Ceri Thomas

'''Ceri Thomas''' is a British journalist and editor, currently at Tortoise Media.<ref name="Tortoise">{{cite web |title=Ceri Thomas, Tortoise Website |url=https://www.tortoisemedia.com/contributor/ceri-thomas/ |access-date=15 August 2023}}</ref> Previously, he also worked as the director of public affairs and communication at Oxford University.<ref name="Plunkett280616">{{cite news|last=Plunkett|first=John|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/28/panorama-editor-ceri-thomas-to-leave-bbc-for-oxford-university|title=Panorama editor Ceri Thomas to leave BBC for Oxford University|work=The Guardian|date=28 June 2016|accessdate=17 June 2017}}</ref> A former radio news producer and media executive, he is a former editor of the BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme and BBC One's ''Panorama''.

==Education== Thomas attended St Bartholomew's School in Newbury. In 1985, he took a BA, majoring in French from the then Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester).<ref>[http://www.ox.ac.uk/staff/news-listing/2016-07-01-senior-appointments-public-affairs Manchester]</ref>

==Career== ===LBC and BBC Radio=== Thomas began his career in broadcasting at London's LBC in 1989 as a producer, remaining with the station until 1991.

He moved to BBC Radio 4 to work as a junior producer with the ''Today'' programme in 1995, working on the programme from 1991 to 1997. He was promoted to a senior role on ''Today'' in 1995, before later moving to BBC Radio 5 Live in 1998. Initially, a producer for the breakfast programme, Thomas later became Head of News at 5 Live, leaving in 2004. He was subsequently appointed as the BBC's Editor of Newsgathering, before taking a year-long sabbatical to work as a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20300267|title=Profile: Ceri Thomas |work=BBC News|date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=21 November 2012}}</ref> On returning to the BBC in 2006, he became editor of Radio 4's ''Today'' programme.

In March 2010, while discussing the domination of male presenters on the ''Today'' programme during an interview on Radio 4's ''Feedback'' (only one out of five was then female), he suggested the show was too tough an environment for women, although he did also say the mix of male and female on the programme was "not ideal".<ref>{{cite news|last=Plunkett|first=John|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/31/bbc-radio-4-today-female-presenters|title=Radio 4's Today editor under fire over comments on female presenters|work=The Guardian|date=31 March 2010|accessdate=17 June 2017}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, he wrote in a ''Guardian'' article that the comments had been meant in the context of "a wider news world in which women have not been well represented in senior positions".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/05/bbc-today-programme-women-presenters |title=BBC Radio 4: the fog of gender war |first=Ceri |last=Thomas|work=The Guardian |date=5 April 2010 |accessdate=12 November 2012}}</ref>

===BBC Television=== In November 2012, Thomas was appointed Acting Deputy Director of News at the BBC after the then-incumbent, Stephen Mitchell, stepped aside in the wake of the controversy surrounding a report on the BBC Two current affairs programme ''Newsnight''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ferguson |first=Brian |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tv-and-radio/bbc-turmoil-deepens-as-news-director-and-deputy-quit-1-2628301 |title=BBC turmoil deepens as news director and deputy quit |work=The Scotsman |date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=12 November 2012}}</ref> A clandestine visit to North Korea in March 2013 for an edition of ''Panorama'' involving the journalist John Sweeney and a group of students from the London School of Economics led to discontent between the BBC and the university with claims that the students lives had been put at risk without their consent. Thomas described the programme as "an important piece of public interest journalism" and defended putting the students lives at risk.<ref>{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Jerome|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/panorama-was-worth-risking-lives-for-says-bbc-chief-programme-by-john-sweeney-based-on-secret-8572219.html|title=Panorama was worth risking lives for, says BBC chief: Programme by John Sweeney based on secret footage taken on university field trip to North Korea|date=13 April 2013|accessdate=17 June 2017}}</ref>

In October 2014, Thomas began work formally as Editor of ''Panorama''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/managementstructure/biographies/thomas_ceri/|title=-Ceri Thomas, Former Editor, Panorama|work=Inside the BBC|publisher=BBC|date=8 February 2017|accessdate=17 June 2017|archive-date=20 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720055207/http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/managementstructure/biographies/thomas_ceri|url-status=dead}}</ref> He had been acting editor since the previous May when his predecessor, Tom Giles, had stepped down.<ref>{{cite news|last=Conlan|first=-Tara|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/17/bbc-ceri-thomas-editor-panorama|title=BBC confirms Ceri Thomas, ex-head of programmes, as Panorama editor|work=The Guardian|date=17 October 2014|accessdate=17 June 2017}}</ref>

It was announced in June 2016 that he was leaving the BBC to take up a post as the director of public affairs and communication at Oxford University.<ref name="Plunkett280616"/> He assumed this role in the autumn of 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/staff/news-listing/2016-07-01-senior-appointments-public-affairs|title=Staff: Senior appointments in Public Affairs|publisher=University of Oxford|date=1 July 2016|accessdate=17 June 2017}}</ref> Thomas was succeeded by Rachel Jupp as the editor of ''Panorama''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jackson|first=Jasper|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/sep/07/bbc1s-panorama-first-female-editor-rachel-jupp|title=BBC1's Panorama to get first female editor in 20 years|work=The Guardian|date=7 September 2016|accessdate=24 May 2017}}</ref>

===Tortoise Media=== Since 2019, Thomas has been at Tortoise Media, where he heads up the audio team.<ref name="Tortoise" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links==

{{S-start}} {{S-media}} {{Succession box|title=Editor of ''Panorama''|before= Tom Giles |after= Rachel Jupp |years= 2014–2016}} {{Succession box|title= BBC Deputy Director of News |before= Stephen Mitchell |after=?|years= 2012–2014}} {{Succession box|title=Editor of ''Today'' |before= Kevin Marsh |after= Jamie Angus |years= 2006–2012}} {{Succession box|title=BBC Radio 5 Live Head of News |before=?|after=?|years= 2001–2004 }} {{Succession box|title=Editor of ''5 Live Breakfast'' |before=?|after=?|years= 1998–2001 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ceri}} Category:BBC executives Category:BBC News people Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester Category:British radio executives Category:Living people Category:Nieman Fellows Category:People educated at St. Bartholomew's School Category:People from Newbury, Berkshire Category:Year of birth missing (living people)