Jonathan George SnowHonFRIBA (born 28 September 1947) is an English journalist and television presenter. He is best known as the longest-running presenter of Channel 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. Although Channel 4's news programming is produced by ITN, Snow was employed directly by the broadcaster.[2]
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 reading Law at the University of Liverpool. However, he did not complete his undergraduate studies, being expelled for his part in a 1970 anti-apartheid socialist student protest, which he later described as "an absolute watershed in my life".[1][9]
Career
After his law degree studies were terminated at Liverpool University, Snow was hired by Lord Longford[10] to direct the New Horizon Youth Centre, a day centre for homeless young people in central London,[1] an organisation with which he has remained involved and of which he subsequently became chairman.
In 1973 he became a presenter on LBC 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's Washington 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 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.) Snow has won several RTS Awards[8] – two for reports from El Salvador, one for his reporting of the Kegworth 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 of Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East.[12]
Snow is known for sporting his vast collection of colourful ties and socks.[8][13]
While working as a journalist in Uganda, he flew alongside President Idi 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 the Communist 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 the Iran–Iraq War, he helped rescue a British ship that had become trapped in Iranian waters.[19][20]
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.
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 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 the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[22]
Snow refuses to wear any symbol that 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".[23]
Snow in June 2007
On 28 February 2008, Snow said that the silence of the British media on the decision to allow Prince 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 for Binyam Mohamed, a British resident detained for five years at Guantánamo 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]
In early 2014, Snow had a debate with comedian and actor Russell Brand[29] who appeared in a Channel 4 interview about his petition for a debate on British drug laws.[30]
Accusations of bias
In June 2017, it was reported that Snow had shouted "fuck the Tories" at Glastonbury.[1] He was criticised for his views on air by a guest on Channel 4 News, Conservative minister Grant 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] MP Andrew 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 regulator Ofcom 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]
Other ventures
Following his retirement from ITN as the news anchor for Channel 4 in 2021, Snow continued his long association with the state-owned broadcaster by travelling to Greece, Japan and California to research and present his two-part documentary on How 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.
Awards and honours
Snow declined an OBE because he believes working journalists should not take honours from those about whom they report.[15][40]
In May 2015, Snow accepted a BAFTA Fellowship at the 2015 BAFTA Awards Ceremony.[41]
Snow was once engaged to fellow television newsreader Anna Ford.[46] For 35 years Snow's partner was human rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, with whom he has two daughters.[1][47] In March 2010, Snow married Precious Lunga, a scientist who was born and raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).[47][1] They had a child together by surrogacy in March 2021.[48] Snow lives in Primrose Hill, north London.[49]
Known as a keen cyclist and advocate of the activity, Snow served as president of CTC Cycling UK from 2007 onwards, to around 2020.[50] 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 a governor at Brecknock Primary School, Camden, for many years.[51]
He is the cousin of the equally renowned journalist and broadcaster Peter Snow. [52]
Patron of Prisoners Abroad, a charity that supports the welfare of Britons imprisoned overseas and their families.
Patron of Farms Not Factories, a UK nonprofit organisation that works to end factory farming. In March 2016 he appeared in a video for the #TurnYourNoseUp campaign.[55]
Patron of Reprieve, a legal action charity that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay.[60]
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.[61]
Chair of New Horizon Youth Centre, the charity of which he was Director during the 1970s.[64]
Ambassador of Ambitious about Autism, the UK charity supporting children and young people with autism.[65]
Patron of the DIPEx Charity, a UK-based charity that produces two health websites, Healthtalkonline[66] and Youthhealthtalk,[67] featuring people's real life experiences of health and illness.[68]
Patron of SafeHands for Mothers, a UK-based charity whose mission is to improve maternal and newborn health by harnessing the power of the visual, through the production of films.[69]
Chairman of the Heart of England Forest,[70] a charity working to create a 30,000 acre connected woodland of native broadleaf trees. In 2015 they were 12% towards their final goal and already England's largest new native forest.
Patron of Serious Trust, a charity raising funds for music schemes for young people, communities, and the aspiring next generation of musicians, as well as groundbreaking commissions.
^Waterson, Jim (17 May 2018). "Channel 4 News host Jon Snow takes 25% 'gender pay cut'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2018. 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.
^Skirth, Ronald; Jon Snow (16 April 2010). Duncan Barrett (ed.). The Reluctant Tommy: An Extraordinary Memoir of the First World War. Macmillan. ISBN978-0-230-74673-2.
