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From Our Own Correspondent: A Celebration of Fifty Years of the BBC Radio Programme
The flagship Radio 4 programme From Our Own Correspondent gives Britain's most celebrated reporters the chance to describe much more than they can in a normal report: context, history and characters encountered en route. And for the fiftieth anniversary of the programme Profile collected together the programme's best pieces. From Our Own Correspondent has been one of BBC Radio 4's flagship programmes for fifty years. And this book, containing dispatches from all around the world, shows why FOOC, as it is affectionately known, has become such a well-known and much-loved institution. It contains not only the observations of journalists covering the big news events of the day, but also their personal insights into how people around the world live their lives. There are dispatches from Misha Glenny in Russia, Mark Tully in India, Charles Wheeler in the USA, Jeremy Vine in the Congo, Ben Brown in Zimbabwe and Orla Guerin in the West Bank. All offer a unique perspective describing the background to events around the world as they happen.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 5, 2017
To start off,this book was written ten years ago.So some of the information is outdated.
The book itself is a behind the scenes story of journalists broadcasting BBC news or From Our Own Correspondent.Since many of 105 stories,are either boring or do not connect to me,I am deducting a point.
Secondly,there is a focus on USA in Americas section.Similar bias towards India and China is observed in Asia-Pacific section.So here I deduct another point.
So I would suggest that please do not read the book if you are not a fan of BBC
The book itself is a behind the scenes story of journalists broadcasting BBC news or From Our Own Correspondent.Since many of 105 stories,are either boring or do not connect to me,I am deducting a point.
Secondly,there is a focus on USA in Americas section.Similar bias towards India and China is observed in Asia-Pacific section.So here I deduct another point.
So I would suggest that please do not read the book if you are not a fan of BBC
March 19, 2023
There's a broad scope of events and subjects covered in this book, and each section is incredibly short -- rarely does a piece exceed three pages, and a majority of them are probably closer to the one-and-a-half to two page mark. The problem with some books of this structure is that it's very difficult to get your teeth into something so short, especially when you're immediately whisked off into the next totally different topic. This book does not suffer from this problem at all. It's an impressive mark of the writers' talents that each piece immediately pulls the reader in and leaves them, sometimes only a page later, with a lot on the imagination and a lot to think about. It's very clear why this radio programme has continued to be so popular over the decades, and this is a fitting tribute. I could happily sit down and read every single one of these.
Regardless of if you're going to dip in and read it piece-by-piece over the course of several weeks, or if you want to sit down and read it in larger chunks, it'll still hold your attention and leave you with plenty to think about, and probably a list of new things to look up and read about, too. Like every collection, I personally enjoyed some more than others, though overall the quality did not vary widely -- I can think of only one where I thought justice hadn't quite been done, but it's all a matter of personal taste. No doubt there's something in here for everyone -- probably multiple somethings, in fact.
Regardless of if you're going to dip in and read it piece-by-piece over the course of several weeks, or if you want to sit down and read it in larger chunks, it'll still hold your attention and leave you with plenty to think about, and probably a list of new things to look up and read about, too. Like every collection, I personally enjoyed some more than others, though overall the quality did not vary widely -- I can think of only one where I thought justice hadn't quite been done, but it's all a matter of personal taste. No doubt there's something in here for everyone -- probably multiple somethings, in fact.
April 5, 2008
Broadcasters like to remind us these days of how lucky we are to live in an age of 24-hour news. Instant access to global events, they say, means we are better informed about our planet than ever before, with front-row seats at the theatre of history. Perhaps. But after Britney Spears’ marital break-up is reported for the fourth time in an hour, or yet another tragic day unfolds in the Middle East, the brave new world of 24/7 news coverage starts to wear thin. A diet of bland offerings has left us with an appetite for more meat on the bones, more spice in the sauce.
Which is probably why From Our Own Correspondent continues to be one of the most popular programmes on BBC radio. For 50 years, international correspondents have been filing reports to FOOC (as it’s affectionately known), offering a closer look behind the headlines or a glimpse into the way of life in another part of the world. It’s this enduring formula which is celebrated in a selection of reports that give readers a flavour of FOOC.
Many of the contributors’ names will be well-known to BBC viewers and listeners. John Simpson is in here, as well as Martin Bell, Charles Wheeler and Bridget Kendal. Others may be less familiar, but all clearly relish the chance to break free from the constraints of day-to-day journalism.
The programme encourages its contributors to show a more relaxed face, and to let some of their personal emotions filter into their dispatches. In a report from Iran, for example, Natalia Antelava confesses to mixed feelings after witnessing the public hanging of a serial child killer: “Part of me was appalled by this shameless exhibition of death, by the sheer excitement it was causing. But it was something else that I felt most uncomfortable with. And that was my own feelings of approval.”
Reporting from Darfur, Hilary Andersson lets rip at the United Nations’ mealy-mouthed response to the massacre of Sudan’s black Africans. "Surely if genocide, the ultimate crime against humanity, matters, we should at least have the courage to define where it is happening and quickly, and then act, or admit we live in a world that tolerates it.”
Meanwhile, Diana Goodman’s maternal feelings bubble to the surface during a visit to a Russian orphanage, where children, most of them perfectly healthy, are treated like mental retards. “Each night now before I go to sleep I think of the pinched and lonely little faces of the children at the Internat as they lie staring into the darkness in their narrow beds.”
Parental emotions are at the heart of what has become the programme’s most popular report. Fergal Keane’s dispatch takes the form of a letter to his new-born son, Daniel. Keane reflects on the cruelty to children that he’s witnessed as a reporter, and the fierce protectiveness he now feels towards Daniel.
Some of the reports have a “first draft of history” feel to them, having been written within hours of momentous events, such as the end of the Prague Spring, Khruschev’s denunciation of Stalin and the Tsunami. Jacky Rowland’s dispatch from Belgrade following the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic is an exhilarating piece, all the more so because she had been ordered out of Yugoslavia only days before. Daniel Lak, meanwhile, has his expectations of a tranquil tour of duty in Nepal rudely shattered when the heir to throne goes on a killing spree at the royal palace.
The reports also provide sobering reminders of how dangerous the life of a foreign correspondent can be. Richard Williams narrowly escapes death in the Congo, Ben Brown is equally lucky after an encounter with a gang of land-grabbing thugs in Zimbabwe, and Dominic Hughes spends a fearful night lost in the Australian outback. But it’s Frank Gardner’s despatch that highlights most graphically the hazards of international reporting. The day after filing his piece on the worsening security situation in Saudi Arabia, Gardner was seriously wounded in a gunfire attack, and now reports from a wheelchair.
But FOOC isn’t all doom and gloom. There are quirky reports that shine a light on surprising facets of life in places we thought we knew well. There’s the English comedy show, hardly known in Britain, that’s become compulsive viewing in Germany where it’s transmitted every New Year’s Eve. Then there’s “Mr Computer”, a technician in Kabul who’s somehow managed to preserve an archive containing 30 years of broadcasts from Afghan radio. And in Montana Rob Watson finds the entire state seems to have gone all out for trout. “ ‘Welcome to the town of Ennis’, the road sign said. ‘Population 660, trout 11,000,000’ ”.
It must have been hard for the book’s editor, Tony Grant, to winnow down thousands of reports from the past 50 years to just over 100, and he admits that the final choice came down to his own personal favourites. Most areas of the world are covered, with some, such as Iran and China, featured several times. It’s disappointing to see no contributions from Canada, Scandinavia or Central America, especially since some of what was included could easily have been discarded. In Frances Harrison’s report, we learn less about the Bengali mystics known as Bauls than about their notion that she is Princess Diana’s sister. And it’s difficult to see why Barnaby Mason’s rambling report on plain speaking in the diplomatic world made it into the book at all. While some contributions are overdone, others are frustratingly short, notably James Robbins’ tantalising despatch from North Korea. But these are minor gripes. Overall, the quality of writing is high and there's a good mixture of the serious, the sublime and the silly.
Some of the most enjoyable contributions are from the Americas. Elliott Gotkine finds the Bolivian navy harbouring hopes that their landlocked country will some day regain a coastline lost to Chile in the 19th century. In the meantime, the only opportunity for naval gazing in Bolivia is on the waters of Lake Titicaca.
Before heading home, Gavin Esler’s final report reflects on his time in the US. While critical of Americans who show no curiosity about the outside world, he's generous in his praise for their candour and hospitality. In a Wyoming diner, his producer, in a clipped English accent, asks the waitress what she recommends for someone who does not eat red meat. "Why honey, I recommend you leave Wyoming." The diner is filled with laughter, and within minutes the two visitors are making new friends.
Esler’s dispatch is FOOC at its finest: an experienced reporter sharing stories with an enraptured audience. It’s one of many in this fine selection that will appeal to a wide range of readers, be they armchair travellers, history buffs or news junkies. Even better, there’s not a single mention of Britney Spears.
Which is probably why From Our Own Correspondent continues to be one of the most popular programmes on BBC radio. For 50 years, international correspondents have been filing reports to FOOC (as it’s affectionately known), offering a closer look behind the headlines or a glimpse into the way of life in another part of the world. It’s this enduring formula which is celebrated in a selection of reports that give readers a flavour of FOOC.
Many of the contributors’ names will be well-known to BBC viewers and listeners. John Simpson is in here, as well as Martin Bell, Charles Wheeler and Bridget Kendal. Others may be less familiar, but all clearly relish the chance to break free from the constraints of day-to-day journalism.
The programme encourages its contributors to show a more relaxed face, and to let some of their personal emotions filter into their dispatches. In a report from Iran, for example, Natalia Antelava confesses to mixed feelings after witnessing the public hanging of a serial child killer: “Part of me was appalled by this shameless exhibition of death, by the sheer excitement it was causing. But it was something else that I felt most uncomfortable with. And that was my own feelings of approval.”
Reporting from Darfur, Hilary Andersson lets rip at the United Nations’ mealy-mouthed response to the massacre of Sudan’s black Africans. "Surely if genocide, the ultimate crime against humanity, matters, we should at least have the courage to define where it is happening and quickly, and then act, or admit we live in a world that tolerates it.”
Meanwhile, Diana Goodman’s maternal feelings bubble to the surface during a visit to a Russian orphanage, where children, most of them perfectly healthy, are treated like mental retards. “Each night now before I go to sleep I think of the pinched and lonely little faces of the children at the Internat as they lie staring into the darkness in their narrow beds.”
Parental emotions are at the heart of what has become the programme’s most popular report. Fergal Keane’s dispatch takes the form of a letter to his new-born son, Daniel. Keane reflects on the cruelty to children that he’s witnessed as a reporter, and the fierce protectiveness he now feels towards Daniel.
Some of the reports have a “first draft of history” feel to them, having been written within hours of momentous events, such as the end of the Prague Spring, Khruschev’s denunciation of Stalin and the Tsunami. Jacky Rowland’s dispatch from Belgrade following the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic is an exhilarating piece, all the more so because she had been ordered out of Yugoslavia only days before. Daniel Lak, meanwhile, has his expectations of a tranquil tour of duty in Nepal rudely shattered when the heir to throne goes on a killing spree at the royal palace.
The reports also provide sobering reminders of how dangerous the life of a foreign correspondent can be. Richard Williams narrowly escapes death in the Congo, Ben Brown is equally lucky after an encounter with a gang of land-grabbing thugs in Zimbabwe, and Dominic Hughes spends a fearful night lost in the Australian outback. But it’s Frank Gardner’s despatch that highlights most graphically the hazards of international reporting. The day after filing his piece on the worsening security situation in Saudi Arabia, Gardner was seriously wounded in a gunfire attack, and now reports from a wheelchair.
But FOOC isn’t all doom and gloom. There are quirky reports that shine a light on surprising facets of life in places we thought we knew well. There’s the English comedy show, hardly known in Britain, that’s become compulsive viewing in Germany where it’s transmitted every New Year’s Eve. Then there’s “Mr Computer”, a technician in Kabul who’s somehow managed to preserve an archive containing 30 years of broadcasts from Afghan radio. And in Montana Rob Watson finds the entire state seems to have gone all out for trout. “ ‘Welcome to the town of Ennis’, the road sign said. ‘Population 660, trout 11,000,000’ ”.
It must have been hard for the book’s editor, Tony Grant, to winnow down thousands of reports from the past 50 years to just over 100, and he admits that the final choice came down to his own personal favourites. Most areas of the world are covered, with some, such as Iran and China, featured several times. It’s disappointing to see no contributions from Canada, Scandinavia or Central America, especially since some of what was included could easily have been discarded. In Frances Harrison’s report, we learn less about the Bengali mystics known as Bauls than about their notion that she is Princess Diana’s sister. And it’s difficult to see why Barnaby Mason’s rambling report on plain speaking in the diplomatic world made it into the book at all. While some contributions are overdone, others are frustratingly short, notably James Robbins’ tantalising despatch from North Korea. But these are minor gripes. Overall, the quality of writing is high and there's a good mixture of the serious, the sublime and the silly.
Some of the most enjoyable contributions are from the Americas. Elliott Gotkine finds the Bolivian navy harbouring hopes that their landlocked country will some day regain a coastline lost to Chile in the 19th century. In the meantime, the only opportunity for naval gazing in Bolivia is on the waters of Lake Titicaca.
Before heading home, Gavin Esler’s final report reflects on his time in the US. While critical of Americans who show no curiosity about the outside world, he's generous in his praise for their candour and hospitality. In a Wyoming diner, his producer, in a clipped English accent, asks the waitress what she recommends for someone who does not eat red meat. "Why honey, I recommend you leave Wyoming." The diner is filled with laughter, and within minutes the two visitors are making new friends.
Esler’s dispatch is FOOC at its finest: an experienced reporter sharing stories with an enraptured audience. It’s one of many in this fine selection that will appeal to a wide range of readers, be they armchair travellers, history buffs or news junkies. Even better, there’s not a single mention of Britney Spears.
May 11, 2016
From Our Own Correspondent (FOOC) is one of the most popular programmes on the BBC and has been on air the last 50 years. It is still being aired on BBC World Service with millions of audience tuned in each week and have won several prestigious awards. This book is a commemoration of the various dispatches over the years written by various BBC correspondents and stringers. A total of 105 of its most popular dispatches that span its whole lifetime, displaying its depth, variety and brilliance are compiled this in volume.
Divided into six parts, namely Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Early Years, Africa, Middle East and the Americas, most of the locations chosen by correspondents are places nobody would go to by choice. One such place is Norilsk, a former Russian boomtown located at the far north inside the Artic Circle. It’s a place that has been abandoned by all who can leave and those remaining do so because they just can’t. Kevin Connolly met up with one if its long-term resident, Tatiania Nikolaevna, who came as a prisoner in the 1940s when she was still a teenager. Her crime – slandering the Soviet State by reciting a nursery rhyme she learnt at home. Though she’s a free woman now, she still remains there because there’s nothing for her to go back to as her family members are all dead and she is just too broke. At one stage of the interview, she reached out to Kevin and started fiddling with his airplane ticket just so she can find out how much it cost without asking him. Her heartbreaking story reveals all the flaws of the Soviet system which has ruined and shortened the lives of its population.
In another report, Andrew Harding writes about another interesting individual whom he described as the “stability among the chaos” in Chechnya. Aunt Natasha is a tiny wrinkled 60-year-old living in a village in Grozny. Here is a woman who have lived through the horrors of war and seen all kinds of violence and atrocities yet is still able to keep her wits. Andrew Harding recalled how she hooted with laughter as she describes her latest horror story – a bunch of local thugs broke into her home and having found nothing to steal, they ripped out her gold front teeth! Aunt Natasha is an independent old lady with an iron will to survive and nothing can scare her, probably because she has literally nothing to lose. But she will at last leave Grozny as she’s the only surviving ethnic Russian left in her street.
Journalists rarely reveal much about their personal life but when they do, you can bet they tug fiercely to one’s heartstrings and is filled with such raw emotions that can bring its audience on the verge of tears. My favourite piece would be Fergal Keane’s Letter to Daniel. It’s a simple yet poignant piece that grips at one’s emotion. With his newborn cradled in one arm, he used his other hand to type about all the children who were abused, hurt or killed that he came across during his ‘tour of duty’. His fierce protective instinct for his newborn child lies in stark contrast as he reminisced over his dead father whom he had never known. No surprise, this is the most popular piece ever aired on FOOC.
FOOC provides the stories and insights that look beyond the sensational headlines. Correspondents record their observations and personal perceptions of how ordinary citizens try to find normalcy amid the chaos, violence and war, which is why their accounts come with full sensory accompaniment. The stories are wide-ranging, from poignant to endearing and comical, albeit with the standard BBC dry humour. The words used are simple yet audience can sense the sincerity behind each report as the journalists laid bare their emotions.
Divided into six parts, namely Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Early Years, Africa, Middle East and the Americas, most of the locations chosen by correspondents are places nobody would go to by choice. One such place is Norilsk, a former Russian boomtown located at the far north inside the Artic Circle. It’s a place that has been abandoned by all who can leave and those remaining do so because they just can’t. Kevin Connolly met up with one if its long-term resident, Tatiania Nikolaevna, who came as a prisoner in the 1940s when she was still a teenager. Her crime – slandering the Soviet State by reciting a nursery rhyme she learnt at home. Though she’s a free woman now, she still remains there because there’s nothing for her to go back to as her family members are all dead and she is just too broke. At one stage of the interview, she reached out to Kevin and started fiddling with his airplane ticket just so she can find out how much it cost without asking him. Her heartbreaking story reveals all the flaws of the Soviet system which has ruined and shortened the lives of its population.
In another report, Andrew Harding writes about another interesting individual whom he described as the “stability among the chaos” in Chechnya. Aunt Natasha is a tiny wrinkled 60-year-old living in a village in Grozny. Here is a woman who have lived through the horrors of war and seen all kinds of violence and atrocities yet is still able to keep her wits. Andrew Harding recalled how she hooted with laughter as she describes her latest horror story – a bunch of local thugs broke into her home and having found nothing to steal, they ripped out her gold front teeth! Aunt Natasha is an independent old lady with an iron will to survive and nothing can scare her, probably because she has literally nothing to lose. But she will at last leave Grozny as she’s the only surviving ethnic Russian left in her street.
Journalists rarely reveal much about their personal life but when they do, you can bet they tug fiercely to one’s heartstrings and is filled with such raw emotions that can bring its audience on the verge of tears. My favourite piece would be Fergal Keane’s Letter to Daniel. It’s a simple yet poignant piece that grips at one’s emotion. With his newborn cradled in one arm, he used his other hand to type about all the children who were abused, hurt or killed that he came across during his ‘tour of duty’. His fierce protective instinct for his newborn child lies in stark contrast as he reminisced over his dead father whom he had never known. No surprise, this is the most popular piece ever aired on FOOC.
FOOC provides the stories and insights that look beyond the sensational headlines. Correspondents record their observations and personal perceptions of how ordinary citizens try to find normalcy amid the chaos, violence and war, which is why their accounts come with full sensory accompaniment. The stories are wide-ranging, from poignant to endearing and comical, albeit with the standard BBC dry humour. The words used are simple yet audience can sense the sincerity behind each report as the journalists laid bare their emotions.
March 4, 2009
300-plus pages of 2 - 4 page reports (1990 - 2005) grouped by continent, as well as a section "From the Past" (going back to the Cold War-era). A few involve "big" stories, such as the fall of Mobutu in Zaire; the charm of the collection comes through in the many pieces showing an attachment to the places covered, where the correspondent makes a point through the story of an ordinary person, place, or event. Definitely recommended, with an added plus that with such brief pieces the book can be read "on the go" for those with unscheduled downtime.
April 11, 2012
From Our Own Correspondent is a wonderful BBC institution, and this collection of reports is magnificent. There's a good balance between the serious and the light-hearted, and between the recent-ish (post-1990) and older. You also get, at points, the feeling that you are reading history in the making. Very enjoyable.
July 27, 2013
As you would expect, the wealth of source material means that all the pieces are well written, insightful and illuminating. However, I feel that the selection of stories is far too much biased towards recent stories and provides less of a historical context than it could.
May 9, 2010
A collection of transcripts from FOOC programme on BBC Radio 4. Journalism from all over the world at its best.
December 5, 2010
A brilliant selection of journalism that inspires you to sit down and write to try and create as opposed to merely record.
March 7, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10497488
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10497488
June 16, 2013
Terrific. Use it to make my days better, and escape for worlds new.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews