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BBC loses North West political editor as Woodthorpe resigns | Print |  Email to a friend
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
David Woodthorpe, who has been referred to as the BBC’s “face of politics in the North West,” has resigned from his role as the organisation’s political editor for the region.
David Woodthorpe, who has been referred to as the BBC’s “face of politics in the North West,” has resigned from his role as the organisation’s political editor for the region.

Woodthorpe took on the mantle in 2006, stepping in to the position vacated by well-known media figure Jim Hancock.

The role was a wide-ranging one for the former Anglia Television journalist, taking in broadcast appearances on North West Tonight and the Politics Show, while advising the BBC’s portfolio of regional radio stations on key political stories.

According to sources at the corporation Woodthorpe resigned over the weekend and has now appeared for the last time on both TV and radio.

He is now said to be set to leave the media sector, and the region, altogether to take up a new role within the health industry in the East Midlands.

Image
Woodthorpe: pastures new
A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed to How-Do that Woodthorpe had resigned and was “off to pastures new.”

They also relayed that there was no one lined up to take the position as yet, but that they would be advertising the role imminently.

A suggestion that the position itself could be made redundant, or merged into an existing role elsewhere, was flatly denied.

The BBC currently has political editors for each of its broadcasting regions across the UK.

Although How-Do failed to contact Woodthorpe himself at the time of writing, a source close to the story speculated that his move might be related to the style of political coverage that is currently in vogue in the region.

The source opined that this was increasingly “fluffy” or “politics-lite” whereas, according to his online biog, Woodthorpe “believes passionately in the importance of politics.”

 

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  Comments (3)
RSS comments
 1 By Tameside Eye website, on 19-08-2008 10:23
Who??? 
 
Anyway, who will fill the role? Dave Ottewell at the MEN has done a good job as political editor.
 2 By 80085, on 19-08-2008 10:47
The beeb clearly can't have seen this coming or there would have been a handover, or at least a replacement lined up. The regional political editor role is usually a stable one with long serving journos. There's been something afoot here for such a rapid departure.
 3 By journo, on 19-08-2008 13:59
Don't blame him for jumping. Far too good a reporter and analyst to fit in with the dross on this regional output. Anable Tiffin is also good but you can tell that she hates the politics-lite approach. The way that NorthWest Tonight handled the Policy Exchange story last week was disgraceful: they obviously had not read the report but just treated it as a "barmy southerners"story. I hope that david Woodthorpe will spill the beans on the set-up at Oxford Road. Who knows, they might even pick someone as serious (!) as Tony Livesey. After all he is an expert on martians and Elvis and all things barmy.

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