Mark Carruthers interview

Mark Carruthers – BBC Northern Ireland


What were you doing when you were my age?

At nineteen, I would have been fairly similar to where you are now. I studied Politics at Queen’s and then a Masters in Irish politics.

How did you get where you are today?

When I decided it was journalism I wanted to follow, I started writing for the Gown and did hospital radio from Musgrave Park. Towards the end of my time at Queen’s I was Assistant Editor of Theatre Ireland Magazine. I also started contributing on a freelance basis to Radio Ulster’s ‘The Bottom Line’ which was a youth programme, where I was then offered a short term contract as a radio current affairs reporter in 1989, and I’ve been here ever since as they say.

In covering the aftermath of the tsunami on Sri Lanka, how has this influenced your own approach to reports on recent disasters in Burma and China?

Maybe it’s easier. Two years before I had been to Arissa in India after they had been affected by a super cyclone, virtual identical to what happened in Burma. Those trips were very character forming, and I do feel I have a better grasp of what’s going on having witnessed the effects. I was there 3-6 months after those disasters, but the devastation was still clear to see.

Had you ever considered being a foreign affairs reporter?

I’m primarily interested in the Irish situation, but the good things about this job are that you can go away. I reported from Romania after the revolution, Saudi Arabia just before the first Gulf War, and I was speaking at a conference in Colombia last year looking at conflict resolution. So there is still a fair bit of travelling. I’m interested in foreign affairs but I don’t know if it would suit me to live my life that way.

What do you value most in life?

There’s no question that my priority has to be my wife and three kids, but I do feel a commitment also to this place and how it has changed so much in the last twenty years. A lot of my peers went to University across the water and never came back, but I have always taken the conscious decision not to go away.

How vital are programmes such as Let’s Talk to politics?

On one level I believe it’s important to have a platform where politicians are held to account on a regular basis by ordinary voters. There are lots of other discussion programmes, but few of them really put key decision makers on a programme where they can’t hide. Occasionally you do get those who will state the obvious or simply sit on entrenched positions, but there are a lot of people who clearly demonstrate critical thinking and you do see politicians shifting, or interesting alliances being formed that are quite surprising.

As a journalist, you may have your own views on health, education, policing etc. however, to what extent can it influence your reporting?

I don’t feel I have ever found it hard, but it is wise to remind yourself often. I have fairly set ideas, but my views aren’t really relevant. I don’t want to betray my position, or be open to the charge that I am being less than bi-partisan in my approach. I would hate to think it would lead me to be fearful of ever articulating my opinion, but at the end of the day as long as I articulate both views then that’s fine.

Who would you say is the most influential person in your life?

On a day-to-day basis it would have to be my wife, and I couldn’t do what I do without her support. I suppose what has shaped me into being a very questioning individual was my Dad. He would be my biggest defender but also my sternest critic. If he doesn’t like something he will say it.

What advice would you offer to a University graduate?

My advice would be to do what you most want to do. Of course, get the best possible degree you can first and foremost, but if you want to be a journalist, there are an awful lot of people out there who want to be journalists. If you’re prepared to work and you have the talent then you’ll do well.

Where do you see Northern Ireland in ten years time?

I’d like to think it would be peaceful as it is now, and I suspect it will be. I feel the distinction between North and South will have blurred round the edges. I certainly don’t think we will go back to the dark days of the violence, but it’s like looking into a glass ball, I’m not absolutely sure.