Justin Webb
Encyclopedia
Justin Oliver Webb is a British
journalist who has worked for the BBC
since 1984. Since August 2009, he has presented on the Today programme.
in January 2011, Webb revealed that his natural father was Peter Woods who was then a reporter with the Daily Mirror and later became a BBC newsreader. Woods was married and Webb's mother, who was a secretary at the Daily Mirror, was separated from her first husband at the time of the affair with Woods. Webb commented that his mother's split from Woods may have been as much her doing as his, saying "I do not believe she was abandoned." Woods provided financially for Webb but saw him only once, when he was six months old. Webb took the surname of his stepfather when his mother remarried in 1964.
Webb grew up in Bath. He was educated at Sidcot School
, a Quaker
school in Somerset
, and the London School of Economics
, where he was editor of student newspaper
The Beaver
.
for BBC Radio Ulster
based in Belfast
. He then worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4's Today
programme, before becoming a foreign affairs correspondent based in London and covering news around the world. He reported on the Gulf War
and the war in Bosnia, the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the first democratic elections in South Africa
.
He then became a BBC News
presenter based in London
, and the main presenter on BBC One
's Breakfast News
programme from 1992 to 1997. He also presented the BBC's One
and Six O'Clock News
bulletins and presented BBC Radio 4
's The World Tonight
from 1997-1998. From 1998 he spent three years working as the BBC's Europe correspondent based in Brussels
. During that time he reported on the workings of the European Commission
and Parliament
, the politics surrounding Britain's decision on whether to join the single currency
and the enlargement on the European Union
.
In 2001 he moved to the United States
, as the BBC's chief Washington
correspondent. He raised eyebrows within the BBC in 2006 when, at a seminar on impartiality, he claimed the corporation was anti-American and treated the US with "scorn and derision", according it "no moral weight". He has also presented a Radio 4
series on anti-Americanism. In December 2007 he became North America
n Editor for BBC News, a role newly created in time for the American presidential election of 2008. He replaced Matt Frei
who moved to present the new World News America bulletin. Since November 2007, Webb has maintained a regularly updated blog
on the BBC website.
In August 2009, he returned to the UK to replace Edward Stourton on the Today programme.
and as a result, Webb experienced the United States healthcare system
first-hand. Currently Webb lives in Camberwell
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist who has worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
since 1984. Since August 2009, he has presented on the Today programme.
Early life
In an article in the Radio TimesRadio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
in January 2011, Webb revealed that his natural father was Peter Woods who was then a reporter with the Daily Mirror and later became a BBC newsreader. Woods was married and Webb's mother, who was a secretary at the Daily Mirror, was separated from her first husband at the time of the affair with Woods. Webb commented that his mother's split from Woods may have been as much her doing as his, saying "I do not believe she was abandoned." Woods provided financially for Webb but saw him only once, when he was six months old. Webb took the surname of his stepfather when his mother remarried in 1964.
Webb grew up in Bath. He was educated at Sidcot School
Sidcot School
Sidcot School is a British co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England....
, a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
school in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he was editor of student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
The Beaver
The Beaver
The Beaver is the weekly newspaper of the London School of Economics Students' Union at the LSE.Despite being published by the Students' Union, The Beaver is independent in its reporting....
.
Broadcasting
Webb joined the BBC as a graduate trainee in 1984 working in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
for BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Ulster is one of two Northern Irish BBC radio stations, the other being BBC Radio Foyle located in the city of Derry. BBC Radio Ulster is located at Broadcasting House in the Ormeau Avenue area of Belfast city centre...
based in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. He then worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4's Today
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
programme, before becoming a foreign affairs correspondent based in London and covering news around the world. He reported on the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and the war in Bosnia, the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the first democratic elections in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
He then became a BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
presenter based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and the main presenter on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Breakfast News
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
programme from 1992 to 1997. He also presented the BBC's One
BBC One O'Clock News
The BBC News at One is the afternoon news bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel on Monday to Sunday 1:00pm....
and Six O'Clock News
BBC Six O'Clock News
The BBC News at Six is the evening news programme broadcast each night on British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel at 18:00. For a long period the News at Six was the most watched news programme in the UK but since 2006 it has been over taken by the BBC News at Ten...
bulletins and presented BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's The World Tonight
The World Tonight
The World Tonight is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10pm news. It features news, analysis and comment on domestic and world issues...
from 1997-1998. From 1998 he spent three years working as the BBC's Europe correspondent based in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. During that time he reported on the workings of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the politics surrounding Britain's decision on whether to join the single currency
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and the enlargement on the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
In 2001 he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as the BBC's chief Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
correspondent. He raised eyebrows within the BBC in 2006 when, at a seminar on impartiality, he claimed the corporation was anti-American and treated the US with "scorn and derision", according it "no moral weight". He has also presented a Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series on anti-Americanism. In December 2007 he became North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Editor for BBC News, a role newly created in time for the American presidential election of 2008. He replaced Matt Frei
Matt Frei
Matthias Frei better known as Matt Frei is a German-born British television news journalist and writer, presently the Washington, D.C. correspondent for Channel 4 News.-Personal life:...
who moved to present the new World News America bulletin. Since November 2007, Webb has maintained a regularly updated blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on the BBC website.
In August 2009, he returned to the UK to replace Edward Stourton on the Today programme.
Personal life
In August 2009, Webb returned to the UK with his wife Sarah and their three children. To remind him of America he brought a second hand American car back with him. Whilst in the United States, his son Sam fell ill and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitusDiabetes mellitus type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose...
and as a result, Webb experienced the United States healthcare system
Health care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
first-hand. Currently Webb lives in Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
.