The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come out fighting in 2024 – already agreeing to be grilled in TV interviews by Laura Kuenssberg and Piers Morgan.

And later this week ITV will broadcast “Rishi Sunak: Up Close” – a programme that promises to deliver to some personal insights into the famously image-conscious prime minister.

Deputy political editor of ITV News, Anushka Asthana, got rare access to Sunak as he returned to his family home in Southampton and joined him as he watched Saints at St Mary’s.

Media watchers and Tory strategists will be carefully watching how Sunak performs.

They’ll want to see if he can handle the confrontational approach of the sit-down interviews, while also coming across a a normal human being in the long-form documentary format.

BBC Local Radio audiences declined by 10% in the second half of last year, according to the latest RAJAR figures.

The results follow major restructuring at the BBC that saw established local radio presenters leaving the corporation and an increase in programme sharing across regions.

Analysis by Press Gazette found that the BBC’s local radio services in England collectively had a weekly reach of 4.9 million in the Q4. Full report here.

Paul Royall has been appointed as the Executive News Editor of the BBC News Channel on a permanent basis, the BBC has announced.

Royall’s new role makes him one of the leading journalists in the UK and puts him at the forefront of guiding BBC through what looks like a tumultuous year for news – with wars in Ukraine and Gaza along with upcoming elections in the US, UK and EU.

“I am delighted to be leading the BBC News channel on a permanent basis. This is a hugely talented team and I’m excited by everything we can achieve for audiences going forward. 2024 will be another momentous year of news, and it will be a privilege to be at heart of if for the channel,” he said.

The staff and students at Winchester Journalism would like to send Paul our congratulations – he has been a regular Guest Editor on our student news bulletin, Winol, and his advice and support have been amazing.