Lessons of a lifetime help to deliver Thomson Foundation's mission
30/07/2021
Few jobs offer the opportunity to be bombed in Baghdad, set up an international TV news organisation and dance with the Pope.
I experienced all three during more than 35 years in journalism before being appointed chief executive of the Thomson Foundation in 2011. Each provided vital lessons in helping me to carry out the foundation's main purpose: supporting journalists in improving their skills and strengthening their businesses to help everyone get an honest account of what is happening in the world.
The moral of the story is you learn something from every experience. No-one can take away that knowledge, and the trick is to turn it to good use on a future occasion. You often learn more from the negatives than the positives: for example, working for a bad boss is dispiriting but can show you how not to behave when you are in charge.
I have been fortunate in my career that the bad bosses have been few and far between. From newspapers to local radio, national and international news agencies, and editing national and international television news services, I've had the privilege to work for - and learn from - some of the world's finest. So, what about those seminal experiences?
Image: Nigel interviewing Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, in Baghdad in January 1991, shortly before the outbreak of bombing in the first Gulf War
The value of training In 1991, I found myself as the producer for the UK television news network, ITN, in Baghdad when it was bombed by coalition forces after Iraq invaded Kuwait. While I was an experienced TV journalist, it was my first foreign assignment, and first in a war zone - a situation for which I had had no formal training.
Lessons learnt: The right training is vital for you to feel comfortable in the job and perform at your best; and whichever side of a conflict you may find yourself on, the overwhelming majority of ordinary people in any situation are decent, friendly and you get the best results as a journalist by treating them with respect.
Understanding cultures In 1994, I helped set up the international television wing of the Associated Press news agency and, as head of news, led the merger of its services with those of rival WTN which it bought in 1998.
Lessons learnt: As a provider of news coverage to most countries in the world, every nation has its own news culture and values. It is important to understand the local culture of wherever you are working. As digital technology evolved, it became important for journalists to understand the best technology to gather and distribute their stories.
-- Play
-- --
Watch: Nigel as head of news at APTV in the mid-1990s (from 0:43)
Storytelling skills And finally . dancing with the Pope. In 1982, as a reporter for the British national news agency, the Press Association, I covered the visit of the Pope to Liverpool. Outside the city's Catholic cathedral, I was standing next to John Paul II as he sang and swayed to the music with an ecstatic crowd. A colleague from the British tabloid, The Sun, reported a more colourful version that the Pope danced a jig of joy.
Lessons learnt: While my version was more strait-laced - and accurate - the idea of dancing with the Pope was more likely to keep the reader's interest then - and now! While being a news agency reporter instilled the importance of accuracy, the story is a reminder that telling a good story well is the essence of journalism. If we don't think about engaging an audience, we are talking to ourselves.
More from the archives: Nigel as an ITN TV producer in 1986, at a Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, UK
Nigel with an ITN cameraman filming at the Red October Mine in Donetsk, Ukraine, during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
Telling a good story well is the essence of journalism. If we don't think about engaging an audience, we are talking to ourselves.
Nigel Baker, chief executive, Thomson Foundation
Related content
Parting shot: The greatest reward has been helping to progress the careers of countless journalists - Nigel Baker
Thomson Foundation appoints Caro Kriel - a veteran journalist with more than 20 years' experience in international news - as its new CEO
Change at the top: Thomson Foundation has announced that Nigel Baker, chief executive since 2012, will retire from the role in July 2021
Explore our projects across the globe
LINK: | http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/lessons-of-a-lifetime-help-to-... |
See more stories from thompsonfoundation |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
25/04/2024
Inside the Archives: Highlighting the Importance of Preservation for the Festival's 40th Edition
Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...
25/04/2024
SNS Dealer Of The Year Awards: See The Full List Of Winners
alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...
25/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...
25/04/2024
Peacock Subs Jump 55% YoY to 34M in Q1 2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...
25/04/2024
Seattle Kraken Inks Deals with Tegna and Prime Video
SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...
25/04/2024
Opinion: charting a cloud driven future
M2A Medias Matt Hughes asks, is it time for news broadcasting to shift to the cloud? By Contributor Published: April 25, 2024 M2A Media's Matt Hughes ...
25/04/2024
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+ Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glory
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...
25/04/2024
Sinclair Names Kevin Coskren Chief Meteorologist at KTUL Tulsa
Sinclair Broadcast Group said it named Kevin Coskren chief meteorologist at KTUL, its ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
25/04/2024
Attend The Business of TV News Event in D.C. on May 2
The Business of TV News, a new one-day event featuring Martha Raddatz, Shannon Bream, Glenn Kirschner and other major figures in television news, happens at Hot...
25/04/2024
Problematic FCC Conditions On Station Sale Could Create Detroit Drama
Conditions put on the proposed sale of WADL Detroit, to Mission Broadcasting have created a potential drama in the Motor City....
25/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision 1Q Loss Widens But DTC Business Expected To Turn Profit in Second Half
TelevisaUnivision reported a $52 million loss in the first quarter, up from $3 m...
25/04/2024
Comcast Earnings Flat As Video, Broadband Sub Losses Continue
Comcast reported flat first-quarter earnings as it reduced the red ink at Peacock but continued to lose video and broadband customers....
25/04/2024
Vevo Brings Music Videos To Telly's Dual Screen TVs
Music-video network Vevo said it launched its app on Telly, the company offering consumers free dual-screen TVs in return for data about what they're watchi...
25/04/2024
Future Today Redesigns Streaming App Interfaces
Future Today said it has introduced a redesigned user interface for about half of its 300 streaming apps, including Fawesome, HappyKids and iFood.TV....
25/04/2024
Czech mates
The writer and director of a hit Czech series tell Robert Shepherd about their approach to portraying real-life Pakistani kidnappings on the small screen, while...
25/04/2024
Molinaire Creative Group opens new Liverpool facility
Notorious DIT will work with the Liverpool Film Office to increase opportunities for regional talent By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 25, 2024 Notorio...
25/04/2024
Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadp...
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
25/04/2024
Lightware Enhances Microsoft Teams Rooms with Powerful BY...
Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market and a pioneer in signal management...
25/04/2024
Net Insight secures collaboration with DMC Production to...
Net Insight has entered into a collaboration with DMC Production that positions Net Insight at the forefront of sports broadcasting in the Nordics. Net Insight ...
25/04/2024
GlobalM and scoopa announce strategic partnership to faci...
GlobalM has announced a strategic partnership with scoopa, the specialists in broadcast-quality content distribution, offering a complementary service for live ...
25/04/2024
DDish TV LLC Chooses PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box for Bro...
PlayBox Neo announces the completion of a new multichannel playout system for the DDish direct-to-home satellite television network in Mongolia. Based in the na...
25/04/2024
Legendary Producer Garth Richardson Chooses PMC Monitors...
Canadian music producer and engineer Garth Richardson also known as Gggarth due to his stutter - has embraced immersive audio by installing a PMC monitoring s...
25/04/2024
Televisa transforms its broadcast ecosystem with proven t...
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Televisa, the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company, has chosen Synamedia as its pa...
25/04/2024
OTTera partners with ThinkAnalytics to enhance personaliz...
OTTera, a leading provider of end-to-end OTT and FAST channel solutions, proudly announces its strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, a global leader in adv...
25/04/2024
Perfect Weather Forecast for American Tobacco Events Tonight and Saturday
The American Tobacco Campus will be hopping with activity tonight and this weekend with two fun events! Durham Night Market At last! The Durham Night Market i...
25/04/2024
Qurate Launches The Big Dish on The Roku Channel
WEST CHESTER, Pa. Video commerce provider Qurate Retail Group has launched The Big Dish, a new culinary-themed FAST channel on The Roku Channel....
25/04/2024
HPA Opens Submissions for 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association has announced that submissions for the 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards are now being accepted. This re...
25/04/2024
DV Earns MRC Accreditation for CTV Viewability
NEW YORK The digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify has announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Video Vie...
25/04/2024
DAZN FAST Channels to Launch on Tubi
SAN FRANCISCO Fox Corp.'s ad-supported streaming service Tubi has announced a licensing agreement with the sports platform DAZN that will see DAZN Ringside ...
25/04/2024
IAB Makes Three Appointments to Its Leadership Team
NEW YORK In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team....
25/04/2024
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam for Android, and more
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam f...
25/04/2024
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux Andy Marken April 24, 2024 0 Comments My empathy is creeping towards what I would de...
25/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting Company to Air Carolina Panthers Games on Triangle's Strongest Broadcast Signal
The Carolina Panthers and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced they have...
25/04/2024
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The accomplished saxophonist secured a spot among the elite winners of this year's ...
25/04/2024
Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born and Bred
Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general...
25/04/2024
Edward Moody Joins WBTW Myrtle Beach Anchor Team
Edward Moody is joining the WBTW Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, anchor crew, and will anchor the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts alongside Trish Williford. He comes f...
25/04/2024
MTV Moving VMAs To New UBS Arena in New York
MTV said the 2024 Video Music Awards will return to New York and take place at the new UBS Arena....
25/04/2024
Offbeat Comedy The Outlaws' Returns to Prime Video Next Month
Season three of comedy The Outlaws premieres on Prime Video May 31. Stephen Merchant co-created the show, and stars. There are five episodes....
25/04/2024
Bidders Interested in Buying Bounce, Says Scripps CEO Adam Symson
The E.W. Scripps Co. is evaluating offers for Bounce, its multicast channel for African-American viewers, according to a report from CNBC....
25/04/2024
Paramount Plus Renews Dora'
Paramount Plus has ordered a second season for Dora, the animated preschool show based on Dora the Explorer. The show, featuring Dora on a rainforest adventure ...
25/04/2024
Tribeca Festival 2024 Announces Audio Storytelling and Games Lineup
April 25th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL 2024 ANNOUNCES AUDIO STORYTELLING AND GAMES LINEUP Audio Storytelling Program Features 10th ...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...
25/04/2024
Unlock the potential of automated node-based and no-code media workflows at MPTS 2024
Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...
25/04/2024
Explore the Future of VR 180 Storytelling with Dolce Mia and Mistika VR
Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/uploads/Dolce-Mia-Header-image.png width=1040 height=533 class=lazyload wp-image-0 ...