In the Kruger Cowne News...
John Simpson CBE receives Doctor of Laws at Leeds . .
(21/07/2010)
"If 'news is the first rough draft of history', then the BBC's World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, is one of its most distinguished authors; chronicling some of the momentous events around the globe over the past forty-five years. Put simply, he is a man who gives journalism a good name"Recognizing John's greatest strength as being able to find and tell a story and tell it well, openly and without prejudice Leeds University conferred upon him the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
On 16th July in the conferment ceremony Judith Stamper, Principal Teaching Fellow, commented on John having all the basics hardwired into his DNA; the fundamental things that should be in every reporter's toolkit but often are so sadly lacking - primarily, an instinct for news. Whether flying to Tehran with Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979; dodging the bullets in Tiananmen Square; crossing into Afghanistan disguised as a woman; reporting the liberation of Kabul from the first convoy into the capital; or delivering revealing reports from Zimbabwe at the risk of being arrested or worse, John Simpson has an integrity that shines through all he does, which sometimes puts him in conflict with those in power. The BBC was not pleased, for example, when John stayed in Baghdad in the 1991 Gulf War against instructions; he also annoyed the government, which criticised the BBC for allowing what they called his biased reports from Belgrade, denouncing NATO bombing of the city during the Kosovo war. You get the feeling that John is happy to be a paid up member of the awkward squad. He speaks with passion and precision, giving us that sense of history on the page. In Rumania at the fall of Ceaucescu, John was filing a report when he heard of the execution of the president and his wife. With seconds to spare he changed the script and threw the pen down, realising it was the one from Ceaucescu's desk, the housekeeper had handed him earlier. With apt reflection John concludes 'so I'd written Ceaucescu's obituary ... with his own pen".
