British journalist Helen Boaden named Chair of the Reuters Institute’s Steering Committee

British journalist Helen Boaden has been appointed Chair of the Steering Committee of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Boaden succeeds Alan Rusbridger, who’s chaired the Committee for the past nine years, a period in which the Institute has seen an expansion in terms of public engagement, academic research, editorial output and global recognition.  

Boaden’s appointment was announced earlier today by Professor David Doyle, Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) of the University of Oxford, where the Reuters Institute is based. She will take up her new post with immediate effect. 

The Institute’s Steering Committee comprises a mix of members from the University and beyond. The Institute’s Director and its senior management team report to the Steering Committee at regular meetings. The Institute’s constitution determines how members are appointed and stipulates that the Chair of the Committee is nominated by the Head of the DPIR. 

Helen Boaden’s career

Boaden joined the Reuters Institute’s Advisory Board in 2019 and has been an active member of the Institute’s community ever since. She is an award-winning journalist who joined the BBC in 1983 and was editor of Radio 4’s investigative programme File on 4. She headed the multimedia current affairs department before becoming Controller of Radio 4. 

In 2004, Boaden was the first woman to lead BBC News (2004-2013), where she led 8,000 people at home and abroad and was in charge of creating what was then the largest multimedia newsroom in the democratic world. After stepping down from this role, she was the director of BBC Radio from 2013 to 2016. 

After leaving the BBC, Boaden took several roles in organisations related to academia, the arts and the news media. In 2017 she became a fellow of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she published this paper on the challenges faced by unbiased reporting after Donald Trump’s election and the Brexit referendum. During her time at Harvard, she took part in this event on her project, hosted by Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation. 

Boaden gave evidence to the Parliamentary investigation into disinformation and produced this comprehensive review for Irish public broadcaster RTÉ on the sustainability of its orchestras. She fostered her connection with the arts through chairing the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and York Theatre Royal, and by sitting on the Council of the Royal Academy of Arts. She currently chairs the board of Windsor Leadership and was appointed by the National Statistician to chair his Advisory Committee on data ethics. 

Announcing the appointment, Professor David Doyle said: “I am truly delighted that Helen Boaden has agreed to be the new Chair. Helen has been a trusted member of our Advisory Board for many years, she is very familiar with the Institute, and brings a wealth of professional experience in the industry to the role, having had an illustrious professional career as a senior journalist as the first female Director of BBC News. I cannot think of anyone more suitable to help guide and steer the Institute into this new and exciting chapter and the Department looks forward to working with her. The Department would also like to thank the outgoing Chair, Alan Rusbridger, who, as Chair of the Committee for the last nine years, oversaw the significant and successful growth of the Institute. It has been a pleasure to work with Alan”

Responding to the announcement, Helen Boaden said: “I am honoured to be taking on this role following Alan’s outstanding tenure. I look forward to working with the Steering Committee as we support Mitali and her team in taking the Institute to its next stage of development.”

The Reuters Institute receives core funding from the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Antonio Zappulla, the Foundation’s CEO, said: “It is hugely exciting to have someone of Helen’s calibre and professional expertise now at the helm of the Institute’s Steering Committee. Helen’s formidable and varied experience working at the forefront of multimedia organisations, alongside her legacy of academic analysis in the news media environment, perfectly position her to take on the responsibilities of the role. As the core funder of the Institute, the Foundation team is really looking forward to working with Helen as the next chapter of the Institute’s remarkable journey unfolds.”

Responding to the announcement, outgoing Chair Alan Rusbridger said: “Helen was one of the most respected heads of news at the BBC in recent times, and has thought deeply about the nature and challenges of the news business. I couldn’t be happier that she is to chair the Institute’s Steering Committee. It’s been a huge privilege to watch the Institute grow and thrive during my time as chair, and I know Helen will help Mitali and the team take it to even greater heights.”

For more information or interview requests, contact Eduardo Suárez at eduardo.suarez@politics.ox.ac.uk or Matthew Leake at matthew.leake@politics.ox.ac.uk

Note: The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the core funder of the Reuters Institute, based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. The Institute was launched in November 2006 and developed from the Reuters Fellowship Programme, established at Oxford more than 40 years ago. The Institute, an international research centre in the comparative study of journalism, is committed to exploring the future of journalism worldwide through debate, engagement, and research.

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