A formative experience for a lifetime in Journalism

Robert Moore (H’76)

My first tentative and entirely forgettable attempts at journalism and news reporting were at Repton, where I wrote for the School magazine. A sporting success, a local archaeological dig, a teacher who had a fascinating background, a fellow Reptonian with an unusual talent - if it was interesting to me, I wanted to tell the story. Even at that age, at 15 or 16, I was determined to be a reporter. In a strange way, for the 40 years that followed I have been doing the same thing: looking for stories to tell and trying to make them accessible and engaging.

If Repton was my first experiment in finding news stories, then Oxford was my apprenticeship. I was editor of Cherwell, the university newspaper. Once more I searched for that elusive local angle that brought a story to life, and I looked for trouble - the kind of trouble that would annoy the establishment and give the underdog a voice. After I graduated, I started work at ITN, the company that has been my home for a lifetime of adventure and drama.

I regard myself as the luckiest reporter in the world. I was in Moscow during the fall of the USSR, in the Middle East during the violence of the 1990s and the doomed peace process, and I have spent nearly 20 years reporting from Washington. It was a story that culminated in the volcanic Trump presidency. On January 6th, 2021, I found myself on the steps of the US Capitol, embedded in the mob that was determined to storm the building and overturn the election result. If the Trump-supporting crowd was going to engage in a violent insurrection, then I would be the witness. It was saidonly half in jest - that I was the first Englishman to storm Congress since the War of 1812. Except my only weapon was a microphone and my co-conspirator was my cameraman. I was able to interview insurrectionists as they piled through window frames and tore through the corridors of power. It was political fury and revolutionary intent disguised as patriotism.

We received a lot of recognition for our January 6th reporting, including a BAFTA award, and multiple prizes at TV and film festivals. But in truth, what I did that day was precisely the same as I have done all my working life; indeed, the same as reporters do every day and in every corner of the world. We bear witness. We tell people what we see, we put ourselves at the intersection of colliding forces, and amplify the voices of those who don’t have a platform. It doesn’t always work out. I was once sent to Mongolia when the editor intended to send me to Moldova; I have missed scoops and made mistakes; and I have often been beaten to stories by rival TV networks. But across 100 countries, and through wars, revolutions, and natural disasters, I have done my best to bring the turmoil of the world to British television screens.

I am often asked how to get into journalism and what skills are needed. My answer doesn’t change: you have to be able to listen - really, deeply listen - and you have to possess curiosity. The best stories are never revealed at a news conference or told to you by people in power. The most important resource a journalist can possess is empathy for the powerless and disregard for the powerful.

It is also never too early to practise journalism. I started at Repton and from a small School magazine in Derbyshire to the steps of the Capitol, it’s been an exhilarating ride. I wake up every day wondering whose story I can tell next.

Robert Moore (H’76) is a Washington-based foreign correspondent for ITV News. As the only TV reporter in the world who accompanied the mob into the Capitol on January 6th, he won a BAFTA in May for his news reporting. He is also the current Royal Television Society reporter of the year and won the top prizes at the Foreign Press Association and the British Journalism Awards.