Sarah Sands
Sarah Sands | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sarah Harvey 3 June 1961 Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Kent College, Pembury (Methodist boarding school) |
| Alma mater | Goldsmiths College, University of London |
| Occupation | Journalist, editor, novelist |
| Employer | BBC |
| Known for | Editor, BBC Radio 4 Today (May 2017 – Sept. 2020) Editor, London Evening Standard (March 2012 – May 2017) Deputy Editor, London Evening Standard (Feb. 2009 – Mar. 2012) Editor-in-Chief, Reader's Digest (Feb. 2008 – Feb. 2009) Consultant Editor, Daily Mail (Apr. 2006 – Feb. 2008) Editor, The Sunday Telegraph (Jun. 2005 – Mar. 2006) Deputy Editor, The Daily Telegraph (1996 – 2005) |
| Spouse(s) | Kim Fletcher |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Kit Hesketh-Harvey (brother) |
Sarah Sands (née Harvey; 3 June 1961) is a British journalist and author. A former editor of the London Evening Standard, she was editor of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 from 2017 to 2020.
Early life[]
Sands was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1961, to parents in the Colonial Service.[1] Sands is the younger sister of Kit Hesketh-Harvey (of musical duo Kit and The Widow). She was educated at Kent College, Pembury (then a Methodist, now interdenominational) independent day and boarding school for girls. She later attended Goldsmiths, University of London.[2]
Career[]
Sands trained on The Sevenoaks Chronicle as a news reporter, before moving to the Evening Standard, initially as editor of the Londoner's Diary, before taking further posts as features editor and associate editor. She joined The Daily Telegraph in 1996 as deputy editor, under Charles Moore, later assuming responsibility for the Saturday edition.[1][3]
Sands was appointed the first female editor of The Sunday Telegraph in June 2005, succeeding Dominic Lawson.[4] Her plan for the November 2005 relaunch of the paper was that it should be "like an iPod – full of your favourite things".[5] However the makeover was not well regarded by senior management and in an abrupt move, after just eight months and 20 days in post, Sands was sacked as editor of the newspaper on 7 March 2006 by Andrew Neil and replaced by Patience Wheatcroft.[1][6][7] Subsequently, many of her changes under her editorship were reversed (including changes to the title font).
In April 2006, Sands was appointed consultant editor on the Daily Mail.[8]
In August 2006, Sands wrote an article about the emo musical genre, which stated that Green Day[citation needed] and My Chemical Romance encourage self-harm among teenagers.[9][10] Upon hearing about this article while on tour in the UK, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way led a chant of "fuck the Daily Mail" (as Sands's article ran in this newspaper) during one of their live shows.[9]
In February 2008 she was appointed editor-in-chief of the UK edition of Reader's Digest.[8] In February 2009 it was announced that she would be taking up the role of deputy editor on London Evening Standard.[11] She became editor of the London Evening Standard following Geordie Greig's departure for The Mail on Sunday in March 2012.[12]
In January 2017, she was appointed editor of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme and took up her appointment later in the year.[13] Sands resigned from the post in late January 2020, the day after major cuts to BBC News were announced.[14]
Sands has written three novels: Playing the Game (2003), Hothouse (2005) and The Villa (2006).
Personal life[]
Sands's first marriage was to the actor Julian Sands, with whom she had a son, Henry Morley Sands (born 20 September 1985); the couple divorced in 1987.
Her second marriage was to Kim Fletcher, a former editorial director of the Telegraph group and editor of The Independent on Sunday, with whom she has two children.[1][4]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Anthony, Andrew (5 February 2017). "Sarah Sands: lively new boss of the BBC's breakfast club". The Observer. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ Day, Julia (7 March 2006). "Sinking Sands". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "person - Sarah Sands". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "'Something very lovely will happen at the Telegraph'". The Independent. 28 August 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ^ "I want the paper to be like your iPod", The Guardian, 20 June 2005
- ^ Brook, Stephen (28 July 2006). "My Sunday Telegraph plans 'strangled at birth', says Sands". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "The media column – Peter Wilby bids farewell to Sarah Sands", New Statesman, 13 March 2006
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sweney, Mark (21 February 2008). "Sarah Sands joins Reader's Digest". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Boden, Sarah (10 December 2006). "Nobody likes us, we care". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Evans, Paul (3 June 2008). "Emo is no suicide cult". New Statesman. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Mark Sweney "Sarah Sands named deputy editor of London Evening Standard", The Guardian, 20 February 2009
- ^ "Sarah Sands is new editor of London Evening Standard". The Guardian. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ Grierson, Jamie (30 January 2017). "Sarah Sands named editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ "Sarah Sands resigns as Today programme editor". The Guardian. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
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- 1961 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
- British newspaper editors
- English journalists
- 21st-century English novelists
- People educated at Kent College, Pembury
- People from Royal Tunbridge Wells