Liz Forgan
Encyclopedia
Dame Elizabeth "Liz" Anne Lucy Forgan, DBE (born 31 August 1944) is an English
journalist
and executive for radio
and television
.
in Kent
, a girls's boarding school, and at St Hugh's College, Oxford
, then an all-female college.
She initially worked on newspapers starting with Teheran Journal as Arts Editor 1967-68, at the Hampstead and Highgate Express (1969–74), and on London's Evening Standard
(1974–78, and later as a columnist 1997-98).
She was editor of The Guardian's women's pages from 1978 to 1982, a Guardian columnist during 1997 and 1998, becoming a non-executive director of the Guardian Media Group
from 1998.
from 1981 to 1990.
She joined the BBC in 1993 to become Managing Director, BBC Network Radio where she developed the format for BBC Radio Five Live
and launched the DAB
digital radio service.
She left the BBC in February 1996 over a disagreement with John Birt
, then BBC Director General, over the decision to move BBC Radio News from Broadcasting House
to Television Centre.
Forgan was appointed the sixth Chair of The Scott Trust
in 2003, the owner of the Guardian newspapers hence becoming Britain's first female newspaper proprietor.
since 2001 and Heritage Lottery Fund
.
She is also board member of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama
, Trustee of the Royal Anniversary Trust, a former Board Member of the British Film Institute
, a Trustee of the Media Trust
and of the Phoenix Trust, and Chair of the Churches Conservation Trust
.
In February 2009 Forgan became Chair of Arts Council England
, the first woman to head the British
arts funding organisation. Appointed in the last year of a Labour Government, she was viewed with suspicion by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. In the October 2010 Government spending review, the Arts Council suffered a 29.6% funding cut, and was also ordered to halve its administrative costs, a severe blow to the organisation.
in 1998, also for services to Radio Broadcasting.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and executive for radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Early life
Forgan was educated at the independent Benenden SchoolBenenden School
Benenden School is an independent boarding school for girls in Kent, England. It is located in Benenden in the Kentish countryside, between Cranbrook and Tenterden....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, a girls's boarding school, and at St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
, then an all-female college.
She initially worked on newspapers starting with Teheran Journal as Arts Editor 1967-68, at the Hampstead and Highgate Express (1969–74), and on London's Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
(1974–78, and later as a columnist 1997-98).
She was editor of The Guardian's women's pages from 1978 to 1982, a Guardian columnist during 1997 and 1998, becoming a non-executive director of the Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
from 1998.
Media management
Forgan was a founding commissioning editor and then Director of Programmes at the UK's Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
from 1981 to 1990.
She joined the BBC in 1993 to become Managing Director, BBC Network Radio where she developed the format for BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
and launched the DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
digital radio service.
She left the BBC in February 1996 over a disagreement with John Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt is a former Director-General of the BBC who was in the post from 1992 to 2000.After a successful career in commercial television, first at Granada and then at LWT, Birt was brought in as deputy director-general of the BBC in 1987 for his current affairs expertise...
, then BBC Director General, over the decision to move BBC Radio News from Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
to Television Centre.
Forgan was appointed the sixth Chair of The Scott Trust
Scott Trust
The Scott Trust Limited is the British company which owns Guardian Media Group and thus The Guardian, The Observer and Auto Trader as well as various local newspapers, Smooth Radio and other radio stations, and various other media businesses in the UK...
in 2003, the owner of the Guardian newspapers hence becoming Britain's first female newspaper proprietor.
Public organisations
Since April 2001, the Chair of the National Heritage Memorial FundNational Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
since 2001 and Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
.
She is also board member of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama
Conservatoire for Dance and Drama
The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama is a higher education institution in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2001 to co-ordinate the activities of a number of affiliated schools providing higher-level vocational training in the performing arts...
, Trustee of the Royal Anniversary Trust, a former Board Member of the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
, a Trustee of the Media Trust
Media Trust
Media Trust is a privately held Nigerian newspaper publishing company based in Abuja that publishes the English language Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and the Hausa language Aminiya newspapers as well as a new Pan-African Magazine, Kilimanjaro....
and of the Phoenix Trust, and Chair of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
.
In February 2009 Forgan became Chair of Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, the first woman to head the British
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...
arts funding organisation. Appointed in the last year of a Labour Government, she was viewed with suspicion by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. In the October 2010 Government spending review, the Arts Council suffered a 29.6% funding cut, and was also ordered to halve its administrative costs, a severe blow to the organisation.
Personal life
Liz Forgan was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Radio Broadcasting in 2006 and previously awarded the OBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1998, also for services to Radio Broadcasting.
See also
- Jill TweedieJill TweedieJill Sheila Tweedie was an influential feminist, writer and broadcaster. She was educated at the independent Croydon High School in Croydon, South London. She is mainly remembered for her column in The Guardian on feminist issues , 'Letters from a faint-hearted feminist' and for her autobiography...
for details of the National Portrait Gallery Group portrait of Forgan, Tweedie, Polly ToynbeePolly ToynbeePolly Toynbee is a British journalist and writer, and has been a columnist for The Guardian newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and broadly supports the Labour Party, while urging it in many areas to be more left-wing...
and Mary StottMary StottMary Stott was a British feminist and journalist. Stott was a journalist and columnist on the "Women's Page" of The Guardian....
(editors of Guardian's Women's Page) and Posy SimmondsPosy SimmondsRosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds MBE is a British newspaper cartoonist and writer and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her long association with The Guardian, for which she has drawn the cartoons Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe , both later published as books...
.