Jon Snow | |
|---|---|
 Snow in 2011 | |
| Born | Jonathan George Snow (1947-09-28)28 September 1947 (age 78) |
| Education | Scarborough TEC University of Liverpool |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist,television presenter,news anchor |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Notable credit | Channel 4 News (1989–2021) |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Madeleine Colvin (separated) |
| Children | 3 |
| Father | George D'Oyly Snow |
| Relatives | Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow (grandfather) Peter Snow (cousin) Dan Snow (cousin) |
Jonathan George Snow (born 28 September 1947) is an English journalist and television presenter. He is best known as the longest-running presenter ofChannel 4 News, which he presented from 1989 to 2021.[1] On 29 April 2021, Snow announced his retirement from the role; his final programme aired on 23 December 2021. AlthoughChannel 4's news programming is produced byITN, Snow was employed directly by the broadcaster.[2]
Snow has held numerous honorary appointments, includingChancellor ofOxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.[3]
Snow was born inArdingly,Sussex, the son ofGeorge D'Oyly Snow,Bishop of Whitby, and Joan, a pianist who studied at theRoyal College of Music.[4] He is a grandson ofFirst World War GeneralSir Thomas D'Oyly Snow (about whom he writes in his foreword toRonald Skirth's war memoirThe Reluctant Tommy)[5] and is the cousin of retiredBBC television news presenterPeter Snow.[4] He grew up atArdingly College, where his father was headmaster. In 2013, he recounted how theinquiry into Sir Jimmy Savile had allowed him to re-evaluate his own childhood, having been molested by one of the college's domestic staff when he was aged six.[6]
Snow was awarded a choral scholarship byWinchester Cathedral. He spent five years atthe Pilgrims' School, which educates the choristers ofWinchester Cathedral Choir. He subsequently attendedSt Edward's School in Oxford.[7] When he was 18, he spent a year as aVSO volunteer teaching inUganda.[8][1]
After mixed success in his first attempt to pass hisA-level qualifications, he moved to theYorkshire Coast College,Scarborough, where he later obtained the necessary qualifications to gain a place reading Law at theUniversity of Liverpool. However, he did not complete his undergraduate studies, being expelled for his part in a 1970anti-apartheid socialiststudent protest, which he later described as "an absolute watershed in my life".[1][9]
After his law degree studies were terminated at Liverpool University, Snow was hired byLord Longford[10] to direct the New Horizon Youth Centre, a day centre for homeless young people incentral London,[1] an organisation with which he has remained involved and of which he subsequently became chairman.
In 1973 he became a presenter onLBC Radio, a then new commercial radio station.[1]
By 1978, he was working as a correspondent for ITN, and in November of that year was sent on a mission to Vietnam to report on the plight of the boat people.[11] He served as ITN'sWashington correspondent (1983–1986) and as diplomatic editor (1986–1989)[8] 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 alongsideRobin Day,Alastair Stewart andJulia Somerville. (Previously ITN's programme had typically been presented byAlastair Burnet, who left ITN in 1991. The1992 election night programme was the only one hosted by Snow. He was replaced byJonathan Dimbleby from 1997 onwards.) Snow has won severalRTS Awards[8] – two for reports fromEl Salvador, one for his reporting of theKegworth air disaster as well as the 1995 Award for Best Male Presenter and the 1980 Award for TV Journalist of the Year for his coverage ofAfghanistan,Iran andthe Middle East.[12]
Snow is known for sporting his vast collection of colourful ties and socks.[8][13]
While working as a journalist inUganda, he flew alongside PresidentIdi Amin in the presidential jet, and Snow has recounted how while 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.[14]
In 1976, Snow reportedly rejected an approach by British intelligence services to spy on his colleagues. At first he was asked to supply information about theCommunist Party, but he was then asked to spy on certain "left-wing people" working in television.[15][16] In return he would have received secret monthly, tax-free payments, matching his then salary.[17][18]
In 1980, in the early stages of theIran–Iraq War, he helped rescue a British ship that had become trapped in Iranian waters.[19][20]
In 2002 he returned to radio, presentingJon Snow Reports onOneword Radio, a weekly show andpodcast. He wrote regular articles for the Channel 4 News website andSnowmail – a daily email newsletter on the big stories coming up on the evening edition of Channel 4 News.
In 2003, at the height of thedodgy dossier affair,Alastair Campbell walked into the studio to rebut statements by the BBC. Without notes or preparation, Snow attempted to question Campbell about the affair.[21]
In 2004, Snow published an autobiography,Shooting History. The book was published by Harper Perennial and detailed Snow's life from his childhood up to the2003 invasion of Iraq.[22]
Snow refuses to wear any symbol that may represent his views on air; in the run up toRemembrance 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".[23]
On 28 February 2008, Snow said that the silence of the British media on the decision to allowPrince Harry to fight in Afghanistan was unacceptable:[24] "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 viewers and media outlets.[25]
On 9 February 2009, Snow interviewed Lt-Col Yvonne Bradley, the military counsel forBinyam Mohamed, a British resident detained for five years atGuantánamo Bay. Snow asked whether Mohamed's allegations of torture were justified; Bradley said there was no doubt at all that he had been tortured.[26] 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.[27]
On 14 June 2011, Snow presented the multiple award-winning investigation documentarySri Lanka's Killing Fields, directed byCallum Macrae, which documentedwar crimes committed in the final days of the Sri Lankan conflict in 2009. The second part,Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished was broadcast in March 2012.[28]
In early 2014, Snow had a debate with comedian and actorRussell Brand[29] who appeared in a Channel 4 interview about his petition for a debate on British drug laws.[30]
In June 2017, it was reported that Snow had shouted "fuck theTories" atGlastonbury.[1] He was criticised for his views on air by a guest on Channel 4 News, Conservative ministerGrant Shapps later refused to appear on the show, doubting its neutrality.[1] Shapps stated: "I don’t think he [Jon Snow] can deal in an even handed manner in any interview with a Conservative MP. He has lost all credibility."[31] MPAndrew Bridgen called for Snow's resignation, arguing that Snow's "extreme views" were incompatible with an impartial interviewer.[32] Rival presenter for the BBC,Andrew Marr, commented that if he had made similar comments, he would have lost his job.[33] Channel 4 released a statement saying that Snow had been “spoken to and reminded of his responsibilities around due impartiality”.[34]
In March 2019, while reporting at a pro-Brexit protest, Snow said that he had "never seen so many white people in one place". Media regulatorOfcom received 2,644 complaints about Snow's comment;[35] viewers "considered the comment unnecessary". A Channel 4 spokeswoman released a statement stating that it was "an unscripted observation" and that the broadcaster regretted any offence caused.[36] Ofcom investigated whether the comment "broke our rules on offensive content",[35] and ruled in August to clear him over the remarks.[37]
Following his retirement fromITN as the news anchor forChannel 4 in 2021, Snow continued his long association with the broadcaster by travelling toGreece,Japan andCalifornia to research and present his two-part documentary onHow to Live to 100,[38][39] broadcast during January 2023. The programme sought to reveal to viewers the secrets of a long, happy and healthy life by examining the lifestyles of the residents of three continents who were approaching 100 years of age.
Snow declined anOBE because he believes working journalists should not take honours from those about whom they report.[15][40]
In May 2015, Snow accepted aBAFTA Fellowship at the 2015 BAFTA Awards Ceremony.[41]
Snow was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by theUniversity of Liverpool in 2011,[42]bySussex University in 2015[43][44] and byKeele University in 2018.[45] He has an honorary degree from theUniversity of Aberdeen.
Snow is an Honorary Fellow of theRoyal Institute of British Architects.
Snow was once engaged to fellow television newsreaderAnna Ford.[46] For 35 years Snow's partner washuman rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, with whom he has two daughters.[1][47] On 26 March 2010, on the Caribbean island ofMustique, Snow marriedPrecious Lunga, a scientist who was born and raised inRhodesia (nowZimbabwe).[47][1] They had a son together by surrogacy in March 2021.[48][49] Snow lives inPrimrose Hill, north London.[50]
Known as a keen cyclist and advocate of the activity, Snow served as president of CTCCycling UK from 2007 onwards, to around 2020.[51] When his beloved Condor, titanium-framed silver hybrid cycle was stolen from his home, he publicised the theft on his blog and offered £250 reward for its safe return.
Snow served as agovernor at Brecknock Primary School,Camden, for many years.[52]
He is the cousin of the equally renowned journalist and broadcasterPeter Snow.[53]
A Channel 4 News source said that Snow, as one of the station's most recognisable faces, was employed directly by Channel 4 rather than ITN, meaning his pay cut will reduce the gender pay gap at the broadcaster rather than at the news production company.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | RTS: Television Journalism Presenter of the Year 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | RTS: Television Journalism Presenter of the Year 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | RTS: Television Journalism Presenter of the Year 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor ofOxford Brookes University 2001–2008 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |