Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, discusses his experiences covering Middle East wars for the last 30 thirty years. Series: “Conversations with History” [2/2007] [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12185]
Page Description
Explore the life and career of Robert Fisk,
renowned journalist known for extensive reporting
from conflict zones and insightful global analysis.
Robert Fisk was a British journalist and author known for his coverage of the Middle East. He passed away in October 2020. Some key points about his life and work include:
Fisk was born in Kent, England, in 1946 and began his journalism career in the 1970s.
He worked for a number of newspapers, including The Times, The Independent, and The London Times, and was known for his in-depth reporting on conflicts in the Middle East.
Fisk was critical of Western foreign policy in the Middle East and was a vocal critic of the Iraq War.
He was the author of several books, including “The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East,” which won the British Book Award for Best Book in 2006.
Fisk was known for his firsthand reporting and for his willingness to challenge official narratives.
He was also criticized by some for his reporting style, which some saw as overly polemical and one-sided.
Despite the criticism, Fisk remained one of the most respected and influential journalists covering the Middle East for several decades.
Journalistic career: Robert Fisk was a highly respected journalist who spent over four decades reporting on conflicts and wars in the Middle East, particularly in the regions of Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. He worked for various media outlets, including The Independent, The Times, and The Guardian, and was known for his extensive knowledge of the history, culture, and politics of the Middle East.
Award-winning journalist: Fisk received numerous awards for his reporting, including the British Press Awards’ International Journalist of the Year seven times and the Orwell Prize for Journalism. He was known for his in-depth and critical analysis of the events he covered, often providing a unique perspective on complex geopolitical issues in the Middle East.
Focus on human stories: Fisk was known for his commitment to telling the stories of ordinary people affected by conflicts, often giving voice to those who were marginalized or overlooked. He was recognized for his reporting on civilian casualties, refugees, and the human toll of war, providing a humanistic approach to his journalism.
Controversial figure: Fisk’s reporting and opinions sometimes sparked controversy and debate. He was known for his contrarian views and willingness to challenge mainstream narratives, which sometimes drew criticism from various quarters. However, his reporting was also highly respected by many for its depth, accuracy, and insights into the complexities of the Middle East.
Author: Apart from his journalism career, Fisk was also a prolific author. He wrote several books, including “The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East,” “Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon,” and “The Age of the Warrior: Selected Essays.” His books were well-received and widely read, providing further insights into his observations and experiences in the Middle East.
Legacy: Robert Fisk’s work as a journalist and author has had a significant impact on the field of Middle Eastern journalism. He was known for his dedication to reporting on conflicts from the ground, his deep understanding of the region’s history and politics, and his commitment to telling the human stories behind the headlines. While his work was not without controversy, his contributions to journalism and his unique perspectives on the Middle East continue to be remembered and discussed by journalists, scholars, and readers around the world.
1 Conversations with History: Robert Fisk
2 Maverick Conversation: A Conversation with Robert Fisk & Yung Chang | Doc Conference
9 sep. 2019
4 Public Lecture by Mr. Robert Fisk 2016-03-10
6 State of Denial: Western Journalism and the Middle East | Robert Fisk
7 Interview with Robert Fisk on what really matters in the Middle East
4 dec. 2015
10 ROBERT FISK in Journalism and ‘Fake News’, Armenian Mirror-Spectator 85th anniversary symposium
26 nov. 2017
11 Robert Fisk, The Independent, speaks at University of Ottawa (2009)
12 Robert Fisk – Life after ISIS (2016)
6 mei 2016
The biggest defeat Isis has suffered is that refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq have come to Europe instead of migrating to the territories controlled by the jihadist militant group, according to journalist and author Robert Fisk.
Fisk gave a public lecture, entitled ‘Life After Isis’, to a capacity audience of 1,100 at O’Reilly Hall in University College Dublin. The lecture was organised jointly by the UCD Law and Philosophy societies.
President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina, and the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Ahmad Abdelrazek, attended the lecture.
“Their [refugees’] failure to go to the lands of Isis for their refuge was the biggest social, military, political defeat that Isis has suffered since it was created more than two years ago,” Fisk said.
“Those refugees came to be with us, they did not go to be with Isis and that was the most optimistic thing that I felt I could report from the Middle East in many, many months.”
The Independent journalist said that 100 years ago in 1916 the Great Powers of Britain and France had created the new states of Iraq and Syria and effectively carved up the Middle East between them when they signed the Sykes-Picot agreement.
Refugees from Syria and Iraq had now turned their backs on the Sykes-Picot agreement. They have rejected the 100-year-old deal because the Western powers that signed it had repeatedly failed to keep the promises they made to bring independence and democracy to the countries they had occupied.
“I suspect that what we’ve seen with these refugees coming to us is, in a way, these people turning their back on the borders we built for them, and when they arrived in Europe, in Greece or in Italy, they turn their back on our borders as well,” he said.
In his hour-long lecture, Fisk also said that looking back on the media coverage of the Arab revolutions, one of the interesting subtexts that journalists had largely overlooked was the importance of trade unions.
In 2006, cotton spinning factory workers in Egypt who were members of independent trade unions staged a revolution in the industrial town of El Mahalla.
The workers, who called for the overthrow of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, succeeded in securing their demands for improved living and working conditions.
He said these trade union members were the first industrial workers to protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
As a consequence trade unions were a “mainstay” of overthrowing the Mubarak regime and were a “major threat to any future regime if ‘democracy didn’t work’.”
He said that the machine-like way in which Isis destroyed cultural treasures and artworks suggested they had no emotions.
“I still think they have the emotions of an anti-aircraft missile or a helicopter gunship; they are a weapon.”
The lecture was one of the special events organised for the 50th anniversary of the UCD Philosophy Society.
After the lecture, Fisk responded to a number of questions from the audience in a question-and-answer session. He was also presented with Honorary Life Membership of the UCD Law Society.
Robert Fisk is an author and journalist who has worked as a Middle East correspondent for several different media outlets since 1976 and for The Independent newspaper since 1989. He also reported on the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s.
He has published six books, the best known among them his 2005 work, The Great War for Civilisation, a critique of the West and Israel’s handling of the Middle East conflict and Pity the Nation, an account of the Lebanese Civil War 1975-70, which he also reported on.
14 Full Lecture: From the Frontline: An Eyewitness Account from the Middle East
11 nov. 2016
Speakers:
Dr Robert Fisk
Professor Jane Ohlmeyer (Director, Trinity Long Room Hub)
15 Robert Fisk – Q&A with UCD Philosophy Society & UCD Law Society (2016)
6 mei 2016
The biggest defeat Isis has suffered is that refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq have come to Europe instead of migrating to the territories controlled by the jihadist militant group, according to journalist and author Robert Fisk.
Fisk gave a public lecture, entitled ‘Life After Isis’, to a capacity audience of 1,100 at O’Reilly Hall in University College Dublin. The lecture was organised jointly by the UCD Law and Philosophy societies.
President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina, and the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Ahmad Abdelrazek, attended the lecture.
“Their [refugees’] failure to go to the lands of Isis for their refuge was the biggest social, military, political defeat that Isis has suffered since it was created more than two years ago,” Fisk said.
“Those refugees came to be with us, they did not go to be with Isis and that was the most optimistic thing that I felt I could report from the Middle East in many, many months.”
The Independent journalist said that 100 years ago in 1916 the Great Powers of Britain and France had created the new states of Iraq and Syria and effectively carved up the Middle East between them when they signed the Sykes-Picot agreement.
Refugees from Syria and Iraq had now turned their backs on the Sykes-Picot agreement. They have rejected the 100-year-old deal because the Western powers that signed it had repeatedly failed to keep the promises they made to bring independence and democracy to the countries they had occupied.
“I suspect that what we’ve seen with these refugees coming to us is, in a way, these people turning their back on the borders we built for them, and when they arrived in Europe, in Greece or in Italy, they turn their back on our borders as well,” he said.
In his hour-long lecture, Fisk also said that looking back on the media coverage of the Arab revolutions, one of the interesting subtexts that journalists had largely overlooked was the importance of trade unions.
In 2006, cotton spinning factory workers in Egypt who were members of independent trade unions staged a revolution in the industrial town of El Mahalla.
The workers, who called for the overthrow of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, succeeded in securing their demands for improved living and working conditions.
He said these trade union members were the first industrial workers to protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
As a consequence trade unions were a “mainstay” of overthrowing the Mubarak regime and were a “major threat to any future regime if ‘democracy didn’t work’.”
He said that the machine-like way in which Isis destroyed cultural treasures and artworks suggested they had no emotions.
“I still think they have the emotions of an anti-aircraft missile or a helicopter gunship; they are a weapon.”
The lecture was one of the special events organised for the 50th anniversary of the UCD Philosophy Society.
After the lecture, Fisk responded to a number of questions from the audience in a question-and-answer session. He was also presented with Honorary Life Membership of the UCD Law Society.
Robert Fisk is an author and journalist who has worked as a Middle East correspondent for several different media outlets since 1976 and for The Independent newspaper since 1989. He also reported on the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s.
He has published six books, the best known among them his 2005 work, The Great War for Civilisation, a critique of the West and Israel’s handling of the Middle East conflict and Pity the Nation, an account of the Lebanese Civil War 1975-70, which he also reported on.
17 Interview – Robert Fisk – The Age of the Warrior
18 okt. 2008
18 Robert Fisk and Judy Bailey. Q&A for This is Not a Movie, directed by Yung Chang at Doc Edge 2020.
19 Robert Fisk: What Europe really should do in Syria and the Middle East
9 dec. 2015
20 Inside Story – Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize – 11 Oct 09
12 okt. 2009
We discuss the motives behind granting the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama, the US president. Does he deserve the prize? And what has he achieved? Or was the award granted in the hope he would succeed in the future?
At Al Jazeera English, we focus on people and events that affect people’s lives. We bring topics to light that often go under-reported, listening to all sides of the story and giving a ‘voice to the voiceless.’
Reaching more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe, our viewers trust Al Jazeera English to keep them informed, inspired, and entertained.
Our impartial, fact-based reporting wins worldwide praise and respect. It is our unique brand of journalism that the world has come to rely on.
We are reshaping global media and constantly working to strengthen our reputation as one of the world’s most respected news and current affairs channels.
22 Robert Fisk – Covering wars insurgencies and massacres
25 jan. 2013
04/04/2008 – Robert Fisk, the iconic Middle East correspondent for the Independent, talks about his reporting career spanning three decades.
Fisk has reported from the Middle East for more than 31 years — during which time he has covered 11 major wars as well as countless insurgencies and massacres.
He holds more British and international awards than any other foreign correspondent and is the author of the critically acclaimed The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East, an eyewitness history of the region’s tragedy.
His latest book, The Age of the Warrior, is a collection of his Saturday columns for the Independent, which allows him to “speak out against the fraud and injustice of a world in which consent has become automatic”. It covers issues ranging from the Middle East to the use and misuse of words, and the influence of cinema and novels on our age.
23 Robert Fisk: The Arab Spring’s Uncertain Future
25 jan. 2013
27 Robert Fisk – Lies and Misreporting in the Middle East 1/5
27 jun. 2011
28 Robert Fisk – Lies and Misreporting in the Middle East 2/5
27 jun. 2011
29 Robert Fisk – Lies and Misreporting in the Middle East 3/5
27 jun. 2011
30 Robert Fisk – Lies and Misreporting in the Middle East 4/5
27 jun. 2011
31 Robert Fisk – Lies and Misreporting in the Middle East 5/5
27 jun. 2011
34 Robert Fisk: The Armenian Genocide A Century On at UCL 8/6/2015
21 jun. 2015
43 Robert Fisk on the Gulf ‘ditching the dollar’ in oil trade
6 okt. 2009
Gulf states have held secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the US dollar with a basket of currencies in the trade of oil, the UK’s Independent newspaper says.
The report by Robert Fisk, the newspaper’s Middle East correspondent, was published on Tuesday and cited unidentified sources in Gulf Arab states and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong.
Al Jazeera has this exclusive interview with Robert Fisk and Steven King, chief economist from the HSBC Group.
At Al Jazeera English, we focus on people and events that affect people’s lives. We bring topics to light that often go under-reported, listening to all sides of the story and giving a ‘voice to the voiceless.’
Reaching more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe, our viewers trust Al Jazeera English to keep them informed, inspired, and entertained.
Our impartial, fact-based reporting wins worldwide praise and respect. It is our unique brand of journalism that the world has come to rely on.
We are reshaping global media and constantly working to strengthen our reputation as one of the world’s most respected news and current affairs channels.
45 Is Israel a rogue state? | Inside Story
12 mei 2022
Shireen Abu Akleh was a household name across the Middle East.
The veteran Al Jazeera journalist earned widespread praise for more than two decades of reporting on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory… telling stories of war, atrocities and Palestinian resistance.
She was shot in the head as she covered Israel’s latest raid on the Jenin refugee camp, in the Occupied West Bank.
will Israel get away with its crimes?
And who can hold it to account?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
Guests:
Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem)
Aicha Elbasri, Researcher at Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies
Rami Khouri, Professor of Journalism at American University of Beirut and Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School
28 jul. 2010
46 The Full Story of Iran’s Nuclear Program – Robert Fisk
Middle East journalist Robert Fisk argues that the U.S. media delivers a “false narrative” about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, as they rarely discuss that the West originally supported an Iranian nuclear program.
—–
In “The Age of the Warrior”, Dr. Robert Fisk has assembled a remarkable collection of essays and stories which serve to amplify and reflect the blood-stained past and present in which we live.
Fisk takes readers from the London bombings to the streets of Lebanon, from war torn Iraq to the horror of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, offering courageous eyewitness accounts.
Ranging from the inspirational to the utterly tragic, these essays encompass our world today – World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.
Robert Fisk is Middle East correspondent for the London Independent (independent.co.uk). He has been based in Beirut for more than thirty years and has covered every major war in the Middle East over that period. Mr. Fisk has been given seven British International Journalist of the Year awards for his work. His previous books include Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon and In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the Price of Neutrality 1939-45.
47 Robert Fisk – Iran knows that you won’t get invaded if you have a nuclear weapon
17 mrt 2012
Robert Fisk talks to Al Jazeera about the Syrian Civil War. He also talks about the wider Geo Politics at play. All the right for this video belong to Al Jazeera.47 CrossTalk: Iran a Good Guy? (ft. Robert Fisk)
48 One on One – Robert Fisk – 07 Nov 08 – Part 2
9 nov. 2008
One on One – Robert Fisk – 07 Nov 08 – Part 1
9 nov. 2008
In this episode of One on One, Riz Khan meets the veteran war correspondent and Middle East commentator.
At Al Jazeera English, we focus on people and events that affect people’s lives. We bring topics to light that often go under-reported, listening to all sides of the story and giving a ‘voice to the voiceless.’
Reaching more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe, our viewers trust Al Jazeera English to keep them informed, inspired, and entertained.
Our impartial, fact-based reporting wins worldwide praise and respect. It is our unique brand of journalism that the world has come to rely on.
We are reshaping global media and constantly working to strengthen our reputation as one of the world’s most respected news and current affairs channels.
48 One on One – Robert Fisk – 07 Nov 08 – Part 2
9 nov. 2008
49 Robert Fisk doubts Syrian sanctions will work
18 aug. 2013
50 Andrew J. Bacevich, “America’s War for the Greater Middle East”
15 apr. 2016
51 The End of Palestine? A Lecture by Norman Finkelstein
20 mrt. 2015
52 Robert Fisk – Life after ISIS (2016)
6 mei 2016
The biggest defeat Isis has suffered is that refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq have come to Europe instead of migrating to the territories controlled by the jihadist militant group, according to journalist and author Robert Fisk.
Fisk gave a public lecture, entitled ‘Life After Isis’, to a capacity audience of 1,100 at O’Reilly Hall in University College Dublin. The lecture was organised jointly by the UCD Law and Philosophy societies.
President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina, and the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Ahmad Abdelrazek, attended the lecture.
“Their [refugees’] failure to go to the lands of Isis for their refuge was the biggest social, military, political defeat that Isis has suffered since it was created more than two years ago,” Fisk said.
“Those refugees came to be with us, they did not go to be with Isis and that was the most optimistic thing that I felt I could report from the Middle East in many, many months.”
The Independent journalist said that 100 years ago in 1916 the Great Powers of Britain and France had created the new states of Iraq and Syria and effectively carved up the Middle East between them when they signed the Sykes-Picot agreement.
Refugees from Syria and Iraq had now turned their backs on the Sykes-Picot agreement. They have rejected the 100-year-old deal because the Western powers that signed it had repeatedly failed to keep the promises they made to bring independence and democracy to the countries they had occupied.
“I suspect that what we’ve seen with these refugees coming to us is, in a way, these people turning their back on the borders we built for them, and when they arrived in Europe, in Greece or in Italy, they turn their back on our borders as well,” he said.
In his hour-long lecture, Fisk also said that looking back on the media coverage of the Arab revolutions, one of the interesting subtexts that journalists had largely overlooked was the importance of trade unions.
In 2006, cotton spinning factory workers in Egypt who were members of independent trade unions staged a revolution in the industrial town of El Mahalla.
The workers, who called for the overthrow of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, succeeded in securing their demands for improved living and working conditions.
He said these trade union members were the first industrial workers to protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
As a consequence trade unions were a “mainstay” of overthrowing the Mubarak regime and were a “major threat to any future regime if ‘democracy didn’t work’.”
He said that the machine-like way in which Isis destroyed cultural treasures and artworks suggested they had no emotions.
“I still think they have the emotions of an anti-aircraft missile or a helicopter gunship; they are a weapon.”
The lecture was one of the special events organised for the 50th anniversary of the UCD Philosophy Society.
After the lecture, Fisk responded to a number of questions from the audience in a question-and-answer session. He was also presented with Honorary Life Membership of the UCD Law Society.
Robert Fisk is an author and journalist who has worked as a Middle East correspondent for several different media outlets since 1976 and for The Independent newspaper since 1989. He also reported on the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s.
He has published six books, the best known among them his 2005 work, The Great War for Civilisation, a critique of the West and Israel’s handling of the Middle East conflict and Pity the Nation, an account of the Lebanese Civil War 1975-70, which he also reported on.
53 Naked Model Prank 2021
25 mei 2021
Welcome to the world-famous Just for Laughs Gags, we’ve been playing silly pranks on unsuspecting people in public and capturing hilarious reactions with hidden cameras.