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Peter Sharp<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Peter Sharp (born 13 September 1946) is an Australian-born British journalist and foreign correspondent. He reported for ITN in the 1980s,[1] Sky News from the mid-1990s to 2010,[2] and later for Al Jazeera English in the 2010s, filing from Moscow, Jerusalem and Sarajevo.[3] Sharp was expelled from South Africa in 1987 by the apartheid government for his reporting on political unrest, alongside BBC correspondent Michael Buerk.[4][5] He later reported from Baghdad during the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003,[6] and from Beijing as Sky\u2019s Asia Correspondent (2007\u20132010).[7][8] He received the Wildscreen Panda Award in 2008 for China\u2019s Killer Zoos and the Human Rights Press Award in 2010 for China Rough Justice.[9][10]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early life and education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharp was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 13 September 1946. In his early years, his family relocated to the United States where he attended Derby Academy in Massachusetts.[11] He then went on to Stanstead College in Quebec, Canada.[12]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent Radio News (1976\u20131981)<\/strong>
Sharp joined Independent Radio News (IRN) in London in 1976 as a radio reporter, covering events such as the 1976 United States presidential election.[13][14] Between 1978 and 1981 he was based in Salisbury (now Harare), covering Rhodesian bombing raids on Mozambique,[15] as well as post-independence developments including interviews in the new Zimbabwean government.[16]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ITN (1981\u20131991)<\/strong>
From 1981 to 1987, Sharp was ITN\u2019s Southern Africa Correspondent, based in Johannesburg during the apartheid era.[17] His reporting focused primarily on anti-apartheid resistance and political unrest under government restrictions on the press.[18] In February 1986, Sharp obtained security footage from Cape Town\u2019s Medipark Clinic that showed Nelson Mandela outside prison. He showed the tape to Winnie Mandela, who confirmed it was her husband despite government denials. ITN broadcast the footage as the first public glimpse of Mandela in over two decades.[19]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 1987, the apartheid government refused to renew Sharp\u2019s press credentials and ordered him to leave within ten days, prompting diplomatic protests from Britain.[20][21]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his expulsion he continued with ITN, covering the wars in Angola, Mozambique and Uganda.[22] He also covered the Gulf War in 1991, reporting from Kuwait and Iraq, and Sharp and the ITN crew were the first journalists to film the Persian Gulf oil slick outside the military pool system, documenting oil-covered cormorants and other wildlife; their report was later picked up by CNN.[23] His coverage of the Yugoslav Wars included Sarajevo\u2019s Children (1994), a documentary that later won a New York Festivals Award (see Awards).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sky News (mid-1990s\u20132010)<\/strong>
By the mid-1990s, Sharp was working for Sky News as a foreign correspondent.[24] He was Sky\u2019s Baghdad-based correspondent during Saddam Hussein\u2019s capture in 2003,[25] and also reported from northern Iraq in 2003 during the war.[26] His Iraq assignments ranged from Baghdad and northern Iraq to frontline reporting with British troops near Fallujah.[27]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He later served as Sky\u2019s Asia Correspondent, based in its Beijing bureau from 2007 to 2010,[28] before returning to London as a senior news correspondent.[29]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His reporting during this period included coverage of China\u2019s Kashgar region, including the 2008 Kashgar attack in Xinjiang,[30] an investigation into forced evictions and land seizures,[31] and the Lou Jing controversy in Shanghai.[32][33][34][35][36] He also contributed a chapter to the Sky News anniversary volume 20 Years of Breaking News, entitled No Medals for Media Freedom, describing media restrictions in China during his posting.[37] He reported the documentary China\u2019s Killer Zoos, which investigated animal welfare abuses in Chinese safari parks and won the 2008 Panda Environment Award (see Awards). His investigation China Rough Justice received a Human Rights Press Award in 2010 (see Awards).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera English (2012\u20132016)<\/strong>
Between 2012 and 2016, Sharp worked as a freelance correspondent for Al Jazeera English, filing from its Moscow, Jerusalem and Paris bureaux, as well as from London. His assignments included a return to Sarajevo in 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bosnian war,[24] a 2013 report on the jailing of a Bosnian Serb commander,[25] and coverage of Edward Snowden\u2019s stay in Moscow.[26]
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Personal life<\/strong>

Sharp lives in Devon, England. In retirement, he has volunteered with Age UK Exeter, supporting elderly members of the community.[27] He has also given lectures on journalism at Falmouth College of Arts (now part of Falmouth University, affiliated with the University of Exeter).[28]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 1994 \u2013 New York Festivals, Best Foreign Story for Sarajevo\u2019s Children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 1995 \u2013 New York Festivals, World Medal, Best News Reporter\/Correspondent for Sky News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 1995 \u2013 New York Festivals, Best Foreign Correspondent for reporting from the Yugoslav Wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 1997 \u2013 New York Festivals, World Medal, Best News Reporter for Sky News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 2000 \u2013 New York Festivals, Gold Medal for Auschwitz: The Final Witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 2008 \u2013 Panda Environment Award (Wildscreen Panda Awards), Best Foreign Report for China\u2019s Killer Zoos.[29]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* 2010 \u2013 Human Rights Press Awards (Broadcast Television), Special Merit for China Rough Justice (Sky News).[30]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selected reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/strong> Interview with Cyril Ramaphosa \u2013 ITN (1980s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/strong> Operation Desert Storm \u2013 ITN (1991).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* <\/strong>1991: Gulf War: Persian Gulf Oil Spill \u2013 ITN Archive (1991).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/strong> Diana: The Final Farewell \u2013 Sky News (1997).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* <\/strong>Exclusive investigation: China\u2019s land grab \u2013 Sky News (2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. \u00a0“Caught in the Crossfire”. The Washington Post. 14 June 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u00a0Deans, Jason (15 December 2003). “Broadcasters scramble to cover Saddam story”. The Guardian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong> \u00a0“Bosnians mark 20 years since war began”. Al Jazeera English. 6 April 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.<\/strong> \u00a0“S. Africa expels two British TV correspondents”. The Washington Post. 15 May 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. \u00a0“S. Africa Orders 2 British TV Reporters to Leave”. Los Angeles Times. 15 May 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. \u00a0Deans, Jason (15 December 2003). “Broadcasters scramble to cover Saddam story”. The Guardian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. \u00a0“Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu’s Regular Press Conference (27 Oct 2009)”. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. \u00a0<\/strong>“Sky News shuffles foreign correspondents”. Press Gazette. 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. \u00a0“Wildscreen Panda Awards 2008 \u2013 Winners”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. \u00a0“Human Rights Press Awards \u2013 Past winners”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. \u00a0“History”. Derby Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. \u00a0“Stanstead College history”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. \u00a0“Review of the year, 1976 (last section)”. Learning on Screen \u2013 LBC\/IRN Archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. \u00a0“Peter Sharp reporting from Washington on the close run presidential election campaign”. Learning on Screen \u2013 LBC\/IRN Archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. \u00a0“Peter Sharp reports on Rhodesian air strike and regional responses”. Learning on Screen \u2013 LBC\/IRN Archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. \u00a0“Peter Sharp reports on Lord Harlech’s arrival in Salisbury and interviews with Deputy Minister Ishmael Adams”. Learning on Screen \u2013 LBC\/IRN Archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. \u00a0“Caught in the Crossfire”. The Washington Post. 14 June 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. \u00a0Tumber, Howard; Webster, Frank (2006). Journalists Under Fire: Information War and Journalistic Practices. SAGE Publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. \u00a0“A glimpse of Nelson Mandela \u2013 ITN archive (1986)”. Channel 4 News. 12 December 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. \u00a0“S. Africa Orders 2 British TV Reporters to Leave”. Los Angeles Times. 15 May 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. \u00a0“South Africa throws out reporters, tightens apartheid”. UPI. 14 May 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. \u00a0Tumber, Howard; Webster, Frank (2006). Journalists Under Fire: Information War and Journalistic Practices. SAGE Publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23. \u00a0Kellner, Douglas. “The Persian Gulf TV War Revisited (Chapter 5)” (PDF). GSEIS, UCLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24. \u00a0“Bosnians mark 20 years since war began”. Al Jazeera English. 6 April 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25. \u00a0“Bosnian Serb commander jailed for war crimes”. Al Jazeera English. 30 March 2013.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

26. \u00a0“Snowden meets activists at Moscow airport”. Al Jazeera English. 12 July 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27. \u00a0“Certificate of Appreciation \u2013 Age UK Exeter”. Age UK Exeter. 2023. Certificate held in subject’s personal archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

28. \u00a0“MA International Journalism \u2013 Postgraduate Course Guide 2013” (PDF). Falmouth University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

29. \u00a0“Wildscreen Panda Awards 2008 \u2013 Winners”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30. \u00a0“Human Rights Press Awards \u2013 Past winners”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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