CONTACTS

INTRODUCTION

Hugh Macleod is a 30-year-old British journalist, photographer and film-maker who has lived and worked in the Middle East for the past six years. A former staffer on The Independent’s foreign desk, Hugh is now a journalist for The Guardian and has extensive experience as a multi-media foreign correspondent covering conflict, political upheaval and cultural developments in the Middle East for a range of top British and American media organisations. He is also a contributor to the Sunday Times, Economist and Al Jazeera.

Hugh’s latest documentary films from Yemen investigated the battle against Al Qaeda and the looming hunger crisis, while feature length pieces on tango in Beirut and life in a Palestinian refugee camp are currently in production. Previous film work includes a piece on British druids and a drama made with a grant from the British Film Council. Hugh’s photography on the region, from the Levant to the Maghreb to Yemen has been widely published. Hugh has many years experience in live television and radio reporting, for the BBC, CBS and CBC among others. His latest radio feature was broadcast by the BBC World Service. Hugh graduated from Oxford University in 2002.

EDUCATION

1999-2002 Brasenose College, Oxford : BA Hons English Language and Literature 2:1
1993–1998 Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury : A levels English A , Biology A , Geography A

WRITTEN JOURNALISM

February 2007 – ongoing – Middle East correspondent: I am a journalist for The Guardian based out of Beirut. I file breaking news, in-depth features and multi-media content. I began writing for the paper from Damascus in 2006 and contributed to its coverage of the years of upheaval in relations between the two countries. Most recently I have spent six months in Yemen filing articles on Al Qaeda, tribes, poverty and development. I also write for The Observer. Please see: www.guardian.co.uk/profile/hughmacleod

I am also a contributor to The Sunday Times (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7113969.ece) and The Economist (www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14920092&source=hptextfeature) and for BBC News online (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10871020) and Al Jazeera online (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111791440108909.html)

For three years I was Syria-Lebanon correspondent for The San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/qws/ff/qr?term=hugh+macleod&period=all&Submit=S) and write features for The Sunday Herald (http://www.heraldscotland.com/search-7.548?q=%22hugh+macleod%22&x=0&y=0 ) and The Sunday Telegraph

My articles and photography on culture in the Middle East are carried by my agency The Cover Story (www.thecoverstory.com) and appear regularly in Ink publications (www.ink-publishing.com)

September 2004 – January 2007 – Damascus Correspondent: I was the first British journalist to be based in Syria in the lead up to, and aftermath of, Rafik Hariri’s assassination and worked as a Damascus correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Times (timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1849213,00.html). I also reported for The Guardian (guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1929893,00.html), The Independent, The Sunday Herald and The San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/05/MNG4LM6ECI1.DTL).

July 2006 – August 2006 – July War: I covered the July War between Hezbollah and Israel from south Lebanon, filing daily news and pictures to the IRIN news agency as well as extensive pieces for The Sunday Herald, The Independent on Sunday and The San Francisco Chronicle. I reported live radio pieces for the BBC and CBC.

September 2005 – March 2010 – Editor IRIN news agency: I was the Lebanon and Syria editor for IRIN, the world’s leading humanitarian news agency (See: www.google.com/cse?cx=012432720040023074654%3Adin1zonoxje&ie=UTF-8&q=hugh+macleod&sa=Search+IRIN+with+Googl). As well as writing and photographing over 200 reports on development issues, I commissioned and edited a team of journalists.

January 2005 – July 2006 – Deputy Editor of The Syria Report: I wrote reports, features and interviews for the country’s leading bulletin on the economy and politics. Subscribers include Princeton and Langley. See: syria-report.com

November 2004 – July 2006 – Editor of Syria Today: I was editor of Syria’s first independent English-language current affairs magazine, published monthly. The magazine covers politics, social affairs and business and is distributed across Syria and the region, with subscriptions in Europe and the US. See: syria-today.com

June 2003 – April 2004 - Staff on The Independent Foreign Desk: International News Assistant: Daily reporting and editing of international news, and ran the foreign service to the media group. Conducted interviews and attended press conferences on international affairs. I wrote feature pieces, travel articles and news reviews and had front page by-lines.

Feb-June 2003 – Business news for The Independent: City reporter for business news with daily articles, including front page scoop on boardroom pay at Unilever. Researched paper’s review on ‘fat cat’ pay in FTSE listed companies.

FILM, RADIO AND TV

Dec 2002 – ongoing - Documentary Film Production: ‘Battling Al Qaeda in Yemen’ has sold widely on Journey Man Pictures since January 2010 (www.journeyman.tv/?lid=60100#60097). ‘Hunger in Yemen: A Silent Emergency’ is a recently completed feature documentary about Yemen’s little know humanitarian crisis and can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/13616664

SkyeBoat Films, co-founded by Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand, shoots on Sony EX1 and edits to broadcast quality. SkyeBoat is currently editing a feature length documentary on Lebanon’s tango scene for distribution early 2011.

Previous films include a documentary on the British Druid Order shot at Stonehenge with Banyak Films (banyak.co.uk). Former company OpenWide Productions won a grant from the British Film Council for short-filmmaking in 2004. Hugh has worked on films for the Channel 4 and for the BBC’s Crimewatch. Camera experience includes Sony EX1, PD150, Z1 and Z7 and Canon 5D MkII.

September 2004 – ongoing – Radio and TV reporting: Beirut and Damascus correspondent for Global Radio News (www.grnlive.com) since 2004 and have reported live and pre-recorded two-ways from Syria, Lebanon and Yemen for BBC News 24, BBC Radio Scotland, Canadian CBC, Dublin FM, and the US’ CBS radio, among others. Hugh latest radio feature was broadcast on the BBC World Service on August 2, 2010. Hugh has also done live TV interviews from Beirut for France 24, Press TV and Future News and has recorded news podcasts for The Guardian. (guardian.co.uk/world/audio/2008/may/14/guardian.weekly.podcast)

PHOTOGRAPHY

November 2004 – ongoing: To date, my photography has been published by The Guardian, UNHCR, Al Jazeera, The Sunday Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Daily Star, Gulf Life, The New Internationalist, Sowar, Syria Today, Impressions, Bidoun and extensively by IRIN. His archive of documentary photography can be viewed at: www.hughmacleod.photoshelter.com

CONSULTANCY

February 2007 – ongoing – Journalism trainer and consultant: I taught Open Society Institute (OSI) photojournalism workshops in Beirut and Cairo for the Soros Foundation and have worked as a media consultant for the Norwegian Refugee Council. I write reports on the media in Syria and Lebanon for Washington-based IREX

PERSONAL INTERESTS

Having been lucky enough to travel parts of America, India, South America, South-East Asia and the Middle East, I enjoy drawing on these experiences through a career in writing, photography and broadcasting. I am an avid follower of current affairs and am keen on films and the theatre. I can speak basic Arabic and French and some Spanish. I completed the internationally accredited Surviving Hostile Environments training course at AKE in Hereford, UK.

REFEREES

Ms Harriet Sherwood, Foreign Editor, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3ER, UK
Mr David Pratt, Foreign Editor, The Sunday Herald, 200 Renfield St, Glasgow, G2 3QB, UK
Mr Jack Epstein, Foreign Editor, The San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco CA 94103, USA
Mr Ahmed Rajab, C/O Middle East/Asia Bureau, UN IRIN/OCHA, Dubai Humanitarian City, Dubai, PO BOX 506011, UAE
Ms Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor, The Independent, 191 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9RS, UK

 

Download the CV as a PDF file