When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Jon was sent out to report from the scene. He looks back to how he got his start in journalism, and visits the ITN archive to reflect on how his commitment to good journalism impacted his reporting of the momentous event.

On the 11th September 2001, Jon was at lunch when a phone call summoned him back to the studio. He thinks back to that day of live reporting, and his subsequent visit to Ground Zero, and analyses how emotional honesty made his reporting more impactful.

The Haiti earthquake of 2010 was one of the most devastating events in the country’s history, causing over 100,000 deaths and immense destruction. Jon reflects on how empathy played a part in his reporting of the earthquake, and how he and his team reported from such a catastrophic scene.

Jon thinks back to his reporting from Gaza during the conflict with Israel in 2014, and reflects on how the principle of humanity helped him to report fairly and accurately.

The Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 claimed 72 lives, and hit much closer to home for Jon than the other events in this series. After hearing survivors’ stories, Jon was forced to reflect on the purpose of journalism and whether it was serving people in the way it should.

[Additional audio provided by the Edinburgh TV Festival]

Jon thinks back to the times he’s interviewed world leaders, and what he’s learnt from their various approaches. Looking at interviews with dictator Idi Amin, Margaret Thatcher, and Nelson Mandela among others, Jon thinks about the most important lessons he’s learnt over his career.