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Matthias "Matt" Frei (born 26 November 1963) is a British-German television news journalist and writer, formerly the
Washington, D.C. correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
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'' ...
''. He is now the channel's Europe editor and presenter of the evening news.
Personal life
Frei was born in 1963 in
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
. His parents left
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...
before it became part of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and settled in Germany.
[First Person, 17 January 2009](_blank)
''The Guardian''. Retrieved on 24 November 2009. In 1973, Frei and his family left Germany and moved to the United Kingdom, where his father became a London correspondent for
Deutschlandfunk
Deutschlandfunk (DLF, ''Broadcast Germany'') is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio.
History
Broadcasting in the ...
.
[
Frei was educated at ]Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, then read history and Spanish at St Peter's College, University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, before graduating in 1986.
Frei lives in London with his wife Penny and their four children.[
]
Career
BBC
Frei joined the BBC and spent a year in the German section of the World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
, before he moved to English language current affairs, where he worked for another year.
In 1989, working as a stringer
Stringer may refer to:
Structural elements
* Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened
* Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal
* Stringer (stairs), ...
, he reported on the First Intifada
The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''wikt:intifada, intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "wikt:uprising, uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sus ...
in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, then on the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
as London foreign affairs correspondent. He took up the post of Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
correspondent in Germany on the same day as the fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...
.
In 1990, Frei took a holiday in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
and persuaded aid worker friend Katty Kay
Katherine "Katty" Kay (born 14 November 1964) is a British-Swiss journalist, author and broadcaster. She presented BBC World News America and, with Christian Fraser, hosted ''Beyond 100 Days'' on BBC Four, BBC News and BBC World News. She has an ...
to become a journalist.
From 1992 to 1996, he worked as a Southern Europe correspondent, based in Rome, and covered events in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
, Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
, North Africa and various Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
-related stories.
After working as a Southern Europe correspondent, he worked as an Asia correspondent from 1997 to 2003, based in Hong Kong (taking up his post just before the handover to China) and later in Singapore.
From 2002, he was the BBC's Washington, DC correspondent. In 2005, Frei reported from the centre of in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. On 1 October 2007, Frei became the first presenter of the BBC World News
BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media an ...
one-hour Washington-based news broadcast, ''BBC World News America
''BBC World News America'' is a British/American current affairs news program created by Garth Ancier and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation's BBC News division, which premiered on October 1, 2007. Produced out of the BBC's Washi ...
'', supported by correspondent Katty Kay.
For a week in July 2008, Frei presented the London-based ''BBC News at Six
The ''BBC News at Six'' is the evening news programme bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on the BBC News channel and on British television channel BBC One on weekdays at 6:00pm. For a long period, the ''BB ...
'' on a relief basis. A year later on 27 July 2009, Frei returned to London again to present the evening bulletin (again as a relief presenter). In January 2011, Frei presented the BBCs ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' as a relief presenter.
Frei presented his own BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary on the life and times of the German capital,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. It ran from 14 November 2009.
As part of his brief as the BBC's Washington correspondent, Frei presented a weekly
Radio 4 programme entitled ''
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
'', which offers listeners slices of life in all of the country's 50 states as well as political news from Washington. Frei's last ''Americana'' episode was broadcast in May 2011.
Channel 4
It was announced in May 2011 that Frei would be switching from the BBC to
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 ...
later in the year. Frei would serve as the broadcaster's Washington correspondent 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'' ...
'', as well as reporting for the channel's other news programmes.
He has since returned often from Washington and has become a semi-regular presenter on Channel 4's evening news slot.
In October 2012, Frei headed Channel 4's coverage of the US presidential election, including making a documentary "The American Road Trip: Obama's story" in which he visited middle-class voters in communities in the mid-west, including
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...
,
Northwood, Ohio
Northwood is a city and eastern suburb in Wood County, Ohio, United States, within the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 5,265 at the 2010 census.
History
Northwood was originally Ross Township. It was the northernmost township in ...
and
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...
.
LBC
On 24 September 2016, he started presenting the 10:00 am show, occasional Saturdays on
LBC radio
LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...
. In the
prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In March and April 2021, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia's border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the illegal annexation of Crimea ...
, Frei has been reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Awards
* International Emmy for News, 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'' ...
reports, ‘Hong Kong: Year of Living Dangerously’, (2020)
*RTS Journalist of the Year
*(2015 and 2017)
*Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award (2018)
* Dupont Award for Haiti Earthquake (2011)
*
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
International News Award (2000)
*
Prix Bayeux for War Reporting (2000)
* Peabody Award for BBC World News America (2010)
*
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
Asia Award, for
Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
features on
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
(1997 and 1998)
Books
* ''Italy: The Unfinished Revolution'' (1995).
Sinclair-Stevenson
Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd is a British publisher founded in 1989 by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson.
Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson became an editor at Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 ...
. .
* ''Only in America'' (2008). HarperCollins Publishers Limited. .
References
External links
Matt Frei on LBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frei, Matt
1963 births
Living people
People from Essen
German emigrants to England
People educated at Westminster School, London
Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford
BBC newsreaders and journalists
ITN newsreaders and journalists
Television personalities from London
British people of German-Jewish descent
LBC radio presenters