Headlines
George Pascoe-Watson
Tom Kennedy Inteviews the Political Editor of The Sun, George Pascoe-Watson
5th October 2009
Few jobs in the country carry as much responsibility as being political editor of The Sun. For most, following in the footsteps of the legendary Trevor Kavanagh would have been daunting to say the least. But that wasn’t the case for George Pascoe-Watson.
“It wasn’t daunting. I had served as his deputy for 12 years and for the last few, had essentially been running the day-to-day operation.”
“Of course, Trevor is irreplaceable and I had to accept I could only ever be me, not him. Therefore my style has come through and we are different beasts.
Taking over from the most famous and accomplished political editor is not easy. But that's what you expect at The Sun. You have to be the best.
It could have all been very different. In the summer of 2004, George was offered the opportunity to work as political editor for BBC News 24, but was quoted as saying “Being in print in politics is 10,000 times better in every respect than being in broadcasting.” I wondered if he would still agree with that statement.
“Yes, because print politics allows you to get into the depth and detail of everything. Broadcasting allows you only to scratch the surface in many ways”
George clearly enjoys working for Britain’s biggest selling tabloid.
“I love the power of The Sun to open doors, give access, and change the weather!
And it's fun.”
As a child however, George did not immediately see himself entering the world of journalism, with plans for an even more hair-raising occupation.
“Growing up, my sole ambition was to be an RAF fighter pilot like my father.
Journalism was a later thought when I failed to make aircrew selection. I had been good at writing essays, and felt journalism was an unusual career choice. It sounded impressive and daring.”
George followed this interest up by completing a two year diploma in journalism at Napier College in Edinburgh.
“I was then a junior reporter at The Warminster Journal, followed by one year at The Bristol Journal, followed by one year at The Bristol Press and Pictures News Agency.” At the astonishingly young age of 21, George was working for The Sun and has been there ever since.
The last year has proven to be a very uncomfortable year for British politics. Events such as the expenses scandal have caused much upset with the electorate but have provided valuable material for political journalists and editors. “New” Labour seems to be dying a slow and painful death. In a recent poll in the newspaper, a huge majority of Sun readers (68%) believe that British troops are poorly equipped to fight in Afghanistan, and seven in ten voters think Mr Brown's government is doing a “very bad” job This is only one indication of the public’s anger with the government, something that has helped the Conservatives and their party leader David Cameron shoot ahead in public opinion polls.
On this evidence, it looks very likely that Mr Cameron will be the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. I asked George if he thought the Tory leader would prove to be a success.
“Yes, from the man I have seen so far, Cameron appears to have the ‘right stuff’. He is ruthless when he needs to be and has perspective.”
Many members of the British public are still not convinced by Cameron, even if he is flying ahead in opinion polls. I wondered what George thought would be the biggest challenge Cameron will face in the race to get to Number 10.
“Persuading voters he is a better bet than Gordon Brown, and that he is genuinely concerned about people less fortunate and privileged than himself.”
Journalism is a cut throat and competitive world and can be seen as an industry almost impossible to break into by many students across the country. When I asked George how he would advise students to stand out from the rest, he kindly gave the following advice;
“Work harder than the person sitting on either side of you. Read the papers religiously. Have an opinion about everything. “
“Never say 'no' and be scrupulous about getting every fact right - especially the spelling of names.”
“Never say 'no' and be scrupulous about getting every fact right - especially the spelling of names.”
Tom Kennedy (Studying A2 English Language, General Studies, Government & Politics and Theology)