and diamond bracelet, her handbag and her BlackBerry mobile phone were missing assumed stolen.

Investigation

Anni Dewani's body was taken to Cape Town hospital. Subject to a post mortem, the examination found that she had died from a single gunshot wound to the neck, which had severed an artery, but that she was not sexually assaulted. During this period, after being joined by members of his family, Shrien gave interviews to both the police and the press, where he commented that it was his wife's idea to visit the township and see the "real Africa". On the 17 November, Anni Dewani's body was released by the South African authorities, and returned to the United Kingdom on a British Airways flight, accompanied by her husband. She was cremated in London in a traditional Hindu ceremony on the 21st November. Her ashes were scattered into a lake close to her home town of Mariestad in Sweden.

The high-profile case was given to the Police Hawks investigation unit, led by Captain Paul Hendrikse. On 17 November, the South African police arrested Xolile Mnguni followed two days later by the arrest of Mziwamadoda Qwabe and taxi driver Zola Tongo. All three were charged on 20 November with: aggravated robbery; kidnapping; and the murder of Anni Dewani. On the same day, police begin briefing local South African media that the shooting was a "planned hit," after they had arrested a fourth man, who had acted as an intermediary between Tongo and the two kidnappers. They also asked Shrien to return to South Africa, to attend an identity parade.

The day after his family hired Max Clifford as their press public relations interface, Shrien issued a press statement in which he said: "I searched high and low for my perfect partner … why would I want to kill her?" Within the statement, Shrien provides an adjusted time line account from previous media comments that he had made on the kidnapping:

The driver, not his wife, suggested the visit to the township

He and his wife were held in the car for 40 minutes, not 20, before he was thrown out

Ashok Hindocha, Anni's uncle and a spokesman for the Hindocha family, voiced his concerns about the investigation, asking South African police to investigate the murder further. He then challenged Shrien to return to South Africa, commenting that South African police should not rule anyone out of the investigation.

On 25 November, Shrien's brother Preyen Dewani issued a statement saying that his brother was afraid that he would be wrongly blamed for the murder in order to save the reputation of South Africa, to protect tourism revenues. Max Clifford later commented that Shrien was heavily sedated and being watched by doctors, was not a suspect in the murder, and had not been asked to return to South Africa. South African prosecutors later confirmed to local press that Shrien was not presently a suspect.

On 19 February 2011, the ''Sunday Telegraph'' revealed evidence uncovered by Shrien's investigation team, that had found a new witness to the murder. Not yet interviewed by the police, the female student who lived less than from the location of where the VW Sharan taxi was found, stated that she noted at 08:00 that Anni Dewani's underwear was below her knees and her dress pulled up. Further, the post-mortem report stated that there a number of dark bruises on Anni's legs, consistent with "finger mark" grips. Consistent with evidence from previous official reports of the positions of her hands, the article concluded that a possible outcome was that Anni was shot whilst trying to defend herself against a rape attack.

Conviction of Zola Tongo

On December 3, Xolile Mnguni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe via their lawyers claimed that they were physically assaulted by police. Shrien’s South African lawyer, Billy Gundelfinger, then withdrew from the pending case against the three arrested suspects, and soon afterwards dropped Shrien as a client.

On 7 December, appearing in the Western Cape High Court under a plea bargain arrangement, Zola Tongo said that Anni Dewani was "murdered at the instance of her husband," after Shrien Dewani had offered him £1,300 (15,000 rand) to have his wife killed. Max Clifford in a press release to British media, on behalf of Shrien and the Dewani family, stated that the claims made by Tongo have "absolutely no substance." Outlining both the terms of Tongo's plea bargain and the state's case, state prosecutor Rodney de Kock advised Judge President John Hlophe that: "The alleged hijacking was in fact not a hijacking, but part of a plan of subterfuge which Shrien Dewani, the husband of the deceased, and the accused had designed to conceal the true facts, to wit: that the deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband." De Kock confirmed that Tongo, who had been pre-booked by Shrien's personal assistant, had driven the couple from Cape Town International Airport to the Cape Grace hotel on Friday, November 12. After their arrival, Tongo alleged that he and Shrien had a conversation in the hotel lobby: The following day, the couple had relaxed by the hotel poolside, after which Shrien had suggested that the couple call their respective families. Tongo alleged in his written statement that while Anni called her family in Sweden, that he had met with Shrien to complete arrangements for the kidnapping and murder that evening, and that Tongo had driven Shrien to a Bureau de Change to exchange US dollars into rand. That evening, Tongo then explained in his written statement that he had picked up the couple from the hotel and driven them via some of the cities main sights to the meeting point with his friends. But as his friends were not at the agreed kidnap location, Tongo drove the couple onwards to a Sushi restaurant in Somerset West, where he alleged that Shrien reminded him via text message that the killing had to take place that evening. After the couple finished their meal and had walked on the local beach, Tongo drove the couple back towards the kidnap meeting point. During this journey, Tongo claimed he sent Shrien a text message reminding him about the money, receiving a reply that it was “in an envelope in a pouch behind the passenger seat.” After they returned to the meeting point, Mnguni and Qwabe were now in place, and hijacked the taxi. For his part in the plot, Tongo alleges that he was to be paid R5,000 (£459) by Shrien, but told prosecutors that Shrien paid him only R1,000 (£92).

Tongo was subsequently jailed for 18 years in Malmesbury prison, and is expected to give evidence in the trial of Mngeni and Qwabe in 2011. Max Clifford, on behalf of Shrien and the Dewani family, again repeated that the claims of Tongo were "absolutely, 100 per cent ludicrous and deeply offensive."

Trial of Xolile Mngeni and Mzwamadoda Qwabe

In pre-hearings on 18 February at Wynberg Magistrates Court, the lawyer for Mzwamadoda Qwabe laid out the case for court's inability to give his client a fair trial. Thabo Nogemane said: "I am instructed that some unknown police officer assaulted him by means of a big torch. He was hit all over his body. He said the statement was a suggestion put to him by the police. They already had the allegations so they told him: 'Just sign here.' I wouldn't refer to it as a confession, just a statement." Mngeni's lawyer, Vusi Tshabalala, stated that his client had been suffocated with a plastic bag before signing a statement admitting his involvement in the killing, further suggesting police resorted to "irregular methods" because of the pressure they were under to solve the high-profile case.

The trail was delayed, and on 13 June 2011, it was announced that Xolile Mngeni had had brain surgery to remove a tumour.

Extradition of Shrien Dewani

After he had surrendered himself at a Bristol police station, Shrien was arrested at 22.38 on the 8 December 2010, by police officers from the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit. They were acting under a provisional arrest warrant issued that day after being provided by evidence from the South African authorities via the High Commission in London, issued on "suspicion of conspiring with others to murder Mrs Anni Dewani on 13 November."

South Africa’s Congress of Trade Unions issued a statement: “Let us hope that the swift and efficient way in which this case has been dealt with, and the fact that it is now becoming clear that it was planned by a non-South African, will help to restore the country’s reputation.” Friends of Shrien suggested that he was being “stitched up” as a suspect, claiming that the South African authorities were trying to make the murder more complex than a tourist hijacking. Max Clifford on behalf of Shrien and the Dewani family commented: “Let the South African police contact Shrien to explain and also reveal what evidence there is to substantiate these accusations from a man who had admitted his part in a murder.”

On the morning of 9 December, Shrien's British lawyer Clare Montgomery commented that "Shrien Dewani had no involvement in the death of his wife Anni." Appearing that afternoon at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, Shrien told the court that he did not consent to being extradited. Ben Watson, the British lawyer representing the South African government, disclosed that Shrien had withdrawn £1,000 in cash on his Mastercard before the murder, including £800 on the evening of 13 November. Watson further alleged that Shrien claimed in conversation with the kidnappers that he had undertaken a contract killing before in South Africa, but Shrien's lawyer Montgomery denied he had ever been to South Africa before the honeymoon. The court was subsequently shown a copy of his passport, issued in 2006, confirming that Shrien had not been there in that time. Shrien was then granted bail, posted at £250,000, lodged by his family. However, the Crown Prosecution Service acting on behalf of the South African authorities lodged an appeal, which meant that Shrien spent the night of 9 December in Wandsworth Prison.

On the afternoon of 10 December, at a hearing at the High Court, Watson told Mr Justice Ouseley that CCTV footage from the Cape Grace hotel showed Shrien: Meeting Tongo twice in his taxi in the carpark of the Cape Grace on 12 November, the night before the killing, when Tongo claims Shrien asked him to hire a hitmen to kill a woman. In later extradition papers submitted to the British courts, South African Police claimed that Preyan Dewani tried to obtain the video footage of the pair meeting. Having a series of meetings with Tongo inside the hotel, without his Anni, in the 24 hours before the killing Handing Tongo a package of cash on 16 November, three days after the murder, having just previously been sitting beside his grieving father-in-law, Vinod Hindoach. Tongo is then seen entering the hotel toilets, where he counted the money. Watson further stated that South African police had written confessions from shop workers in a black market currency exchange, who had identified Shrien and Tongo, and that Shrien had changed USD$1,500 with them. Watson stated that South African police believed that this was an additional sum on top of the already identified £1,000 Shrien had withdrawn from cash points: "The evidence suggests there was a second source of funds that Mr Dewani sought out that has, in our submission, all the hallmarks of an illegitimate transaction." Shrien was released on bail to his family home, subject to: surrendering his passport; observe a double curfew, between 10am and 2pm and 10pm and 2am (i.e., day and night); electronic tagging; not apply for any international travel documents; report at his local police station every evening.

Asked to comment on the case while on a visit to Limpopo province, South African national police commissioner, Bheki Cele, said: "One monkey came from London to kill his wife here. He thought we South Africans were stupid. Don't kill people here." Local legal commentators later suggested that while Cele's comments would not directly lead to defence calls for an unfair trial, the police could prejudice the case. Helen Zille, the premier of Western Cape province, commented that Shrien must be extradited: “I can't believe there is such evil in the world. This evil appears to have been compounded by the abuse of South Africans.” Chloe Spelling, a South African national tourist who met the couple while they were staying at the Kruger national park, said in an interview with the ''News of the World'' that the couple had acted strangely, and not like a typical just-married couple.

On New Years Eve, five friends of Anni issued an open letter to Shrien via ''The Sun'' newspaper, in which they said: “You state that you are innocent of these allegations so please go back to Cape Town to prove to the South African police why they’ve got it wrong.” The letter urged Shrien to avoid engaging in a media battle, and instead focus on what happened on November 13–14. The Dewani family set up a memorial fund for Anni Dewani, which they proposed would be used to build a school in her memory in India. However, on 8 January, Ashok Hindocha said in a press release that the Hindocha family had not been consulted over the plans, describing the project as a “PR campaign” to bolster Shrien’s image.

On 17 January, family friend of the Dewani's Hasmukh Velji Shah appeared on BBC Inside Out West, to comment that Shrien had not ruled out returning to South Africa, if certain guarantees could be made, including local bail. However, in the same programme, the South African Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe told the BBC "As far as we are concerned, Mr Dewani, if he comes before a competent court in South Africa, will receive a fair trial." On 18 January, South African Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, said detectives knew why Anni had been killed. Senior Investigating Officer Lt-Col Mike Barkhuizen had been sent to London to investigate both leads and further evidence, and would attend the scheduled pre-extradition hearing on 20 January, at which the South African Police would be willing to reveal the evidence should Shrien resist extradition.

On 20 January, Shrien was due to appear before an extradition pre-hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court. However, he did not attend the hearing, and the court was told by his lawyer that Shrien had been diagnosed as suffering with both an acute stress disorder and a depressive adjustment disorder by a psychiatrist. Watson, for the South African authorities, told the court that Shrien was presently facing charges in South Africa of: conspiracy to murder; murder; kidnapping; robbery with aggravated circumstances; and obstruction of the administration of justice. The full extradition hearing was adjourned by the Chief Magistrate to 8 February at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court, for which an extension to Shrien's bail was granted.

On 20 February, Shrien was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary by ambulance. Released after two days of care, his family and legal team announced that this was due to an adverse reaction to sleeping pills. But in a subsequent legal hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on 24 February, Watson for the South African authorities claimed that Shrien had taken an overdose of 46 prescribed pills, including sleeping tablets, diazepam and valium. Avon and Somerset Police's log stated that Dewani "wanted to take his life". Watson asked for Shrien to be taken into custody immediately, both for his own safety and assessment to be made of his mental health. While admitting that his client was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression, Julian Knowles, representing Shrien, denied an intentional overdose, while psychiatrist Dr Paul Dedman rejected there had been a suicide attempt. After assurances with regards his health care from Shrien's family, which included treatment and care from the Priory Clinic, District Judge Howard Riddle ordered a second opinion on Shrien's mental health. He adjourned the hearing until March 15, when Shrien's bail conditions will also be reviewed. It was also confirmed that the extradition case will be reviewed on March 23 at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.

On the weekend of 9/10 April, Dewani became involved in an altercation with a fellow patient at the Priory Clinic in Bristol. Following an investigation by Avon and Somerset Police, during which his friends proposed that Dewani had suffered an adverse reaction to his medication, Dewani presented himself at a police station in central Bristol on 10 April, where he was arrested. Following a hearing at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 11 April, a district judge ruled he should detained at the secure Cygnet Health Care hospital in Kewstoke, Somerset.

The extradition hearing

South Africa falls into the category 2 countries under the Extradition Act 2003. The extradition proceedings against Shrien Dewani will therefore have to be carried out subject to the procedure set out in the Extradition Act 2003. Following the initial stages of the extradition process (service of documents, identity checks, etc.) the court will have to decide whether there is evidence which would be sufficient to make a case requiring an answer by the person if the proceedings were the summary trial of an information against him. The mere suspicion, reasonably justified, by the South African prosecuting authorities would be sufficient.

Provided the South African prosecution authorities are able to show that they have "reasonable suspicions" that an extradition offence was committed, the grounds for refusing extradition are limited to: physical and mental conditions (which would render it "unjust and oberly oppressive" to extradite the person), human rights, the person being charged with or serving an offence in the United Kingdom or a competing extradition claim.

After a series of delays due to Dewani's medical conditions, at an extradition hearing on 14 April, Judge Riddle extended Dewani's bail on the condition he remain either at Kewstoke Hospital or the Fromeside mental health unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital, but removed the need to report daily to a police station. A full extradition hearing was scheduled for 3/4/5 May 2011.

On 18 July 2011, the extradition hearing started. Judge Riddle also agreed that Dewani was to ill to attend court, and so he was excused. During the four day hearing, the court was told that Dewani had said while held in hospital that he would kill himself if extradited. On 11 August 2011, Judge Riddle agreed to the South African authorities request to extradite Dewani. In the two hour reading his ruling, Judge Riddle announced that the South African prosecutor had given assurances that Dewani would be held in a single cell, and be given full and proper treatment for his pre-diagnosed conditions. The judgement is subject to both appeal, which Dewani's legal team is presently considering, and final approval by UK Home Secretary Theresa May.

Media coverage

In South Africa, media coverage in the case was high from the discovery of the body. With an economy reliant on the influx of tourists, tour operators reported an immediate drop in bookings, as potential visitors were made aware of the country's high murder rate: on average, 46 per day. Secondly, concern was expressed at many levels that the killing would negate the goodwill resulting from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The assignment of the Police Hawks team and the early arrests, conviction and statement implicating Shrien Dewani only added further fuel to media coverage. Local media debate surrounds the following angles:

How the character of Anni Dewani affected the view of Shrien towards his wife.

If Shrien is guilty, whether the case is a transnational version of American murders in which white people drive to black neighbourhoods to commit crimes

Racism within the British media, assuming that the South African police were incompetent. Allegations of police torture.

The level of crime in the townships, reviving the debate which Hungarian scholar Anna Selmeczi called the "social abandonment of the poor."

Main industries mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertiliser, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair.

South Africa is not reliant on tourism as a main source of revenue

References

Category:1980s births Category:2010 deaths Category:2010 in England Category:2010 in South Africa Category:Deaths by firearm in South Africa Category:Murder in 2010 Category:People murdered in South Africa Category:Swedish murder victims Category:Swedish people murdered abroad Category:Year of birth uncertain

name	George VI
reign	11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952
coronation	12 May 1937
cor-type	britain
succession	King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions
moretext	(more...)
predecessor	Edward VIII
successor	Elizabeth II
reg-type	Prime Ministers
regent	''See list''
spouse	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
issue	Elizabeth IIPrincess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
full name	Albert Frederick Arthur George
house	House of Windsor
father	George V
mother	Mary of Teck
birth place	York Cottage, Sandringham House, Norfolk, United Kingdom
death place	Sandringham House, Norfolk
date of burial	15 February 1952
place of burial	St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, United Kingdom
signature	}}

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India, and the first Head of the Commonwealth.

As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. He served in the Royal Navy during World War I, and after the war took on the usual round of public engagements. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.

George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII on the death of their father in 1936. However, less than a year later Edward revealed his desire to marry the divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry Mrs Simpson and remain king. Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor.

On the day of his accession, the parliament of the Irish Free State removed the monarch from its constitution. Further events during George's reign accelerated the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations. Three years after his accession, the Empire and Commonwealth, except the Irish Free State, was at war with Nazi Germany. In the next two years, war with Italy and Japan followed. Though Britain and its allies were ultimately victorious, the United States and the Soviet Union rose as pre-eminent world powers and the British Empire declined. After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, his title of Emperor of India was abandoned in June 1948. Ireland was formally declared a republic in 1949, and India followed suit the following year. George adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by health problems in the later years of his reign. After his death, he was succeeded by his elder daughter, Elizabeth II.

Birth and family

George VI was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second and eldest-surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). His mother was the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), the eldest child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck.

His birthday (14 December 1895) was the anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather, Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Prince Consort's widow Queen Victoria would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been "rather distressed". Two days later, he wrote again: "I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name ''Albert'' to her". Queen Victoria was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to the Duchess of York: "I am all impatience to see the ''new'' one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good". Consequently, he was baptised "Albert Frederick Arthur George" at St Mary Magdalene's Church near Sandringham three months later. As a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, he was known formally as ''His Highness Prince Albert of York'' from birth. Within the family, he was known informally as "Bertie". However, his maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Teck, did not like the first name the baby had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name "may supplant the less favoured one".

Albert, as he was known, was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother Edward.

Early life

In 1898, Queen Victoria issued Letters Patent that granted the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales the style ''Royal Highness'', and at the age of two, Albert became "His Royal Highness Prince Albert of York".

He often suffered from ill health and was described as "easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears". His parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, were generally removed from their children's day-to-day upbringing, as was the norm in aristocratic families of that era. He had a stammer that lasted for many years, and was forced to write with his right hand although he was naturally left-handed. He suffered from chronic stomach problems as well as knock knees, for which he was forced to wear painful corrective splints.

Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. The Duke of York became next in line to the throne. Prince Edward moved up to second in line to the throne, and Prince Albert was third.

Military career and education

From 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, as a naval cadet. In 1911, he came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. When Edward VII died in 1910, Albert's father became King George V. Prince Edward was created Prince of Wales, and Albert was second in line to the throne.

Albert was commissioned as a midshipman on 15 September 1913 and one year later began service in World War I. His fellow officers gave him the nickname "Mr. Johnson". He was mentioned in despatches for his action as a turret officer aboard HMS ''Collingwood'' during the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916), an indecisive action against the German navy that was the largest naval action of the war. He did not see further action in the war, largely because of ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer. In February 1918, he was appointed Officer in Charge of Boys at the Royal Naval Air Service's training establishment at Cranwell. With the establishment of the Royal Air Force two months later and the transfer of Cranwell from Navy to Air Force control, he transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force. He was appointed Officer Commanding Number 4 Squadron of the Boys' Wing at Cranwell and he remained there until August 1918. During the closing weeks of the war, he served on the staff of the RAF's Independent Air Force at its headquarters in Nancy. Following the disbanding of the Independent Air Force in November 1918, he remained on the continent as a staff officer with the Royal Air Force.

In October 1919, Albert went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied history, economics and civics for a year. On 4 June 1920, he was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney. He then began to take on royal duties. He represented his father, the King, and toured coal mines, factories, and railyards. Through such visits he acquired the nickname of the "Industrial Prince". His stammering, and his embarrassment over it, together with his tendency to shyness, caused him to appear much less impressive than his older brother, Edward. However, he was physically active and enjoyed playing tennis. He developed an interest in working conditions, and was President of the Industrial Welfare Society. His series of annual summer camps for boys between 1921 and 1939 brought together boys from different social backgrounds.

Marriage

In a time when royals were expected to marry fellow royals, it was unusual that Albert had a great deal of freedom in choosing a prospective wife. In 1920 he met Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He became determined to marry her.

Although Lady Elizabeth was a descendant of King Robert the Bruce (Robert I of Scotland) and King Henry VII of England, she was, according to British law, a commoner. She rejected his proposal twice and hesitated for nearly two years, reportedly because she was reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to become a member of the royal family. In the words of Lady Elizabeth's mother, Albert would be "made or marred" by his choice of wife, and after a protracted courtship Elizabeth agreed to marry him.

They were married on 26 April 1923 in Westminster Abbey. The newly formed British Broadcasting Company wished to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the Chapter vetoed the idea (although the Dean, Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour). Lady Elizabeth was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York after their marriage. Albert's marriage to a British commoner was considered a modernising gesture.

Because of his stammer, Albert dreaded public speaking. After his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925, one which was an ordeal for both him and the listeners, With his delivery improved by the training, the Duke opened Parliament House in Canberra in 1927, and was able to speak subsequently with only a slight hesitation. His journey by sea to Australia took him via Jamaica, where Albert played doubles tennis partnered with a black man, which was unusual at the time and taken locally as a display of equality between races.

The Duke and Duchess of York had two children: Elizabeth (called "Lilibet" by the family), and Margaret. The Duke and Duchess and their two daughters lived a relatively sheltered life at their London residence, 145 Piccadilly. One of the few stirs arose when the Canadian Prime Minister, R. B. Bennett, considered the Duke for Governor General of Canada in 1931—a proposal that the King rejected on the advice of his ministers.

Reluctant king

On 20 January 1936, King George V died, and Prince Edward ascended the throne as Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it lay in state, in a closed casket, in Westminster Hall.

As Edward had no children, Albert was the heir presumptive to the throne unless then-unmarried Edward had any legitimate children. George V had severe reservations about Edward, saying, "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry his mistress, Wallis Simpson, who was divorced from her first husband and divorcing her second. Edward had been advised by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he could not remain King and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. Edward chose abdication in preference to abandoning his marriage plans. Thus Albert became king, a position he was reluctant to accept. The day before the abdication, Albert went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child."

Courtier and journalist Dermot Morrah alleged that there was brief speculation as to the desirability of bypassing Albert (and his children) and his brother Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in favour of their younger brother Prince George, Duke of Kent. This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother with a son.

Early reign

Albert assumed the style and title of ''King George VI'' to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy. The beginning of George VI's reign was taken up by questions surrounding his predecessor and brother, whose titles, style and position were uncertain. He had been introduced as "His Royal Highness Prince Edward" for the Abdication broadcast, but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession Edward had lost the right to bear Royal titles, including "Royal Highness". In settling the issue, George's first act as King was to confer upon his brother the title HRH The Duke of Windsor, but the Letters Patent creating the dukedom prevented any wife or children from bearing royal styles. George VI was also forced to buy from Prince Edward the royal residences of Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, as these were private properties and did not pass to George VI automatically. Three days after his accession, on his 41st birthday, he invested his wife, the new Queen consort, with the Order of the Garter.

George VI's coronation took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for Edward's coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony as a show of support for her son. There was no Durbar held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the government of India. Rising Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best, and a prolonged absence from the UK would have been undesirable in the tense period before World War II. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war.

The growing likelihood of war in Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler. However, when the King and Queen greeted Chamberlain on his return from negotiating the Munich Agreement in 1938, they invited him to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with them. This public association of the monarchy with a politician was exceptional, as balcony appearances were traditionally restricted to the Royal Family. While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in the House of Commons, which led historian John Grigg to describe the King's behaviour in associating himself so prominently with a politician as "the most unconstitutional act by a British sovereign in the present century".

In May and June 1939, the King and Queen toured Canada and the United States. From Ottawa, the royal couple were accompanied throughout by Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, to present themselves in North America as King and Queen of Canada. George was the first reigning monarch of Canada to visit North America, although he had been to Canada previously as Prince Albert and as Duke of York. Both Governor General of Canada Lord Tweedsmuir and Mackenzie King hoped that the King's presence in Canada would demonstrate the principles of the Statute of Westminster 1931, which gave full self-government to the British Dominions and recognised each Dominion as having a separate crown. Thus, at his Canadian residence, Rideau Hall, George VI personally accepted and approved the Letter of Credence of the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Daniel Calhoun Roper. The official royal tour historian, Gustave Lanctot, stated: "When Their Majesties walked into their Canadian residence, the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality: the King of Canada had come home."

The entire trip was a measure intended to soften the strong isolationist tendencies among the North American public with regard to the developing tensions in Europe. Although the aim of the tour was mainly political, to shore up Atlantic support for the United Kingdom in any future war, the King and Queen were enthusiastically received by the public. The fear that George would be compared unfavourably to his predecessor, Edward VIII, was dispelled. They visited the 1939 New York World's Fair and stayed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and at his private estate at Hyde Park, New York.

World War II

After war broke out in September 1939, George VI and his wife resolved to stay in London, despite German bombing raids. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at Windsor Castle. The first German raid on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in the East End. On 13 September, the King and Queen narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there. In defiance, the Queen famously declared: "I am glad we have been bombed. We can now look the East End in the face". The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject to rationing restrictions, and U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded-up Palace. In August 1942, the King's brother, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.

In 1940, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister, though personally George would have preferred to appoint Lord Halifax. After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment of Lord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister". For four and a half years, beginning in September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch on Tuesdays to discuss the war in secret and with frankness.

A strong bond of friendship was forged between the King and Queen and President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor during the 1939 royal tour, which had major significance in the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom through the war years.

Throughout the war, the King and Queen provided morale-boosting visits throughout the United Kingdom, visiting bomb sites and munitions factories, and (in the King's case) visiting military forces abroad. Their high public profile and apparently indefatigable determination secured their place as symbols of national resistance. In 1945, crowds shouted "We want the King!" in front of Buckingham Palace during the Victory in Europe Day celebrations. In an echo of Chamberlain's appearance, the King invited Churchill to appear with him on the balcony to public acclaim.

Empire to Commonwealth

George VI's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of the British Empire, which had begun with the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, when the British Dominions were acknowledged to have evolved into sovereign states over a period of years—a declaration which was formalised in the Statute of Westminster 1931. The process of transformation from an empire to a voluntary association of independent states, known as the Commonwealth, gathered pace after World War II, especially in the ministry of Clement Attlee. British India became the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan in 1947. George relinquished the title of Emperor of India, and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. He remained King of Pakistan until his death, but in 1950 George ceased to be King of India when India became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, recognising George's new title as Head of the Commonwealth. Other countries, such as Transjordan in 1946, Burma in January 1948, Palestine (although divided between Israel and the Arab states) in May 1948 and Ireland in 1949, opted out of the Commonwealth.

In 1947, the King and his family toured Southern Africa. The Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, Jan Smuts, was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit. George was appalled, however, when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites, and referred to his South African bodyguards as "the Gestapo". Despite the tour, Smuts lost the election the following year, and the new government instituted a strict policy of racial segregation.

Illness and death

The stress of the war had taken its toll on the King's health, exacerbated by his heavy smoking and subsequent development of lung cancer among other ailments including arteriosclerosis. Princess Elizabeth, the heiress presumptive, took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. A planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which was operated on in March 1949. The delayed tour was re-organised with Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen. The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on 23 September 1951, he underwent a pneumonectomy where his left lung was removed following the discovery of a malignant tumour. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor Lord Simonds. His 1951 Christmas broadcast was recorded in sections, and then edited together.

On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, he went to the airport to see off Princess Elizabeth, who was going on her tour of Australia via Kenya. On 6 February, George VI died from a coronary thrombosis in his sleep at Sandringham House in Norfolk, at the age of 56. His daughter Elizabeth flew back to the UK from Kenya as Elizabeth II. Because George died in his sleep during the night, his precise moment of death, and Elizabeth's accession, is not known.

His funeral took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 15 February 1952, after a lying in state at Westminster Hall. He was interred in the Royal Vault until transferred to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St. George's on 26 March 1969. In 2002, the remains of his widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the ashes of his daughter Princess Margaret, who both died that year, were interred in the chapel alongside him.

Legacy

In the words of Labour M.P. George Hardie, the abdication crisis of 1936 did "more for republicanism than fifty years of propaganda". George VI wrote to his brother, Edward, that in the aftermath of the abdication he had reluctantly assumed "a rocking throne", and tried "to make it steady again". He became king at a point when public faith in the monarchy was at a low ebb. During his reign his people endured the hardships of war, and imperial power was eroded. However, as a dutiful family man and by showing personal courage, he succeeded in restoring the popularity of the monarchy.

The George Cross and the George Medal were founded at the King's suggestion during the Second World War to recognise acts of exceptional civilian bravery. He was posthumously awarded the Ordre de la Libération by the French government in 1960, one of only two people (the other being Churchill) to be awarded the medal after 1946.

There are a number of geographical features, roads, and institutions named after George VI. These include King George Hospital in London; King George VI Highway and King George Station in Surrey, British Columbia; George VI Sound in Antarctica; and the King George VI Chase, a horse race in the United Kingdom.

In 1955 a statue of the king in his Garter robes was erected just off The Mall and Carlton Gardens in London. A neighbouring statue of his wife was unveiled in 2009. Another statue of the king can be found in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

On screen, George VI has been portrayed by, among others, Colin Firth, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the role in the 2010 film ''The King's Speech'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

14 December 1895 – 28 May 1898: ''His Highness'' Prince Albert of York

28 May 1898 – 22 January 1901: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of York

22 January 1901 – 9 November 1901: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of Cornwall and York

9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of Wales

6 May 1910 – 4 June 1920: ''His Royal Highness'' The Prince Albert

4 June 1920 – 11 December 1936: ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of York

11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952: ''His Majesty'' The King

*11 December 1936 – 14 August 1947 : ''His Imperial Majesty'' The King-Emperor (in regard to British India)

George held a number of titles throughout his life, as successively great-grandson, grandson and son of the monarch. As sovereign, he was referred to most often as simply ''The King'' or ''His Majesty''; if a distinction was necessary, this was modified to ''His Britannic Majesty'', ''His Imperial Majesty'', ''His Canadian Majesty'', etc. In his position as sovereign, George automatically held the position of Commander-in-Chief in some realms, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.

Arms

The Duke of York bore the royal arms of the United Kingdom, differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre point bearing an anchor azure—a difference earlier awarded to his father George V when he was Duke of York, and then later awarded to his grandson, Prince Andrew, Duke of York. As king, he bore the royal arms undifferenced. {{Image gallery|width=200|height=200 |Coat of Arms of Albert, Duke of York.svg|See adjacent text|Coat of arms of Albert, Duke of York |Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg|See adjacent text|Coat of arms of George VI in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) |Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom in Scotland (1837-1952).svg|See adjacent text|Coat of arms of George VI in Scotland |Coat of Arms of Canada (1923).jpg||Coat of arms of George VI in Canada}}

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. George VI of the United Kingdom |2= 2. George V of the United Kingdom |3= 3. Princess Mary of Teck |4= 4. Edward VII of the United Kingdom |5= 5. Princess Alexandra of Denmark |6= 6. Francis, Duke of Teck |7= 7. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge |8= 8. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |9= 9. Victoria of the United Kingdom |10= 10. Christian IX of Denmark |11= 11. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel |12= 12. Duke Alexander of Württemberg |13= 13. Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde |14= 14. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge |15= 15. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel |16= 16. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |17= 17. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |18= 18. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (Son of 28) |19= 19. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld |20= 20. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |21= 21. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel |22= 22. Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel |23= 23. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark |24= 24. Duke Louis of Württemberg |25= 25. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg |26= 26. Count László Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde |27= 27. Baroness Ágnes Inczédy von Nagy-Várad |28= 28. George III of the United Kingdom (Father of 18) |29= 29. Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |30= 30. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel |31= 31. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen }}

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

George VI: The Reluctant King - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Footage of King George VI stammering in a 1938 speech

Soundtrack of King George VI Coronation speech, 1937

{{s-ttl|title=Cover of Time Magazine |years=12 January 1925}} }}

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name	Michael Buerk
birthname	Michael Duncan Buerk
birth date	February 18, 1946
birth place	Solihull, West Midlands (county)|West Midlands, England
education	Secondary: Solihull School, University: University of Sussex and UWI Cardiff
occupation	TV presenter, newsreader and journalist
family	wife Christine & twin sons
credits	BBC News999 Lifesavers Pineapple Dance Studios
url	}}

Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is a BBC journalist and newsreader, most famous for his reporting of the Ethiopian famine on 23 October 1984, which inspired the Band Aid charity record.

Personal life

Buerk was born in Solihull, and was educated at Solihull School, an Independent school in the West Midlands where he was a member of the Combined Cadet Force and represented the school on the sports field.

He currently lives in Guildford with his wife, with whom he has twin sons. One of his sons, Roland, who is also a BBC journalist, survived the South Asian tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, and was also in Tokyo when the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck.

Career

Early career

Michael Buerk's hopes of a career in the armed forces were dashed when he failed an eyesight test at the selection centre. After a brief spell as a hod carrier he began his career in journalism with the ''Bromsgrove Messenger'', ''South Wales Echo'' (where he shared a house with Sue Lawley in Cardiff), and the ''Daily Mail'', he joined Radio Bristol in 1970 before becoming a reporter for BBC News in 1973.

Presenting work

BBC Points West

BBC Midlands Today

BBC Nine O'Clock News (1976 to 2000)

:(Industrial correspondent, 1976–77; Energy/Scotland correspondent 1977-81; Main presenter 1988-2000)

BBC News at Ten (2000 to 2003)

BBC News at One (1986 to 2003)

Breakfast

999

The ''Moral Maze'' on BBC Radio 4 (since 1990)

''The Choice'' (since 1998)

A Royal Wedding - HRH Prince Edward & Sophie Rhys-Jones (June 1999) - co-presenter with Sue Barker at Windsor.

Total Eclipse (August 1999) - the main presenter on the historic solar Eclipse in Cornwall on BBC One.

The One Show (September 2010) (Sit in/cover presenter)

During the 2001 Oscars, Buerk commented live on air that the BBC's arts correspondent Rosie Millard was wearing the 'best supporting dress'.

Charity work

He was awarded the Golden Nymph award at the Monte Carlo festival for his reports on the famine from Korem in Ethiopia, first broadcast on 24 October 1984. The actual film footage of this famine was done by Mohamed Amin. He later said that the broadcast was one of "the most influential pieces of television ever broadcast [prompting] a surge of generosity across the world for Ethiopia [that raised] more than $130 million"

On the BBC's Children in Need Buerk has performed several times along with an ensemble of BBC News presenters. In 2004 he dressed in leather to perform Duran Duran classics; in 2005 he sang the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody. He is sometimes imitated by Jon Culshaw on ''Dead Ringers''.

Recent work

On 28 July 2007, Buerk appeared on a special celebrity version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' with Jennie Bond to raise money for NCH, the children's charity. With a combined effort, they raised £64,000. He is also a supporter of the British Red Cross and in October 2008 came out in support of an Alternate Reality Game, Traces of Hope, which the charity developed. In 2010, he narrated Sky1 reality show ''Pineapple Dance Studios''. Buerk has also made five guest appearances on the BBC's ''The One Show'' in April and September 2010. He has also appeared as a sit in/cover presenter for Jason Manford on six occasions. On 4 January 2011, Buerk appeared on ''Celebrity Mastermind'' and won.

Views

Buerk asserted in a ''Radio Times'' interview in August 2005 that the "shift in the balance of power between the sexes" has gone too far and that men are now little more than "sperm donors". In particular, he objected to the many women now in senior positions within the BBC, echoing the outburst the previous year by sacked former Director General, Alasdair Milne. This was in anticipation of Buerk's 45-minute TV-essay, 'Michael Buerk on What Are Men For?" as part of Five's six-part "Don't Get Me Started!" series, broadcast on Tuesday 23 August 2005. The reaction to "What Are Men For?" was quite severe, criticising in particular Buerk's choices of sympathetic interview subjects, including "an odious chauvinistic farmer" and "a ridiculous Sloane" according to Guardian journalist Sam Wollaston .

Buerk has also criticised the modern newsreader for being overpaid Autocue-reading "lame brains".

References

External links

Michael Buerk through the years.

Autobiography.

The Choice

The Moral Maze

British Red Cross profile

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists Category:Old Silhillians Category:People from Guildford Category:People from Solihull Category:People associated with the Royal National College for the Blind