British journalist
Kathryn Adie
CBE
DL
(born 19 September 1945)
[2]
is an English
journalist
. She was Chief News Correspondent for
BBC News
between 1989 and 2003, during which time she reported from war zones around the world.
She retired from the BBC in early 2003 and works as a freelance presenter with
From Our Own Correspondent
on
BBC Radio 4
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Adie was born in
Whitley Bay
,
Northumberland
.
[3]
She was adopted as a baby by a
Sunderland
pharmacist and his wife, John and Maud Adie,
[4]
and grew up there. Her birth parents were Irish Catholics and she made contact with her birth family in 1993, establishing a loving relationship lasting more than 20 years with her birth mother 'Babe' Dunnet. She failed to trace her birth father John Kelly, or his family from
Waterford
, despite public appeals, she knows only that he had a brother (her blood uncle) Michael.
[5]
She had an independent school education at
Sunderland Church High School
, and in 1963-1964 travelled to
Berlin
including the
Soviet Sector
of
East Berlin
to complete a German language course. She obtained her degree at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
, in Swedish and Icelandic studies.
[6]
[7]
At university she got to know the BBC presenter
Marian Foster
, who was president of the
Gilbert and Sullivan
society in which Adie performed several times.
[8]
During her third year at Newcastle, she also taught English in sub-arctic northern Sweden.
[9]
Career
[
edit
]
Radio
[
edit
]
Her career with the BBC began, after graduation, as a station assistant at
BBC Radio Durham
. From 1971 to 1975 she was at
Radio Bristol
, where she presented 'Womanwise' on Fridays at 11am.
[10]
Television
[
edit
]
By 1977, she was a
BBC South
news reporter based in Plymouth and Southampton,
[11]
[12]
before her move to BBC national television news in 1979. She was the duty reporter one evening in May 1980 and first on the scene when the
Special Air Service
(SAS) went in to break up the
Iranian Embassy siege
. As smoke bombs exploded in the background and SAS soldiers abseiled in to rescue the hostages, Adie reported live and unscripted to one of the largest news audiences ever while crouched behind a car door.
[13]
This proved to be her big break.
[14]
Adie reported extensively for BBC News, including from the north London crime scenes of serial killer
Dennis Nilsen
, in 1983.
[15]
Adie was thereafter regularly dispatched to report on disasters and conflicts throughout the 1980s, including
The Troubles
in Northern Ireland,
[16]
the American bombing of
Tripoli
in 1986 (her reporting of which was criticised by the
Conservative Party
Chairman
Norman Tebbit
),
[17]
[18]
[19]
and the
Lockerbie bombing
of 1988.
[20]
[21]
She was promoted to Chief News Correspondent in 1989 and held the role for fourteen years.
[22]
One of her most significant assignments was to report the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
. She was reportedly injured after being grazed by a bullet which had "shaved the skin off her arm", as she ran through Tiananmen Square at the height of the protests.
[23]
[24]
Nearly thirty years later, she said that she and her team were the only crew out in the square, and so were able to witness "the massacre by the Chinese army of its own citizens in Beijing in 1989", which had never been acknowledged by the government nor reported in China. She said, "... at least we were there and we have the evidence of what they did. They would love to erase it from history".
[25]
[26]
Adie famously had a public disagreement with fellow British journalist
John Simpson
, who reportedly had accused her of falsifying her reports on Tiananmen Square.
[27]
Major assignments followed in the
Gulf War
, the war in the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
, the 1994
Rwandan genocide
and the war in
Sierra Leone
in 2000.
[20]
Her trademark assignment look became flak jacket and pearl earrings.
[11]
In
Libya
she met leader Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi
. She was also shot by a drunk and irate
Libyan
army commander after refusing, as a journalist, to act as an intermediary between the British and Libyan governments; the bullet, fired at point-blank range, nicked her
collar bone
but she did not suffer permanent harm.
[28]
While she was in
Yugoslavia
, her leg was injured in
Bosnia
and she met Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karad?i?
.
[29]
A newspaper cartoon features two soldiers, one with a tattered flag "To Iraq" on the barrel of his machine gun, and the caption "We can't start yet... Kate Adie isn't here."
[30]
Her insistence upon being on the spot elicited the wry
adage
that "a good decision is getting on a plane at an airport where Kate Adie is getting off".
[31]
[32]
In 2003 Adie retired from the BBC, where she had been Chief News Correspondent.
[33]
She subsequently worked as a
freelance
journalist
, where among other work she gives regular reports on
Radio New Zealand
, as a public speaker, as well as participating in many of the 500 iPlayer episodes
[34]
of
From Our Own Correspondent
on
BBC Radio 4
. She hosted two five-part series of
Found
, a Leopard Films production for BBC One, in 2005 and 2006. The series considered the life experiences of adults affected by
adoption
and what it must be like to start one's life as a
foundling
.
[35]
In 2017 she was one of the speakers at the
Gibraltar
International Literary Festival.
[36]
After being appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) in the
2018 Birthday Honours
, Adie warned the public that journalism was under attack:
[37]
We seem to be living through a time where there are threats to journalists everywhere, whether it's repression or censorship, and it's hugely important to recognise that the intention of journalism is to tell it as it is and we need to do that more than ever now.
Adie was appointed Chancellor of
Bournemouth University
on 7 January 2019, succeeding
Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
.
[38]
In her address, she warned postgraduate journalism students that confirming information and verifying news sources was critical in the current climate of fake news. She stressed the importance of personally verifying news sources. "Getting your person there is an absolutely standard lesson... news is not news without verification. ...If you only have the station cat to send, send them!".
[39]
Awards and honours
[
edit
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Adie lives in
Cerne Abbas
,
Dorset
.
[51]
Charitable associations
[
edit
]
In 2017 Adie was appointed as ambassador for
SSAFA
, the
UK
’s oldest military
charity
.
[52]
Adie is currently also an ambassador for
SkillForce
[53]
and the non-governmental organisation
Farm Africa
.
[54]
In July 2018 Adie became an Ambassador for the medical charity
Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal
.
[55]
Adie is a fan of
Sunderland AFC
.
[56]
In 2011, she took part in the
Sunderland A.F.C.
charity
Foundation of Light
event.
[57]
Works
[
edit
]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Adie's role as a BBC television
journalist
covering the 1980
Iranian Embassy siege
in Princes Gate, central London, is included in
6 Days
. The role was played by actress
Abbie Cornish
.
[58]
The satirical British puppet TV show
Spitting Image
depicted Adie as a thrill seeker giving her the title "BBC Head of Bravery" and featuring her puppet in dangerous situations.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Kate Adie"
.
From Our Own Correspondent
. 29 August 2009.
BBC Radio 4
. Retrieved
18 January
2014
.
- ^
"Laureation address ? Kathryn Adie"
.
Laureation by Professor John Anderson, School of International Relations
. University of St Andrews. 22 June 2010
. Retrieved
5 August
2020
.
;
"Media horoscope: Kate Adie"
.
The Guardian
. 29 October 2001
. Retrieved
5 August
2020
.
- ^
David Simpson.
"Hall of Fame"
.
England's North East
.
- ^
Summerskill, Ben (14 October 2001).
"
The Observer
Profile: Kate Adie"
.
The Guardian
. London.
- ^
"War reporter Adie seeks to solve mystery of Irish father"
.
www.irishexaminer.com
. 11 April 2015.
- ^
Digitalbox.
"Parkinson - BBC Four"
.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
20 January
2024
.
- ^
"BBC One - Parkinson, Michael Palin, Kate Adie and Ricky Gervais"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
20 January
2024
.
- ^
Newcastle Journal
Wednesday 18 February 1981, page 6
- ^
"Kate Adie CBE"
.
Newcastle University
.
- ^
Central Somerset Gazette
Friday 1 October 1971, page 2
- ^
a
b
Cozens, Claire (29 January 2003).
"Flak jacket and pearls"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
21 January
2024
.
- ^
Hutchinson, Lisa (8 June 2018).
"Renowned war correspondent Kate Adie given CBE in Queen's Honours List"
.
nechronicle
.
- ^
Summerskill, Ben (14 October 2001).
"The Observer Profile: Kate Adie"
.
The Guardian
– via www.theguardian.com.
- ^
a
b
"Kate Adie"
.
BBC News
. BBC. 3 January 2003
. Retrieved
2 August
2011
.
- ^
"BBC Radio 4 - Last Word, Baroness Jowell, Will Alsop, Tom Wolfe, Dennis Nilsen"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
22 February
2024
.
- ^
"Kate Adie CBE ? Alumni and Supporters ? Newcastle University"
.
www.ncl.ac.uk
.
- ^
"The Libyan Bombing ? 1986"
.
BBC
. 14 April 1986
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
"Thatcher forced to intervene over Tebbit's 'obsessive' criticism of BBC, papers reveal"
.
The Guardian
. 23 January 2017
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
Higgins, Michael; Smith, Angela (26 August 2010). "Not One of U.S.: Kate Adie's report of the 1986 US bombing of Tripoli and its critical aftermath".
Journal of Journalism Studies
.
12
(3). Taylor & Francis Online: 344?358.
doi
:
10.1080/1461670X.2010.504568
.
S2CID
142827159
.
- ^
a
b
"Kate Adie OBE"
.
Women in the Humanities
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
Tweedie, Katrina (17 December 2018).
"Lockerbie 30 years on: The town remembers but there are few words"
.
dailyrecord
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
"Kate Adie to receive Bafta Fellowship"
.
BBC News
. 30 April 2018
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
Johnston, Lucy (27 May 2018).
"BBC legend Kate Adie was hit by Chinese bullet in Beijing massacre ? but kept quiet"
.
Express.co.uk
. Retrieved
20 March
2022
.
- ^
"Kate Adie talks about her life..."
The Westmorland Gazette
. 28 March 2003
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
Bevan, Darren (3 September 2017).
"BBC veteran Kate Adie on her role in Kiwi director's new movie"
.
Stuff
.
- ^
"Documentary ? I Was There: Kate Adie on Tiananmen Square"
(video)
.
Dailymotion
. 10 March 2020.
- ^
"Flak jacket and pearls"
.
the Guardian
. 29 January 2003
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
Adie, Kate (2002).
The Kindness of Strangers
. London: Headline Book Publishing. pp. 336?7, 425.
- ^
"He was a smart, rather vain man"
.
BBC News
. 22 July 2008.
- ^
Adie, Kate (2002).
The Kindness of Strangers
. London: Headline Book Publishing.
- ^
"BBC Veteran War Reporter Kate Adie visits Pearson Engineering"
.
Pearson Engineering
. 1 July 2019
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
Wallace, Wyndham (7 March 2011).
"News of the World: Kate Adie Interviewed On Music And War"
.
The Quietus
. Retrieved
11 March
2020
.
- ^
"Adie quits BBC after 35 years"
.
www.telegraph.co.uk
. 29 January 2003.
- ^
"BBC Radio 4 ? From Our Own Correspondent Podcast"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
- ^
"Found: Productions"
. Leopard Films. Archived from
the original
on 14 September 2013
. Retrieved
2 August
2013
.
- ^
"Gibraltar Literary Festival ? Speakers ? International Speakers"
.
www.gibraltarliteraryfestival.com
.
- ^
"Broadcaster Kate Adie warns of threats to journalism as she collects CBE"
.
British Telecom
.
Press Association
. 11 October 2018. Archived from
the original
on 28 May 2019
. Retrieved
30 June
2019
.
- ^
"Broadcaster and author Kate Adie begins tenure as new BU Chancellor"
.
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
. Retrieved
5 February
2019
.
- ^
"Kate Adie visits Bournemouth University"
.
The Breaker
. 23 January 2019.
- ^
"1990 Television Richard Dimbleby Award ? BAFTA Awards"
.
awards.bafta.org
.
- ^
The 1993 New Year Honours list
in
The Gazette
.
- ^
"Kate Adie named as County Deputy Lieutenant"
.
Dorset Echo
. 21 October 2013.
- ^
"Kate Adie OBE to Receive BAFTA Fellowship"
.
www.bafta.org
. 30 April 2018.
- ^
"Kathryn ADIE"
.
www.thegazette.co.uk
.
- ^
"Honorary Fellows 2006"
.
York St John University
.
- ^
"Honorary graduates ? Your Alumni Community ? Alumni ? Nottingham Trent University"
.
www.ntualumni.org.uk
.
- ^
"Honorary Graduates 1989 to present"
.
bath.ac.uk
.
University of Bath
. Retrieved
18 February
2012
.
- ^
"University Honours archive | Graduation | Loughborough University"
.
www.lboro.ac.uk
. Retrieved
2 February
2024
.
- ^
"Honorary Awards"
.
www.royalholloway.ac.uk
.
- ^
"Plymouth University"
. Archived from
the original
on 25 June 2014.
- ^
"Dorset History, Heritage and Media"
.
West Dorset Leisure Holidays
. Retrieved
30 April
2023
.
- ^
"Kate Adie OBE announced as SSAFA Ambassador"
.
Forces Pension Society
. 9 May 2017.
- ^
"Patrons Supporting Us ? The Prince William Award ? Skillforce"
.
Prince William Award
. 26 July 2021.
- ^
"Latest news from Farm Africa"
.
www.farmafrica.org
.
- ^
"Our Ambassadors ? Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal (OPSA)"
.
Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal (OPSA)
.
- ^
"SAFC Foundation founded"
.
Sir Bob Murray
.
- ^
"Carols of Light charity fundraising event ? Durham University"
.
www.dur.ac.uk
.
- ^
Darren Bevan (3 September 2017).
"BBC veteran Kate Adie on her role in Kiwi director's new movie"
.
Stuff.co.nz
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Courage in Journalism
|
- Maria Jimena Duzan
,
Florica Ichim
,
Caryle Murphy
,
Lilianne Pierre-Paul
(1990)
- Lyubov Kovalevskaya
(1991)
- Catherine Gicheru
,
Kemal Kurspahic
,
Gordana Knezevic
(1992)
- Donna Ferrato
,
Mirsada Sakic-Hatibovic
,
Arijana Saracevic
,
Cecilia Valenzuela
(1993)
- Christiane Amanpour
,
Razia Bhatti
,
Marie-Yolande Saint-Fleur
(1994)
- Chris Anyanwu
,
Horria Saihi
,
Gao Yu
(1995)
- Ayse Onal
,
Saida Ramadan
,
Lucy Sichone
(1996)
- Bina Bektiati
,
Corinne Dufka
,
Maribel Gutierrez Moreno
(1997)
- Elizabeth Neuffer
,
Blanca Rosales Valencia
,
Anna Zarkova
(1998)
- Sharifa Akhlas
,
Kim Bolan
,
Aferdita Kelmendi
(1999)
- Marie Colvin
,
Agnes Nindorera
,
Zamira Sydykova
(2000)
- Amal Abbas of Sudan
,
ineth Bedoya Lima
,
Carmen Gurruchaga
(2001)
- Kathy Gannon
,
Sandra Nyaira
,
Anna Politkovskaya
(2002)
- Anne Garrels
,
Tatyana Goryachova
,
Marielos Monzon
(2003)
- Gwen Lister
,
Mabel Rehnfeldt
,
Salima Tlemcani
(2004)
- Sumi Khan
,
Anja Niedringhaus
,
Shahla Sherkat
(2005)
- Jill Carroll
,
May Chidiac
(2006)
- Lydia Cacho
,
Serkalem Fasil
, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau (
Shatha al Awsy
,
Zaineb Obeid
,
Huda Ahmed
,
Ban Adil Sarhan
,
Alaa Majeed
,
Sahar Issa
) (2007)
- Farida Nekzad
,
Sevgul Uludag
,
Aye Aye Win
(2008)
- Jila Baniyaghoob
,
Iryna Khalip
,
Agnes Taile
,
Amira Hass
(2009)
- Claudia Julieta Duque
,
Vicky Ntetema
,
Tsering Woeser
(2010)
- Adela Navarro Bello
,
Parisa Hafezi
,
Chiranuch Premchaiporn
(2011)
- Reeyot Alemu
,
Asmaa Al-Ghoul
,
Khadija Ismayilova
(2012)
- Najiba Ayubi
,
Nour Kelze
,
Bopha Phorn
,
Anne Finucane
(2013)
- Arwa Damon
,
Solange Lusiku Nsimire
,
Brankica Stankovi?
,
Alexandra Trower
(2014)
- Mwape Kumwenda
,
Anna Nemtsova
,
Lourdes Ramirez
(2015)
- Mabel Caceres
,
Janine di Giovanni
,
Stella Paul
(2016)
- Deborah Amos
,
Saniya Toiken
,
Hadeel al-Yamani
(2017)
- Meridith
,
Nima Elbagir
,
Rosario Mosso Castro
,
Anna Babinets
,
Zehra Do?an
(2018)
- Anna Babinets
,
Anna Nimiriano
,
Liz Sly
,
Lucia Pineda
,
Nastya Stanko
(2019)
- Gulchehra Hoja
,
Jessikka Aro
,
Solafa Magdy
,
Yakeen Bido
(2020)
- Khabar Lahariya
newsroom,
Paola Ugaz
,
Vanessa Charlot
(2021)
- Cerise Castle
,
Lynsey Addario
,
Victoria Roshchyna
(2022)
- Maria Teresa Montano Delgado
, Women of
The Washington Post
Reporting on Ukraine (
Isabelle Khurshudyan
,
Anastacia Galouchka
,
Kamila Hrabchuk
,
Siobhan O'Grady
,
Whitney Shefte
,
Whitney Leaming
,
Heidi Levine
,
Louisa Loveluck
,
Missy Ryan
,
Samantha Schmidt
,
Loveday Morris
,
Kasia Strek
,
Joyce Koh
,
Miriam Berger
) (2023)
|
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Lifetime Achievement
| |
---|
Anja Niedringhaus
| |
---|
Gwen Ifill
| |
---|
Wallis Annenberg
| |
---|
|
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Other
| |
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