Kay Burley in shock-exit from Sky News after 36 years with abrupt sign-off

by Thinus Ferreira

Kay Burley is leaving Sky News (DStv 402) after 36 years and made her abrupt exit this morning at the end of this morning's edition of her show on the United Kingdom TV news channel, telling viewers it's her final show.

She told Sky News viewers this morning that "It’s been an honour and a privilege to work with some of the best and hardest working teams in the business news".

"After over a million minutes of live TV news, more than anyone else in the world, it's time for me to indulge in some of my other passions, including my love for travel."

Sky News staffers stood on the side of the studio and clapped.

Aftermore than three decades Kay has covered everything, including stalking out at the infamous Lindo Wing, interviewing everyone while waiting for the birth of Prince William and Katherine's baby George.

David Rhodes, Sky News chairman, followed with an email to Sky News staffers, saying: "Kay's legacy in television journalism is unmatched, as is her commitment to Sky's legacy".

"And I'm sure some MPs in Westminster will sleep easy knowing they won't face her indomitable questioning in the mornings. We thank Kay for her huge contribution to Sky, to the art of the interview and to British journalism. And we wish her the best of luck."

Kay Burley was one of the original Sky News presenters when the channel launched in 1989 and she has anchored across various day parts.

ALSO READ: Sky News overhauls for digital future, plots move to premium pay news content with increased AI as traditional TV news declines in 'Sky News 2030' strategy

Breakfast on Sky News starts hour earlier at 8am from 15 January from new Westminster studio as Gareth Barlow, Mhari Aurora and Wilfred Frost join Kay Burley as presenters.

by Thinus Ferreira

From Monday 15 January Sky News (DStv 402 / StarSat 258) is overhauling its early morning programming blocks yet again with Breakfast with Kay Burley which will start an hour earlier at 08:00 and is adding new presenters and a new look.

Sky News' Breakfast, currently seen from 09:00 to 12:00 in South Africa, will add another hour from 15 January and now start at 08:00 from 15 January and run from 08:00 to 12:00 on weekdays from a new studio at Sky's Westminster bureau.

From 08:00 presenter Gareth Barlow and political correspondent Mhari Aurora will co-present Breakfast on Sky News. Gareth Barlow joins Sky News after having worked for 10 years with BBC News.

Both remain in studio from 9:00 to 12:00 when the timeslot's existing Kay Burley joins to do interviews.

Also joining Breakfast will be Wilfred Frost with previews of the day's news agenda. The Breakfast team will join Anna Jones for Breakfast every Friday to Sunday, along with Jacquie Beltrao who will deliver the sports headlines every weekend.

"We're really pleased to present Breakfast earlier each morning and delighted to welcome Gareth Barlow to our team," says David Rhodes, Sky News executive chairman, in a statement.

"From a new Westminster newsroom now - and a new studio in the coming months - Kay Burley, Gareth Barlow, Mhari Aurora, and Wilfred Frost will bring the whole range of Sky News to audiences each morning."

Kay Burley says "Breakfast is becoming even brighter here on Sky News. I'm excited to be presenting from a new state-of-the-art studio - and to be joined by a great new line-up. Gareth, Mhari and Wilfred will be with me, each bringing their unique brand of first-rate, quality journalism.  It'll be the best breakfast show in the business."

Gareth Barlow says "I'm thrilled to be joining Sky News to work alongside Kay and the incredible Breakfast team".

"I can't wait to bring an even bigger and bolder Breakfast to our viewers around the United Kingdom. With elections in Westminster and Washington on the horizon - there will be no better place to keep up to date with the latest UK and international news, than the new look Sky News Breakfast."

Mhari Aurora says "This year will see an explosive election campaign and I am delighted to be a part of the incredible Sky News Breakfast team bringing viewers the twists and turns of UK politics as they happen, holding power to account with sharp snap analysis to cut through all the noise and make sense of the spin."

Wilfred Frost says "Sky News is the home for news across all platforms in the UK - but in my view, at breakfast, television remains the best place to digest your news. And I can't wait to be involved in delivering the news that matters to viewers and voters in a fun and friendly way with Kay and the team each day."

Sky News to change its schedule for a second time in 2019 from 14 October with Kay Burley now anchoring the breakfast show and switching places with Sarah-Jane Mee moving to afternoons.

Sky News (DStv 402) is once again changing the British TV news channel's schedule, this time from Monday 14 October 2019, once again moving Kay Burley earlier in its second big schedule change of 2019 after its last one in January.

Sky News doesn't seem as if it knows what to do with veteran anchor Kay Burley who first got her own self-titled show The Kay Burley Show, that then changed late-afternoon timeslots and with Kay Burley who will now be moved to early mornings from 14 October to do Kay Burley @ Breakfast between 8:00 and 10:00 (South African time) from Mondays to Thursdays.

Kay Burley @ Breakfast will be done from Sky News' Westminster studios that according to Sky News "will be a hard-hitting, news making breakfast news programme that will set the agenda for the day".

Sarah-Jane Mee who has anchored Sky News Sunrise for the past 3 years between 08:00 and 11:00 is essentially switching places with Kay Burley, and will now be doing The Sarah-Jane Mee Show during the afternoons between 15:00 and 18:00.

Sarah-Jane’s show will feature longer form interviews on topical issues and a "daily debate".

Sky News' morning programming will start with The Early Rundown with anchor Niall Paterson between 07:00 and 08:00 on weekdays, followed by Kay Burley @ Breakfast.

Stephen Dixon and Gillian Joseph will continue to anchor Sky News's morning slot from Friday to Sunday from Sky Studios in Osterley in a slightly more relaxed style.

All Out Politics, anchored by Adam Boulton, will continue from Westminster at 10:00, along with the News Hour in Sky News studio at Osterley from 18:00 anchored by Mark Austin.

Sky News's late night schedule, Sky News at Ten at 23:00 and the Press Preview at 23:30 will remain unchanged.

"We are always looking to stay fresh and never stand still while the world changes around us so quickly," says Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Sky News director of content.

"We're living in exciting times and Kay, Sarah-Jane and Niall will all bring their own personal style and strengths to their new shows and I’m excited for them to get started at such a tumultuous time."

Sky News unveils a new daytime line-up and adds correspondents; Kay Burley gets her own self-titled show, as news channel says it's going for anchors 'giving their own take on the day's stories' to give Sky News more personality.

Sky News (DStv 402) is changing its daytime line-up, adding correspondents, giving Kay Burley the The Kay Burley Show during the afternoons and adding former ITV News anchor Mark Austin as the news channel says its going for anchors "giving their own 'take' on the day's stories" to give Sky News more personality.

The Kay Burley Show with Kay Burley will now run four days a week from Mondays to Thursdays between 15:00 and 18:00 South African time.

Sky News says in a statement that "as well as covering the breaking news, Kay’s show will deliver her own perspective on the day’s stories, with interviews, quirky off beat stories and spiky opinion and debate, challenging the status quo and reflecting the views of the United Kingdom audience."

The News Hour with Mark Austin, shown Mondays to Fridays at 18:00 (South African time) will provide "a round-up of the day’s news for the teatime audience, with a recap of events plus analysis from Sky News’ expert correspondents and interviews with the key players at the centre of the day’s stories," says Sky News.

Mark Austin is returning to Sky News' London studio after he was in the Washington bureau the past year.

Also joining the team are a number of new correspondents who will bolster Sky News' specialist reporting.

Jason Farrell moves from Westminster to become Sky News' first home editor, covering stories affecting the United Kingdom audience. Beth Rigby becomes deputy political editor, while Nick Martin takes on a new role, reporting on politics but from outside the Westminster bubble.

Rowland Manthorpe is Sky News' new technology correspondent, Kate McCann joins the political team from The Telegraph and Martha Kelner is leaving The Guardian to become Sky News sport correspondent.

The Times former defence correspondent Deborah Haynes is joining Sky News as foreign affairs editor.

"With a fast growing digital audience on the Sky News mobile app, our viewers know what’s making the headlines. But what they want is more appointment-to-view shows," says Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Sky News director of content, in a statement on Monday announcing the Sky News programming changes.

"Kay and Mark are experienced news presenters, each with their own ‘take’ on the day’s stories. Embedding them more firmly in our schedule gives us a chance to give Sky News more personality and more editorial heft at a time when being a trusted news brand has never been more important."

Jonathan Levy, Sky News' director of newsgathering, says "the appointment of these great reporters not only boosts our specialist journalism, but is also a strong signal of how Sky News is in better shape than ever. Our future looks bright and it’s great we’re attracting top talent from across the industry".

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 11 June 2015.

A beautiful article about how network TV is dying ...
but how everyone seemed to have forgotten to actually tell network TV in America that.

1 162 people complain about Sky News' bitchy Kay Burley.
Viewers complain to the British broadcasting regulator over rude Kay Burley interview.

The real reason why people hate pay-TV operators (and cellphone companies).
Because they're middle men.

MultiChoice Nigeria assures over content and service.
After the controversial court case of MultiChoice's drastic price hike which the court threw out, the pay-TV operator wants to start repairing some of the damage to its public image.

The SABC is a caricature of a public broadcaster.
Commentator Eusebius McKaiser says the SABC has become a "useless state broadcaster" more than anything else.

How hiring works at the SABC.
Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola's hilarious satirical sketch about employment at the SABC.

Nonn Botha angry after SABC removed her.
Was yanked off the air two months ago; didn't even yet get any formal letter or email telling her she's removed from the airwaves.

New American reality TV low with NBC and Discovery's Bear Grylls.
In The Island a constipated contestant has to dig poo out of his butt - kilograms of crab, bark and coconut on national television.

Oprah Winfrey's OWN scraps plans for the reality show about the man with 34 children.
Tasteless trash-television of man who has 34 kids with 17 women "won't be moving forward".

Sky News' Kay Burley apologises for calling Scottish independence campaigner 'a knob' live on air who tried to hit cameraman with a stick.

Sky News' (DStv 402) Kay Burley is apologising after calling a Scottish independence campaigner "a knob" live on the air after the man tried to hit her cameraman with a stick.

Sky News has been doing extensive coverage of the Scottish referendum taking place today in Scotland, and yesterday Kay Burley was live on Sky News in Aberdeen when she called a man "a knob" on live television.

It happened after Kay Burley was constantly being heckled by a Scottish independence campaigner, and wasn't aware that her mic was live.

Afterwards she apologised for the "poor language" and said that it was a "challenging environment" and that someone wanted to hit her cameraman with a stick.

Kay Burley celebrates 25 years at Sky News, signs a new 5 year contract with the British TV news channel taking her to 30 years.

Kay Burley (DStv 402) is celebrating 25 years as a presenter and news reader at the British 24-hour TV news channel and has signed a new 5 year contract.

Kay Burley who is Sky News' longest serving TV news presenter, will continue doing her popular afternoon weekday slot as well as regularly contributing to Sky News's digital offerings.

"When I joined Sky News 25 years ago, the aim was to break the mold by offering viewers the coice of when to watch news," says Kay Burley in a statement. "Today we're viewed all over the world through many different platforms. I am immensely proud of what we continue to achieve."

"Kay has been at the forefront of Sky News for 25 years," says John Ryley, the head of Sky News.  "She has demonstrated her ability to adapt with the ever evolving production of news and has been at the heart of our coverage of many breaking news stories."

"From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the birth of a future king, Kay has had an eventful quarter of a century. It is an extraordinary achievement and I'm delighted Kay is on board to be part of our exciting future in non-stop news."

HAVE A NICE CUP OF TEA. The unrivaled way in which the Brits speak to each other on telly - even in the midst of a storm.

Gotta love 'em. Only British TV presenters it seems have grace, poise and unrelenting courteous manners somehow simply engrained in their entire telly psyche.

Where else in the world would a studio based TV news presenter, throwing to an on-location correspondent covering a story (drought!) in pouring rain, tell the correspondent to go a have a cup of tea?

It's unqualified British. And its great.

On Sky News (DStv 402) Kay Burley was talking this afternoon to the Sky News correspondent Becky Johnson near Sheffield who was standing in pouring rain.

And at the end of the exchange came the classic Britishness of it all which even hard news will never temper. "Well, you get inside in the dry," said Kay Burley, and swiftly added: "Have a nice cup of tea."

Whatever you cover, whatever the weather; if there's still time for some tea it means there's still hope for civilisation.