Paul Brand (journalist)

Paul Brand is a British journalist. He is UK editor of ITV News. He has been a presenter of current affairs programme Tonight since 2022. He was formerly a political correspondent for ITV News.

Paul Brand
NationalityBritish
Alma materCity, University of London
OccupationJournalist
EmployerITV
Notable credit(s)
Tonight
TitleUK editor of ITV News

Early and personal life

Brand grew up in Bridgend, Wales.[1] His mother trained as a solicitor. He grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He attended his local comprehensive school,[2] where he became head boy,[3] and says he wanted to be a journalist from "about the age of 17 or 18". He received a bursary from ITV to study journalism at City, University of London.[2]

Brand is gay.[4]

Career

Brand began his career as a production journalist at ITV Wales. He worked as a reporter, before becoming a political correspondent for ITV Yorkshire and ITV Tyne Tees & Border. He then reported on politics for Good Morning Britain, and joined the network ITV News team in 2016.[5] He became a political correspondent for ITV News.[6] During the 2016 EU membership referendum, Brand was the first reporter to call the defining result in Sunderland as 'Leave'. Brand co-founded the campaign School Diversity Week,[5] and is a patron of the charity Just Like Us, both of which promote LGBT+ inclusivity in schools.[7] He hosts the ITV News podcast Acting Prime Minister.[5]

Brand won the 'Broadcaster of the Year' award at the 2019 PinkNews awards for his investigations into gay conversion therapy.[5] In July 2018 he got Prime Minister Theresa May to apologise for how she had voted on gay rights in the past.[2][8]

Brand won an 'Excellence in Journalism Award' from Press Gazette in July 2020 for his investigations which revealed that patients were being discharged from hospitals into care homes without being tested for COVID-19.[7] He won the 'Political Journalist of the Year' award at the 2020 British Journalism Awards,[9] alongside Dominique Heckels,[10] for their reporting on the impact of COVID-19 in care homes.[5]

Brand became UK editor of ITV News.[6] He led an investigation for Tonight called Searching for Patient Zero: Britain's AIDS Tragedy, in which he uncovered the identity of the first recorded person to die of AIDS in the UK, John Eaddie.[9][1] In November 2021 he presented a documentary about Eaddie.[1]

He produced the first evidence of a party in Downing Street during a COVID-19 lockdown, when he reported of a party that took place in May 2020. He obtained footage of Downing Street staff at a December 2020 press conference rehearsal, in which they joked about a Christmas party that secretly took place at 10 Downing Street while the country was in a lockdown.[6] He later revealed an email inviting Downing Street staff to a party in the garden in May 2020.[11]

Following Laura Kuenssberg's announcement of her departure as political editor of BBC News, Brand was described in the media as a frontrunner for the position. According to The Times, "several industry sources" claimed he had been approached by the BBC in connection with the position.[12] However, he agreed to stay on at ITV after being offered new roles, including as the presenter of Tonight.[6] On 9 March 2022 he was confirmed to be the new presenter of Tonight, and will succeed Julie Etchingham in April.[9] Etchingham had decided to step down from Tonight to concentrate on ITV News at Ten and documentary projects.[13] Brand will also continue in his role as UK editor. He was reported to have agreed to a "substantial pay rise" for his new roles.[6]

References
  1. Benson, Rhianna (11 November 2021). "How Welsh journalist searched thousands of death records to identify 'Patient Zero' - the first UK death from AIDS". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. Justine Greening (15 May 2020). "Episode 3: Being true to yourself with ITV's Paul Brand". Fit for Purpose (Podcast). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. Brand, Paul (7 March 2016). "Why it's essential we tackle homophobia in schools". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. Franklin, Lauren (14 June 2018). "Gay ITV News correspondent won't watch World Cup due to Russia's treatment of LGBT people". PinkNews. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. "ITV News appoints Paul Brand as UK Editor". ITN (Press release). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. Sherwin, Adam (9 March 2022). "Paul Brand to stay at ITV as new Tonight presenter after rejecting BBC Political Editor approach". i. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  7. "Paul Brand". Northbank Talent Management. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  8. Brand, Paul (3 July 2018). "Theresa May admits she has 'developed her view' on LGBT issues". ITV News. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. Hibbs, James (9 March 2022). "Paul Brand announced as new host of ITV's Tonight". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  10. "British Journalism Awards winners 2020: FT's Dan McCrum crowned journalist of the year for Wirecard investigation". Press Gazette. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  11. Tobitt, Charlotte (17 February 2022). "TV news is dying? 'We're not going to take that lying down', says ITV editor Rachel Corp". Press Gazette. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  12. "Who will replace Laura Kuenssberg as BBC political editor?". The Week UK. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  13. Ramachandran, Naman (9 March 2022). "U.K. Broadcasters Team to Create Access and Inclusion Passports – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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