Education
She is from North Staffordshire and attended Street Dominic"s High School for Girls, an independent school.
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Fran Unsworth
Edit ProfileCareer
She is currently director of the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service Group. In 2013 she was appointed Deputy Director of News and Current Affairs. A graduate in Drama at the University of Manchester, Unsworth began her broadcasting career in local radio, working at British Broadcasting Corporation Radio Leicester and British Broadcasting Corporation Radio Bristol, before going on to become Producer of Radio 1"s Newsbeat.
In 1990 she moved to Radio 4 and was based in Washington as a radio producer for the network during the Gulf crisis of 1990–1991.
She also worked as a producer on The World at One and Prime Minister while at Radio 4. She moved to the British Broadcasting Corporation"s Newsgathering Department in 1993, where she had responsibility for United Kingdom domestic news, and was a producer and editor for the British Broadcasting Corporation One O"Clock News and the British Broadcasting Corporation Six O"Clock News.
Unsworth was appointed Head of Newsgathering in January 2005. In December 2005 Unsworth appeared on the British Broadcasting Corporation"s NewsWatch programme, facing accusations of double standards in British Broadcasting Corporation News reporting of racial crimes when white people were the victims.
Complainants suggested the British Broadcasting Corporation buried stories such as the racist murder of Kriss Donald, with comparable murders involving black victims given twelve times more coverage and the opening of an arts centre in Gateshead reported in preference to Donald"s murder.
Unsworh admitted the case had not been covered sufficiently and that there had been space to do southern However, Unsworth"s department again failed to cover the case adequately the following year. In 2011 British Broadcasting Corporation News was criticised for referring to looters in the 2011 London riots as "protesters", even two days into the violence.
In response to 62 complaints about the matter, Unsworth conceded that the British Broadcasting Corporation had been wrong to do southern
In November 2012, Unsworth was appointed Acting Director of News after the then incumbent, Helen Boaden stepped aside while Nick Pollard prepared his report into the British Broadcasting Corporation"s non-coverage of the (then alleged) sexual abuse perpetuated by Jimmy Savile. She ceased this role in August 2013 and was appointed Deputy Director of News and Current Affairs.
In November 2013 Unsworth was replaced as Head of Newsgathering by Jonathan Munro. She lives in Marylebone, West London.
Membership
Previously she was Acting Director of News at the British Broadcasting Corporation from November 2012 until August 2013 and a member of the British Broadcasting Corporation"s executive board. Unsworth was president of the Society of Editors between 2011 and 2012 and is a board member of the organisation She is also a board member of the European Union"s Erasmus Mundus programme.
