Kirsty Wark

Infobox journalist


name = Kirsty Wark
| caption =
birthname = Kirsteen Anne Wark
birth_date = birth date and age|1955|2|3|df=yes
birth_place = Dumfries, Scotland
education = Grange Academy
occupation = Television journalist
spouse = Alan Clements
credits = "Newsnight"

Kirsteen Anne Wark (born 3 February, 1955) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter best known for fronting the BBC Two's news and current affairs programme "Newsnight" since 1993, and its weekly arts annexe "Newsnight Review".

Biography

She was born to Jimmy Wark, a solicitor, and Roberta, a schoolteacher. Kirsty Wark was educated at Grange Academy in Kilmarnock and Ayr's independent Wellington School. After studying history at the University of Edinburgh, Wark joined the BBC in 1976 as a researcher for BBC Radio Scotland and, in 1982, moved to television, eventually becoming a presenter, including presenting "Breakfast Time". In 1988 she was one of the first reporters to cover the Lockerbie disaster. In 1990, Wark demonstrated her distinctive line of questioning in an interview with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Wark was a presenter on BBC2 arts programme " The Late Show" (from 1990-3) – "Newsnight Review" 's predecessor – and the heritage programme "One Foot in the Past".

She has presented "Newsnight" since 1993. She married the television producer Alan Clements (born c. 1961) in September 1989 after meeting on the BBC Scotland programme "Left, Right, and Centre", and they have a son (born 1992) and daughter (born 1990). They founded independent TV production company Wark-Clements in 1990, which in May 2004 was merged with fellow Scots broadcaster Muriel Gray's Ideal World to form IWC Media. In December 2005, Wark and Gray severed their connections with [http://www.iwcmedia.co.uk IWC Media] after RDF Media bought the company.

Wark hosted the 10th annual "Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards" on Friday November 30, 2007 for STV.

She replaced David Baddiel as host of the BBC Four programme "The Book Quiz" in 2008.

Interview style

Examples of Wark's varying interviewing style can be found on YouTube. In June 2006 she interviewed Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter. [cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/5110060.stm
title = Harold Pinter on Newsnight Review
accessdate = 2008-10-10
last = Wark
first = Kirsty
date = 2006-06-23
work = Newsnight website
publisher = BBC Two] Later that year in July 2006, she interviewed Italian horror director Dario Argento.Fact|date=November 2007

In June 2007, Wark clashed with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond in an interview regarding Salmond's response to a memorandum of understanding between the UK Government and Libya regarding prisoner exchanges. Salmond feared that this could include Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who was convicted by a Scottish court for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland [cite news | last =Mulholland | first =H| coauthors =and agencies| title =Scottish ministers attack No 10 over Lockerbie bomber| work =Special Reports| pages =| language =| publisher =The Guardian| date =2007-06-08| url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/Lockerbie/Story/0,,2098528,00.html| accessdate =2007-09-25 ] .

According to Newsnight editor Peter Barron, some viewers questioned the premise of the interview; that the new SNP government appeared to be picking a fight with London. Other viewers thought that Kirsty's line of questioning was too aggressive and therefore discourteouscite web| last =Barron| first =P.| authorlink =| coauthors =| title =That Salmond interview| work =The Editors| publisher =BBC| date =2007-06-08| url =http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/06/that_salmond_interview.html| format =| doi =| accessdate =2007-09-25] .The biggest controversy, however, regarded how the interview ended. According to Barron, time constraints forced Wark to end the questioning abruptly, leading him to perceive her behavior as "rude and dismissive."

Television critic A.A. Gill has criticised her hosting of the 'embarrassingly rubbish' Newsnight Review, describing her as a 'taut and trite Edinburgh cultural stamp collector' [ cite newshttp://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3758062.ece] .

Public controversies

In 1994 Kirsty Wark was one of the honorary graduates at the University of Abertay, Dundee. She left the premises immediately after the award, leaving the other graduates and their families to endure the principal's interminable speech.

Donald Dewar, former First Minister of Scotland, a close friend, appointed her to the Scottish Parliament Building Design Selection Panel, which chose Enric Miralles' design for the new parliament. Questioned by the Fraser Inquiry, set up to investigate the building's cost overruns, she said: "There was no way that we were making a decision on economically the most advantageous tender; you would have ended up with a shed . . . it was [about] getting a building which was the most exciting, innovative building . . ." [cite paper| author =Holyrood Inquiry| title =Transcript: Wednesday 26 November 2003 (Morning Session)| version =| publisher =| date =| url= http://www.holyroodinquiry.org/transcripts_documents/26-11-2003-am/transcript26-11-2003-am.htm | format =| accessdate =2007-08-15] In 2003, Wark-Clements produced a film on the building, with critics accusing Wark of a conflict of interest. [cite news| last =Peterkin| first =T| coauthors =T. Leonard| title =Dispute over Kirsty Wark evidence on Holyrood| work =News| pages =| language =| publisher =The Telegraph| date =2003-11-28| url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/28/nholy28.xml| accessdate =2007-08-15]

In January 2005, she became involved in a controversy after she invited Labour MSP Jack McConnell, then Scotland's First Minister, and his family to stay at her Majorcan holiday home over the New Year period. McConnell, a long-time friend of Wark and husband Clements before holding office, was cleared of any improprieties when the Scottish Parliament's Standards Committee deemed he received no financial benefits from the holidays. Wark's editor on "Newsnight" offered his support, stating, "Many people in the media have friends who have gone on to hold office. The important issue is your ability to ask tough questions and that is not a problem with Kirsty Wark or anybody else on the programme." However such controversies have led to questions about her ability to behave impartially." [cite news| last =Vass| first =S| coauthors =L. McDougall | title =Wark: Its a McCarthyite witch-hunt | work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Sunday Herald| date =2005-01-09| url =http://www.spinwatch.org/content/view/594/9/| accessdate =2007-09-25] Wark and Clements have recently been the subject of much coverage in the Guardian, Independent, Mail, Times and Telegraph regarding his use of Wark's former PA to covertly monitor emails at RDF Media after he left following an acrimonious dispute about a non-compete deal. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=499935&in_page_id=1770]

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/3094315.stm Wark's BBC Profile]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/jan/09/bbc.scottishparliament "Observer" profile January 9 2005]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/01/09/do0910.xml "Telegraph" profile January 9 2005]

References

Further reading

*cite news | last =Burrell| first =Ian| coauthors =| title =Kirsty Wark: Woman of substance answers back| work =Media| pages =| language =| publisher =The Independent (London)| date =2007-09-25 | url =http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2991272.ece| accessdate =2007-09-25

Persondata
NAME = Wark, Kirsty Anne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Scottish journalist and television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH = 3 February 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH = Dumfries, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =