After weeks of interviews and an extensive recruitment process, the company had compiled a list of candidates exclusively for the role, with Anushka Asthana of ITV News and Sophy Ridge of Sky News believed to be the last two candidates. An announcement about which of them would get the job was expected to coincide with Kuenssberg’s departure last week. Instead, the BBC’s political correspondent, Chris Mason, is now the frontrunner for the role, as bosses have quietly begun inviting new job applications. The recruitment page for the role of political editor reopened by Tuesday, although there was no acknowledgment from senior officials or an official announcement from the BBC encouraging new applications. Mason is widely liked by the BBC, but a member of the media industry has suggested that the BBC may be ready to dismiss “a short list of exceptional women-only women” in favor of a man. The resumption of applications will allow Mason to submit his CV – but it will also allow anyone else to apply, and it is a public indication that executives are dissatisfied with the existing line of candidates. In recent days, there have been speculations that BBC executives were unhappy with the process and were looking for other candidates for the role. Mason did not initially apply for the job, in part because he was seen as the role of a more experienced journalist like Jon Sopel. However, according to those familiar with the recruitment process, in recent days the BBC bosses have encouraged Mason to apply for the role, a development first reported by the Sunday Times. Mason has been with the BBC for two decades, spending most of his career covering Westminster and appearing frequently on television and radio. The 41-year-old from Grassington in North Yorkshire hosts the evening show Any Questions? and was a regular on the Brexitcast podcast. His current salary is below the .000 150,000 mark that must be declared publicly. If he paves the way for becoming a political writer, he will allow the BBC to retain a prominent journalist who has been repeatedly approached by other commercial broadcasters such as Times Radio with job offers. However, he has not yet been interviewed, so any appointment could be a bit free – while leaving existing candidates faced with the decision of whether to leave the recruitment process if they believe the job has been lined up for someone else. Other candidates for the job were BBC’s Alex Forsyth and the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar. People who got involved with the role at an early stage were Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall and ITV’s Paul Brand. The appointment will help set up the newsroom under the upcoming BBC news chief Deborah Turness, who has promised to shake up the operation but has yet to confirm her departure from her current role as ITN chief executive. There is concern in the BBC newsroom that the national broadcaster was left behind by ITV when it came to announcing Westminster stories about Downing Street Christmas parties. While ITV News ran news after news, the BBC was left to continue playing and relying on videos leaked by its main commercial competitor. Further cuts in BBC production are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Whoever becomes a BBC political writer will immediately become one of the most important and exhaustive journalists in the country. Kuenssberg’s time at work has led to an unprecedented level of debate over who should play the role of a BBC political editor. A key discussion is the degree to which the position holder should try to announce new news – or whether he should focus on backtracking and providing an analysis that concludes with certainty who is telling the truth.
