Former senior BBC presenter criticises LGBT correspondent role
by Carys Moseley, Christian Concern:
In his soon-to-be-published memoirs, former senior BBC presenter John Humphrys criticises the appointment of Ben Hunte as BBC News’ first LGBT correspondent. ‘A Day Like Today’ is being serialised in the Daily Mail and will be published on 3 October this year. Humphrys says that “the appointment raised eyebrows”, revealing that Hunte looked forward to being ‘a mouthpiece’ for marginalised groups. Humphrys criticises him for this, saying that the BBC should not be a mouthpiece for anyone, as this crosses the line from journalism to public relations and lobbying.
Ben Hunte has been a freelance presenter for Channel 5 News and ITN News as well as having launched and presented BBC What’s New in 2018, the first BBC TV programme and digital service for children in Africa. For the BBC in the UK he presented interviews as part of its ‘Gay Britannia’ theme in 2017. The same year he received recognition at the British LGBT Awards for ‘Top 10 Outstanding Contributions to LGBT life’.
‘Bringing queer issues to the masses’
Earlier this year, Brighton Pride, one of the biggest events in the UK LGBT calendar, announced that Hunte would be speaking “on how he’s bringing queer issues to the masses”. Did Brighton Pride ever stop to consider just how elitist and snobbish this sounds?
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