CONTACTS

INTRODUCTION

Hugh Macleod is a 29-year-old British journalist and photographer who has lived and worked in Beirut and Damascus for the past five years. A former staffer on The Independent’s foreign desk, Hugh is now a journalist for The Guardian in Beirut 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 news organisations.

Hugh’s documentary films include a feature length documentary on tango in Beirut, filmed on HDV, a piece on British druids for the UK’s Channel 5 and a drama made with a grant from the British Film Council. Hugh’s photography on the region, from Algeria to Syria, has been widely published online and in newspapers and current affairs magazines. Hugh has many years experience in live television and radio reporting, for the BBC, CBS and CBC among others, and is a regular commentator on news programmes broadcast from Beirut. 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 – Beirut correspondent: I am a correspondent for The Guardian in Beirut, filing breaking news, in-depth features and multi-media content. I began writing for the paper from Damascus in 2006 and have contributed to its coverage of the past three years of upheaval in relations between the two countries. I covered May’s Hezbollah-led take-over of parts of Lebanon for the paper as well as The Observer (guardian.co.uk/profile/hughmacleod).

I am also the Beirut correspondent for The San Francisco Chronicle and a contributor to The Sunday Times, The Sunday Herald, The Sunday Telegraph and The Economist (economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342146). I am a regular contributor of feature articles to Time Out Beirut, Gulf Life and Jazeera magazines.

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) for nearly two years, covering stories such as the Hariri inquiry and relations with Iran. I also reported news and features 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). I also wrote for The Economist and The New Internationalist.

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 – ongoing – Editor IRIN news agency: I am the Lebanon and Syria editor for IRIN, the world’s leading humanitarian news agency (See: irinnews.org/ME). As well as writing weekly features and covering breaking news on development issues, such as conflict, education, and refugees, I commission and edit my own team of journalists for this news agency which is syndicated on Reuters Alertnet.

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: Filmed, produced and edited a documentary on the British Druid Order shot at Stonehenge and various locations with Banyak Films (banyak.co.uk) for the UK’s Channel 5. Set up OpenWide Productions which won a grant from the British Film Council for short-filmmaking in 2004. Currently editing a feature length documentary on HDV on Lebanon’s tango scene for US-based Lorna Dave Productions. Have worked on films for the Channel 4 series, ‘Squeaky Clean’ and for the BBC’s Crimewatch. Camera experience includes Sony PD150, Sony Z1 and Z7 HDV and Canon 5D MkII.

September 2004 – ongoing – Radio and TV reporting: I have been the Beirut and Damascus correspondent for Global Radio News (globalradionews.com/public/mapcorrespondent.asp?id=1605) since 2004 and have reported live and pre-recorded two-ways from Damascus and from Lebanon during the July War in 2006 for BBC News 24, BBC Radio Scotland, Canadian CBC, Dublin FM, and the US’ CBS radio, among others. I have also done live TV interviews from Beirut for France 24, Press TV and Future News and have recorded news podcasts for The Guardian. (guardian.co.uk/world/audio/2008/may/14/guardian.weekly.podcast) I recorded a ‘Reporter’s Notebook’ radio piece for BBC Radio Scotland.

March 2003 – Television Production: Researcher and runner for Brook Lapping’s BBC series ‘Before The Booker’.

Nov 2002 – BBC Regional Journalism: Worked for BBC Staffordshire writing articles and reviews and interviewing guests. Learned to use Dreamweaver and Avid Xpress with news team and produced digital photography for the website.

PHOTOGRAPHY

November 2004 – ongoing: To date, my pictures have been printed in The Sunday Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily Star, Gulf Life, The New Internationalist, Syria Today, Impressions, Bidoun and extensively by IRIN. A documentary project on Nahr al-Bared was published April 2008 by Sowar magazine (sowarmag.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 (irex.org/msi).

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
 

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