Malcolm Brabant

Malcolm Brabant
Born 1955 (age 59–60)
Willesden, London Borough of Brent, England
Nationality British
Education Northgate Grammar School, Ipswich
Occupation Freelance journalist
Years active 1975–present
Spouse(s) Trine Villemann
Children Lukas Brabant

Malcolm J Brabant (born 1955 Willesden)[1] is a freelance British journalist. Having trained with the BBC, he was employed by them for more than 20 years, reporting from various locations. Described as the "King of the Stringers",[2] Brabant has also worked for UNICEF.

Early life

Brabant was born in 1955 in Willesden, in the London borough of Brent, and raised in and around the large town of Ipswich in Suffolk in the East of England.

Brabant was educated at Northgate Grammar School for Boys (now part of Northgate High School), a former state grammar school in Ipswich, from 1966 to 1973.

Career

After training with the BBC, Brabant worked on Anglia Today.[3] He then went freelance to become an overseas correspondent. Working as a "Stringer"[2] – a journalist paid by the news organisations on a per-piece basis – for 22 years he reported from various overseas territories and on numerous news stories, including Sarajevo,[3] Montserrat,[4] Denmark,[5] Greece, the United States[6] and the Middle East.[7]

In 2008 following a BBC corporation wide review led by Mark Byford, BBC News introduced new money-savings contracts. Previously, BBC News had bought all material from their contract freelance journalists, in whatever form: written; sound recorded; television media; editorial. Under the new contract, it was proposed that the BBC would only buy the required pieces, while restricting contracted freelancers solely to working for BBC News.[8] Brabant led the orchestrated opposition,[8] which resulted in him and other freelance journalists being allowed to sell the non-required pieces to other news organisations. Hence in 2009, after BBC News bought Brabant's written follow-up piece on the Danish cartoon controversy for their website, Brabant sold the visual recording to other news organisations. Other freelance journalists later commented that Brabant had single-handedly saved British freelance journalism.[2]

Brabant also worked for UNICEF, providing bespoke news reports on key issues which the organisation could use to highlight defined issues.[9]

Reaction to Yellow Fever vaccine

In 2011, Brabant become seriously ill following a routine inoculation against Yellow Fever.[10]

Asked to report from Ivory Coast by UNICEF, Brabant was administered the yellow fever vaccine Stamaril made by Sanofi Pasteur in April 2011, at the Vaccination Centre East Attica in Pallini, Athens.[11] Suffering an adverse reaction, he has since suffered three psychotic episodes, and spent more than three months in the intensive care units of psychiatric hospitals in three countries.[12] The family are currently resident in Denmark while Brabant receives additional care and assessment.[3][10] He was replaced in Autumn 2012 by the BBC's then-Balkans Correspondent, Mark Lowen.

Personal life

Brabant met the Danish journalist and author Trine Villemann in Sarajevo. The couple married, and have a son Lukas. The family were based in Athens for 16 years until mid-2011.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "FreeBMD Entry Info". Freebmd.org.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The King of the Stringers". roomyverse.com. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Malcolm Brabant (1 January 2012). "How a routine jab sent me so mad I sobbed (and saluted) through the Royal Wedding – then became convinced I was the Messiah...". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (5 November 1997). "Despatches: Americas – Montserrat". BBC News. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (5 April 2009). "Danish cartoonist remains defiant". BBC News. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (5 January 2001). "Bush's brother to face vote inquiry". BBC News. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (14 July 2010). "Israel warships monitoring Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship". BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Roy Greenslade (11 September 2008). "BBC freelances across the world protest at new contracts and pay cuts". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (7 February 2011). "Children and families face increasing challenges in aftermath of 2010 Pakistan floods". Unicef. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Glenda Cooper "Malcolm Brabant: 'I suffered psychosis after a routine injection'", telegraph.co.uk, 25 May 2013
  11. ↑ Joanne Lock (3 December 2011). "Veteran BBC journalist's family takes on pharmaceutical titan". neoskosmos.com. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Roy Greenslade (16 November 2011). "Why Brabant of the BBC has been off the air more than on". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

External links