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 |
Picture: BBC/PA/PA Wire
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog