Lisa Guerrero
American journalist and model
Martin Bashir is a British former journalist who worked for the BBC and ITV. He conducted a controversial interview with Princess Diana in 1995 under false pretenses. Bashir has had a turbulent career, with stints at various news organizations in the UK and US, and has faced criticism and scrutiny for his journalistic practices.
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About the Martin Bashir
Martin Henry Bashiris a British former journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC’s Panorama programme, for which he gained an interview with Diana, Princess of Wales under false pretences in 1995. Although the interview was much heralded at the time, it was later determined that he used forgery and deception to gain it.
Bashir worked for the BBC from 1986 to 1999 on programmes including Panorama before joining ITV. He presented the 2003 ITV documentary about Michael Jackson. From 2004 to 2016, he worked in New York–first as an anchor for ABC’s Nightline, then as a political commentator for MSNBC, hosting his own programme, Martin Bashir, and a correspondent for NBC’s Dateline NBC. He resigned from MSNBC in December 2013 after making “ill-judged” comments about former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In 2016, he returned to the BBC as a religious affairs correspondent.
In 2020, the BBC’s director general Tim Davie apologised to the princess’s brother, Earl Spencer, for Bashir’s use of faked bank statements to secure his 1995 Panorama interview with her. Former Justice of the Supreme Court Lord Dyson conducted an independent inquiry and concluded that Bashir had commissioned fake statements to deceive Earl Spencer to gain access to Diana, and in so doing had “acted inappropriately and in serious breach of the 1993 edition of the Producers’ Guidelines on straight dealing.” Bashir resigned from the BBC in May 2021, citing health reasons.
18 Quotes by Martin Bashir
- 1.
Press coverage has been difficult for him. I did not set out to ensnare him with a child.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 2.
The Thriller album is still the biggest album of all time. That is still returning huge royalty cheques.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 3.
Each story we approach in the same way, with curiosity and interest and determination to get behind the image.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 4.
Michael Jackson has some contact with his mother. I know she is involved with the children.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 5.
We wanted to make sure that the film covered the main issues of his life. Musicianship, appearance.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 6.
The film was fair to his musical achievement and gave him every opportunity to explain himself.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 7.
It’s terrible. How can we tell the world who the real Michael Jackson is?
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 8.
I have an inate curiosity about people.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 9.
It was a challenging experience. I’m looking forward to a break.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 10.
You say he’s childish, but he’s very professional about business transactions.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 11.
I don’t think his life has been in any way disfigured by the film. The film did disclose some difficult facts.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 12.
The first time I ask him, have you had your cheekbones raised, have you had your nose changed? He denied it all. I was asking him to compare his face with what it looked like years ago.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 13.
If somebody’s not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 14.
The children don’t wear their masks at home and in controlled surroundings.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 15.
It was not possible to broadcast any of that because of an agreement between Jackson and the family. Our legal advice was that we could not broadcast it.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 16.
I never saw anything that would qualify as a criminal activity.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 17.
He was very concerned about his children potentially being kidnapped or attached, and that’s why they were covered up. When he went to Berlin zoo, there were 200 photographers.
Martin BashirBritish journalist
- 18.
This was almost two hours of factual documentary. In our audience ratings, barely no one left the programme. The whole of his life is so fascinating and people kept watching for that reason.
Martin BashirBritish journalist