John Simpson @ EIBF

 

Who among us wouldn’t covet John Simpson’s air miles? His destinations we might not relish quite so much. Just back from Afghanistan and now en-route to Iraq, Simpson appears addicted to life in the danger zone. In between dodging Taliban mines and Baghdad bombs, he still finds time to write books. His latest, Unreliable Sources, is a sweeping history of journalism in the 20th century. Reaching as far back as the Boer War, Simpson shows there’s little new in news reporting. What we might think of as modern media features - from staged events to control-freak press proprietors - are long-established. Speaking for over an hour, without notes, Simpson is authoritative, unstuffy and forthright. He’s clearly proud of the BBC’s pre-eminence in news reporting, but less complimentary about Fox News. And he laments the demise of the foreign correspondent, believing news agencies are a poor substitute for on-site reporters. Asked to name his most difficult interview, he recalls a fart-filled encounter with Colonel Gadaffi. But he has only kind words about Nelson Mandela – “as nice as you’d hope him to be”. Judging by the warm and prolonged applause, his audience feels the same way about Simpson himself. [James Carson]