Gove: BBC and the Guardian dominated by the privately educated

Senior roles at the BBC and the Guardian are dominated by the privately educated according to education secretary, Michael Gove.

In a speech on education at the Times CEO Summit yesterday, reported by the Telegraph, Gove singled out the two media organisations as examples were the leaders come from privileged backgrounds. He also mentioned cricket, rugby and the music industry.

A report from the Sutton Trust charity from last December found that half of leading jobs in the media industry are held by former private school pupils, despite the fact they account for only seven per cent of the population, the Telegraph reports.

According to a survey from 2006 by the Sutton Trust, over half of leading editors, columnists and news presenters went top private schools. The report stated that news and current affairs is ‘increasingly becoming a preserve for those from more privilege backgrounds”.