Laura Kuenssberg on Boris Johnson slip-up | Funding push for journalists' memorial
And one of this year's two Marie Colvin Award winners says journalists in Gaza need a break
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Today we have another hard-to-get interview with a high-profile journalist - the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.
This follows our chat with Sun editor Victoria Newton published yesterday.
How do we get such great access, I hear you ask? We grab people when we have just handed them an award and they have a glass of Champagne in their hand.
Laura was named interviewer of the year for a body of work that included an excruciating encounter with Baroness Michelle Mone, which ranks alongside Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew as one of the great journalistic skewerings of recent years.
We spoke to her about that and also the snafu where she accidentally sent Boris Johnson the questions in advance of an interview in October. She also explained how she pays little heed to the online conspiracy theorists constantly flinging mud at her online (which is surely the only way to stay sane in a job like hers).
After a year in which Israel-Gaza has become the most deadly conflict in history for journalists, we spoke to one of the survivors - Yousef Hammash, who filmed and narrated iconic reports for Channel 4 News from the early weeks of Israeli bombardment of Gaza - after he picked up the Marie Colvin prize at the British Journalism Awards.
Journalism is more than a job, it's a calling which requires many to run enormous risks in order to tell stories. These risks can be financial, in the form of vindictive legal actions which target journalists personally, or physical - as for the 16 UK journalists who have lost their lives reporting on conflict since 2000.
Press Gazette is supporting a new project called On The Record which will be the first UK national memorial for journalists.
Speaking at the British Journalism Awards, Karola Zakrzewska, whose brother Pierre was killed reporting from Ukraine in 2022, explained why this is such an important project to her family. There are more details here about On The Record - including how to make a donation.
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On Press Gazette
Laura Kuenssberg on Boris Johnson slip-up: ‘I screwed up, there we go, next story’
Kuenssberg told Press Gazette that her interview with Baroness Michelle Mone, which aired a year ago this week, had been harder to organise than anything else in the past 12 months.
Funding push for first UK national journalists’ memorial launched
“Their work gives us the understanding and awareness of what’s happening in places many of us will never see first hand. This space will also serve an educational purpose, shedding light on who these brave individuals were, how they carried out their work and why their mission is so critical.”
Marie Colvin Award winner: Journalists in Gaza need and deserve a break
“International journalists need to stand ahead their responsibility and report and bear witness there because journalists in Gaza need and deserve a break. It’s as simple as that. And on the personal side, I want a break. You should go there, give me and my team a break.”
News in brief
Ofcom has found Sky News in breach of the Broadcasting Code over an interview with Douglas Ross MSP about stepping down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives in which he spoke about the constituency for which he was standing in the UK general election. (Ofcom)
Mishal Husain has presented her final episode of the Today programme after 11 years on the show, telling listeners "in my time here, I have found more in me than I knew was there". (BBC News)
Deadline reports that Kay Burley is thought to be preparing to leave the Sky News Breakfast show after five years. (Deadline)
US local news giant McClatchy has completed its merger with Us Weekly publisher Accelerate360. The new McClatchy Media Company "creates many opportunities to leverage our digital platform at scale, provide additional original content offerings to consumers, and targeted audience access to our marketing partners". (Business Wire)
The Federation of Independent Retailers is seeking a meeting with Reach chief executive Jim Mullen over cover price rises "accompanied by a widespread cut in terms". It said Reach's national papers and its daily and weekly local titles will go up in price in January. (The Fed)
"New York Magazine’s business is probably more durable than it’s been in its entire 56-year history. And that’s because we have a subscription business that’s working and growing," says its editor-in-chief David Haskell. (Interview)
Donald Trump has threatened to sue the Des Moines Register after it published an election poll, which turned out to be wrong, predicting Kamala Harris would win in Iowa. (Huffpost)
A judge has banned reporting the names of those who oversaw family court hearings in the case of Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and stepmother. The Times says: "This judicial ruling amounts to a dangerous step in the direction of secret justice." (The Times)
Carlos Watson has been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison for fraud charges relating to Ozy Media. He told the court: "I loved what we built with Ozy" and claimed it was "selective prosecution" because he was a black entrepreneur. (Associated Press)
Also on Press Gazette:
Sun editor Victoria Newton: ‘We are the number one scoop machine on Fleet Street’
Observer sale: New email reveals Guardian refusal to talk to potential bidder
Business Insider tech chief: AI lets us ‘punch above our weight class’
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