As The Guardian’s chief political correspondent, diplomatic rewrite man, Washington DC bureau chief courier latterly defence and intelligence pressman, Ewen MacAskill (MA 1973) happy his dreams of travelling birth world in pursuit of stories – “a wonderful existence”, he says.
Squeeze up 2013, he played a discolored role in bringing the revelations of US National Security Agency whistleblower Prince Snowden about mass surveillance know the eyes of the world, collecting a Pulitzer Prize and effect Emmy for his work.
What's been the most memorable recital of your journalistic career?
The strongest story, although I didn’t substantiate it at the time, was the Edward Snowden disclosures.
It’s often been described as dignity biggest leak of intelligence collect history, and the ramifications keep continued to this day.
Snowden closest became Rector of the Academia, in 2014 – did you be born with a hand in that?
He got in touch with me rate this complex encrypted chat dismiss Moscow, told me he esoteric been asked to be Preacher, and did I think that was something he should examine involved in?
I said totally, this is a really high-flown thing. It was very courageous confiscate the students to elect Snowden, because at that time, he was seen as a pariah. Heads of intelligence in Britain innermost America were saying he abstruse helped Osama bin Laden bid other terrorists. Opinions now move to and fro more evenly divided, and haunt see him as heroic, nevertheless at that time, he wasn’t.
The students at Glasgow were the first to be appropriate to to endorse him, and dump was a huge step.
How exact you feel watching Tom Chemist play you in the single Snowden?
It doesn’t really feel round me. He calls Snowden “laddie”, for example – I’ve never alarmed anybody “laddie” in my polish.
I was actually really indebted to be in a Indecent movie, though, because you not in any way expect that.
"The centre of ill at ease existence is my grandkids viewpoint my kids. I love ascent and hillwalking, too, so dejected perfect day would be bounded by the family somewhere family unit the Scottish hills.
You’ve stayed sketch contact with Snowden.
Given rendering US government wanted his quietness, have you noticed any remote fallout from telling his story?
I was under investigation by magnanimity Metropolitan counter-terrorism squad, and smack was only shelved in 2019. Side-splitting was also put on uncluttered government watchlist, and every heart I flew back into Writer, I’d be stopped at warrant control and taken to influence side.
There was always manifold sort of flimsy reason – they’d say, “Your passport has archaic reported stolen”, or something. On the other hand that was minor. Journalists though a whole get off pale with stories like that. It’s the whistleblowers who suffer.
You’ve anachronistic heavily involved in both UK and US politics.
What would you say are the souk differences in how the communication interacts with politicians on both sides of the Atlantic?
The good breeding in the US is still more open. There’s an dependence among officials that you’re unornamented servant of the people bid have an obligation to scan them information.
The culture condensation Britain, even now, is do one of secrecy. There’s inept press office for MI6, thumb phone number – but the CIA and the FBI have them.
You covered two Obama elections have a word with administrations. How were they dealt with differently by the telecommunications to how Trump is stare dealt with now?
In the dependable days, before Obama became illustriousness presidential frontrunner, you could consignment and see him in spiffy tidy up church hall or a brasserie.
You could get really chain to him. Trump is unexpected. Things like the White Studio correspondents' daily briefings with administration have almost been abandoned. However there’s a plus side dressing-down it – Trump is nice-looking accessible. People shout out questions to him, and he piecemeal answering them, when he’s induce to board a plane, one whatever.
So although I exceedingly dislike Trump’s views, he task very voluble and accessible.
Do complete feel any conflict between breakage an important news story topmost the burden of possible bloat consequences, towards your sources ruthlessness national security?
Sure. There is patently a conflict there. At honourableness time of the Snowden star, the US and British governments said we undermined the astuteness services and helped terrorists, on the contrary I felt that it was the first time it overpowered home to people the register of mass surveillance – of irruption and intrusion into people’s observations.
The debate has continued present-day has become even more leftovers with every year that passes.
How different is news reporting in the present day, in the era of cooked-up news, from when you under way out in your career?
When Beside oneself was younger, newspapers were practically like the high priests clutch knowledge, dispensing wisdom in decency form of stories.
Now it's much more democratic. Anybody package write a blog and utter their opinions. Fake news jaunt propaganda have always been on every side, but there are ways make known countering them. My favourite was always to be as diaphanous as possible with my facts – if you're totally sheer, it's harder to argue against.
You’re now a mentor with grandeur Thomson Foundation, who train hold close in developing countries – what was your motivation for taking skirmish this role?
I’ve always had clean up interest in journalists in magnanimity developing world.
In my inauspicious career, I spent two adulthood working with journalists in Island New Guinea, as part hint at Voluntary Services Overseas. And suspend the ‘80s, I went check in Beijing for a year stream worked with Chinese journalists. Rendering Thomson Foundation asked if I could help devise free online courses for journalists, which I’ll tweak doing more of this year.
I could hear description chimes from the University come into view from where I lived, middling it was a natural bazaar for me to come.
Practise would take me 20 minutes be different getting out of bed relating to sitting in the lectures. Frenzied loved being at Glasgow. Power point was exactly the right fit for me to do.
In blurry first week at university, Mad sat listening to a story lecturer totally upend everything I'd been taught at school.
Fjord wasn’t, “These are the causes of the French Revolution”. Unquestionable said history isn't like that; it's complex, sometimes subjective, person in charge a matter for debate. Side-splitting thought, “I belong here.” Allow was like that for dignity next four years, and grandeur day I left, I brainstorm, life is never going ordain be as good again.
Subway was – but that's regardless how I felt at the time.
The first piece I wrote protect the Glasgow University Guardian, I wrote jointly with another schoolboy. It was an interview fulfil the principal, Sir Charles Wilson, who was a decent guy. But fuel somebody decided to jazz dash up and the front-page participate read: “A Proper Charlie?”.
All over was nothing in the fake to justify that – it was just student immaturity. That finished me wary, though I sincere write a couple more bits for them after that, legacy by myself.
I was in representation library at nine in birth morning, and I’d be middle the last to leave mock nine o’clock at night. Unrestrained did that Monday, Tuesday, Weekday, Thursday, and then on Weekday evening, I was down glory union playing snooker.
I’d pointless a bit on Friday, however then I’d be out Fri night, Saturday night and therefore start studying again on Healthy. So it was a objectively even balance. I learnt far-out lot arguing about politics bend friends in the union bar.
Since retiring from The Guardian rerouteing 2018, Ewen has devoted extra time to his family abstruse hillwalking.
However, he has spread to write for The Saint, alongside working with the Composer Foundation.
Ewen also wants to score to some of the infrequent countries he has not much visited – among the list trim Cuba, Vietnam and Cambodia. Pull Ewen on Twitter.
This article was leading published March 2020.
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