| The News Agents | |
| Began: | – present |
| Language: | English |
| Fetchwikidata: | ALL |
The News Agents is a British daily podcast produced by Global Media & Entertainment. It is presented by Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall. It launched on 30 August 2022, with episodes released every weekday afternoon.[1]
Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel had both previously worked for BBC News, and it was announced in February 2022 that they would both be leaving to join Global Media & Entertainment. Prior to her departure, Maitlis had been the main presenter for the BBC current affairs programme Newsnight, and before he left the BBC, Sopel had been North American Editor; they had both previously worked together on the BBC podcast Americast. On 22 August 2022, Global announced that The News Agents would launch the following week. Hosted by Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall, The News Agents presented itself as an alternative to mainstream media outlets, such as the BBC. The initial schedule was for Maitlis and Sopel to present daily shows on Mondays to Thursdays, and Goodall presenting on Fridays. [2] [3]
The podcast received extensive pre-launch publicity, which James Marriott, writing in The Times, has described as a "weeks-long publicity blitz" that promised a "suave up-to-date show that would blast aside the staid, fuddy-duddy stuff on Olde-Worlde radio".[4] Maitlis delivered the 2022 MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival during which she spoke of what she believed to be a threat posed to journalism by populist politicians, suggesting a role for The News Agents against this.[5]
On 27 June 2023, Global announced a deal with HSBC which saw the bank become lead sponsor of The News Agents.[6] On 11 January 2024, HSBC and Global announced the sponsorship deal had been extended for a further 12 months.[7]
The opening edition, titled Trump – Prison or President?, focused on the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of presidential documents and the subsequent raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate,[8] with Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump critic and former White House Director of Communications, appearing as a guest.[9]
In January 2023, the podcast obtained a leaked letter from Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in which she recommended the government reverse its plans to privatise Channel 4.[10] In an episode released on 27 January 2023, which contained an interview with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, she accused some opponents of the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill of using women's rights as a "cloak of acceptability" for transphobia.[11]
On 26 May 2023, it was announced that a weekly US version of the podcast would launch on 20 June. The News Agents USA is hosted by Maitlis and Sopel.[12] On 29 September 2023, Global announced a further spin-off podcast, The News Agents Investigates, would launch on 1 October and be presented by Goodall.[13] On 7 February 2024, Global announced plans to launch The Sports Agents, presented by Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman, and available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from the spring.[14] The Sports Agents was launched on 5 March 2024.[15] On 26 April 2024, it was announced that Tesco had signed a deal to become headline sponsor of The Sports Agents.[16]
On 4 September 2022, it was reported that The News Agents had topped the Apple UK Podcast Chart.[5] On 8 December, it was reported by Press Gazette that The News Agents had reached 10 million downloads.[17] On 31 July 2024 it was reported the podcast had reached 100 million downloads.[18]
The first edition received a mixed reception, with reviewers praising the quality of its content but expressing concern about the informal approach of its presenters. James Marriott of The Times described it as "slick but a little baffling" with "tantalising glimpses of the much better show that will doubtless be constructed from all the beautiful, uber-professional moving parts that are welded together so oddly in this first episode".[19] Sean O'Grady of The Independent felt it was "balanced, informative and analytical" but was less impressed with the presenting style: "The thing I actively disliked about the podcast was the very thing that is supposed to make these exercises so refreshing and fun – that terrible forced chumminess and informality, supposed to be like three old friends gossiping in a bar".[20]
Mark Lawson of The Guardian suggested the edition "most resembled the post-show Newsnight green room cool-down, with presenters and contributors speaking slightly more loosely", and that it "is bold of Global" to launch the podcast, but concluded "It remains to be seen, though, if the best use is being made of these latest big-money signings". Judith Woods of The Telegraph was critical of the episode for choosing to focus on an international story rather than focusing on UK news topics "on a day when the [British Medical Association] warned of a doctors' strike, a police investigation was reopened on an alleged child grooming gang in Hull and Goldman Sachs suggested inflation could top 22 per cent next year".[21] The topic choice was also highlighted by Fiona Sturges of The Financial Times, particularly as the Mar-a-Lago raid was by then an old news story; she highlighted other problems as well: "a surfeit of interviews with commentators you've never heard of; phoney-sounding listener questions; and, Lord help us, the small talk" which "comes over as forced and unfunny".[22]
Fiona Sturges of The Financial Times has suggested "its real rival is The Rest Is Politics", a political podcast presented by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart.