David Aaronovitch
Encyclopedia
David Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster
, and journalist
. He is a regular columnist
for The Times
, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country (2000) and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History (2009). He won the Orwell Prize
for political journalism in 2001, and the What the Papers Say
"Columnist of the Year" award for 2003.
, Communist
and intellectual Sam Aaronovitch
, and brother of the actor Owen Aaronovitch
and scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch
. He attended Gospel Oak Primary School
until 1965, Holloway County Comprehensive 1965-68, and William Ellis School
1968-72, all in London.
He studied Modern History
at Balliol College, Oxford
from October 1973 until April 1974, when he was sent down (expelled) for failing the German part of his History exams. He completed his education at the University of Manchester
, graduating in 1978 with an upper second
BA (Hons)
in History. While at Manchester, he was a member of the 1975 University Challenge
team that lost in the first round after answering most questions with the name of a revolutionary
("Trotsky", "Lenin", "Karl Marx
" or "Che Guevara
"); the team's tactics were a protest against the fact that the Oxford and Cambridge universities can enter each of their colleges in the contest as a separate team, even though the individual colleges are not universities in themselves.
He was initially a Eurocommunist
. He was also active in the National Union of Students (NUS) where he got to know the president at the time, Charles Clarke
, who later became Home Secretary
. Aaronovitch himself succeeded Trevor Phillips
as president of the NUS from 1980 to 1982. He was elected on a Broad Left
ticket. He has written that he was brought up "to react to wealth with a puritanical pout".
, he started his media career as a television researcher on ITV
's Weekend World
, later becoming a producer. He moved to the BBC as founding editor of the On the Record in 1988. He moved to print journalism in 1995, working for The Independent
and Independent on Sunday as chief leader writer, television critic, parliamentary sketch writer and columnist until the end of 2002.
For the New Statesman
he wrote a pseudonym
ous column purporting to be the diary of 'Lynton Charles, MP'. Charles and Lynton are Tony Blair
's middle names. He began contributing to The Guardian
and The Observer
in 2003, where he was a columnist and feature writer. Since June 2005, he has written a regular column for The Times
and regularly writes columns for the Jewish Chronicle. He also presents or contributes to radio and television programmes, including the BBC's Have I Got News For You
and BBC News 24
.
In his columns, he takes an iconoclastic view, often upsetting former allies on the left, most notably through his strong support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
which he favoured in order to liberate oppressed Iraqis, even though he was 'agnostic' about the existence of WMD. Aaronovitch has been critical of attacks on Jewish people who criticise Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
In late 2005 Aaronovitch was co-author, with blogger Oliver Kamm
and journalist Francis Wheen
, of a complaint to The Guardian when it published a correction and apology for an interview with Noam Chomsky
by Emma Brockes
. (The writer Diana Johnstone
also complained about references to her in the interview).
A Guardian readers' editor found that the newspaper had misrepresented Chomsky's position on the Sebrenica massacre, and his judgement was upheld in May 2006 by an external ombudsman, John Willis, although Aaronovitch argued that criticism of Chomsky's position was valid. In his report for the Guardian, Willis detailed his reasons for rejecting the argument. The Independent
s media columnist Stephen Glover criticized the Willis report and asks why Willis did not "reconsider Professor Chomsky's original complaint in the light of the evidence adduced by Messrs Aaronovitch, Kamm and Wheen in their letter".
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is a regular columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country (2000) and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History (2009). He won the Orwell Prize
Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
for political journalism in 2001, and the What the Papers Say
What the Papers Say
What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
"Columnist of the Year" award for 2003.
Early life
Aaronovitch is the son of the economistEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and intellectual Sam Aaronovitch
Sam Aaronovitch
Sam Aaronovitch was a British economist, academic, working class intellectual and senior member of the Communist Party of Great Britain....
, and brother of the actor Owen Aaronovitch
Owen Aaronovitch
Owen Aaronovitch is an English actor, known for portraying Jon Lindsay in Coronation Street.-Background:Aaronovitch was born in Parliament Hill Fields, London. He is the son of the late economist and Communist Sam Aaronovitch, brother of the journalist David Aaronovitch and writer Ben Aaronovitch...
and scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Denis Aaronovitch is a London-born British writer who has worked on television series including Doctor Who, Casualty, Jupiter Moon and Dark Knight...
. He attended Gospel Oak Primary School
Gospel Oak Primary School
Gospel Oak Primary School is a primary school in Camden, England. It is one of the largest schools in the Borough of Camden as measured by number of pupils, currently teaching 475.-External links:*...
until 1965, Holloway County Comprehensive 1965-68, and William Ellis School
William Ellis School
William Ellis School is a United Kingdom secondary comprehensive school for boys in Highgate, London.-Admissions:It is a specialist Language College. The School's motto is 'Rather Use Than Fame'. The school is over-subscribed, usually an indicator of a popular school. It is situated just west of...
1968-72, all in London.
He studied Modern History
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
from October 1973 until April 1974, when he was sent down (expelled) for failing the German part of his History exams. He completed his education at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, graduating in 1978 with an upper second
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
BA (Hons)
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in History. While at Manchester, he was a member of the 1975 University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
team that lost in the first round after answering most questions with the name of a revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
("Trotsky", "Lenin", "Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
" or "Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
"); the team's tactics were a protest against the fact that the Oxford and Cambridge universities can enter each of their colleges in the contest as a separate team, even though the individual colleges are not universities in themselves.
He was initially a Eurocommunist
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
. He was also active in the National Union of Students (NUS) where he got to know the president at the time, Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
, who later became Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. Aaronovitch himself succeeded Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
as president of the NUS from 1980 to 1982. He was elected on a Broad Left
Broad Left
The Broad Left was a political faction within the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom during the 1970s. It consisted of a working relationship between the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, Plaid Cymru, the Communist Party of Great Britain , and other, non-aligned, supporters in order...
ticket. He has written that he was brought up "to react to wealth with a puritanical pout".
Career in journalism
Interviewed on the same day and for the same job as Peter MandelsonPeter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
, he started his media career as a television researcher on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Weekend World
Weekend World
Weekend World is a British television political series, made by London Weekend Television and broadcast from 1972 to 1988.Created by John Birt not long after he moved to LWT, the series was broadcast on the ITV network at lunchtimes on Sundays...
, later becoming a producer. He moved to the BBC as founding editor of the On the Record in 1988. He moved to print journalism in 1995, working for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and Independent on Sunday as chief leader writer, television critic, parliamentary sketch writer and columnist until the end of 2002.
For the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
he wrote a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
ous column purporting to be the diary of 'Lynton Charles, MP'. Charles and Lynton are Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's middle names. He began contributing to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
in 2003, where he was a columnist and feature writer. Since June 2005, he has written a regular column for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and regularly writes columns for the Jewish Chronicle. He also presents or contributes to radio and television programmes, including the BBC's Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
and BBC News 24
BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
.
In his columns, he takes an iconoclastic view, often upsetting former allies on the left, most notably through his strong support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
which he favoured in order to liberate oppressed Iraqis, even though he was 'agnostic' about the existence of WMD. Aaronovitch has been critical of attacks on Jewish people who criticise Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
In late 2005 Aaronovitch was co-author, with blogger Oliver Kamm
Oliver Kamm
Oliver Kamm is a British writer and journalist. He wrote Anti-Totalitarianism: The Left-wing Case for a Neoconservative Foreign Policy , an advocacy of interventionism in foreign policy....
and journalist Francis Wheen
Francis Wheen
Francis James Baird Wheen is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster.-Early life and education:Wheen was born into an army family and educated at two independent schools: Copthorne Preparatory School near Crawley, West Sussex and Harrow School in north west London.-Life and career:Running...
, of a complaint to The Guardian when it published a correction and apology for an interview with Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
by Emma Brockes
Emma Brockes
Emma Brockes is a British author and journalist for The Guardian newspaper. She lives in New York.Brockes graduated in 1997 with a first from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University where she was editor of the student newspaper Cherwell and won the Philip Geddes prize for journalism...
. (The writer Diana Johnstone
Diana Johnstone
Diana Johnstone is a American leftist political writer based in Paris, France. She focusesg primarily on European politics and Western foreign policy. Johnstone received a Ph.D...
also complained about references to her in the interview).
A Guardian readers' editor found that the newspaper had misrepresented Chomsky's position on the Sebrenica massacre, and his judgement was upheld in May 2006 by an external ombudsman, John Willis, although Aaronovitch argued that criticism of Chomsky's position was valid. In his report for the Guardian, Willis detailed his reasons for rejecting the argument. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s media columnist Stephen Glover criticized the Willis report and asks why Willis did not "reconsider Professor Chomsky's original complaint in the light of the evidence adduced by Messrs Aaronovitch, Kamm and Wheen in their letter".
Quotations
- "I don't believe that Saddam is a major backer of al-Qaeda (though he gives support to other groups) and I think it quite likely that he has had no effective nuclear programme for years. He would if he could, but he can't. But I want him out, for the sake of the region (and therefore, eventually, for our sakes), but most particularly for the sake of the Iraqi people who can't lift this yoke on their own. If they could, that would be best; if he would agree to go into exile, that would be just dandy. The argument that Saddam's removal will of necessity lead to 'chaos' or the democratic election of an unsuitable Islamist government is worthy of Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
at his most cynical. It is pretty disgusting when heard in the mouths of 'left-wingers'. The Iraqi people, however, can't shift their tyrant on their own. Again, it would be preferable if an invasion could be undertaken, not by the Americans, but by, say, the Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
International Peace Force, spearheaded by the Rowan WilliamsRowan WilliamsRowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
British Brigade. That's not on offer. It has to be the Yanks. I do not believe that George Bush is the manic oil-chimp of caricature. His administration really does have a view that it is necessary to remove Saddam pour décourager les autres. It will, they have convinced themselves, show resolve, deter state terrorism, discourage proliferation and permit the building of a rare non-tyranny in the Arab world. There is something to be said for all this." - "If nothing is eventually found, I - as a supporter of the war - will never believe another thing that I am told by our government, or that of the US ever again. And, more to the point, neither will anyone else. Those weapons had better be there somewhere. They probably are."
- "In February 2003 Matthew (Parris) wrote that he would be against a war in Iraq even if there were WMD, even if it were authorised by the UN, even if a liberated Iraq was then stable, and concluded: "I'm against war because it will antagonise moderate Arab opinion." And the Iraqi people? To be massacred, shredded, gassed, beheaded, suppressed, starved, immiserated, terrorised and tortured because all of that would be less bad than antagonising moderate Arab opinion. An Iraqi democrat stands in front of an armchair anti- interventionist, and is invisible. I do apologise. For Abu Ghraib and Donald Rumsfeld. For not understanding the insurgents. For the looting. For the dire planning. I apologise to the election workers assassinated, the police trainees blown up, the parents of children caught in crossfire and everyone else that the planners and executors of the invasion that I supported, and still support, may have let down by neglect or stupidity. I recognise their bravery and their determination to succeed despite everything. But a disaster compared with what? Compared with Saddam and sanctions or Saddam and cyanide. And that - the thing that Matthew presumably preferred - was not a disaster? Snort."
Works
- Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country (Fourth Estate, 2000) ISBN 978-1-84115-540-1
- No Excuses for Terror, a 45-minute documentary film that "criticizes how the anti-Israel views of the far-left and far-right have permeated the mainstream media and political discourse."
- Blaming the Jews, a 45-minute documentary film that evaluates anti-Semitism in Arab media and culture.
- God and the Politicians, 28 September 2005, a documentary film that looks at the important question of the increasing religious influence on politics in the UK
- Voodoo Histories: The Role of Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History, Jonathan Cape, 2009, ISBN 978-0-224-07470-4 Published in the US in 2010 by Riverhead BooksRiverhead BooksRiverhead Books is a division of Penguin Group .Notable books and major bestsellers published by Riverhead include Journals by Kurt Cobain; The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; The Color of Water by James McBride; Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, and Aloft by Chang-rae Lee; Fever...
, ISBN 978-1-59448-895-5
Further reading
External links
- Journalisted - Articles by David Aaronovitch
- Interview with Aaronovitch on "New Books in History"