Paul Cunningham (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Paul Cunningham is an Irish journalist and author. He is currently Environment Correspondent for RTÉ News and Current Affairs.
A former winner of the "Radio Journalist of the Year" award, Cunningham is also known for his choice of hat. He has written the book Ireland's Burning.
Cunningham has reported extensively from abroad. His first assignment was on the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He followed up with reports on numerous conflicts including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Lebanon, Kosovo, Algeria, Pakistand/Afghanistan, Guatemala, Nepal, Darfur and Chad. He has also reported on flooding in Mozambique and New Orleans; racism in South Africa; and Chile post dictatorship.
In 2007, he presented an edition of RTÉ's current affairs interview programme One to One
in which he interviewed award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh
. In 2008, after Cunningham interviewed civil servant Padraig O hUiginn for the same series, Sunday Independent
columnist Brendan O'Connor
compared Cunningham to the hero in US television series Columbo: "seemingly awkward, nerdy and self-effacing and merely innocently asking odd questions, while all the time letting his subject reveal himself".
As RTÉ's Environment Correspondent Cunningham reports on climate change. In October 2006, he wrote about Greenland
for RTÉ. In 2008 Cunningham travelled to Chad
with Aoife Kavanagh to film a series of reports on the country for RTÉ. Cunningham covered the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
for RTÉ.
Cunningham has written the book Ireland's Burning, which was published in 2008. It features inerviews with Irish people concerned about the environment, including weatherman Gerald Fleming
, journalist Kevin Myers
and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley
.
He covered the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
and resulting Fukushima I nuclear accidents in Japan for RTÉ.
, is from "Pakistan's tribal areas". He first wore the hat during a live television news report for RTÉ outside Government Buildings
during the January 2010 weather emergency in Europe
. The hat has been described variously as a “woolly pancake”, an “Aran
Smurf
’s hat” and “stylish, in a French pastry kind of way”. A Facebook
group dedicated to the hat had more than one thousand fans within hours of the hat's television debut. Observers noted that Cunningham's hat did indeed resemble a pakul
, a traditional men's hat worn in the Chitral
and Gilgit
regions of Pakistan. Some of these fans met up outside Government Buildings wearing their own hats in a similar manner. Fans looked forward to tuning in each evening to observe Cunningham and the hat. RTÉ.ie
even referenced the hat in their own weather updates. The hat was auctioned for GOAL on radio programme Mooney
on January 21, 2010 to raise funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake
appeal: the hat was purchased after some "frenzied bidding" for €570 by a member of "We love Paul Cunningham's winter hat" Facebook
society. Cunningham had responded after Derek Mooney
said he would auction his own jumper on air.
A former winner of the "Radio Journalist of the Year" award, Cunningham is also known for his choice of hat. He has written the book Ireland's Burning.
Career
From 1999 to 2001, Paul Cunningham reported on the infection of Irish people with haemophilia, with HIV, and with Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products. In recognition, he won "National Radio Journalist of the Year" in the ESB National Media Awards in 2000. He followed this up with a documentary exposing the practices of US-based drug firms which exported infected blood products to Ireland. The programme, Bad Blood, won an Irish Film and Television Award. He co-wrote a book, with Rosemary Daly, on the impact of contaminated blood products called 'A Case of Bad Blood' for Poolbeg Press.Cunningham has reported extensively from abroad. His first assignment was on the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He followed up with reports on numerous conflicts including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Lebanon, Kosovo, Algeria, Pakistand/Afghanistan, Guatemala, Nepal, Darfur and Chad. He has also reported on flooding in Mozambique and New Orleans; racism in South Africa; and Chile post dictatorship.
In 2007, he presented an edition of RTÉ's current affairs interview programme One to One
One to One (TV series)
One to One is an Irish television series which airs on RTÉ One. Since the first edition was broadcast at 12:15pm on 1 October 2006, the programme has featured personal interviews with a well-known figure from Ireland and abroad, one per episode. The second series moved to a Monday slot, beginning...
in which he interviewed award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
. In 2008, after Cunningham interviewed civil servant Padraig O hUiginn for the same series, Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
columnist Brendan O'Connor
Brendan O'Connor (journalist)
Brendan O'Connor is an Irish journalist, comedian, media personality and retired pop star. Since 2010 he has presented The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ One. O'Connor is a columnist for the Sunday Independent, and is editor of the newspaper's Life Magazine.O'Connor's pop career has included a stint...
compared Cunningham to the hero in US television series Columbo: "seemingly awkward, nerdy and self-effacing and merely innocently asking odd questions, while all the time letting his subject reveal himself".
As RTÉ's Environment Correspondent Cunningham reports on climate change. In October 2006, he wrote about Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
for RTÉ. In 2008 Cunningham travelled to Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
with Aoife Kavanagh to film a series of reports on the country for RTÉ. Cunningham covered the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December and 18 December. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...
for RTÉ.
Cunningham has written the book Ireland's Burning, which was published in 2008. It features inerviews with Irish people concerned about the environment, including weatherman Gerald Fleming
Gerald Fleming
Gerald Fleming is an Irish meteorologist and weather presenter. He joined Met Éireann in 1980 and has worked as co-ordinator of the RTÉ Television weather team. He is currently Head of Forecasting in Met Éireann.- Early and personal life :...
, journalist Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers is an Irish journalist and writer. He writes for the Irish Independent and is a former contributor to The Irish Times, where he wrote the "An Irishman's Diary" opinion column several times weekly...
and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley
John Gormley
John Gormley is an Irish politician. He was the leader of the Irish Green Party from 2007 to 2011, and was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2007–11...
.
He covered the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
and resulting Fukushima I nuclear accidents in Japan for RTÉ.
Hat
Since January 2010 Cunningham has become known for an outbreak of "hat mania" focusing on his choice of hat which, according to the journalist himself via TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, is from "Pakistan's tribal areas". He first wore the hat during a live television news report for RTÉ outside Government Buildings
Government Buildings
Government Buildings is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the government of Ireland are located...
during the January 2010 weather emergency in Europe
Winter of 2009–2010 in Europe
The winter of 2009–2010 in Europe was unusually cold. Globally, atypical weather patterns brought cold, moist air from the north. Weather systems were undergoing cyclogenesis from North American storms moving across the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and saw many parts of Europe experiencing heavy...
. The hat has been described variously as a “woolly pancake”, an “Aran
Aran sweater
The Aran sweater is a style of jumper/sweater that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. It is sometimes known as a fisherman sweater...
Smurf
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
’s hat” and “stylish, in a French pastry kind of way”. A Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group dedicated to the hat had more than one thousand fans within hours of the hat's television debut. Observers noted that Cunningham's hat did indeed resemble a pakul
Pakul
The Pakol also spelled Pakul or Khapol, from Nurestan is a soft, round-topped men's hat, typically of wool and found in any of a variety of earthy colors: brown, black, gray, or ivory. Before it is fitted, it resembles a bag with a round, flat bottom. The wearer rolls up the sides nearly to the...
, a traditional men's hat worn in the Chitral
Chitral District
Chitral is a district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that contains the town of Chitral. It has an area of 14,850 km² and a population of 318,689 at the 1998 Census, which had subsequently risen to about 378,000 people by 2004. It has one of the highest mountains of the world,...
and Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
regions of Pakistan. Some of these fans met up outside Government Buildings wearing their own hats in a similar manner. Fans looked forward to tuning in each evening to observe Cunningham and the hat. RTÉ.ie
Rte.ie
RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of RTÉ's online activities, located at the URL http://rte.ie. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site, it says, is funded...
even referenced the hat in their own weather updates. The hat was auctioned for GOAL on radio programme Mooney
Mooney (radio programme)
Mooney is an Irish radio programme broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. Presented by Derek Mooney, the programme airs Monday to Friday from 15:00 to 16:30....
on January 21, 2010 to raise funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
appeal: the hat was purchased after some "frenzied bidding" for €570 by a member of "We love Paul Cunningham's winter hat" Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
society. Cunningham had responded after Derek Mooney
Derek Mooney
Derek James Mooney is an Irish radio and television presenter, as well as a radio producer. He currently presents a weekday afternoon programme called Mooney on RTÉ Radio 1....
said he would auction his own jumper on air.
External links
- Paul Cunningham webchat on climate change
- Paul Cunningham at the Copenhagen Climate Summit2009 United Nations Climate Change ConferenceThe 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December and 18 December. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...