David Starkey: My life in media (Interview)
David Starkey, 62, is a historian and television presenter. After a career at Cambridge and the London School of Economics he reinvented himself as a controversial media academic with his television series Elizabeth and, most recently, Monarchy. He grew up in Cumbria and lives with his partner of 14 years, the publisher James Brown, in London and Kent. He was awarded the CBE earlier this year.
What inspired you to embark on a career in the media?
A former student of mine went into television and his first job was to find a historian to present a sort of reality-TV show. His response was that all historians are boring, but with his back against the wall he was forced to say, "Oh, I suppose David Starkey was the least boring."
When you were 15 years old which newspaper did your family get, and did you read it?
My earliest memories are of the old Manchester Guardian. One of the most interesting parts was written by a young Michael Frayn, and the vividness of the writing, the extraordinarily wide range of things he was interested in and the ability to make unexpected connections were very powerful influences on me. The local paper was The Westmorland Gazette. All I remember about that was the convoluted gossip, the type of the masthead and the density of the marriages and deaths page.
And what were your favourite TV and radio programmes?
The first time I saw television was the coronation, and we went round to watch it on a neighbour's set. I can still remember the moment vividly: I was eight, and both the medium and ceremony made an extraordinary impression on me. But my mother was absolutely clear that television was the work of the devil and a distraction. The two greatest influences on me were the BBC Home Service and Third Programme (Radio 4's predecessors) so my upbringing was really Reithian. I hate speech broadcast now. I suppose I see them as a rival.
Describe your job.
I'm a writer and a broadcaster and a historian and I work in two principle media: books and television. A lot of people see them as very different but I think the overlap is very great....
Read entire article at Sophie Morris in the Independent
What inspired you to embark on a career in the media?
A former student of mine went into television and his first job was to find a historian to present a sort of reality-TV show. His response was that all historians are boring, but with his back against the wall he was forced to say, "Oh, I suppose David Starkey was the least boring."
When you were 15 years old which newspaper did your family get, and did you read it?
My earliest memories are of the old Manchester Guardian. One of the most interesting parts was written by a young Michael Frayn, and the vividness of the writing, the extraordinarily wide range of things he was interested in and the ability to make unexpected connections were very powerful influences on me. The local paper was The Westmorland Gazette. All I remember about that was the convoluted gossip, the type of the masthead and the density of the marriages and deaths page.
And what were your favourite TV and radio programmes?
The first time I saw television was the coronation, and we went round to watch it on a neighbour's set. I can still remember the moment vividly: I was eight, and both the medium and ceremony made an extraordinary impression on me. But my mother was absolutely clear that television was the work of the devil and a distraction. The two greatest influences on me were the BBC Home Service and Third Programme (Radio 4's predecessors) so my upbringing was really Reithian. I hate speech broadcast now. I suppose I see them as a rival.
Describe your job.
I'm a writer and a broadcaster and a historian and I work in two principle media: books and television. A lot of people see them as very different but I think the overlap is very great....