Brian Hanrahan
Encyclopedia
Brian Hanrahan was the Diplomatic Editor for BBC News
and a well known correspondent
. He also presented The World at One
on BBC Radio Four and appeared on regular cover shifts on the rolling news channel BBC News 24
. He is best remembered for his coverage of the Falklands War
of 1982.
, Hanrahan was educated at St Ignatius
, Stamford Hill
, Tottenham
. He studied politics at the University of Essex
, where he was a member of an amateur dramatic society. Hanrahan joined the BBC
in 1970 as a photographic stills clerk, then became a scriptwriter, then duty editor in the TV newsroom. He became the BBC's Northern Ireland correspondent.
, and when on , was responsible for one of the most memorable journalistic moments of the campaign, when he commented: This got him around the reporting restrictions placed by military intelligence, enabling him to reassure the public that all the British Harrier jump jet
s had returned safely without saying how many there were. Hanrahan later used the phrase as the title of his autobiography.
, and once stated that "Europe has a lot to thank Mikhail Gorbachev
for". He commentated on the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and the funeral of Yasser Arafat
in 2004.
wrote this tribute at the end of The Guardian obituary: "In the world of television news, where inflated egos are not unknown, Brian Hanrahan stood out for his modesty as well as his way with words".
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
and a well known correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
. He also presented The World at One
The World At One
The World at One, or WATO for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, which is broadcast from 1pm to 1:30pm from Monday to Friday. The programme describes itself as "Britain's leading political programme. With a reputation for rigorous and original...
on BBC Radio Four and appeared on regular cover shifts on the rolling news channel BBC News 24
BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
. He is best remembered for his coverage of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
of 1982.
Early life, education and early career
Born in MiddlesexMiddlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, Hanrahan was educated at St Ignatius
St Ignatius' College
St Ignatius' College is a Catholic secondary school for boys, aged 11–18, located in Enfield, Middlesex. Formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed their Eleven plus exam, its educational philosophy was originally based upon the Jesuit precept of Ignatius of Loyola:Its current...
, Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
. He studied politics at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, where he was a member of an amateur dramatic society. Hanrahan joined the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1970 as a photographic stills clerk, then became a scriptwriter, then duty editor in the TV newsroom. He became the BBC's Northern Ireland correspondent.
Falklands War
He joined the press corps attached to the Falklands WarFalklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, and when on , was responsible for one of the most memorable journalistic moments of the campaign, when he commented: This got him around the reporting restrictions placed by military intelligence, enabling him to reassure the public that all the British Harrier jump jet
Harrier Jump Jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is a family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations...
s had returned safely without saying how many there were. Hanrahan later used the phrase as the title of his autobiography.
Later career
During the 1980s, Hanrahan was based in Hong Kong, then in Moscow in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a critic of communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, and once stated that "Europe has a lot to thank Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
for". He commentated on the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and the funeral of Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
in 2004.
Death
He fell ill with cancer the week before the 2010 general election, and died on 20 December 2010. His colleague Martin BellMartin Bell
Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
wrote this tribute at the end of The Guardian obituary: "In the world of television news, where inflated egos are not unknown, Brian Hanrahan stood out for his modesty as well as his way with words".
External links
- BBC Profile of Brian Hanrahan
- Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Daily Telegraph, 20 December 2010
- Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Guardian, 20 December 2010
- Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Independent, 21 December 2010
- Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The New York Times, 23 December 2010