After Dinner Speakers: Kate Adie, Julian Richer, David Bailey

Kate Adie's reports about conflicts and disasters from around the globe have made her one of the BBC's most respected news journalists. An adopted child, Adie was brought up in Sunderland, northeast England. After graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in Scandinavian studies, she began a career in BBC radio, working first as a technician and then as a producer. In the late 1970s she moved to local television and began to appear on screen as a reporter. She made her debut on BBC national news in 1979. During the 1980s Adie became a household name in Britain with her frontline coverage of wars, revolutions, and natural disasters from around the world - a type of reporting previously considered a male province. Her reports, which are often made in circumstances of great difficulty or danger, are characterized by a coolly authoritative manner that inspires absolute trust in the viewer. Adie has received numerous honours and awards for her work, including the Monte Carlo International TV News Award (1981, 1990) and the prestigious Richard Dimbleby Award (1989). She became the BBC's chief news correspondent in 1989 and was appointed OBE in 1993. An articulate and inspirational speaker of enormous world experience.