Kearney: Humphrys is still paid more than me for hosting Today
MARTHA KEARNEY, the new presenter of Today on BBC Radio 4, has disclosed that she is still paid less than John Humphrys, despite the BBC claiming it is closing the gender pay gap.
Sarah Sands, the editor of the programme, was forced to defend the disparity when the two women appeared together at the Hay Festival.
Figures published last year showed that Kearney was paid £200,000£249,999 and Humphrys received £600,000-£649,999. Humphrys has agreed a pay cut since then, but Kearney indicated that a gap still exists.
“I’m not paid the same as John Humphrys,” she said. Kearney has been a BBC presenter for more than 30 years, including 11 years on Radio 4’s The World at One.
Kearney left it to Sands to explain why the disparity remains, despite the current climate. Sands said the decision to pay Humphrys so much was taken “before my time”.
“I think this is a historic thing. John is one of the most senior journalists. He’s done the Today programme for 30 years. He has been one of the great stars of journalism and at a time when the market was different,” she said. “The market in news is not what it was. I think people used to be paid as if it was entertainment, and that’s not going to happen any more.
“We are seeing old salaries come down at the BBC and I think it will happen elsewhere.
“So keep the faith. Eventually, things will right themselves, but what we can’t do for all sorts of legal reasons and so on is actually overnight say we will do a civil service banding and everyone is paid the same.”
She then paused and laughed, asking Kearney: “Yeah, why can’t we do that?”
Kearney joined Today in a job swap with Sarah Montague, who has said she was “incandescent with rage” when the salaries of her fellow presenters were published last summer. Montague was paid £133,000.
Kearney said news presenting is now broadly gender-balanced, except for landmark television series.
“With the honourable exception of Mary Beard, you don’t see as many women presenting these programmes,” she said.