Peter Horrocks
| Peter Horrocks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 October 1959 |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge University |
| Employer | Open University |
| Salary | £235,000 (total remuneration £242,800)[1] |
| Children | 3 |
Peter John Gibson Horrocks[2] (born 8 October 1959) is Vice-Chancellor (chief executive) of The Open University. He was educated at the independent King's College School in Wimbledon and at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was previously director of the BBC World Service Group.
BBC
Horrocks joined the BBC in October 1981 as a news trainee. He went on to work at Newsnight as an assistant producer and then producer. After time as a senior producer, intake editor and output editor on Breakfast Time, he became deputy editor of Panorama in 1988.
Horrocks edited BBC television's General Election results coverage in 1992. He edited the coverage of the Budget, by-elections and local elections, as well as the 1994 European Election results and General Election results programmes in May 1997.
In May 1992, Horrocks was appointed editor of BBC Two's social affairs programme, Public Eye, a position he held until he launched Here And Now, a current affairs magazine intended to capture high audience figures, in January 1994. He became editor of Newsnight in April 1994, and editor of Panorama in December 1997. Horrocks became Head of Current Affairs in June 2000. He was executive producer of Brits, True Spies, Smallpox 2002, The Day Britain Stopped, Dirty War and of the documentary trilogy The Power of Nightmares.
Horrocks won Bafta awards in 1997 and 2005 for his editorship of Newsnight and for The Power of Nightmares.
He became Head of Television News in September 2005. In November 2007, following restructuring of BBC News, he became Head of the BBC newsroom.[3]
As Head of Diversity when Barack Obama became US President in 2008, Horrocks only belatedly realised the coverage needed to be presented by an ethnically mixed group. He later admitted that 'with hindsight' he would have ensured a more culturally representative team.
In April 2009, he replaced Nigel Chapman at BBC World Service and was responsible for the overall editorial leadership and management of the world's leading international multimedia broadcaster until 2014.[4] He is the chairman of the BBC Media Action Board of Trustees (Previously called the BBC World Service Trust).[5]
The Open University
The Open University announced on 11 December 2014, that Peter had been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University, taking over the role vacated by Martin Bean.[6] He took up the post on Tuesday 5 May 2015.
Personal life
Horrocks is married and has three children.[7][8]
References
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/running/bbcstructure/journalism/peter_horrocks.shtml
- ↑ THE BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST :: OpenCharities
- ↑ The Editors - Peter Horrocks BBC News
- ↑ Peter Horrocks appointed new BBC World Service Director BBC Press Release
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/about/how_we_are_governed
- ↑ "Vice-Chancellor of The Open University". .open.ac.uk. March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ↑ Peter Horrocks: BBC news director claimed £81 suit hire for Buckingham Palace reception - Telegraph
- ↑ http://www.let's just ask Dad;Essential guide to the Internet - magazine article - TES