BBC journalist Fergal Keane, who has reported from some of the world’s most troubled spots including the Rwandan genocide in 1994, is to leave the BBC after nearly four decades.
Defending strong, independent journalism as he goes, the Irish journalist said the threats facing a free press from oligarchs “who see the media as a corporate tool to be traded for political favours” are now greater than ever.
Offering a strong defence of journalism and the BBC, Keane (65) told The Irish Times on Friday: “The threats to freedom, to the financial viability of a free press make this the most critical moment in my 40-plus years’ experience as a reporter.
“We live in the age of deification of super wealth, the rise of a class of oligarchs who see the media they own as a corporate tool whose influence is to be traded for political favours. This is the great fight we must engage in.
“There never was a golden age of journalism. The cynics, chancers, propagandists, liars were always among us – but they have been supercharged by social media. What gives me hope is the number of idealistic and informed young journalists I meet in the BBC and elsewhere.”
Keane said he had read many reports of the demise of the BBC over the years, and that journalists are often fighting odds that can seem overwhelming.
[ Fergal Keane, war addict: ‘You feel like a bit of a freak’Opens in new window ]
“I have always stuck to my own simple view: keep telling the story for the sake of your audience, because your ultimate boss isn’t the director general or head of news, it’s the man or woman in Truro or Cardiff or Glasgow or Belfast who is forking out for the licence fee.”
He said such an approach was now particularly important in an era of polarising social media content, where people are targeted by vitriolic abuse.
“One of my most important tasks after leaving the BBC will be to fight to protect the corporation’s independence from the attacks of bad actors and cynics. The future funding of the BBC is a job for the senior management and government to negotiate.
“But for the journalists and those who manage them, confidence, courage and the reinforcing of a constant moral compass are the essential elements of keeping and building public trust.”
He said he had decided to leave the BBC after 37 years, and described the institution as the gold standard of public service broadcasting.
The celebrated journalist was born in London but grew up in Dublin, and later in Cork. His parents were Listowel-born actor Eamonn Keane and Maura Hassett.
He said he had decided to leave the BBC at what felt like the right time, and that he had just signed a contract for his first novel. He also plans to work on more non-fiction, and in film and audio mediums.
Richard Burgess, director of news content for the BBC, said: “Fergal’s career has been defined by the quality of his journalism and storytelling, as well as the humanity and empathy which has imbued all his reporting.
“Beyond his professional achievements, Fergal is clever, kind and generous, as well as thoughtful and witty. We will miss him as a valued colleague.”
Keane began his career in journalism with the Limerick Leader in 1979, before moving to the Irish Press and later RTÉ, where he served in Belfast during some of the worst years of the Troubles. In 1989, he joined the BBC.
Later, he became the BBC’s South Africa correspondent, and was in place for the ending of apartheid and the coming to power of the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela, following decades in jail.
His experiences in Rwanda scarred him deeply, but his coverage of the genocide was hugely regarded internationally. In 1997, he won a Bafta award for his Rwanda documentary, Valentina’s Story.
His book Letter to Daniel, a personal letter to his infant son shortly after his birth, became a major bestseller, blending intimate reflections on fatherhood, interspersed with his experiences at the front lines of some of the world’s most violent conflicts.
He has published several other books, among them The Madness: A Memoir of War, Fear and PTSD. He is a speaker at a symposium celebrating a century of Cork University Press, on Thursday, September 11th, at University College Cork.