BBC continues to slash pay for male journalists in push for gender parity + full salary list 2018/19

The BBC has further cut the salaries of its big beast male news broadcasters while nudging up pay for top female talent as it strains to uphold a pledge to close its gender pay gap by the end of 2020.

The corporation today revealed its latest pay figures for on-air talent earning more than £150,000 from licence fee funding over the year to the end of March 2019, showing a reduction in its median gender pay gap.

Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine (pictured, right) is among those to have taken a sizeable cut in pay. Vine now earns up to £295,000, but in 2017, when the corporation first revealed its pay figures, he earned up to £750,000 and was the BBC’s highest-paid journalist.

Scroll down for the full list of BBC journalists paid more than £150,000

Radio 4 Today presenter John Humphrys (pictured, left), who plans to leave the flagship news and current affairs show later this year, is now also paid up to £295,000 along with co-presenter Nick Robinson.

Humphrys was the BBC’s second-highest paid journalist in 2017 when he earned up to £650,000, falling to up to £410,000 last year.

News at Ten anchor Huw Edwards is the BBC’s best-paid journalist for the second year running, earning up to £495,000 in 2018/19, a fall from a salary of up to £530,000 last year.

BBC News presenter Sophie Raworth is the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female journalist, earning up to £270,000, a rise of up to £60,000 on her salary for 2017/18.

Newsnight lead presenter Emily Maitlis is behind on £265,000, followed by newsreader Fiona Bruce, the new host of Question Time, and Today presenter Mishal Husain, both of whom were paid up to £260,000.

Bruce’s actual salary is higher, having only been paid for ten episodes of Question Time so far, but this will not be released until the top-earners’ salaries are published again next year.

BBC News director Fran Unsworth, who took over from James Harding at the start of 2018, was paid up to £345,000 in 2018/19, a rise of £100,000 on her salary last year.

In total there are 42 journalists paid more than £150,000 at the BBC.

In a push for greater transparency, the top-earning on-air talent salaries for 2018/19 are given within a £5,000 bracket. The year before it was £10,000 and before that £50,000.

The BBC’s median gender pay gap has fallen for the second year running to 6.7 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent in 2017 when it was first revealed.

BBC director general Lord Tony Hall said: “We already have the lowest gender pay gap across UK broadcasters and it’s significantly lower than the national average of 17.9 per cent, but we can’t be complacent.

“That’s why, in 2027, I set us a tough challenge of closing the gender pay gap by the end of 2020.

“It’s a goal which is more stretching and ambitious than for any other organisation, because I wanted to achieve real change – and you can see how far we’ve come.”

BBC Women, a group of more than 400 broadcasters, producers and technicians, said in a statement: “There has been some progress in the last two years, but many women at all levels of the BBC are locked into slow, inefficient and demoralising internal processes.

“New equal pay cases are still emerging and staff are yet to have confidence that pay inequality is in the past.”

The BBC made a total revenue of £4.89bn in 2019, of which £3.69bn came from the licence fee, its latest accounts show. The broadcaster made a pre-tax loss of £74m for the year and has cash reserves of £468m.

In response to claims that cutting its multi-million pound wage bill for talent and senior managers would enable the BBC to fund free TV licences for the over-75s, which are now limited to those on pensions credit, BBC chairman Sir David Clementi said “the sums don’t add up”.

The number of staff working at the BBC has actually risen, in part due to the creation of new channels such as BBC Scotland.

The BBC said it needs to find £800m in savings by 2021/22.

The list of the BBC’s top-earning journalist talent paid more than £150,000:

Position (position last year)	Journalist	Main BBC job	Salary band (2018/19)	Salary band (2017/18)
1 (1)	Huw Edwards	BBC News presenter	£490,000 – £494,999	£520,000 – £529,999
2 (4)	Andrew Marr	Andrew Marr Show / The Week	£390,000 – £394,999	£400,000 – £409,999
3 (3)	Nicky Campbell	5 Live Breakfast Show / Your Call	£340,000 – £345,999	£410,000 – £419,999
4 (11)	Francesca Unsworth	Director of news and current affairs	£340,000 – £344,999	£240,000 – £249,999
5 (8)	George Alagiah	BBC News presenter	£315,000 – £319,999	£290,000 – £299,999
6 (2)	Jeremy Vine	Radio 2 Daily Show	£290,000 – £294,999	£440,000 – £449,999
6 (4)	John Humphrys	Today	£290,000 – £294,999	£400,000 – £409,999
6 (9)	Nick Robinson	Today / Political Thinking	£290,000 – £294,999	£250,000 – £259,999
9 (9)	Evan Davis	PM / Newsnight / The Bottom Line	£275,000 – £279,999	£250,000 – £259,999
10 (18)	Sophie Raworth	BBC News presenter	£265,000 – £269,000	£200,000 – £209,999
11 (13)	Emily Maitlis	Newsnight	£260,000 – £264,999	£220,000 – £229,999
12 (23)	Fiona Bruce	BBC News presenter / Question Time	£255,000 – £259,999	£180,000 – £189,999
12 (23)	Mishal Husain	Today / BBC News presenter / From Our Home Correspondent	£255,000 – £259,999	£220,000 – £229,999
14 (13)	Laura Kuenssberg	BBC News political editor	£250,000 – £254,999	£220,000 – £229,999
15 (18)	Martha Kearney	Today	£245,000 – £249,999	£200,000 – £209,999
15 (28)	Justin Webb	Today	£245,000 – £249,999	£160,000 – £169,999
17 (28)	Sarah Montague	World At One / Hardtalk	£240,000 – £244,999	£160,000 – £169,999
17 (12)	Jon Sopel	North America editor	£240,000 – £244,999	£230,000 – £239,999
19 (17)	Victoria Derbyshire	Victoria Derbyshire	£215,000 – £219,999	£210,000 – £219,999
19 (18)	Jeremy Bowen	Middle East editor	£215,000 – £219,999	£200,000 – £209,999
21 (18)	Amol Rajan	Media editor / The Media Show / Start The Week	£210,000 – £214,999	£200,000 – £209,999
22 (28)	Kamal Ahmed	Editorial director	£205,000 – £209,999	£160,000 – £169,999
22 (24)	Katya Adler	Europe editor	£205,000 – £209,999	£170,000 – £179,999
22 (n/a)	Louise Minchin	BBC Breakfast / Triathlon: World Series	£205,000 – £209,999	N/A
25 (n/a)	Clive Myrie	BBC News Channel presenter	£200,000 – £204,999	N/A
26 (n/a)	Fergal Keane	Africa editor	£195,000 – £199,999	£150,000 – £159,999
27 (n/a)	Naga Munchetty	BBC Breakfast	£190,000 – £194,999	N/A
27 (n/a)	Charlie Stayt	BBC Breakfast	£190,000 – £194,999	N/A
29 (37)	Tina Daheley	Radio 2 Breakfast Show newsreader / Newsbeat / Beyond Today / The Cutural Frontline	£185,000 – £189,999	£150,000 – £159,999
30 (24)	Mark Easton	Home editor	£180,000 – £184,999	£170,000 – £179,999
31 (28)	Jonathan Munro	Head of newsgathering	£175,000 – £179,999	£160,000 – £169,999
32 (37)	Gavin Allen	Head of news programmes	£170,000 – £174,999	£150,000 – £159,999
32 (24)	James Naughtie	BBC News presenter and correspondent	£170,000 – £174,999	£170,000 – £179,999
32 (37)	Simon Jack	Business editor	£170,000 – £174,999	£150,000 – £159,999
32 (n/a)	Reeta Chakrabarti	BBC News Channel presenter	£170,000 – £174,999	N/A
36 (37)	Ben Brown	BBC News Channel presenter	£165,000 – £169,999	£150,000 – £159,999
37 (37)	John Pienaar	Deputy political editor / Pienaar’s Politics	£160,000 – £164,999	£150,000 – £159,999
37 (37)	Sarah Smith	Scotland editor / Sunday Politics	£160,000 – £164,999	£150,000 – £159,999
37 (n/a)	Orla Guerin	International correspondent	£160,000 – £164,999	N/A
40 (7)	Eddie Mair	PM	£155,000 – £159,000	£330,000-£339,999
40 (n/a)	Jane Hill	BBC News Channel presenter	£155,000 – £159,999	N/A
43 (n/a)	Joanna Gosling	BBC News Channel presenter	£150,000 – £154,999	N/A