John Birt by John Birt

John Birt by John Birt

John Birt was born in 1944 into a working-class Liverpool family. His father was battle-scarred by World War II and the household was run essentially by his mother and grandmother. Birt's grandfather, himself shell-shocked by the Great War, used to race pigeons and encouraged his grandson to perform odd misdemeanours like peeing in his shoes. Educated by the Catholic Irish Christian brothers, Birt established a strong sense of duty early in life. After school he went to Oxford and experienced a profound culture shock, but by good luck he arrived just as Liverpool was becoming the trendiest city in Britain (post-Beatles). Joining the Granada "World in Action" team, he quickly discovered his calling - and this book is about how he went on to use that ambition to become one of the most influential media figures in Britain. It's also full of colourful characters and anecdotes, from members of Birt's own family to Paul McCartney and Tony Blair. Far from being the grey man portrayed by the media, this book reveals Birt as a likeable, humorous man with a gift for self-deprecation and a vision for the future of broadcast journalism.

* A very readable and important book' - Michael Grade, Guardian * An enjoyable readhis achievements cannot be denied' - Peter Bazalgette, Observer * You've got to hand it to him. The boy from Bootle has done his side of the story proud' - Jeremy Isaacs, Evening Standard

John Birt is now a special adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair. After a controversial and dynamic career in television culminating in the Director-Generalship of the BBC, he was made a Life Peer in 2000.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780751534689
ISBN 10	0751534684
Title	John Birt
Author	John Birt
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Year published	2003-09-04
Number of pages	544
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.