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Mark Byford (born June 13 1958) is Deputy Director General of the BBC and head of all its journalism. As Chair of the BBC’s Journalism Board, he has overall responsibility for the world’s largest and most trusted news organisation providing extensive news and current affairs services across radio, television and interactive media for the UK and the world. His responsibilities also include BBC Sport.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career with the BBC 3 Personal life 4 External links

He was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, where he spent his early years. His father (a Yorkshireman), Laurence, was the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, having obtained a degree in Law from Leeds University in 1956. Mark was educated at a school in Lincolnshire before studying Law at the University of Leeds. At Leeds, he enjoyed playing football and cricket, and became president of Devonshire Hall, and walking the Coast to Coast Walk and Pennine Way. At a Valentines Ball, where Mark was with his girlfriend, he borrowed Geoff Hoon's car to take her home. Geoff Hoon was a law lecturer and a warden of Devonshire Hall.

He joined the BBC in 1979, aged 20, as a “temporary holiday relief assistant” working as a researcher over the summer holiday in his local (Look North) television newsroom in Leeds. After three months, he joined the BBC full-time.

He is an award-winning journalist and editor with more than twenty-five years’ experience within the BBC. In 1981, aged just 22, he produced the Royal Television Society’s Regional News programme of the Year – a Look North special on unemployment in the north of England. The following year he produced the award-winning edition again – this time with South Today in Southampton, where in 1982, he became assistant news editor at the BBC in Southampton. In September 1985, he was a documentary features producer at BBC South, then became News Editor at BBC West in Bristol in May 1987. In October 1988, he became Home News Editor in London, having responsibility for all news gathering for the BBC across the UK, then in 1989 he became the head of the BBC North region in Leeds. He became Assistant Controller at regional broadcasting.

He joined the BBC’s Board of Management in 1996 as Director, Regional Broadcasting. Two years later he became Director of the BBC World Service and went on to establish and manage the BBC’s Global News Division in 2002. Under his leadership, BBC World Service achieved its highest audience ever of more than 150 million listeners and won prestigious Sony and Webby awards.

In January 2004 he became Deputy Director General of the BBC but within three weeks of his appointment Greg Dyke resigned as Director General, following the publication of the Hutton Report, and Mark Byford became Acting Director General for five months. With no substantive Chairman and Director General, he had to stabilise the organisation as it faced the biggest crisis in its history.

When Mark Thompson was appointed Director General in June 2004, he enhanced Mark Byford’s role as his number two to be head of all the BBC’s journalism at UK, international and local levels – the first time such an appointment has been made. In July 2006, his responsibilities were extended further to also include BBC Sport.

He is married to Hilary (née Bleiker), who he met whilst at Leeds University where she studied English, and they have five children. His hobbies include family life, sport and rock music. He supports the Leeds United football team and has a well-known reputation for an encyclopaedic knowledge of rock and pop music, especially The Beatles.

• BBC Biography
• Becomes Acting Director General
• Video message celebrating seventy years of the World Service
• University of Leeds Alumni

Media Offices
Preceded by Greg Dyke 2000–Jan 2004	Director-General of the BBC Jan 2004–June 2004	Succeeded by Mark Thompson June 2004—