London — Peter Barron, the man who has an astonishing media expertise — for four years as Newsnight editor, is leaving the BBC to join Google as head of communications and public affairs for the UK, Ireland and Benelux regions.
Barron, who has edited Newsnight since May 2004, has been appointed as the search engine’s head of communications and public affairs for the UK, Ireland and Benelux regions.
“Google is the most interesting and exciting company of my lifetime and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work there,” he said in a statement.
He has spent 12 years at the late-evening show, having worked behind the scenes for most of the 1990s before taking up his current job in 2004.
“We are very sorry to lose Peter,” said the BBC’s director of news, Helen Boaden.
“His creativity and brilliant journalism have made Newsnight so impressive over the last few years,” she added. “However this is once in a lifetime opportunity for him and we wish him well as he moves to Google.”
As part of the reorganization, Rachel Whetstone, Google’s European head of communications and former political secretary to Michael Howard, moved to the US to take the role of vice-president of communications and public affairs for Google.
“We are delighted that Peter is joining us,” said D-J Collins, Google’s director of communications and public affairs for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “He has a wealth of experience and will be a great addition to our team.”
Barron will be reporting to Collins. Collins added: “His understanding of TV news is exceptional. We are very excited about him bringing that experience to Google.”
Among the longest-serving Newsnight editors, Barron maintained audience figures and broke more news stories through the program, even amid staff and budget cuts.
“It will be very sad to see him go,” said Michael Crick, Newsnight’s long-serving political editor. “I only hope his successor can carry on causing trouble for people in positions of power.”
A look at Barron’s past on-the-job blog proves he will be a good fit for the position. Take his view of one mid-June interaction, for example; a necessary sort of wary and guarded attitude is evident. Barron wrote, “There is an inquisitive and irrepressible journalist on the line. He appears to have an agenda and seems determined to produce a damaging piece, whatever the facts.”
Then, as the journalist tried to paint a Newsnight story as less than important, check out how Barron defended his position. “So was it much of a story? A good way of judging is to put the words “Spelman” and “Newsnight” into Google News. At the latest count there are more than 40 stories from newspapers and other media organizations about the affair – Telegraph, Mail, ITN, Reuters – oh, and the Evening Standard.”
Another of Barron’s Newsnight colleagues quoted as saying to the FT that he was “a very innovative guy, constantly trying to push the format,” with a keen interest in making the show more interactive through blogs and the internet. But the individual expressed surprise that he was leaving the editorial side of the media business.
Previously tipped as a potential candidate for BBC2 Controller, Barron is close to the independent TV producer community, helping run last year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival with Endemol’s UK chief executive, Tim Hinks.
The Newsnight employee said Barron’s outspoken remarks in Edinburgh about climate change -– “It is absolutely not the BBC’s job to save the planet” -– and bringing in Jeremy Paxman as the festival’s keynote speaker did not endear him to the BBC’s executives, perhaps impeding internal career progression.
“He has always been a bit of maverick,” said the employee, “not really a Corporation man.”
Barron, who started his career at the BBC as a news trainee, became editor of Newsnight in May 2004 after having worked as a producer and film-maker on the flagship BBC2 politics and current affairs program.
He has also worked on Channel 4 News, joining the show in 1998 as deputy editor.
Barron moved to ITV1’s “Tonight With Trevor McDonald” as deputy editor in 2002, where he oversaw the program’s coverage of the second Iraq conflict.
“I have enjoyed every minute of editing Newsnight and will miss the fantastic team here, and I’m hugely looking forward to this new challenge.”
Contenders for the Newsnight editorship include Jasmin Buttar, the program’s current deputy editor; her predecessor Daniel Pearl, now deputy editor on the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News; and John Boothman, editor of political output at BBC Scotland and another Newsnight alumnus.
“Barron is expected to start at Google in September.”
The BBC said it hoped to appoint an editor for Newsnight “in the autumn”.