Ciaran Jenkins (born 1984, in Merthyr Tydfil,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

) is a Welsh journalist and reporter who works for ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

'', the flagship news programme of British broadcaster

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

. He is the channel's Scotland correspondant.

Personal life

Jenkins was born in Merthyr Tydfil, a former mining town in the valleys of South Wales. His father is the Welsh poet and author, Mike Jenkins. His sister is Bethan Jenkins, a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

politician who represented the South Wales West region in the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. He also has a younger sister named Niamh. He read Music at

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , establish ...

, graduating in 2005 and was a gifted cellist, reaching the final of the ''Texaco Young Musician of Wales'' competition in 1999. In 2016, Jenkins shared his experience of studying at Cambridge as an ambassador for the

Seren Network The Seren Network is a set of eleven regional hubs in Wales to help sixth-formers in Welsh state schools to get into Russell Group universities. It was formed by the Labour Welsh government in 2015 in response to a fall in Welsh students applyi ...

Career

After leaving university, Jenkins lived in Japan where he studied Japanese and wrote articles for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper's ''Comment is Free'' website. He studied at Cardiff University School of Journalism during which time he developed a popular political blog, ''Blamerbell Briefs''. Jenkins is a former

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

education correspondent, appearing frequently on

BBC Wales Today ''BBC Wales Today'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. According to the BBC, it is the world's longest-running television ne ...

and the Welsh language news programme,

Newyddion ''Newyddion S4C'' (''S4C News'') is a Welsh-language news programme consisting of Welsh, UK, and international news, produced daily by BBC Cymru Wales and broadcast on S4C. Overview The main evening programme (branded ) is broadcast each wee ...

. He conducted in-depth investigations into bogus academics and fraud in 2011, which led to the effective abolition of the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

, formerly Britain's second-largest university. Jenkins joined

as a reporter in January 2012.

Awards

Jenkins was named Royal Television Society Young Journalist of the Year 2012 for his work on Channel 4 News. Jenkins also won the Current Affairs category at the Celtic Media Awards 2012 for his investigation, ''Cash for Qualifications'', which exposed potential visa and exam fraud at the

. His earlier investigation, ''University Challenged'', won Best News, Current Affairs & Sport programme at BAFTA Wales in 2011. Jenkins won Grand Prize at the inaugural

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

European News Blog Awards in 2006 for his political blog ''Blamerbell Briefs''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Ciaran 1984 births Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Welsh journalists British reporters and correspondents Living people People from Merthyr Tydfil BBC newsreaders and journalists ITN newsreaders and journalists