Quote:
Two of the most respected broadcasters at the BBC have challenged the huge salaries that newsreaders are paid.
Andrew Marr, the outgoing political editor, said that they received far too much for simply "reading an autocue" and John Humphrys, who presents the Today programme on Radio 4, said their jobs required "no brain". Both men made their remarks at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival.
They named no names, but they could only be referring to the likes of Fiona Bruce and Huw Edwards.
Although Marr, 46, and Humphrys, 62, both earn around £150,000 a year from the BBC, their income is dwarfed by the deals struck by some newsreaders.
Bruce, 41, who presents BBC1's Ten O'Clock News and Crimewatch, is said to earn £400,000 while Edwards, 43, is believed to be on £250,000.
Natasha Kaplinsky and Dermot Murnaghan are said to be on similar salaries.
No one was available for comment yesterday but the BBC said that their salaries reflected the "market price" and scarcity of individuals capable of anchoring major news shows.
Telegraph
£400,000?! That's on a par with some Premiership footballers!
But using our licence fee
