Q&A


What made you become a journalist? My first job was in industrial research. I won a secondment to the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World programme. It opened up opportunities that eventually led to journalism. I also blame Robert Redford and seeing All the President’s Men at an impressionable age!


What other job might you have done/have you done? Engineering. I have a degree in electrical and electronic engineering and spent several years working in research and development.


When did you join the NUJ and why? It was early in my BBC career in the run-up to an industrial dispute. In a time-honoured fashion, I was cornered by a rep in the pub.


Are many of your friends in the union? Yes. Most of them.


What’s been your best moment in your career? Sharing a joke with Nelson Mandela. I told him he wore great shirts. He roared with laughter.


What is the worst place you’ve ever worked in? Colon in Panama. A grim, poverty- stricken, dangerous place. I was making a film for Newsnight. The local police asked us to leave for our own safety.


NUJ & Me


John Moylan is the BBC’s industry correspondent


What advice would you give someone starting in journalism? Think long and hard. Then trust your instincts.


Who is your biggest hero? My parents. I owe them everything and miss them every day.


And villain? There are too many to name. But life is too short to dwell on them.


Which six people (alive or dead) would you invite to a dinner party? My mum, dad and four siblings. If only.


What was your earliest political thought? That religion and politics don’t mix. I grew up near Belfast during the Troubles.


What are your hopes for journalism over the next five years?


I hope balanced, thoughtful journalism prevails and that technology gets us all closer to the story.


And fears? That it becomes impossible to find the good stuff amidst all the noise and fake news.


And the best? Too many. Japan. South Africa. New York. And the lamp room at Kellingley Colliery. I was there to see the miners emerge for the last time – the final shift after centuries of deep coal mining. A privilege.


How would you like to be remembered? As an affable colleague and a great dad.


theJournalist | 19


EVERETT COLLECTION INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO/ BBC


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