Former Bauer Media news editor in chief John Pickford in the Bauer office. Picture: Bauer Media
Long-serving broadcast journalists from the BBC and Bauer Media were recognised with MBEs in the King’s New Year honours list for 2026.
Two senior industry figures, Alex Mahon and Charlotte Moore, were awarded a CBE and OBE respectively after leaving their leadership roles at Channel 4 and the BBC last year.
Meanwhile, two volunteers who help to run a local news service in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire were given the British Empire Medal.
Here is a full round-up of those in the news and media industries who have been recognised.
CBE
Alex Mahon – For services to broadcasting and diversity
Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon giving a speech at a joint Channel 4 and Royal Television Society event in London on Thursday 30 January 2025. Picture: Will Johnston/Channel 4
Alex Mahon left her role as Channel 4 chief executive, the first woman to hold the post, after eight years last summer.
At the time of her resignation in April, Channel 4 said Mahon had “secured Channel 4’s public ownership through two privatisation attempts while transforming it into a digital-first public service streamer”.
Mahon also guided the broadcaster through a major advertising downturn and led its growth outside London, including the opening of a new headquarters in Leeds where Channel 4 News now has a permanent newsroom.
Channel 4 added: “Alex’s commitment to fairness in the workplace, and especially to women’s health and disability representation, saw her launch the UK media’s first menopause and pregnancy loss policies, which have since been adopted by companies worldwide.”
Programmes cited as making an impact under her leadership included Channel 4 News and the Dispatches documentary about allegations made against comedian Russell Brand.
Mahon is now chief executive of music festival and live entertainment company Superstruct.
OBE
Charlotte Moore – For services to public service broadcasting
Charlotte Moore, pictured giving a speech on 5 March 2025. Picture: David Parry Media Assignments/PA Wire
Charlotte Moore left the BBC after almost 20 years in 2025, ending on a five-year stint as chief content officer sitting on the board.
Moore has now become the chief executive of Left Bank Pictures and EVP creative director of international production at Sony Pictures Television.
Moore said she was “humbled and deeply honoured… I want to accept it on behalf of all the talented colleagues and creatives I worked with during my time at the BBC and across the independent production sector.
“The BBC is the lifeblood of our creative industries and a force for good.
“There has never been a more important time to champion British creativity and support the values of public service broadcasting.”
Moore began her television career as a freelance documentary producer-director before going on to work as the head of documentaries at IWC Media in 2002.
She later became the director of contemporary factual in 2005, following its merger with Wark Clements, with work including Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive and Evicted.
In 2006 she joined the BBC as commissioning executive for documentaries, before being promoted to commissioning editor where she oversaw 220 hours of programming annually across BBC channels.
A decade later Moore became director of BBC One, responsible for the creative vision across its portfolio of channels and later joined the BBC board after being promoted to chief content officer in 2020.
MBE
Anthony Fallshaw – For services to journalism
Tony Fallshaw retired in 2025 after 45 years as a cameraman and editor at BBC News.
Julie Ritson – For services to journalism
Julie Ritson, a film editor and camerawoman, also retired from the BBC in 2025 after around 40 years.
- BBC director of media operations
- Morwen Williams wrote of them both
- “With about 80 years BBC service between then and almost every war covered, they have helped mentor many behind them and are really deserving of this. Congrats Julie Ritson and Tony Fallshaw.”
- Ritson
- told The Chiswick Calendar
- “I’m extremely proud. Honours in broadcasting typically go to presenters, journalists, producers, or executives for services to media or charity, but not to behind-the-camera technical roles like camerawork.”
During her career Ritson has worked on assignments in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. She also spent seven years working on Newsnight and spent several years training staff on camera equipment.
Kate Peters – For services to journalism
Kate Peters spent more than 30 years at the BBC, including as bureau chief in Moscow and Kyiv, before leaving the broadcaster last year.
She spoke about life covering the region on Ukrainecast in April.
John Pickford – For services to broadcasting and local news
John Pickford (pictured, top) retired at the end of 2025 after 45 years at Bauer Media which said in that time he had “helped shape trusted local radio journalism across the UK”.
Pickford ultimately became editor in chief with responsibility for all Bauer radio news teams across the UK.
Bauer said he was among the first journalists at the scene of the British Airtours crash in 1985 and later provided eyewitness reporting during the Manchester riots in 2011.
It added that he had “driven meaningful social change” with reporting that led to Clare’s Law, or the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, and that he “built and led award winning newsrooms, mentored generations of journalists and championed opportunity and diversity long before it became an industry standard”.
Pickford said: “I see this as recognition of the fact that commercial radio news remains a trusted source of information for so many people who don’t necessarily listen to speech based radio or watch TV news bulletins.
“I personally have been privileged to have reported on part of the history of Manchester and we even helped save lives with campaigns such as Clare’s Law.”
British Empire Medal
Dr Keith Ruddle and Jill Thorley – For services to the community in Chipping Norton
Husband and wife Dr Keith Ruddle and Jill Thorley were recognised as volunteer co-ordinators for non-profit monthly newspaper Chipping Norton News.
Both have spent 26 years volunteering at the newspaper but are not journalists by trade and started when they had full-time jobs.
Green Templeton College at the University of Oxford, where Dr Ruddle is an emeritus fellow, said the pair revived the production of Chipping Norton News when it temporarily stopped in 1999.
Ruddle said the BEMs are “very much a reflection of the great team effort that helped provide valuable communication for the town’s community”.
Correction: This article originally stated that Alex Mahon was awarded an OBE. In fact, it was a CBE. This has now been corrected.
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