Tales from the Frontline

It is an odd admission for a books editor publishing mainly on the internet to make, but television remains the most pervasive medium of communication at our disposal. Accordingly, while its importance may be dwindling with the seemingly unstoppable rise of online journalism, the televised news broadcast is a cornerstone of the society it serves.

The BBC remains indistinguishable from British cultural identity, and as domestic channels move into global 24-hour news broadcasting, such nationalism is increasingly being used as a projection of influence. What started with CNN twenty years ago is now an international phenomenon with local roots. One of many results – most of them negative for journalism and freedom of information – is that those correspondents that develop a degree of prestige in their field develop profiles far beyond the reasonable limits of their profession. They become raconteurs for the society they represent.

Three of Britain’s foremost media voices will be speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Most recognisable amongst these will likely be Alan Johnston. The Scottish BBC correspondent became a household name in 2007 following his kidnap and four-month detention by Palestinian militants, but he was already highly respected amongst his peers for his balanced coverage of the conflict in Israel and the occupied territories. Speaking to promote his book Kidnapped: and Other Dispatches, Johnston’s talk on Thursday 14 August will offer a unique chance to benefit from his knowledge of the region now that he has seemingly left journalism behind.

Kate Adie will also be making an appearance late in the festival. Burdened with the dubious honour of being ‘the female John Simpson’, Adie was the face of BBC war reporting in the 1980s and 90s. Her breakthrough was the dramatic coverage of the Iranian Embassy seige, when Adie presented unscripted to a live audience, crouched behind a car door. A prolific writer, one can expect a wide ranging talk on Monday 25 August, drawing heavily on her decades of work on the front line.

Finally, and worthy of greatest attention, is Matt Frei. The BBC’s America editor developed a reputation as the best mainstream broadcast journalist in the field during his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. While other reporters were pandering to the Bush administration’s excuses, Frei presented a clear, unambiguous picture of the sheer desperation which the mostly black survivors left in New Orleans faced. The thinly veiled rage he spat nightly was nothing less than thoroughly researched and professionally presented. His latest role has seen him become more of a ‘talking head’; it will be interesting to hear his views on the changes being instituted at the BBC, having seen the results from both inside and outside the studio. Also worthwhile will be his reflections on the difficulties of reporting on a White House which he so systematically gutted. See him on Friday 15 August.