Ros Atkins
Ros Atkins

Ros Atkins

Ros Atkins is a BBC News presenter and newly appointed Analysis Editor, who’s been labelled the nation's 'Explainer-in-Chief' and ‘The Facts Man’. Since 2019, his video explainer format has become a global phenomenon with vast audiences on social media and on the BBC's digital, TV and radio channels. The Sunday Times has credited him with having 'invented a new genre of reporting’, coining the phrase ‘assertive impartiality’.

Ros has been a BBC News anchor for eighteen years. He’s the creator and presenter of Outside Source which simulcasts in primetime on BBC News Channel in the UK and on BBC World News. The programme is known for its in-depth explanation and analysis. Ros has anchored coverage for many of the biggest global stories including Brexit, COVID19, the war in Ukraine and multiple US and European elections and has reported from all over the world. Ros also co-presents The Media Show on BBC Radio 4. 

His book The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence was released in September 2023 where it lauded by critics and fans. Ros takes his readers through his 10 rules developed and polished throughout his career as a journalists to help them get complex information clearly. 

Ros is the founder of the 50:50 Project. He started it in the BBC newsroom in 2017 to support diverse representation in the BBC’s journalism. 50:50 now works across all BBC content and the organisation has talked of how it’s ‘unleashed a surge of creativity and innovation’ and delivered a ‘transformation’ that is ‘long-term and sustainable’. Outside the BBC, 50:50 has grown into a global initiative with over 130 organisations in over 30 countries taking part from a variety of sectors. London Business School and Harvard Kennedy School have produced two studies looking at how Ros started the project and how he passed on the leadership of it.  

In early 2022, Ros sprung a surprise by revisiting his days as a DJ with a drum and bass mix for BBC Radio 6 Music. The mix went viral and led to widespread press coverage.  

Ros has made a number of documentaries including one that examined the relationship between tourist and host in Cornwall, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas, the three places he spent his childhood. (Ros has worked extensively as a moderator in the tourism sector.) 

He also made an acclaimed and unusual podcast with legendary US anchor Keith Olbermann and his wife Sara. Texting Keith Olbermann is still available via BBC Sounds. 

Ros is in demand internationally as a speaker on global affairs, journalism, media, innovation, creativity and cultural change.  

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Noteable Work

  • The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence, Book
  • Outside Source, BBC News
  • The Media Show, BBC Radio 4
  • BBC Radio 6 Music
  • Texting Keith Olbermann, BBC Sounds

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