Roger Cook (journalist)
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Roger Cook (born 6 April 1943 in New Zealand) is an investigative journalist, reporter and broadcaster.
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[edit] Biography
He was brought up in Australia, and began his career with the ABC as a reporter and newsreader on both radio and television. In 1968, he joined the UK's BBC Radio 4's The World At One, and subsequently worked on several BBC radio and television programmes, including PM, Nationwide, and Newsnight.
[edit] Checkpoint
In 1971 he created and first presented the Radio 4 programme Checkpoint, which specialised in investigating and exposing criminals and con-men. One 1979 programme about notorious rock manager Don Arden proved to be a colourful encounter. 'When you fight the champion you go 15 rounds, you've got to be prepared to go the whole way,' Arden tells Cook: 'I'll take you with one hand strapped up my arse. You're not a man, you're a creep.' [1]
[edit] The Cook Report
In 1985 he moved to Central and created The Cook Report. The show is best remembered for Cook's trademark confrontations with his targets, complete with his camera crew, in which he would often get verbally and physically abused. The Cook Report ran regularly until 1998, where he and his film crew bit off more than they could chew trying to bust the 'black and white' cafe in Bristol UK for selling heroin; ending up in hospital after receiving a very bad beating.[citation needed]
Roger Cook is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism at Nottingham Trent University.
Roger Cook was interviewed about his latest book on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday 5th November 2007, on the Stephen Nolan show.
[edit] Parodies
Roger Cook has been parodied by many comedians such as Benny Hill and Reeves and Mortimer. In the eighties his 'Checkpoint' series got its sitcom counterpart in BBC Radio 4's Delve Special, where investigative journalist David Lander, played by Stephen Fry, doorstepped many a villain. When Roger Cook's investigations moved to television, so did his parody, in Channel 4's This is David Lander, which was followed later by Tony Slattery taking over the central role in This is David Harper. Many of Lander and Harper's investigations were based on reports made by Cook, Panorama and World in Action [1]
A puppet version of Cook also appeared in the satirical series Spitting Image. In one such sketch he goes to the Heavenly Gates and confronts God as if He were a crooked estate agent who promised land to the Jews, only to offer the same land to the Arabs under the name of Allah.
A pornographic parody was shown on Television X, titled "Roger Cock".
[edit] Trivia
Roger Cook is mentioned in the lyrics of Sheriff Fatman on Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine's 1989 debut album, 101 Damnations. The relevant line is: someone call up Roger Cook and the United Nations.
