Tara Mills
BBC Northern Ireland’s Tara Mills presents Sunday Politics and Stormont Today on Monday and Tuesday nights. She shares her passion for politics and the need to give viewers a voice by holding their representatives to account.
What sparked your interest in journalism?
I’ve always had a passion for politics and the news. As a child I remember being fixated and slightly scared of the BBC’s WD Flackes. It definitely runs in the family. My mum and dad always watched the news and read the papers. My brother Richard was a war photographer for The Times so the influence of parents who were very interested and aware of what was going on in the world definitely had an impact. My sister is a very loyal viewer of all the programmes I’ve worked on. I also had a particularly inspirational politics teacher at school called Dr Doherty. I haven’t lost my passion and interest in it and hope I never will.
I’ve also been incredibly lucky. Colin McAlpin, the former arts editor at the Irish News, gave me my first break as did Mike Gaston, the former head of BCR (now Citybeat). There are quite a few of us now working at the BBC who started there. We had the opportunity to cut our teeth on stories we would normally have to wait years to cover.
How have you found your job so far and how does it differ from your previous presenting work?
Apart from the early starts? Presenting Good Morning Ulster was such a privilege, especially during a year that really stood out: the very tragic death of Michaela McAreavey, the Queen’s visit to the Republic, not to mention elections north and south of the border.
My new role presenting the Sunday Politics programme and Stormont Today is a whole new ball game. Although we’re in very difficult times economically I get a real sense from people that they want to be kept informed of what’s happening on the hill. Obviously because the decisions have the potential for real impact on all of our lives.
On television there is less time to get to the crux of the argument so interviews are slightly different and more concise. In saying that though, the Sunday morning programme gives us the chance to ask the hard questions in a slightly more relaxed environment.
Going forward, how do you see political journalism changing? And what will stay constant?
I’m not sure political journalism in the mainstream media, on a local level, has changed that much. Obviously, the ongoing Leveson inquiry in London may change things at Westminster: who knows. What has undergone dramatic change though is where we get our news; twitter has transformed that.
I’m biased, of course, but I do genuinely think the BBC is still the place where people turn to for their daily diet of news and political coverage. Stormont Today is one of the few programmes which scrutinises exactly what’s happening on the hill, and holds the politicians to account.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Asking and hopefully getting the answers to the questions the viewer is asking at home. I’ve been incredibly lucky in my career to meet such a wide variety of people caught up in sometimes awful circumstances. The reward for me is telling their stories and giving people a voice.
Where is the main room for improvement in the Northern Ireland media?
I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer that! We certainly take great care with all of our political coverage and the BBC has strict guidelines to protect everyone. I think as consumers we’re much more politically aware here than anywhere else I have worked.
When I worked in Glasgow it took quite a while to adjust to the mindset that political stories generally went much further down the running order, with sport (football) taking the top spot most of the time.
I think generally the media serves its audiences well in Northern Ireland and has had a major adjustment in the last ten years, changing from a very reactive media to one that is, for want of a better phrase, ‘normalised’.
How do you relax outside work?
I’m not sure how relaxing it is but I love getting outside with my children Daniel (five), and Aimee (four). They’re the best tonic after a busy day. I love spending time with family and friends too.
