ROBIN JAROSSI

Diploma

Author and part-time journalist

By Megan Geall

Who is a person you fnd inspiring and why?

Currently I’m inspired by Gary Lineker. In an age when public life is crammed with dishonest, self-serving no-talents, he got where he is by being a superlative footballer and broadcaster. And he refused to back down for speaking out. In journalism, I’m in awe of Carole Cadwalladr’s courage and excellence.

How has the industry changed since you left City?

When I started as a reporter, the tools of the trade were an analogue phone, typewriter, and notepad. Copy was typeset and page proofs were usually couriered to the typesetters and returned the next day. Cigarette smoke and sexism foated through every offce. Magazine and newspaper budgets were huge, so TV Times, for instance, could send a photographer and writer to Monaco for an exclusive shoot with Roger Moore. Some old timers might say journalism back then – cigarette smoke and sexism aside – was often exciting and fun.

What is the most memorable interview you’ve ever done?

I interviewed Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer together – they were lovely and great fun. At the other end of the spectrum, boxer Chris Eubank was unpredictable and spiky.

What is one piece of journalism that you are proudest of?

For my book The Hunt for the 60s Ripper, I uncovered some hidden records and also talked a geographic profler in Texas into doing a unique analysis for me that threw new light on the case.

What is your fondest memory of City?

When I started at City in 1981, there was just one strand to the course – newspaper journalism – although you could specialise in the type of reporting you hoped to do. There were 20 or so students and a handful of core staff. There was an esprit de corps; we saw ourselves as the new blood of journalism. There was an energy to get stuck into stories. We felt [we were] part of the beating heart of an industry that was less than a mile and a half away. We talked about news, read newspapers, and probably in a cack-handed sort of way, tried to get stories in front of news editors. And of course, we partied. It’s where I met Jane Holland, a fellow journalism student who later became my partner and mum to my two children.

Why did you get into journalism in the frst place?

I set my heart on being a journalist while at school. While I was still at school, I’d managed to get a Saturday job working in Fleet Street as a messenger boy. I felt important, although the reality was I would just take snippets of copy and sausage sandwiches around a busy newsroom. But I was intoxicated by the newspaper industry. As I grew older, I became more determined to become a reporter – and after getting a degree, I applied to City. Most of my career has been in longform current affairs radio. I worked as a producer on Radio 4’s File on 4 and 5 Live Investigates programmes. Longform analysis gave me the time to dig into stories, to look for the real story behind the headlines. The job has taken me around the world to take that frontrow seat, to places such as Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US.