Guto Harri – Q&A

Name?
Guto Harri

Age?
39 (till the 8th of July)

Where are you from?
Cardiff – which I (as a Welsh speaker) call Caerdydd

How did you get started in broadcasting?
Doing radio shows for my parents as a kid – live from the attic of our house. Scraping together a portfolio of articles at Oxford and then freelancing for BBC Wales when i finished at the Cardiff School of Journalism

When was that?
Back in the Summer of 1988

Why News broadcasting?
It’s fun. Every day is a fresh start. You live on adrenalin. You meet and work with fascinating people. You travel to interesting places at interesting times. And it matters, which is important.

Where else would have viewers seen or heard you before?
Door stepping Sofia Loren at the re-opening of Le Scala. Racing around Naples with the anti-mafia squad. Standing with Tony Blair outside Colonel Gadaffi’s tent in the Libyan dessert. Or, more likely, outside Downing Street or Big Ben covering UK politics for a decade.

What is your Best on-air moment?
Broadcasting live as the Prime Minister’s plane touched down in Tokyo. Tony Blair had just been told about the death of David Kelly, and finally agreed to hold an inquiry into the use of intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

What is your Worst on-air moment?
Trying to suppress hysterical laughter during a live studio two way on a serious topic

What would you like to do before your career ends?
I hope that’s still some time off.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Learn to kite surf and play jazz piano

What advice would you give to anyone that would like to get into the broadcasting world?
If you’re curious, passionate and confident – go for it. Try e-mailing someone you relate to on air and ask if you can spend a day with them. Buy lots of coffee for all their colleagues and offer to take over the most tedious tasks they have that day. When there’s a chance to do more – seize the moment.

A big thanks to Guto for taking part.

Posted by on Thursday 21 May 2009
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