Guardian veteran reveals secrets of good reporting

Michael White, Associate Editor of The Guardian, thinks a good reporter must be cunning, like a rat.

He said, “The answers are as varied as there are different kinds of report in any newspaper on any day.

Nicholas Tomalin, top flight Sunday Times reporter, killed by a Syrian shell on the Golan
Heights, 30 or so years ago, famously said ' a plausible manner, low rat-like cunning and a minimum of literary ability.'”

White, whose incredible career spans 4 decades, also believes that “curiosity and persistence” are key qualities in a good reporter.

He also said, “You can make it many ways; a tenacious pursuit of the facts or a lively writing style also matter.

At the end of the day it's up to you, no one can make it easy, but if it's what you really want to be, a reporter, you will devise your own road ahead."

Michael White was born in Wadebridge, Cornwall. He attended Bodmin Grammar School, and then studied for a BA in History at University College London. He began his career at the Reading Evening Post and and then moved to the London Evening Standard. In 1971 got a job with The Guardian.

White has been writing for the Guardian for over 30 years, as a reporter, foreign correspondent and columnist. He was political editor from 1990 to 2006, and was previously the paper's Washington correspondent and parliamentary sketch writer.

He is also a regular commentator on the BBC, introducing newspaper reviews and commenting on Newsnight, Breakfast News, BBC News 24 and Question Time.

When asked about earnings, White responded,
“A journalist can earn anything from £10,000 a year at the bottom to £1 million plus if you are editor of the Daily Mail.”

Seasoned reporter: Michael White