Rob Burley

Burley grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and was interested in politics from a young age. He obtained a degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham.{{cite podcast |work=Media Masters |url=https://www.mediamasters.fm/rob-burley/ |title=Rob Burley |last=Blanchard |first=Paul |date=18 February 2016 |access-date=18 March 2022}}

Burley lives in Brighton. He is a supporter of Liverpool F.C.

Burley contracted COVID-19 in March 2022.{{cite tweet |number=1504774471177101316 |title=Covid is weird. Day 5. Felt much better yesterday then exhausted again today. It's not your standard flu. |user=RobBurl |last=Burley |first=Rob |date=18 March 2022 |access-date=18 March 2022}}

He began his career as a researcher for the Labour Party member of Parliament Paul Flynn. He later worked at Granada Talk TV, leaving with a card from Sacha Baron-Cohen, the children's show presenter at the time, reading "Dear Rob, good luck baby, have fun and things, see you soon, Sacha."{{Cite book |last=Burley |first=Rob |title=Why is this Lying Bastard lying to me? |publisher=Mudlark |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-00-854251-1 |pages=91}} He joined ITV in 1996 and rose to become editor of its political shows The Sunday Edition and Jonathan Dimbleby. He also worked on Tonight, hosted by Trevor McDonald. He joined the BBC in 2008{{cite news|title=The Editor Of The Andrew Marr Show's Weekly One Man Twitter Battle Against Accusations Of BBC Bias|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-editor-of-the-andrew-marr-shows-weekly-one-man-twitter-battle-against-accusations-of-bbc-bias_uk_595b950ce4b05c37bb802a58|work=HuffPost UK|last=Simons|first=Ned|date=8 July 2017|accessdate=7 December 2019}} and became executive editor of Question Time, deputy editor of Newsnight and assistant editor of BBC Breakfast. In 2018, he became the BBC's editor of live political programmes,{{cite web|title=Rob Burley named Editor of Live Political Programmes at the BBC|url=https://www.responsesource.com/bulletin/news/rob-burley-named-editor-live-political-programmes-bbc/|last=Wilson|first=Amy|work=ResponseSource|date=15 February 2018|accessdate=7 December 2019}} succeeding Robbie Gibb. The role was based in Westminster and led Burley to take responsibility for the programmes Daily Politics, Sunday Politics, This Week, The Westminster Hour and Newswatch.{{cite web|title=Andrew Marr editor to head up live political programmes at BBC as Victoria Derbyshire editor leaves for Channel 4 Dispatches|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/marr-editor-takes-on-responsibility-for-live-political-programmes-at-bbc-as-victoria-derbyshire-editor-leaves-for-channel-4-dispatches/|work=Press Gazette|last=Kakar|first=Arun|date=14 February 2018|accessdate=7 December 2019}} When Daily Politics ended in 2018, Burley became editor of Politics Live, and later editor of The Andrew Neil Show and executive producer of the podcast Brexitcast on television.

The first episode of Politics Live generated criticism online because it featured a panel of five women. Burley said he had "zero shame" about the episode and that they had "invited people and they said yes and then we realised our best line-up was all female".{{cite news|title='Zero shame': Politics Live editor defends all-female line-up on new BBC show|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/04/zero-shame-editor-defends-all-female-line-up-on-new-bbc-politics-show|work=The Guardian|last=Lyons|first=Kate|date=4 September 2018|accessdate=7 December 2019}}

Following a November 2019 edition of Question Time, claims arose that a Brexit and Boris Johnson supporter in the show's audience was Burley's son. The fact-checking organisation Full Fact said that the false claim originated from a spoof Twitter account. The audience member's real identity was revealed to be a 19-year-old Conservative Party member, Layton J. Smith.{{cite web|title=Claim Question Time put BBC editor's son in audience as Brexit supporter debunked as hoax|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/bbc-question-time-cyril-son-rob-burley-actor-hoax-fake-news-full-fact/|last=Mayhew|first=Freddy|work=Press Gazette|date=6 November 2019|accessdate=7 December 2019}}

Brexitcast was renamed Newscast after the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020. The final edition of Brexitcast was released on 1 February 2020, with the first edition of Newscast airing on 6 February.

Burley's role of editor of live political programmes was closed by the BBC in 2021.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/bbcs-journalistic-centre-to-move-outside-london-in-bid-to-connect-with-audiences/|title=Some 550 BBC jobs closed or moved as news shifts away from London|work=Press Gazette|last=Tobitt|first=Charlotte|date=19 March 2021|access-date=19 March 2021}}

In 2021, HarperCollins secured Burley's book, Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?, published in 2023. In it, he humorously describes his experiences with British politicians and focuses on 12 political interviews over a 25-year period.{{cite web |last1=Warner |first1=Isobel |title=HarperCollins takes debut from ex-BBC politics editor Burley |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/harpercollins-wins-rights-insider-account-bbc-political-editor-1295366 |work=The Bookseller |date=17 December 2021 |access-date=28 February 2022}} Brian and Margaret, a two-part television drama based on Burley's book, covering Brian Walden's 1989 interview of Margaret Thatcher, was commissioned in June 2024.{{cite news |title=Harriet Walter to play Margaret Thatcher in Channel 4 drama |url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2024/0614/1454788-harriet-walter-to-play-margaret-thatcher-in-tv-drama/ |access-date=14 June 2024 |publisher=RTÉ News |date=14 June 2024}}

In 2022, Burley joined Global as executive editor of Andrew Marr's LBC programme Tonight with Andrew Marr.{{cite web |last1=Farber |first1=Alex |title=Rob Burley reunited with Andrew Marr at LBC |url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/rob-burley-reunited-with-andrew-marr-at-lbc/5168029.article |work=Broadcast |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=28 February 2022}}

• Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: 25 Years of Searching for the Truth on Political TV (HarperCollins, 2023) {{ISBN|978-0008542481}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://twitter.com/RobBurl?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Rob Burley] on Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burley, Rob}}

Category:1969 births

Category:Living people

Category:English journalists

Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham

Category:BBC television producers

Category:ITV people