Janet Street-Porter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Born: | December 27, 1946 London, England |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Journalist and Editor |
| Website: | Personal Website |
Janet Street-Porter née Bull (born 27 December 1946) is a media personality in the United Kingdom. Street-Porter is a journalist, television presenter and personality, producer and and currently works as editor-at-large The Independent newspapers. She is the former chief editor of the Independent on Sunday.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early work
She was born Janet Bull in south London, the outcome of a doubly adulterous affair, the daughter of an electrician and a Welsh mother. Growing up in Fulham and Perivale, her relations with her parents were extremely poor. She studied at Lady Margaret School in Parsons Green from 1958-64 and then spent two years at the Architectural Association. She dropped out and immediately moved into media work: after a brief stint at a girls magazine she joined the Daily Mail in 1969. She moved to the Evening Standard in 1971 as fashion editor.
Street-Porter and the noted journalist Paul Callan are credited with inventing a new form of radio, albeit unintentionally. At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company, or LBC, the pair were pitched as co-presenters of the morning drive time show.[1] The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the cockney Street-Porter, whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat".
In the event friction between the ill-assorted pair led to an entertaining stream of one-upmanship that became required listening for many Londoners, the sharper put-downs being blamed for several collisions by motorists incapacitated with laughter. The programme was the first in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show, blurring the line between classic British comedy and analysis of international affairs.
[edit] Television
Street-Porter broke into television with LWT in 1975, working as a reporter on a series of often youth-oriented programmes. She advanced into production work after joining Channel 4 in 1986. She was editor of the innovative Network 7 from 1987, writing its five rules; she won a Bafta in 1988. The same year she was enticed to BBC 2 by Alan Yentob to become Head of Youth and Entertainment Features, and directed the wildly varying output of the twice-weekly DEF II and commissioned Rapido, Red Dwarf and Rough Guide.
Street-Porter's approach did not enamour her to the more conservative critics who argued that her diction was appalling, questioning her values and the suitability of someone thrice-married-before-40 as an influence on youth programming. When at the beginning of April 1991 it was rumoured that she had been quietly selected for the post of Head of Art & Culture at BBCTV the Conservative Monday Club caused a public outcry. Subsequently she did not get the post. Finding her advancement halted she left the BBC for Mirror Group Newspapers in 1994 and as joint managing director with Kelvin MacKenzie shared responsibility for the disaster of the L!VE TV channel in 1995, leaving after four months. In 1996 she set-up an independent production company.
She has appeared on reality television programme So You Think You Can Teach, which saw Street-Porter trying to work as a teacher in a primary school.[2] More recently, Street-Porter took part in the series four of reality television series I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! on ITV in the UK. Finishing fourth, she was the last female to be voted off the show, with comedian Joe Pasquale eventually being crowned King of the Jungle.
In 2006, Street-Porter regularly appeared on Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word where she was the series' field correspondent. During the show, Street-Porter would have to find some alternative and more unusual food (such as crocodile) and tempt diners in Ramsay's restaurant to try the food. In 2007, Street-Porter is due to appear in a new television series airing on ITV2. She will be one tough- talking editor to take on different celebrity journalists. The celebrity journalists will have to produce a weekly mini-magazine which will come free each week inside Closer.[3]
Street-Porter regularly interviews celebrities, newsmakers, artists, architects, businessmen, broadcasters and politicians for Bloomberg TV. The shows are broadcast in over thirty countries and shown six times every Saturday and six times every Sunday.[2]
[edit] Newspaper editor
In 1999 Street-Porter was the appointment as chief editor of the Independent on Sunday. Checking her propensity for excessive innovation she put in a solid performance during the two years that she held the position despite derision from her many critics. In 2002 she moved to a specially created role as editor-at-large, writing a regular column for the newspaper, and undertook other media work.
[edit] Other activities
Street-Porter was president of the Ramblers' Association from 1994 to 1996 and has also been vice-president.
In 1987 she commissioned a house from CZWG Architects in Clerkenwell. It is in an eye-catching design, notable among the largely Georgian houses in the area. Her distinctive voice made her a favourite for impersonation. Pamela Stephenson appeared as Street-Porter on Not the Nine O'Clock News and Kenny Everett also impersonated her.
[edit] Personal life
Street-Porter has been married four times:
- 1) Tim Street-Porter (photographer)
- 2) Tony Elliott (Time Out)
- 3) Frank Cvitanovich (film-maker)
- 4) David Sorkin; this marriage lasted fourteen months.
On 16 January 2007 Street-Porter voluntarily went to a north London police station after a neighbour claimed that Street-Porter racially abused her. In a statement issued by her law firm Harbottle & Lewis Janet said "anyone who is aware of my track record in journalism and the media knows my strong anti-racist views". She has completely denied the allegation and expects to be fully vindicated in due course." She was questioned, arrested, and bailed to return in a month's time pending further inquiries.[4][5] The Metropolitan Police confirmed on 12 February 2007 that no action will be taken against Janet Street-Porter in respect of the allegations reported in January 2007.[6]
[edit] Further reading
- Street-Porter, Janet. Fall Out: A Memoir of Friends Made and Friends Unmade. London: Headline Review, 2006. ISBN 0-7553-1495-6.
- A heavily autobiographical novel about her childhood, Baggage, was published in 2004.
[edit] References
- ^ Media UK's LBC page — mediauk.com
- ^ a b TV&Radio — janetstreetporter.com
- ^ Deadline — deadline.itv.com
- ^ "Janet Street-Porter denies racial abuse accusation" — The Times, January 17 2007.
- ^ Janet Street-Porter is accused of racially abusing neighbour — The Independent, January 18 2007.
- ^ "Street-Porter racism claim dropped" — The Telegraph, February 13, 2007. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
[edit] External links
| Media Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kim Fletcher |
Editor of The Independent on Sunday 1999-2002 |
Succeeded by Tristan Davies |
