Mary Ann Sieghart



Profile:


Full name: Mary Ann Sieghart

Area of interest: British politics, politics, social affairs

Journals: The Independent | The Times (not since June, 2007)

Email: [mailto:sieghart@journalist.com sieghart@journalist.com]; contact page (maryannsieghart.com)

Website: MaryAnnSieghart.com | Independent.co

Blog:

Representation: Knight Ayton Management

Networks:



Biography:
Education: Wadham College, Oxford (first-class degree) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Career: Financial Times: Eurobond Correspondent, Lex columnist. The Washington Post, as the Laurence Stern Fellow, 1984; City Editor of Today newspaper (from its launch in 1986); The Economist: Political Correspondent; joined The Times in 1988: Comment page editor, Arts Editor, Chief Political leader-writer, acting editor of the paper on Sundays. Left The Times in June 2007, See: Mary Ann Sieghart leaves Times, by Stephen Brook. Joined The Independent in July 2010

Current position/role: Commentator at The Independent

Other roles: Britain editor of the The Browser website

Other activities: see Wikipedia

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Was an outspoken supporter of Tony Blair's 'reform agenda'

TV/Radio:
 * presented The World This Week on Channel 4
 * chaired the revival of The Brains Trust on BBC2
 * regular co-presenter of Start the Week (at the time Melvyn Bragg was the programme's main presenter)
 * guest presenter of The Week in Westminster and Dispatch Box
 * regular appearances on Question Time, Any Questions, Newsnight, Today, The World Tonight, Woman's Hour
 * past presenter of Newshour on the BBC World Service
 * presents Profile on Radio 4

Video:

Controversy/Criticism: Paul Linford blog: [http://paullinford.blogspot.com/2006/10/george-osborne-should-be-utterly.html George Osborne should be utterly ashamed of himself. And so should Mary Ann Sieghart]
 * Tasteless, yes - but surely no offence was intended
 * When a silly little joke is headline news

Awards/Honours: Laurence Stern Fellowship Award

Scoops:

Other: Daughter of Paul Sieghart, a human rights lawyer, campaigner, broadcaster and author, and Felicity Ann Sieghart, chairman of the National Association for Gifted Children, magistrate and later managing director of the Aldeburgh Cinema



Books & Debate:


Forthcoming work: currently writing a book about British politics, focusing on contemporary Britain and the big changes and social trends of the last decade

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

The Independent:
Column remit: British politics, politics, social affairs

Section:

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email:

Website: Independent.co/Mary Ann Sieghart

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity: Weekly

Column format: Three topics

Average length:



Articles: 2011

 * not just the middle being squeezed'' - Unemployment affects one in ten workers; but rising prices hit all of us - 31st January
 * the rich can feel left out in Davos'' - That invitation to Davos – did yours get lost in the post? Yes, mine too - 29th January
 * Balls will be a disaster for Labour'' - Like Gordon Brown, he believes he's superior to almost everyone - 24th January
 * wonder they've got a drink problem'' - Why do younger people binge drink more than their parents? - 17th January
 * are lessons for us from Arizona'' - People can read whatever biased trash they like but at least there is a corrective when they watch or listen to the news - 10th January
 * the world – I want to get on'' - Brain not quite engaged. Eyes a bit dim. Energy levels still low. I think I now know how a hedgehog feels in the spring - 6th January
 * resolve to embrace our flaws'' - If you feel good about yourself, you start to look good – even if you are 80 - 3rd January



Articles: 2010

 * on a spirit of anarchy'' - Much better simply to boycott Topshop or Vodafone if you feel strongly - 20th December
 * party that is growing up in public'' - The students have stomped out but grown-ups may decide to vote Lib Dem - 13th December
 * fathers, where art thou?'' - The pay gap between men and women is wider here than in other rich countries - 6th December
 * much democracy can be a bad thing'' - The wisdom of crowds is not at its best on the minutiae of policy - 29th November
 * we avoided Ireland's nightmare'' - If you think our situation is bad, thank Blair's hesitancy and Brown's obduracy for things not being a whole lot worse - 22nd November
 * prepare for fight of their lives'' - The rest of us have had to work harder to keep our jobs; now they will too - 15th November
 * strength is now his weakness'' - The charisma he once displayed so powerfully has dried up - 7th November
 * sanity in the debate on drugs'' - Arresting people for possessing small amounts of cannabis is a waste of time - 1st November
 * every pensioner needs a bus pass'' - After housing costs, 48 per cent are in the top half of income distribution - 25th October
 * touch of decency in politics'' - The Coalition has brought a return to civilised ways of doing things - 18th October
 * perils of giving in to pester power'' - If you reward those who shout loudest, the cacophony will become unbearable - 11th October
 * is far happier than his party'' - He finds coalitions easy and party conferences tiresome - 4th October
 * threat to the Coalition'' - This isn't some crazy firebrand who is bound to scare off middle England - 27th September
 * Coalition is going to last'' - Yes, the party's poll ratings have fallen since the election. But they always do - 20th September
 * has much to teach his successors'' - You have to be prepared to let your advisers go when they've had enough - 6th September
 * power turns virtue into vice'' - Like Blair with Bush, so Clegg seems to be with David Cameron, too flattered now that he is in the big room with the most powerful people. He no longer seems himself - 30th August
 * was good timing for the parents, less so for the baby'' - Prime ministers and babies never used to mix – except on the campaign trail, perhaps, where a quick peck on the cheek or chuck under the chin was allowed - 25th August
 * are one thing, revenue another'' - If tax takes a fall, we could end up with cuts and a spiral back into recession - 23rd August
 * prices are finally falling. Good'' - Housing boom has redistributed wealth to the middle-aged from the young - 16th August
 * lives can't be only criterion'' - If we were to cut the drink-drive limit and keep current sanctions, we would have some of Europe's toughest laws - 9th August
 * deterrence needs is ambiguity'' - Our main enemy now is not even a state – it’s organisations like al-Qa’ida - 2nd August
 * and rise of 'Oberons''' - We witnessed a new political phenomenon, a sort of political cross-dressing - 22nd July
 * on top? You've got to be joking'' - 'The Future is Female', they said. But the future has always failed to materialise - 19th July
 * vanity came before the party interest'' - His mistake was overlooking the possibility of a coalition with the Lib Dems - 12th July
 * Minister is backing the old politics'' - Britain’s most refreshing political observer on why Cameron is wrong on voting reform - 5th July
 * of a kind - a coalition of style and substance'' - Looks, homes, dress sense: Nick Clegg and David Cameron have much more in common than a few shared areas of policy - 13th May 2010



Links:

 * thebrowser.com: Mary Ann Sieghart
 * Wikipedia biog.