Posts Tagged ‘Evan Davis’

David Cameron’s conference speech – a message on debt

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 at 5:58 pm

Debt-management was a central theme of David Cameron’s party conference speech today, but the Prime Minister’s approach seemed at odds with the Coalition’s message on university tuition fees.

Today Mr Cameron said: ”The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That means households – all of us – are paying off the credit card and store card bills.”

On August 18th Universities and Science Minister David Willetts defended the increase in tuition fees being introduced this time next year by saying it would be a better system, because monthly repayments would be smaller and “smoothed out” over a longer period of time.

If you listen to an interview from Radio 4′s Today programme on that day you will hear Evan Davis pressing the minister to concede that students would face higher levels of debt.

At one point Evan Davis says: “No financial salesman selling mortgages could get away with trying to proffer a huge mortgage on the basis that monthly repayments were actually lower.”

Students who start three year degrees in 2012 will be coming to the end of their courses in 2015 when the next election is due to take place.

Perhaps by then those graduates will have had time to reflect on whether government assurances on study-now-pay-later tuition fees prove to be based on the principles of sound financial household management espoused by the Prime Minister today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Financial crisis – a great time to be a journalist

Saturday, September 24th, 2011 at 10:47 am

It’s easy to see doom and gloom when you read headlines about impending global financial meltdown, but if you are a journalist the crisis can open up new opportunities.

Reporting from the front lines in Greece, in Frankfurt and in Washington are the likes of Stephanie Flanders, Robert Peston, Paul Mason and Faisal Islam. Their understanding and insight suddenly becomes crucial as viewers try to grapple with the potential consequences of stagnant growth, sovereign debt and strict austerity measures.

You can follow these top journalists who give a real insight on economics on twitter to keep on top of the latest twists and turns: @BBCStephanie, @paulmasonnews, @faisalislam, @EvanHD, and @Peston.

And if you want more insight you can also read books by Newsnight’s Pasul Mason and by the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston.

Sadly, an early collaboration by Evan Davis, of Dragons’ Den fame, and BBC Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders is no longer in print. Their evaluation of the economics of the net book agreement was written 20 years ago when nobody was too worried about fiscal tightening or excess liquidity. Perhaps it’s time for them to team up again.

 

 

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Can I become a journalist with a degree in PPE?

Saturday, August 6th, 2011 at 7:33 am

Can I become a journalist with a degree in PPE?

Oxford comes out top in Up To Speed’s look at the educational backgrounds of 75 leading journalists and one course at the university stands out.

No fewer than eleven people on our list have a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and ten of them are BBC names. You’ll have seen them on the Six O’Clock News, the Ten O’clock News, BBC4, Newsnight, Question Time and Dragon’s Den.
They are: Zeinab Badawi, Ben Brown, Michael Crick, Stephanie Flanders, Evan Davis, David Dimbleby, Guto Harri, Robert Peston, James Robbins, Nick Robinson and Peter Sissons. And over on Channel 4 News you can also find another PPE graduate, Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

In a recession it is not difficult to see why editors are keen to snap up people who understand finance and who took the same degree as David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

But many PPE people also found time at Oxford to make a mark for themselves in other ways. David Dimbleby edited the university magazine Isis, while Peter Sissons, Evan Davis and Michael Crick edited the student newspaper Cherwell. It was in this capacity that Crick gave Nick Robinson a Pushy Fresher Award. Crick was clearly no push-over himself as he later became President of the Oxford Union.

Channel 4 News Presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy might also have been a contender for a Pushy Fresher Award when he arrived at Oxford as he’d already made a name for himself during his Gap Year. Guru-Murthy had presented Open To Question, part of the Def II strand of Youth Television pioneered by Jane Street-Porter, and went straight into a presenter’s job on Newsround when he graduated.

But a degree in PPE and a father who presented the news on ITN didn’t do the trick for the BBC’s Ben Brown. He was turned down for a traineeship with both ITN and the BBC and claims his first break with Radio Clyde in Glasgow was down to a mix-up with a preferred candidate, also called Ben Brown.

With a double-dip recession looming, it’s likely that PPE people will remain popular in newsrooms.

And a PPE brain combined with the practical skills of Up To Speed’s NCTJ course would be a winning combination.

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Up To Speed Journalism Podcast Episode 4

Friday, October 1st, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Up To Speed Journalism’s founder Tom Hill reflects on a week dominated by contacts, networking and positive news on jobs.

And if you are interested in keeping tabs on some of the latest jobs in journalism, why not follow us on Twitter @Up_To_Speed. You can see all the jobs by following the list we have created for you.

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