BBC CALLING …
 |
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine is known to millions as a former Newsnight presenter and BBC Africa correspondent. More recently he has taken over Jimmy Young’s prime time radio 2 programme slot to great acclaim. He speaks here about his career and the BBC and why he is a patron of HOPEHIV… |
Why journalism?
When I was 12 years old I went into Capital Radio on the young DJ slot on the Kenny Everett show. I just thought, ‘this is amazing.’ I think it is what is known as being bitten by the bug. I wanted to be on the radio playing records, but when the time came I thought I should do something a bit more serious. I started on the Coventry Evening Telegraph, before joining the BBC as a trainee in the late 80s. So I ended up being a journalist, a BBC correspondent, a presenter on Newsnight and where am I now?…on Radio 2 playing records and doing interviews!
Any other journalists in the family?
No. My brother is a stand up comedian and my sister is an actress. So there does seem to be a performance gene somewhere at work and it might stem from my mother, who likes reciting poetry that she writes herself.
Why the Beeb?
The BBC is the greatest broadcaster in the world. It’s an amazing organisation. Before I went to Africa as correspondent I was at the World Service for a time. Robin White presents a programme on Africa. I had never met or heard of him before. When travelling in Africa, in every single country, even the soldiers in the war in Sudan - everyone everywhere knew Robin White. The cultural reach of the World Service is awesome.
What impact did Africa have on you?
Tourists can head off in their jeeps and see the animals, then tip the Africans they see. But that’s a different world from the reality of Africa. As a journalist you are off the tourist tracks. In all I went to 18 African countries in two years. We spent the whole time careering around. It was only when you stopped and did nothing that you became aware of the beauty and the people and the struggle that is Africa. I was suddenly reporting something that was absolutely real, not party politics, posturing or press releases. It hit me I was in the middle of real life. It shouldn’t have been a revelation but it was. There’s an enormous world out there never reached by TV cameras.
Any strong memories?
Going up to Northern Namibia, where there’s a 30% HIV infection rate. We were looking for a family affected by AIDS, to interview the grandparents caring for orphans. I remember this little four year old boy sitting outside away from everyone just staring at the horizon. He looked so forlorn, so alone. I thought to myself, ‘I don’t know what to make of this.’
How did you cope with it emotionally?
I am still thinking about it all. Nelson Mandela said, ‘the struggle is my life,’ and life in Africa is a struggle from start to finish. We can learn lessons from people who constantly have to wake up optimistic about there being something better round the corner. But how do you deal with it when there is nothing other than the certainty of death?
Thirteen million AIDS orphans: What can be done?
I don’t know. It is unfathomable. What’s great about HOPEHIV is that it is reaching and helping children directly and very, very personally. It is important for us all to be aware of it and do what we can. That is a start.
Does faith in God help?
It comes into everything from when you wake up to when you go to bed. I found it difficult when I was in Africa and asked myself how God could allow the suffering that I saw there. And in your own life you can’t always work out why things went this way or that. Someone said, ‘God has a map,’ but that’s so trite as to be ludicrous. I suppose there are things we know – known knowns, as Donald Rumsfeld would call them – but where we hit the unknown is where faith comes in. God is love. That’s enough for me.
Why are you a HOPEHIV Patron?
I think HOPEHIV is doing a wonderful job in a very personal way. There are lots of charities working in Africa and some are so big the average donor is not sure exactly where the money ends up. HOPEHIV is small and beautiful and it takes a lot of personal care to ensure funds go direct to the people who need them most. More personally, having worked in Africa, I am aware that the needs of AIDS orphans, who may or may not have the disease themselves, are huge.