Tim Luckhurst

Luckhurst was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.[3] He was educated at Peebles High School in Scotland.[1] He studied history at Robinson College, Cambridge, graduating in 1983.[1][3]

Between 1985 and 1988 he worked as parliamentary press officer for Donald Dewar (then Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland) and for the Scottish Labour group of MPs at Westminster. He stood as the Labour candidate for the Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency at the 1987 United Kingdom general election.[4]

During the late 1980s and 1990s, Luckhurst worked for the BBC. On Radio 4's Today. Luckhurst covered the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the First Gulf War. He was the BBC's Washington producer during the first year of the Clinton presidency and reported on the Waco Siege for BBC Radio. From 1995 to 1997 he was editor of news programmes at BBC Scotland. During his time at the BBC, Luckhurst won two Sony Radio Academy Awards for news broadcasting (The Romanian Revolution 1989 for Radio 4's Today programme and the IRA ceasefire of 1995 for Radio Five Live). Later he reported on the liberation of Kosovo and the fall of Slobodan Milošević for The Scotsman. From February to May 2000, Luckhurst was editor of The Scotsman.[5][6]

He is the author of This is Today – A Biography of the Today Programme (London, Aurum Press 2001) and Responsibility without Power: Lord Justice Leveson's Constitutional Dilemma (Abramis Academic 2013) and co-wrote Assessing the Delivery of BBC Radio 5 Live's Public Service Commitments (Abramis Academic 2019).[7]

He contributed a chapter to the book, The Phone Hacking Scandal: Journalism on Trial. This chapter formed the basis of his submission to the Leveson Inquiry.[8] In March 2014 he co-authored an essay, "Good Behaviour Can be Taught" to British Journalism Review[9] in which he argued that ethical training, not state-sanctioned regulation, is the most appropriate way to promote quality journalism in a democratic society.

He has written for various publications including The Independent, The Guardian,[10] the New Statesman, The New Republic, The Spectator, the British Journalism Review, The Times, The Globe and Mail and the Scottish Daily Mail.

In June 2007 he became professor of journalism and the news industry at the University of Kent's new Centre for Journalism.[11] At Kent, Luckhurst was a member of the team that launched KM Television,[12] a local television station for Kent and Medway; he was a director of KM Television Ltd between 2016 and 2019.[13] In November 2019 he joined Durham University as the principal of the new South College,[14] and associate pro-vice-chancellor (engagement).

In December 2021 Luckhurst was at the centre of controversy over a Christmas formal held at South College, during which Luckhurst's friend Rod Liddle was invited to speak.[15][16] Students were unaware that Liddle had been invited, and several left in protest before he began speaking. Luckhurst received criticism both for the decision to invite Liddle to speak at the Christmas dinner, and for his behaviour towards students during and after the speech.[17] Liddle accused Durham University of “scapegoating” Luckhurst and “hanging him out to dry”, adding that "they have treated an eminent and extremely talented professor despicably".[18] Durham University subsequently announced an investigation into the events at the formal,[19] with Luckhurst stepping back from some duties until the investigation concludes.[20]

In 1989, Luckhurst married Dorothy Williamson. They have four children; three daughters and one son.[3]

• Tim Luckhurst on Journalisted