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Alan Fisher (broadcast journalist)

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Alan Fisher
Born
Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Occupation(s)TV presenter and journalist
Years active1983–present
Employer(s)Al Jazeera English
(2005–present)
GMTV
(1992–2005)
Scottish TV
(1990–1992)
Grampian TV (1986–1990)
Northsound Radio
Moray Firth Radio
Motherwell Times
Websitealanfisher.tv

Alan Fisher is a Scottish broadcast journalist and war correspondent.

For many years he worked at GMTV, but now works for international news channel Al Jazeera English, where he is a senior correspondent at the broadcast centre in Washington, D.C.[1]

Early life

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Fisher was born in Motherwell in Scotland and attended Dalziel High School.[2][3]

He studied journalism at what was then Napier College in Edinburgh.[2] He later graduated with an M.A. from the University of Leicester, where he wrote his thesis on the work of war correspondents.[4]

Career

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Fisher began his career writing for his local newspaper The Motherwell Times and broadcasting on Hospital Radio Law while still at High school.[5] He also appeared as a panelist on a BBC Scotland Sunday afternoon current affairs for teenagers called "The Sunday Club". His first job was at Moray Firth Radio in 1983.[6][7][8] And then North Sound Radio before he moved to what was then Grampian TV (now STV North) and then Scottish TV before moving to GMTV, where he worked for 13 years. In 2005 he joined Al Jazeera.[9] He worked at both GMTV and Al Jazeera while they were launching new services. He joined GMTV in 1992. GMTV was launched in January 1993. While at GMTV, Fisher was Ireland correspondent based in Belfast for three years, senior news correspondent based in London for four and chief correspondent for six years.[10] Al Jazeera English was launched in 2006.[11]

Fisher reported from Iraq during the 2003 invasion for GMTV.[12] While at GMTV, he also covered the Irish ceasefire agreements in 1994, the Dunblane school massacre in 1996, the Indian earthquake in 2001,[13] and the 2005 London bombings on 7/7.[9][14] Fisher interviewed Irish President Mary Robinson in 1993.[15] He said the death of Princess Diana was the biggest news event he covered while at GMTV.[9]

While based in the United States, Fisher covered Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in 2012. He anchored Al Jazeera's coverage from the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa and co-anchored coverage of the three presidential and one vice-president debate. He also featured heavily in the station's coverage of President Barack Obama's second inauguration. He wrote the book Romney's Run following the election with all profits going to journalism charities.[16] He covered Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the 2020 United States presidential election and was the journalist who provided live commentary on both Barack Obama and Donald Trump's final moments in the White House as president. He also reported extensively on the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[17] In 2022, Fisher reported extensively from Ukraine during the war with Russia.[18] He also reported from Edinburgh and London on the death of Queen Elizabeth II providing live commentary at key moments and covered the double bombing in Jerusalem in November. Fisher spent two months at the end of 2023, reporting from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ramallah on the war in Gaza. This after extensive coverage in July that year on the Israeli raids in Jenin in the Occupied West Bank. In 2024, he covered the successful Trump Presidential campaign, reporting around the country then live from West Palm Beach, Florida on the evening of the election.

For the "Talk to Al Jazeera" series, his interviewees have included Martin McGuiness;[19] Joyce Banda[20] and Bill and Melinda Gates.[21]

As a reporter for GMTV, Fisher intervened on behalf of dual US-British citizen Kenny Richey who was on death row in the United States. Fisher contacted actress Susan Sarandon, provided her with GMTV reports, and issued an authorised statement on her behalf. Fisher acted on Richey's behalf one year after interviewing him in prison.[22] He is a former director and trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Scotland[23]

Awards

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Fisher was nominated for story of the year in 2008 by the Foreign Press Association in London, for his Al Jazeera piece called "Russian Advance from Gori to Tbilisi", which was written while covering the Russia–Georgia war. In that story, he followed a Russian military convoy to Tbilisi.[24] His reports were also part of the International News Emmy nominations that Al Jazeera English received for its coverage in Georgia and during the Israeli offensive in Gaza.[25][26] He was a significant part of the team which covered the 2011 Egyptian revolution, for which the channel won a Peabody Award.[27] A patron of the Young UK programme, which aims to develop the mind and broaden the horizons of young people under the age of 30, he was awarded the Inveramsay Medal in recognition of his efforts with the charity.[28]

Other work

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Fisher made a guest appearance as a journalist on the ITV program Bad Girls in 2005.[29]

He also raised thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation - officially starting, then riding, in the inaugural Oxford Cambridge Bike ride and raising money in subsequent years. [30]

He wrote a chapter for the academic and journalism book Mirage in the Desert: Reporting the Arab Spring[31] covering the use of social media and its application for Al Jazeera's award-winning coverage of the Arab Spring.[32] This article was later cited by academic Stuart Allan in his book[33] "Citizen Witnessing: Key Concepts in Journalism". He has also written and spoken about the growing use of social media by journalists.[7] He also co-authored a chapter to the book "Reporting from the Wars 1850 – 2015 - The origins and evolution of the war correspondent" [34]

Fisher was mentioned in the book An English Fan Abroad for his performance in a football match between English and German supporters at Euro 2000 after he scored two goals for the England side.[dubious – discuss][35]

He has been a speaker and chair of conferences,[36][37] and has spoken on the role of journalists and breaking news coverage in a crisis.[38] He has been involved in a number of events to mark Press Freedom Day.[39][40][41] His contribution to the ICTD Conference in Atlanta was described by one of the organisers as a "brilliant tour de force"[42] He has also chaired events at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, including a debate entitled "TV War: What is it Good For".[43]

He has spoken and lectured at the London School of Economics' Summer School[44] and at a number of universities in the UK and abroad.[45]

References

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  1. ^ "Al Jazeera Profile". Al Jazeera.
  2. ^ a b Fisher, Alan. "About Me". Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  3. ^ Reunited, Friends. "Famous Pupils at Dalziel". Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  4. ^ Fisher, Alan (6 March 2012). "Journalists lauding their dead can be a mawkish spectacle". scottishreview.net. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Scottish Review". scottishreview.net. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Alan Fisher". tvnewsroom.co.uk. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b Hamish Mackay. "Al Jazeera TV reporter Alan Fisher defends use of social media as aid for journalists". The Drum.
  8. ^ "Adam Ash". adamash.blogspot.com.
  9. ^ a b c McQueen, Craig (22 December 2005). "Good Morning: The Scots Broadcaster Quits GMTV for a Challenging New Role". Daily Record.
  10. ^ Fisher, Alan (21 July 2009). "The sofa bounces back". scottishreview.net. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Do not adjust your sets: An alternative view of the world". The Independent. London. 15 November 2006. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008.
  12. ^ "Media crews quit Baghdad". Press Gazette. 20 March 2003.
  13. ^ Spavin, Vicki (20 March 2001). "A new sense of hope is rising from the rubble; In January, Scots GMTV newsman Alan Fisher flew to India after an earthquake claimed 100,000 lives. Last week, he returned to see how people are recovering from the tragedy. Here, he tells how the nation is fighting for survival". Daily Record.
  14. ^ Fisher, Alan. "Waking Up Our World". Daily Record.
  15. ^ Cooney, John (26 May 1993). "Tea for two at palace breaks an old barrier". The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland). Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  16. ^ Burns, Andrew. "Alan Fisher: "Obama's Inauguration was Incredible"" (interview). bigissue.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  17. ^ Chaggaris, Steve. "Trump has been impeached. What happens now?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Ukraine hands over war crimes 'evidence' to international prosecutors". YouTube. 11 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Talk to Jazeera - Martin McGuinnes - 30 Nov 07 - Pt 1". YouTube. 2 December 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ Drengk, David. "Joyce Banda in 'Talk to Al Jazeera' about the future of Malawi". www.eufrika.org.
  21. ^ Fisher, Alan (2 September 2012). "Bill and Melinda Gates: Changing the world". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Sarandon bid to stop execution". CNN. 4 September 2002. Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  23. ^ "Institute of Contemporary Scotland". Company Data REX. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  24. ^ "World Service leads Foreign Press Association shortlist". Press Gazette. 17 November 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "2009 INTERNATIONAL EMMY® AWARDS NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  26. ^ Plunkett, John (12 August 2010). "International Emmy nominees include Sky News, Channel 4 and al-Jazeera". The Guardian. London.
  27. ^ "Al Jazeera English wins Peabody Award". aljazeera.com.
  28. ^ "Finals". youngprogramme.org. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.
  29. ^ "Alan Fisher". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020.
  30. ^ "TV reporter set to cycle off for heart charity". Bucks Free Press. 27 September 2004.
  31. ^ "Mirage in the Desert? Reporting The 'Arab Spring'". abramis.co.uk.
  32. ^ Fisher, Alan (2011). John Mair and Richard Lance Keeble (ed.). Mirage in the Desert? Reporting the Arab Spring. Bury St Edmunds, UK: Aramis Academic Publishing. pp. 149–159. ISBN 9781845495145.
  33. ^ Allan, Stuart (2013). Citizen Witnessing. Cambridge: polity. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-7456-5195-8.
  34. ^ Barredo, Daniel & Grattan, Steven & Turner, Barry & Rechniewski, Elizabeth & Dattan, Devin & Clarke, Patricia & Petrella, Luigi & Hannon, Brian & Durán, Ángeles & Amer, Mohammedwesam & Mitić, Aleksandar & Matthews, Julian & Fisher, Alan. (2018). Reporting from the Wars 1850 – 2015. The origins and evolution of the war correspondent
  35. ^ Miles, Kevin (2000). An English Fan Abroad: Euro 2000 and Beyond. Rebel Incorporated. ISBN 9781841950662. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  36. ^ "Countering radicalisation: perspectives and strategies from around the globe" (PDF). googleusercontent.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  37. ^ "Increasing the Pace of Budget Transparency - Webcast and Liveblog | World Bank Live". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  38. ^ http://www.iderweb.org/IDER%20Conference%20Programme.pdf[permanent dead link‍]
  39. ^ "Alan Fisher - Cazhenshaw's Weblog". wordpress.com.
  40. ^ "AEJ UK Section - World Press Freedom Day". aej-uk.org. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  41. ^ "World Press Freedom Day 2016". www.unesco.org.
  42. ^ "Mobiles, Social Media and Democracy". Tim Unwin's Blog. 15 March 2012.
  43. ^ "The Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival" (PDF). geitf.co.uk.[permanent dead link‍]
  44. ^ "Polis – POLIS Journalism Conference: Reporting The World March 23rd #POLIS12". Polis. 11 May 2011.
  45. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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Selected works

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