Talk:Jolyon Jenkins

Proposed revision following AfD and subsequent trimming

Following the AfD discussion and subsequent edits, I think the article may now understate Jenkins’s notability, while the earlier version arguably relied too heavily on multiple praise quotations and detailed programme lists.

I’ve therefore drafted a more concise version intended to:

* rely more on clearly independent sources

* reduce evaluative language

* foreground stronger indicators of notability (e.g. Sony award, House of Lords citation, senior editorial role)

* retain a more neutral encyclopedic tone

I’d be grateful for comments before making substantial changes to the article itself.

'''Jolyon Jenkins''' is a British investigative journalist, radio documentary producer and former magazine editor. He is known for his work for BBC Radio 4, BBC Television and the ''New Statesman'', and has produced and presented documentaries on politics, technology, social issues and the environment.

== Career ==

Jenkins worked in investigative journalism in the 1980s. He was a researcher for journalist Duncan Campbell on the proposed BBC documentary about the [[Zircon affair]], part of the ''Secret Society'' series. During the controversy over the programme, police searched the homes of journalists connected with the investigation, including Jenkins, and the offices of the ''New Statesman''.{{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Nicholas John |title=Secrecy and the Media: The Official History of the United Kingdom's D-Notice System |publisher=Routledge |date=28 May 2009 |pages=415– |isbn=978-1-134-05254-7}}{{cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=A. W. |last2=Ewing |first2=K. D. |title=Constitutional and Administrative Law |publisher=Addison Wesley Longman |date=1997 |page=652 |isbn=9780582308176}}

By the early 1990s Jenkins was deputy editor of the ''New Statesman''.{{cite news |last=Wynn Davies |first=Patricia |title=Editor denies article was stunt to lift sales: Two magazines are facing a legal tussle with the Prime Minister over the publication of rumours about his private life |newspaper=The Independent |date=28 January 1993}}

Jenkins subsequently became a regular producer and presenter of radio documentaries for BBC Radio 4. His work has included programmes for ''File on 4'', ''Out of the Ordinary'' and ''The Patch''.{{cite news |last=Sawyer |first=Miranda |title=The week in radio: Out of the Ordinary; Invisibilia – review |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 January 2015}}{{cite news |last=Sawyer |first=Miranda |title=The week in audio: The Patch; The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra; Forever Is a Long Time |newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 August 2021}}

One of Jenkins's television documentaries, ''Bordering on Big Brother'', examined the misuse of personal data. Jenkins later gave evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities during its inquiry into data protection. In its 1993 report, the committee stated that it had been "impressed by the examples supplied by Mr Jenkins of individuals who had suffered real harm from the inaccuracy or misuse of personal data".{{cite report |title=Report of the European Communities Committee on the Protection of Personal Data |series=20th Report |publisher=House of Lords |date=1993 |id=HL Paper 75 |at=para. 116}}

== Reception and recognition ==

Jenkins's radio work has been reviewed in national newspapers and magazines. In ''Radio Times'', David Gillard wrote that "Whatever subject Jolyon Jenkins is dealing with I will listen", adding that he regarded Jenkins as "one of our finest broadcasters".{{cite news |last=Gillard |first=David |title=Radio Review |newspaper=Radio Times |date=16–22 January 2016 |page=136}} Reviewing ''The Patch'', Miranda Sawyer wrote in ''The Guardian'' that Jenkins and co-producer Polly Weston "managed to find good stories" by travelling to randomly selected UK postcodes.{{cite news |last=Sawyer |first=Miranda |title=The week in audio: The Patch; The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra; Forever Is a Long Time |newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 August 2021}}

Jenkins has received awards and nominations for his radio journalism. His ''File on 4'' documentary ''The Liquidators'' won bronze in the News and Current Affairs category at the 1995 Sony Radio Awards.{{cite book |last=de Burgh |first=Hugo |editor-last=de Burgh |editor-first=Hugo |title=Investigative Journalism |publisher=Routledge |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-203-36080-4 |doi=10.4324/9780203360804}} He was named Medical Journalist of the Year by the Medical Journalists' Association in 1996 and again in 2002.{{cite news |title=Radio 4's winning streak |newspaper=Ariel |date=7 January 1997 |page=2}}{{cite news |title='Independent' writers win |newspaper=The Independent |date=27 November 2002}} His programme ''The Brixmis Story'' was nominated for Best Feature at the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards.{{cite news |title=Sony Awards 2008 – nominations |work=RadioToday |date=9 April 2008}}

== Selected works ==

• ''Bordering on Big Brother''
• ''The Liquidators''
• ''The Brixmis Story''
• ''Out of the Ordinary''
• ''The Patch''

== External links ==

• ''Out of the Ordinary'' at BBC Radio 4
• ''The Patch'' at BBC Radio 4

== References ==

{{reflist}} Frobisher2021 (talk) 13:48, 9 May 2026 (UTC)