主播大秀

She鈥檚 the longest-serving presenter on the longest-running programme in Scottish television history.听Jackie Bird, who this week celebrates 25 years as anchor of the 主播大秀鈥檚 Reporting Scotland, has achieved that rarest of feats in the media: on-air longevity.

As a result, she鈥檚 perhaps the most famous face in Scotland.听 If you think that鈥檚 an exaggeration, consider that Reporting Scotland is one of the most-watched TV programmes north of the border with an average audience of half a million viewers on any given night. Taken across a whole week, the various editions and bulletins combined reach more than half the adult population of Scotland.听Multiply that over 25 years and it鈥檚 little wonder that Jackie Bird is a household name.

As someone who鈥檚 grown-up watching Jackie I thought it would be fascinating to see her in the guest seat for once.听So this week I recorded an in-depth interview in the Reporting Scotland studio at Glasgow鈥檚 Pacific Quay.听 Among other things, she tells about the changes she鈥檚 seen in TV news over 25 years, how women in journalism have combatted male chauvinism and what the secret behind her success is.

One of my favourite quotes from the archive is an interview she did for the Radio Times just ahead of her Reporting Scotland debut in October 1989:

鈥淚 have paid my dues by chasing fire engines and knocking on thousands of doors, but there has just been a very fortunate progression from radio to newspapers and then television.听 I鈥檓 still quite young though, and television is a big world, so goodness knows where I鈥檒l end up.鈥�

I doubt if even Jackie Bird could鈥檝e predicted she鈥檇 be in the same job 25 years on 鈥� and still at the top of her game.

Graham Stewart is a Broadcaster and Journalist, 主播大秀 Scotland

• Read about .听
• Join Jackie Bird for her on Wednesday night at 6.30 on 主播大秀 One Scotland.听
• Later that same night she takes over the reigns of to look back on 25 years of news.