Bloomberg Television names new head

The following message was sent out by Josh Tyrangiel of Bloomberg Media:

It’s my pleasure to announce that, after completing her months-long, first-person expose of America’s immigration process, Claudia Milne joins Bloomberg today as Head of U.S. Live TV. Trust me, she was worth waiting for.

Claudia is a twenty-year veteran of BBC News with a resume that fits our goals precisely. Growing up, her father was a London producer for 60 Minutes, and as a teenager Claudia decided that journalism and America were her passions, too. Right out of school she began work in the BBC’s docs unit, and during her time at headquarters she was also on the team that launched its 24-hour domestic news channel. In 2004, she moved to Washington, DC as a senior producer for Newsnight, running U.S. election coverage and found herself overseeing the network’s reportage on Hurricane Katrina and countless other stories. A few years later, she helped create the Emmy and Peabody award winning BBC World News America, which the Peabody committee described as “A nightly newscast like none the U.S. has ever had. It places our actions and concerns in a global context.” In 2011, Claudia was named editor of the BBC’s American news site, where she oversaw another U.S. election and merged television, digital video, and web journalism in ways that no other executive has.

There’s so…much…more. But I’ll stop there on her accomplishments. She’s got the job.

What I’m most excited about is bringing in a person who radiates intelligence and humor, and has such a clear affection for the eccentricities of journalists and newsrooms. Claudia knows global news as well as anyone in our business and has the highest standards and expectations. Her colleagues praise her management style as direct and fair, while pointing out that she’s also very fun – and funny. I’d give her a solid A on the bawdy joke scale and a B+/A- on obscure American sit-com references. And her accent? Lady Mary quality.

As for me, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve chosen Claudia to be my partner in this adventure in part because our skill sets are so complimentary. I’ll be keeping my seat on 5 (and 4, and wherever else I’m needed) and helping to guide strategic decisions around staff, shows and coverage.

I’m incredibly excited Claudia’s here, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her with open arms.