Buchanan, Emily

Emily was born in London. She gained a diploma in radio journalism from City University in 1982.

She was a continuity announcer for BBC Television (c. 1983) and a reporter on the live, weekly political programme On the Record (BBC One, 1991 – 1992).

She was the BBC developing world (1995 – 1998) and religious affairs (1998 – 2001) correspondent and for BBC TV News, she was world affairs correspondent (2001 – 2015).

She presented The World this Week (BBC World Service, 2014 – 2015).

Since June 2016, Emily has produced and moderated a series of Social Media DNA Masterclasses for BBC staff.

Since March 2017, she has presented BBC Radio 4’s Sunday.

In a 2008 BBC press release, she provided the following information about her career:

“My first job was at Bush House, with the BBC World Service. Apart from making features for Outlook, I also trained as an announcer, working alongside such greats as Keith Bosely and John Toey. I always remember Keith, turning from ‘talking to the world’ to translating Finnish poetry.

“Then I moved to Radio 4 and started up Stop Press, a programme which went behind-the-scenes of the journalism trade, Open Mind a discussion programme on international affairs, and I flew the flag for the long-running Week in Westminster.

“Then I moved to television, and after political reporting, I roved the globe as the BBC’s developing world correspondent covering the Ebola virus in Zaire, TB in Siberia and other horrors, before I was elevated to religious affairs correspondent.

“I spent three years following the Pope and Archbishops on their journeys, as well as covering other faith issues.

“I have since adopted a little girl from China and have cut down the travelling. I now work as a world affairs correspondent based in London for BBC Four and BBC World, as well as presenting A World in Your Ear.”

Correspondence

Paul R. Jackson corresponded with Emily in November 1986.

“I was an announcer at Television Centre until the end of 1983. After that, I worked at Bush as a freelance reporter, and later as a producer.

“I moved to Radio 4 in the autumn of 1984 where I’ve been since – producing Stop Press, Pillars of Society, Week in Westminster and The World Tonight (not simultaneously!).”

Personal information

Clips of Emily on The TV Room

Emily may be featured in video/audio clips on our other websites. Click the links below to display a listing (a 404 error will appear if no clips are found):

Rewind | Clean Feed

Online presence

Acknowledgements