A stalwart of Channel Four nightly news since 1998, Krishnan Guru-Murthy turned down a career in medicine to become one of Britain’s leading factual journalists of his generation. Making his broadcasting debut at just a mere eighteen years old on BBC2’s current affairs programme Def II following auditioning for the corporation’s alternative political series Any Questions, Krishnan joined the flagship children’s current affairs show Newsround. It was here that Krishnan learned how to both understand and preside over the biggest news stories of the day. To convey these topics to a young audience the broadcaster is required to fully understand the full extent of the story. This was vital grounding for a career in television journalism which he was able to build on in the succeeding years.
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By 1996 Krishnan had graduated from Newsround to become part of the BBC’s live events team presiding over prolific national occasions. This included being a roving reporter on Election Night which is probably the most unpredictable job in television as you wait for the results from your chosen constituency. Fortunately for the 97 election Krishnan was tasked with getting instant reactions from MPs at Jeffrey Archer’s election night party (which presumably were somewhat negative due to labour’s history landslide victory ) which was far more lavish than waiting in a cold town hall to see which local MP had won an individual seat. Therefore the event which is meant to strike the fear of god into many broadcasters, Krishnan seemed to like this side of broadcasting as it was unpredictability at its very best.
Just three months later, this positivity and patriotism dissolved into national devastation as the beloved Diana, Princess of Wales was tragically killed in a car accident on a French motorway during the early hours of 31st August 1997. On his return from a trip to LA, Krishnan was dispatched to infamous landmarks around London to gauge the public reaction to this heartbreaking story for BBC News. This was of course followed by the state funeral of Diana which saw Krishnan once again amongst the crowds outside Westminster Abbey to get the public reaction to a sad but historic day for our nation. Such a small but pivotal role on such a defining moment in modern British history gave Krishnan invaluable experience of live events which he would build on throughout later years at Channel Four.
Just a year later in 1998, Krishnan swapped sides and joined the Channel Four division of ITN. It was here that he realised not just the place of the BBC in the psyche of the nation but also the severe legal parameters that bind the corporation. In 2011 after fronting the Channel Four News at noon, Krishnan was selected to appear alongside the great Jon Snow for the new look Channel Four Nightly News. This has been a successful formula ever since and has been one of the main reasons why Channel Four News can offer more insight and analysis of the days major events. ITN is completely independently governed and Channel Four News has the ability to ask the difficult questions that no other broadcaster can do and is willing to take people to account for their actions. Having a slightly longer nightly news bulletin from the standard thirty minutes gives the journalists more time to delve into the stories that really matter.
Working at a small but trusted news organisation has its benefits when approaching hard hitting stories and Channel Four News has been lucky enough to scoop their fair share of world exclusives. As dual anchor he has reported and presented live from all four corners of the globe covering many disasters, conflicts and political movements, such as the Arab Spring in Egypt. In October 2016 Krishnan reported from Yemen for Channel Four’s investigative documentary series Unreported World of the severe child malnutrition which had now reached crisis point. Such a pressing and emotive issue was too important to save for a one off feature documentary and it was decided that the story would go out in two installments over consecutive nights on the Channel Four News.
Making his debut on the award winning Unreported World in 2011 investigating trouble in South Africa’s townships, Krishnan has become synonymous with the programme and it goes some way to satisfying the frontline journalist in him. For Krishnan, it’s refreshing to go somewhere and concentrate on the breadth of just one story throughout its entirety as opposed to presiding over general politics. In his eight years working on Unreported World, he’s gone to Baghdad, USA, Yemen, Africa, India, Venezuela and Mexico to find the stories behind the news. It’s obvious that despite being one of Britain’s leading news broadcasters, investigative journalism is still his first love and Unreported World allows Krishnan the opportunity to do this.
Beyond news and current affairs, Krishnan also runs a popular podcast series Ways To Change The World where he interviews significant figures from all walks of life and explores big ideas surrounding the way we think and live. This adds something different to an already extremely varied and versatile career. From Newsround to online podcasting, it seems that Krishnan Guru-Murthy has blazed many trails in the world of broadcasting and still at such a youthful age, it’s exciting to see what awaits such a consummate professional. It was great to meet Krishnan Guru-Murthy and wish him all the very best for the rest of his remarkable career.
Beyond The Title