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Jon Snow (journalist)

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This article is about the British newscaster. For other people named Jon or John Snow, see John Snow.
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Jon Snow
At the Channel 4 awards on 23 January 2008
BornJon Snow
(1947-09-28) 28 September 1947 (age 77)
Ardingly, Sussex, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Journalist, television presenter
Notable creditChannel 4 News
SpousePrecious Lunga (m.2010)
Children2
RelativesPeter Snow, Dan Snow

Jon Snow (born 28 September 1947) is a British journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known as the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News.

Snow has held numerous honorary appointments, including as Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.

Early life

Snow was born in Ardingly, Sussex. He is the son of schoolmaster and Bishop of Whitby, George D'Oyly Snow, grandson of First World War general Thomas D'Oyly Snow (about whom he writes in his Foreword to Ronald Skirth's war memoir The Reluctant Tommy) and cousin of retired BBC television news presenter Peter Snow.

Education

Snow was educated at independent school, Ardingly College, where his father was headmaster. In 2013, he recounted how the inquiry into Jimmy Savile had allowed him to re-evaluate his own childhood when he was molested by one of the school's domestic staff. Snow later attended the independent St Edward's School in Oxford. When he was 18 he spent a year as a VSO volunteer teaching in northern Uganda.

After mixed success in his first attempt to pass his A level qualifications, he moved to the Yorkshire Coast College, Scarborough, where he later obtained the necessary qualifications to gain a place studying law at the University of Liverpool. However, he did not complete the degree, being rusticated for his part in a 1970 anti-apartheid student protest, which he later described as "an absolute watershed in my life". However he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at Liverpool University in 2011.

Life and career

After leaving Liverpool, Snow worked for New Horizon Youth Centre, a day centre for homeless young people in central London, an organisation with which he has remained involved and of which he subsequently became chairman. Snow was an assistant to Lord Longford.

Journalist

Snow in June 2007.

He served as ITN's Washington correspondent (1983–1986) and as diplomatic editor (1986–1989) before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989. In 1992 he was the main anchor for ITN's Election Night programme, broadcast on ITV; he presented the programme alongside Robin Day, Alastair Stewart and Julia Somerville. (Previously ITN's programme had typically been presented by Alastair Burnet, who left ITN in 1991. The 1992 election night programme was the only one hosted by Snow. He was replaced by Jonathan Dimbleby from 1997 onwards.) He has won several RTS Awards – two for reports from El Salvador, one for his reporting of the Kegworth air disaster and two as "Presenter of the Year".

In 2002 he returned to radio, presenting Jon Snow Reports on Oneword Radio, a weekly show and podcast. He wrote regular articles for the Channel 4 News website and 'Snowmail' – a daily email newsletter on the big stories coming up on the evening edition of Channel 4 News.

He is known for his vast collection of colourful ties and socks.

On 14 June 2011, Snow presented the multiple award-winning investigative documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, directed by Callum Macrae, which documented war crimes committed in the final days of the Sri Lankan conflict in 2009. The programme consisted of some of the most horrific footage ever broadcast in the UK; its second part, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished was broadcast in March 2012.

Snow declined an OBE because he believes working journalists should not take honours from those about whom they report.

Memorable incidents

Whilst working as a journalist in Uganda, he flew sitting next to president Idi Amin in the presidential jet. He has recounted how whilst Amin appeared to be asleep he thought seriously about taking Amin's revolver and shooting him dead, but was worried about the consequences of firing a loose round in a jet.

In 1976, Snow rejected an approach by the British intelligence services to spy on his colleagues. At first he was asked to supply information about the Communist Party, but he was then asked to spy on certain "left-wing people" working in television. In return he would have received secret monthly, tax-free payments into his bank account, matching his then salary.

In 2003, at the height of the "dodgy dossier" affair, Alastair Campbell walked into the studio to rebut statements by the BBC. Without notes or preparation, Snow questioned Campbell about the affair.

In 2004, Snow published an autobiography, "Shooting History".

He refuses to wear any symbol which may represent his views on air; in the run up to Remembrance Day, he condemned what he called 'Poppy Fascism' because "in the end there really must be more important things in life than whether a news presenter wears symbols on his lapels".

On 28 February 2008, Snow courted more controversy by claiming that the silence of the British media on the decision to allow Prince Harry to fight in Afghanistan was unacceptable, with the following statement: "I never thought I'd find myself saying thank God for Drudge. The infamous US blogger has broken the best kept editorial secret of recent times. Editors have been sworn to secrecy over Prince Harry being sent to fight in Afghanistan three months ago." These remarks provoked criticism from some members of the public and other media outlets, with some accusing Snow of wishing to undermine the safety of the Prince and his troops and (according to Snow himself at the end of that day's bulletin and later reported in the Daily Mail) one captain in the armed forces called Snow's actions "treason".

On 9 February 2009, Snow interviewed Lt-Col Yvonne Bradley, the military counsel for Binyam Mohamed, a British resident detained for five years at Guantanamo Bay. Snow asked if Mohamed's allegations of torture were justified. Lt-Col Bradley said there was no doubt at all that he had been tortured. Mohamed was released and returned to Britain on 23 February 2009. In November 2010 Snow was sent to Haiti to report on the cholera outbreak.

On 29 August 2012, Snow carried the Paralympic Torch in the relay prior to the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Personal life

In 1979 Snow was briefly engaged to fellow ITN journalist Anna Ford, who later became an equally high profile television news presenter. For 35 years his partner was human rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, with whom he has two daughters. In March 2010 he married Precious Lunga, a Zimbabwe-born academic.

He was a school governor for many years at Brecknock Primary School, Camden, London.

Affiliations

  • Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008, regularly attending ceremonial events at the University. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford Brookes – Doctor of the University.
  • Honorary Fellow (since 15 February 2006) of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an annually-conferred lifetime honour which allows the recipient to use the initials Hon FRIBA after his or her surname. Snow has an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen, in recognition of his services to broadcasting.
  • Patron of Reprieve, a legal action charity which uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay.
  • Patron of the African Prisons Project, an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to bring dignity and hope to men women and children in African prisons through health, education, justice and reintegration.
  • Chair of New Horizon Youth Centre, the charity of which he was Director during the 1970s.
  • Patron of the DIPEx Charity, a UK-based charity that produces two health websites, Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk, featuring people's real life experiences of health and illness.

Bibliography

File:ShootinghistorySnowbookcover.jpg
Book cover of Shooting History

Snow published his autobiographical work, Shooting History, in 2004. The book was published by Harper Perennial and details Snow's life from his childhood, up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

References

  1. Ronald Skirth; Jon Snow (16 April 2010). Duncan Barrett (ed.). The Reluctant Tommy: An Extraordinary Memoir of the First World War. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-74673-2Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. Snow, Jon (3 May 2005). Shooting History. London: Harper Perennial. p. 352. ISBN 0-00-717185-4.
  3. "Jon Snow recalls childhood abuse". BBC NEWS. 25 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Jon Snow – Chancellor". Oxford Brookes University. Archived from the original on 2 March 2004.
  5. ^ David Rowan. "Interview: Jon Snow, Channel 4 News". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  6. Anniversary of student occupation
  7. University of Liverpool Alumni – Jon Snow
  8. "Why I love Jon Snow", Sarah Dempster, Guardian.co.uk, 17 May 2007; retrieved 13 June 2010
  9. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sri-lankas-killing-fields/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
  10. ^ "Jon Snow Exclusive Interview". National Union of Students. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. Nancy Banks-Smith (17 June 2002). "The hair apparent". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  12. Desert Island Discs interview, time:0:29:25, BBC Radio 4, 30 January 2011
  13. Mark Hollingsworth; Richard Norton-Taylor (1988). "MI5 and the BBC – Stamping the 'Christmas Tree' files". Blacklist: The Inside Story of Political Vetting. London: Hogarth Press. p. 104. ISBN 0-7012-0811-2). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  14. Colin Wills (13 December 1998). "Interview: Jon Snow: I survived wars, Gadaffi and camel for lunch". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  15. Ed Vulliamy (25 March 1998). "Anthrax follies; 'Planted' intelligence is a war correspondent's nightmare". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  16. "Channel 4 News at 25: Jon Snow". Channel 4 News. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  17. Jon Snow Rails Against 'Poppy Fascism'
  18. Channel 4 – News – Snowmail: Prince Harry in Afghanistan
  19. Barrow, Becky (9 February 2011). "the Daily Mail". London.
  20. IMG.dailymail.co.uk
  21. Kay, Richard (23 June 2010). "And finally, Jon Snow weds at 62 (and his new bride is just 35)". Daily Mail. London.
  22. "Fine words, now let's see some substance". Times Educational Supplement. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  23. "Recently Retired Tate Trustees". Tate Gallery. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  24. "Minutes of the Board of Trustees – March 2008". National Gallery. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  25. "Jon Snow – Doctor of the University (HonDUniv)". Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  26. "Undergraduate Courses – Film & Media Studies". University of Stirling. Archived from the original on 25 October 2005.
  27. "RIBA announces 16 Honorary Fellowships". 29 September 2005.
  28. "Jon Snow new CTC President". Cyclists' Touring Club. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  29. "Reprieve Update" (PDF). Reprieve. December 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  30. "Our People". African Prisons Project. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  31. "About Us". Media Legal Defence Initiative. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  32. "Who we are". Trees for Cities. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  33. "Our Chair". New Horizon Youth Centre. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  34. "Ambassadors". Ambitious about Autism. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  35. "Healthtalkonline". Healthtalkonline main website.
  36. "Youthhealthtalk". Youthhealthtalk main website.
  37. "Healthtalkonline About Us". Healthtalkonline main website.
  38. Snow, Jon (2004). Shooting History. London: Harper Perennial.

External links

Preceded byJeremy Paxman RTS: Television Journalism
Presenter of the Year
2003 		Succeeded byJohn Stapleton
Preceded byJeremy Paxman RTS: Television Journalism
Presenter of the Year
2009 		Succeeded byJulie Etchingham
Preceded byJulie Etchingham RTS: Television Journalism
Presenter of the Year
2011 		Succeeded byAnna Botting
Academic offices
Preceded byBaroness Kennedy of The Shaws Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University
2001–2008 		Succeeded byShami Chakrabarti, CBE

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