Mark Little (Irish journalist)
Encyclopedia
Mark Little is an Irish
journalist, television presenter, author and "social media visionary". He presented Prime Time
for RTÉ
until December 2009. He took a year of leave of absence from RTÉ to pursue a project centred around digital media and global journalism. He launched the project in April 2010, called Storyful.
, County Dublin
, but later moved to Oughterard
, County Galway
. He studied in economics and politics Trinity College, Dublin
for 5 years and graduated in 1990 with a BA (Ord.) pass degree. During his time there he was president of the students’ union for a year and was a member of the Labour Party
. He joined the Dublin City University
Graduate Journalism
programme in 1990, but later dropped out.
His first child, Sorcha, was born when Little was 21. Her mother was Maxine Brady, the then president of the Union of Students in Ireland
. He is married to Tara Peterman, an American who worked with him on Prime Time, with two children, Daisy and Tommy, and lives in Dalkey
, County Dublin.
working for The Sunday Business Post
. He was then hired as a TV reporter for RTÉ News and Current Affairs in 1991, after answering a newspaper
advertisement. He became RTÉ's first Washington
Correspondent in 1995. He remained there until 2001, before returning to Dublin to become Foreign Affairs Correspondent. His Washington post was filled by Carole Coleman. In 2001 he won TV Journalist of the Year in the ESB National Media Awards.
In his time with RTÉ, he has met such US politicians as Bill Clinton
, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
. He presented the documentary programme Who’s Afraid of Islam? in 2006. He has also reported from disaster and conflict areas such as, Iraq
, Europe
, Asia
, Africa
and the Americas
. In 2008, he presented American Dream: Dead or Alive on RTÉ One
.
Little often presented RTÉ News specials such as Government budget
s and election
s.
In 2002, he joined RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme Prime Time
, which he co-presented with Miriam O'Callaghan
. In November 2009, he announced his desire to take a leave of absence from RTÉ for the period of a year. His reason was to pursue a project combining digital media
and global journalism. On 17 December 2009, he presented his final Prime Time. This being a field he has experience in through his work on Twitter
. On 12 April 2010, his new project, storyful.com, was launched. He developed the website along with other web journalists.
Little has written three books, two of which are on an American topic. Turn Left at Greenland and Zulu Time were published in 2002 and 2004. His third book The New America, was published in 2008.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
journalist, television presenter, author and "social media visionary". He presented Prime Time
Prime Time
Prime Time is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996...
for RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
until December 2009. He took a year of leave of absence from RTÉ to pursue a project centred around digital media and global journalism. He launched the project in April 2010, called Storyful.
Early and personal life
Little was born in Dublin in 1968. He lived in MalahideMalahide
Malahide is a coastal suburban town, near Dublin city, located in the administrative county of Fingal, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. It has a village-like centre and extensive residential areas to the south, west and northwest.-Name:...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, but later moved to Oughterard
Oughterard
Oughterard is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. The population of the town in 2006 was 1,305...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
. He studied in economics and politics Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
for 5 years and graduated in 1990 with a BA (Ord.) pass degree. During his time there he was president of the students’ union for a year and was a member of the Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
. He joined the Dublin City University
Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...
Graduate Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
programme in 1990, but later dropped out.
His first child, Sorcha, was born when Little was 21. Her mother was Maxine Brady, the then president of the Union of Students in Ireland
Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. The Union of Students in Ireland is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland but does not represent students from two of the seven Irish Universities, namely...
. He is married to Tara Peterman, an American who worked with him on Prime Time, with two children, Daisy and Tommy, and lives in Dalkey
Dalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
, County Dublin.
Career
Little began is career in journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
working for The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. Post Publications is owned by Thomas Crosbie Holdings. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average weekly circulation was 57,783 for the period January to June 2009. The...
. He was then hired as a TV reporter for RTÉ News and Current Affairs in 1991, after answering a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
advertisement. He became RTÉ's first Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Correspondent in 1995. He remained there until 2001, before returning to Dublin to become Foreign Affairs Correspondent. His Washington post was filled by Carole Coleman. In 2001 he won TV Journalist of the Year in the ESB National Media Awards.
In his time with RTÉ, he has met such US politicians as Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. He presented the documentary programme Who’s Afraid of Islam? in 2006. He has also reported from disaster and conflict areas such as, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. In 2008, he presented American Dream: Dead or Alive on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
.
Little often presented RTÉ News specials such as Government budget
Government budget
A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...
s and election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s.
In 2002, he joined RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme Prime Time
Prime Time
Prime Time is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996...
, which he co-presented with Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan is an Irish television current affairs broadcaster, chat show host and radio presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has presented the leading current affairs show, Prime Time, since 1996, and her own chat show, Saturday Night with Miriam, since 2005...
. In November 2009, he announced his desire to take a leave of absence from RTÉ for the period of a year. His reason was to pursue a project combining digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
and global journalism. On 17 December 2009, he presented his final Prime Time. This being a field he has experience in through his work on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. On 12 April 2010, his new project, storyful.com, was launched. He developed the website along with other web journalists.
Little has written three books, two of which are on an American topic. Turn Left at Greenland and Zulu Time were published in 2002 and 2004. His third book The New America, was published in 2008.
External links
- Storyful.com
- Mark Little on 'The Future of News' at IIEA, 11 December 2009