Ahead of leaving Channel 4 News next month, the veteran broadcaster talks about becoming a father again at 74, being thought of as ‘a mad, bonkers, lefty oddity’ – and journalism today
Even before the pandemic, I used to find TV newsrooms, on the rare occasions I had cause to visit them, anticlimactic: hoping for (if not exactly expecting) the adrenalised mayhem of Network or Drop the Dead Donkey, their preternatural quietness always bemused me. But in the age of Covid, things have, it seems, moved up a notch. At ITV’s headquarters in London, the hush is almost eerie. Many people, if not most, still seem to be working from home. The building brings to mind some sleek new hotel in a city unpopular with business travellers. Lifts move silently up and down. The atriums are cold and empty. As I sit and watch and wait, only rarely does a human being cross the expanse of grey carpet.
But then Jon Snow appears, looking like a giant kingfisher in his suit of teal corduroy, and I cheer up a bit. Is he presenting Channel 4 News tonight? The crisp shirt and rainbow tie suggest that he is. “Yes, I am,” he says, though he can’t tell me what will be on the programme; uncharacteristically, he missed the meeting. “I went for a haircut.” A pause. “Not because you were coming. I booked it a long time ago.” His hand goes to his head, and then to the knot of his tie, which he waggles a bit before sitting down. At this point, two things strike me. First, there is his restlessness; he needs settling. Second, that it is very strange indeed that a journalist of his experience and standing should turn up with a minder. Will she be sitting in on our interview? Apparently, she will, and every so often, he will suddenly address a remark to her, rather than to me, his eyes sliding beyond my shoulder to where she sits on a sofa.
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