Dorothy Byrne

Dorothy Byrne is Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4 Television in the UK.[1]

This article is about the British journalist. For the American opera singer, see Dorothy Byrne (mezzo-soprano).

Background

She was born in Paisley, Scotland, the daughter of Charles and Agnes Byrne. She was educated at Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool, at Manchester University (BA Hons in Philosophy) and at Sheffield University (Diploma in Business Studies).

Professional Career

She was producer of World in Action (ITV), 1992–95, and editor of The Big Story (ITV), 1995–98. In 1998 she was appointed Commissioning Editor of Current Affairs and editor of Dispatches at Channel 4.

In 2003 she was appointed Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4.

In 2005 she was appointed Visiting Professor of the School of Journalism at Lincoln University.

In 2019 she delivered both The MacTaggart Lecture at The Edinburgh Television Festival and the Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture at the University of Manchester.

Controversies

In December 2008 she defended Channel 4's invitation to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, to deliver the channel's "alternative Christmas message", saying: "as the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential... we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view".[2] This controversy saw Byrne's name appearing in various British newspapers, including The Times.[3]

gollark: The ominous boxes are apiaries or turtles or similar things.
gollark: Much more efficient.
gollark: [HG]Tech™ factories generally just contain rows of ominous boxes wired to modems.
gollark: Hi.
gollark: You need three turtles. Probably less.

References
  1. Owen Gibson, "Outraged of Horseferry Road", The Guardian, 12 March 2007.
  2. "President of Iran to give message this Christmas", Channel 4 website, 24 December 2008.
  3. Rod Liddle, "Free speech for a tyrant – how very Channel 4 ", The Times, 28 December 2008.
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