In Conversation With… Jon Snow, Channel 4 News

Last week, we sat down over breakfast at our latest ‘In Conversation With’ event with one of the most familiar - and respected - faces on primetime TV: Channel 4 News’ Jon Snow.

He talked us through some of the most pressing issues for him and his colleagues today - from making a news programme for the social media age, to diversity in journalism, and why we need to pay more attention to the issue of leadership. Below, we’ve shared some insights from our conversation.

Geopolitics is dominating the news agenda – at the expense of other issues

Of course, the question we really wanted to ask was: what impact does Jon believe the Trump administration and Brexit are having on the media and wider public life? He pointed out that these are “the big issues that are always present in the news – and they’re squeezing out other topics.” 

“The election of Trump has revealed that America is very dysfunctional. It has nearly full employment, great wealth, wonderful people – and immense inequality. Trump is a measure of despair. He represents the America we’ve never been to – and the Americans none of us know.”

What are some of the stories that are neglected because of this focus on geopolitics? Jon highlighted the “massive issue” of leadership. “The UK is very strong in business and industrial leadership,” he said, “but not necessarily in political leadership. Part of this is the growth of financial services, as the best brains in the country are now in the City of London.”

Channel 4 News is uniquely placed to explore untold stories

Although it’s produced by a relatively small team, Channel 4 News enjoys the luxury of an hour-long evening programme. The team doesn’t need to prepare for morning or lunchtime transmissions, meaning they have the time to explore a range of stories – not just the day’s news, but often also a deeper dive into a specific issue or innovation. He highlighted a perfect example of this freedom to focus on unusual or untold stories: a recent segment that explored how, on one Wellcome Trust course, avatars are being used to ensure that new mothers who can’t attend lectures in person can do so virtually.

Social media is now the biggest audience for Channel 4 News’ content

While the 7pm TV transmission continues to attract viewers, today, Channel 4 News’ biggest audience is now on Facebook, where its content was viewed 2.2 billion times last year. Intriguingly, 40 per cent of those views come from California.

We need greater diversity in the media

Throughout the discussion, Jon highlighted the issue of diversity, saying that “media today is not doing a good job of being representative.” He emphasised that this is especially the case when it comes to social class – and that it’s increasingly difficult for those without a certain educational background to break into journalism. He believes widespread apprenticeship programmes as the best way to tackle this.

The magic ingredient for a great interview is the moment, not the person

Jon was asked about his favourite interviewee – and he had a surprising response.

“A great interview is determined by the moment, rather than the person."

He recently interviewed John Major about Brexit and described the interview as “electric”, thanks to the insight Major could provide on this specific event. As he explained: “If the person flowers within the moment – that’s what’s wonderful.”