John Humphrys
John Humphrys was the first of the BBC`s Journalists to present front line news programmes on both television and radio: "Today" on Radio Four and Television News on BBC1. He also presents "On the Ropes" and "The John Humphrys Interview" on Radio Four as well as Mastermind on BBC2.For Ten years he was a foreign correspondent with the BBC and over the years he`s reported on most major international events, ranging from the Watergate crisis and resignation of Richard Nixon to the first free elections in South Africa and assorted wars in all parts of the globe. He was based in Washington for six years (the youngest journalist ever to be appointed as a foreign correspondent in BBC Television News) and in Southern Africa for three years.
He began his career in newspapers and spent two years in Independent Television as a scriptwriter and reporter.
Humphrys became a controversial figure in March, 1995 when he was attacked by some leading Conservative Politicians, notably Jonathan Aitken. Aitken famously accused him of "poisoning the well of democratic debate" with his aggressive style. The BBC was swamped with letters and phone calls, the vast majority of which supported Humphrys. Many other Politicians and public figures from all parties rose to his defence, as did newspapers of all persuasions. The Daily Mail described him in an editorial as "one of the most brilliant journalists in the country" and the Express ran a column demanding "Humphrys for Prime Minister". It concluded: "Politics would be richer, but the BBC would probably close down through lack of interest".
John has owned a dairy farm and made a brave, if not wholly successful, attempt to turn it into an organic operation. He chairs conferences on every subject under the sun. In his spare time he tries to play the cello and conducts a one-man crusade to rescue the English language from those who are corrupting it with Americanised jargon. He admits failure on both fronts…. but he`s not giving up.
John has worked for numerous companies and has recently worked for the British Dental Association, Caspian Publishing, and Derby Evening Telegraph.
"...the debate worked really well, John made it into a very stimulating discussion from which we have received some excellent feedback"
Leapfrog Medical on John Humphrys who chaired a debate on Epilepsy in June 2006
...John was a hit with our customers. He received plenty of laughs and grabbed the attention of his audience, hence the amount of questions that were thrown his way...
Matt Potter, Royal Sun Alliance on John Humphrys who spoke at a series of their customer workshops in May 2005
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