Michael Nicholson
Encyclopedia
Michael Nicholson OBE
(born 9 January 1937) is an English
journalist
and former ITN Senior Foreign Correspondent.
, Essex
, Nicholson attended the University of Leicester
. Nicholson was a war reporter for ITN, who reported from wars in Nigeria
, Northern Ireland
, Vietnam
, Cambodia
, Jordan
, India
and Pakistan
, Rhodesia
, Beirut
and Angola
. During a twenty-five-year career, Nicholson reported on fifteen separate conflicts.
While awaiting the Turkish
invasion of Cyprus
, Nicholson's car broke down at six o'clock in the morning. Left abandoned by his rivals from the BBC, a friendly local assisted him just as the Turkish paratroopers were starting to enter the island over his head. Nicholson walked up to the paratroopers and greeted them in the field, and as a result of the hospitality shown by the ITN news team, the paratroopers allowed Nicholson to film the landing sequence. His film was flown back to London
on an RAF plane, to make the Six O'clock News that same evening.
Nicholson was ITN’s first bureau chief in South Africa
, based in Johannesburg
from 1976 to 1981. During this time Nicholson reported from the Soweto
riots to the birth of Zimbabwe
. In 1981 he returned to England, motoring overland through Africa and Europe with his wife and two small sons, a journey of six months and fourteen thousand miles.
Nicholson was on holiday in the Lake District when a message got through to him about the Falklands War
. Flown by a chartered aircraft to Southampton
to join the convoy, at 45 Nicholson was more experienced than most of his journalistic colleagues: "But this was the first war, other than Northern Ireland, where I was among my own people." Nicholson and senior BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan
were regularly flown over to the merchant ships to broadcast their "phono" packages, as no broadcasting of images from the islands themselves or live broadcasts were allowed. After the conflict, Nicholson was awarded the South Atlantic Medal
. Nicholson and former co-ITN newscaster Leonard Parkin
also provided a controversial report of the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano
in 1982.
's news presenters were often accused of being aloof and characterless—despite his reputation as a very serious and gritty news gatherer and as an interviewer who could be sharp with his views, particularly towards politicians and leading figures in the news. However, Nicholson's newsreading career came to an end when, in March 1986, he announced The Prince Andrew
's engagement to Sarah Ferguson
on the News at 5:45, and during his live interview with the couple he inadvertently called the Prince a "yucky", instead of "lucky", young man. Nicholson later apologised to the couple for this slip, but opted to resign from the News at 5:45 in September 1986 amidst a number of complaints from viewers.
Following his resignation from the News at 5:45, Nicholson was replaced by Alastair Stewart
, and returned to war reporting
, named Journalist of the Year in 1991. He then reported from Bosnia
and Croatia
, where in 1992 he was also named as the Royal Television Society's Journalist of the Year, for his report.
Nicholson joined Trevor McDonald
's new investigative program, Tonight with Trevor McDonald in 1999.
in the path of the approaching Serb
forces, Nicholson found 200 orphans living in a mortared
and shelled building - four had already been killed. Nicholson pleaded with the authorities to evacuate the children, which they did on buses. All that is except one - Natasha, a nine year old who had been abandoned by her mother. As her name had been omitted from the list of evacuees, Nicholson placed her under his name and claimed her as his daughter. He then evacuated from the country with the child, handing himself in, to the immigration authorities at Heathrow. Despite protests from the Bosnian authorities and journalistic critics, Nicholson succeeded in adopting the child. Nicholson's experiences formed the basis of the film Welcome to Sarajevo
.
In 1993 Nicholson had his book Natasha's Story
published. It tells the story of the nine-year Serbian girl, born Jelena Natasha Mihalijcic in Novi Grad, Sarajevo, on 7 October 1982. Born out of wedlock, she was abandoned by her mother at nine months old. The book tells how she was resettled in Britain at his family home in Grayswood
, Haslemere
, Surrey
. Natasha eventually attended local state primary and secondary schools near her home, and has since gained an HND in sports science from the University of Bath
. She hopes to train as a tennis coach and is keen to work with children in sport.
He also has a daughter called Ana, whom he adopted from Brazil. Ana now has a son called Maxi.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 9 January 1937) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and former ITN Senior Foreign Correspondent.
Journalistic career
Born in RomfordRomford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Nicholson attended the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
. Nicholson was a war reporter for ITN, who reported from wars in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. During a twenty-five-year career, Nicholson reported on fifteen separate conflicts.
While awaiting the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
invasion of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Nicholson's car broke down at six o'clock in the morning. Left abandoned by his rivals from the BBC, a friendly local assisted him just as the Turkish paratroopers were starting to enter the island over his head. Nicholson walked up to the paratroopers and greeted them in the field, and as a result of the hospitality shown by the ITN news team, the paratroopers allowed Nicholson to film the landing sequence. His film was flown back to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on an RAF plane, to make the Six O'clock News that same evening.
Nicholson was ITN’s first bureau chief in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, based in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
from 1976 to 1981. During this time Nicholson reported from the Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
riots to the birth of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. In 1981 he returned to England, motoring overland through Africa and Europe with his wife and two small sons, a journey of six months and fourteen thousand miles.
Nicholson was on holiday in the Lake District when a message got through to him about the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Flown by a chartered aircraft to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
to join the convoy, at 45 Nicholson was more experienced than most of his journalistic colleagues: "But this was the first war, other than Northern Ireland, where I was among my own people." Nicholson and senior BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan
Brian Hanrahan
Brian Hanrahan was the Diplomatic Editor for BBC News and a well known correspondent. He also presented The World at One on BBC Radio Four and appeared on regular cover shifts on the rolling news channel BBC News 24...
were regularly flown over to the merchant ships to broadcast their "phono" packages, as no broadcasting of images from the islands themselves or live broadcasts were allowed. After the conflict, Nicholson was awarded the South Atlantic Medal
South Atlantic Medal
The South Atlantic Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the Falklands War of 1982, between the United Kingdom and Argentina; 29,700 were issued...
. Nicholson and former co-ITN newscaster Leonard Parkin
Leonard Parkin
Leonard Parkin, Leonard Parkin, Leonard Parkin, (2 June 1929 - 20 September 1993 in Thurnscoe, Yorkshire, England, was a British TV journalist and newscaster who worked for both the BBC and ITN.He was educated at Hemsworth Grammar School, Yorkshire...
also provided a controversial report of the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano
ARA General Belgrano
The ARA General Belgrano was an Argentine Navy light cruiser in service from 1951 until 1982. Formerly the , she saw action in the Pacific theater of World War II before being sold to Argentina. After almost 31 years of service, she was sunk during the Falklands War by the Royal Navy submarine ...
in 1982.
Career as newsreader (1976-1986)
Between its introduction in 1976 and 1986, Nicholson also became well known as a television presenter when he became a regular host of ITN's popular News at 5:45 bulletins. Nicholson's friendly face, pleasant smile, and light, cheerful presentation style earned him a reputation as one of the leading figures of British journalistic television at a time when the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's news presenters were often accused of being aloof and characterless—despite his reputation as a very serious and gritty news gatherer and as an interviewer who could be sharp with his views, particularly towards politicians and leading figures in the news. However, Nicholson's newsreading career came to an end when, in March 1986, he announced The Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
's engagement to Sarah Ferguson
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
on the News at 5:45, and during his live interview with the couple he inadvertently called the Prince a "yucky", instead of "lucky", young man. Nicholson later apologised to the couple for this slip, but opted to resign from the News at 5:45 in September 1986 amidst a number of complaints from viewers.
Following his resignation from the News at 5:45, Nicholson was replaced by Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
, and returned to war reporting
Return to news reporting (1987-present)
On resuming his career as a war reporter, Nicholson soon became involved in reporting on the first Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, named Journalist of the Year in 1991. He then reported from Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, where in 1992 he was also named as the Royal Television Society's Journalist of the Year, for his report.
Nicholson joined Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
's new investigative program, Tonight with Trevor McDonald in 1999.
Natasha
While stationed outside SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
in the path of the approaching Serb
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
forces, Nicholson found 200 orphans living in a mortared
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
and shelled building - four had already been killed. Nicholson pleaded with the authorities to evacuate the children, which they did on buses. All that is except one - Natasha, a nine year old who had been abandoned by her mother. As her name had been omitted from the list of evacuees, Nicholson placed her under his name and claimed her as his daughter. He then evacuated from the country with the child, handing himself in, to the immigration authorities at Heathrow. Despite protests from the Bosnian authorities and journalistic critics, Nicholson succeeded in adopting the child. Nicholson's experiences formed the basis of the film Welcome to Sarajevo
Welcome To Sarajevo
Welcome to Sarajevo is a British war film from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.- Synopsis :...
.
In 1993 Nicholson had his book Natasha's Story
Natasha's Story
Natasha's Story is a 1994 book by war correspondent Michael Nicholson and is based on his work for the British news broadcaster, ITN. Deeply shocked about the catastrophic situation of 200 orphaned children in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nicholson adopted a girl, Natasha, under adventurous circumstances...
published. It tells the story of the nine-year Serbian girl, born Jelena Natasha Mihalijcic in Novi Grad, Sarajevo, on 7 October 1982. Born out of wedlock, she was abandoned by her mother at nine months old. The book tells how she was resettled in Britain at his family home in Grayswood
Grayswood
Grayswood is a small village to the North of Haslemere and to the west of Witley, Surrey.In 1894, Alfred Hugh Harman moved to Grayswood and in 1900 he offered to finance a church in Grayswood on land given by Lord Derby, on condition that a parish was created. The new parish of Grayswood was formed...
, Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Natasha eventually attended local state primary and secondary schools near her home, and has since gained an HND in sports science from the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
. She hopes to train as a tennis coach and is keen to work with children in sport.
Personal life
Now years of age, Nicholson lives with his wife, two sons and adopted daughter Natasha in Grayswood, Haslemere, Surrey.He also has a daughter called Ana, whom he adopted from Brazil. Ana now has a son called Maxi.