| Mark Carruthers | |
| Occupation: | Broadcaster and Journalist |
Mark Carruthers OBE (born 1965) is a Northern Irish journalist. He currently presents a number of television and radio programmes for BBC Northern Ireland.
Carruthers first joined BBC Northern Ireland in 1989 contributing to Good Morning Ulster and PM Ulster on BBC Radio Ulster.[1]
In addition to having presented BBC Newsline, he has also presented Spotlight and Let's Talk for television and Evening Extra on BBC Radio Ulster.[2]
In August 2009, Carruthers became part of the presenting team of Good Morning Ulster as part of a series of presenter changes at BBC Radio Ulster.[3]
He is now the presenter of The View[4] and Sunday Politics on BBC One Northern Ireland.[5] He also presents the weekly politics podcast Red Lines on BBC Sounds.
He has been nominated for four Royal Television Society awards for his work – in 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2003. In 2005 he and his BBC Newsline co-presenter, Donna Traynor, lifted a prestigious IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best News Programme.
Carruthers was born in Derry, grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry, studied at Coleraine Academical Institution[6] and went on to study for degrees in Political Science and Irish Politics at Queen's University Belfast.[2]
Carruthers has an interest in the theatre. He was one of the founders of Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988 [6] and took part in drama groups at college and university, including a stage appearance in a Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, production of Oliver! alongside James Nesbitt.[6] He was Chairman of the Lyric Theatre Board until 2015 and was at the forefront of the campaign to rebuild the theatre on its south Belfast site for almost ten years.[2] [7]
He was appointed an OBE for services to drama in Northern Ireland in the 2011 New Year Honours list.
He is co-editor of Stepping Stones - The Arts in Ulster 1971-2001 which was published by Blackstaff Press in 2001.[8] In 2013 Alternative Ulsters – Conversations on Identity was published by Liberties Press, a series of interviews by Carruthers with leading writers, actors, journalists and politicians. The book was a success and was re-issued in paperback in December 2014. The following year Alternative Ulsters was shortlisted for the prestigious Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize.
In July 2019 Carruthers was awarded an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Literature) from Queen's University Belfast for distinction in broadcasting. In November 2023 he was awarded a Visiting Professorship in Media at Ulster University. He is married with three children and lives in south Belfast.[2]