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Reporting from the front line - John Simpson's world revealed at the University of Southampton

Published: 3 March 2005

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson, who was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Southampton two years ago, will be back this month to deliver a lecture entitled: 'The world, a journalistic perspective.'

Some tickets are still available for the event on Tuesday 22 March at 7.00pm in Lecture Theatre 1 on the Boldrewood campus.

The renowned television journalist has reported from more than 100 countries across the globe, including 30 war zones, and has interviewed numerous world leaders. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University in 2003.

John Simpson has been no stranger to the dangers of war in his years of reporting from the frontline. He was, famously, reported to be the first person to enter Kabul after its liberation by American forces; and while in Iraq, he narrowly escaped serious injury when a convoy in which he was travelling came under attack from an American warplane.

During the 1991 Gulf War he was telephoning a report to London from his Baghdad hotel room when a cruise missile flew past his hotel window, and he sent reports from Tianamen Square in 1989 and Belgrade during the Kosovo crisis in 1999.

John Simpson received a CBE in the Gulf War Honours (1991) and is one of only two people to have been twice named the Royal Television Society's Journalist of the Year (1991 and 2000).

Notes for editors

  1. John Simpson will be available for interviews half an hour before the lecture starts. Journalists interested in meeting him should contact Sarah Watts on 023 8059 3212.
  2. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. The University has around 20,000 students and nearly 5,000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £270 million.
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