Less than a year before the USA chooses a new President, Jim Naughtie finds that many Americans no longer believe in the American Dream. The BBC Today Programme presenter has covered every presidential election since 1988 and is discussing the current state of US politics after speaking at the Belfast Festival at Queen’s.

“Many Americans, say aged between 30 and 50, are profoundly sceptical of the idea with which they grew up, that it was almost an inheritance of theirs that every generation would be better off than the one before,” he comments.

That idea of constant progress was treated as an “absolute fact” that “made you an American” but now rings hollow in the Rust Belt and across the South. Indebtedness to China and Japan are major worries. Together, those countries hold around 45 per cent of US foreign debt.

“The idea that America no longer rules the waves is one that [has] really taken hold,” Naughtie reflects with some regret. “It’s extremely hard to use the word pessimism in relation to the States because it’s the most optimistic country in the world. And there will be a huge amount of rhetoric [this year] about ‘the Americans will bounce back, we’ll do it, that’s what we are etc. etc.’ but I think underneath that there’s a real lurking fear that it’s no longer true.”

A decade of conflict since 9/11 has added to that fear. Realising the threat of terrorism was a “profound shock” and Americans are “slightly bewildered” that they are no safer after the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. Around 6,200 US troops have died and 47,000 have been injured in both campaigns.

An old saying goes that voters don’t make up their minds after baseball’s World Series is over, which makes for a lot of deciding in the last week of October.

Obama will undoubtedly have to “carry the can” for unemployment, pay cuts and repossessions on his watch and there is now a “sense of quite steep disillusionment” among young people.

Turning to the Republican side, Naughtie adds: “There is absolutely no doubt that the person that the White House fears most is Mitt because he is competent. He is actually more personable than he was in the last campaign.”

Mitt Romney avoids the false conspiracy theories about Obama and instead paints him as “rather a nice guy” who wants the same things as him but “doesn’t know how the world works”. To win the primaries, though, Romney will play to the Tea Party with right-wing rhetoric.

“It’s beyond me to imagine that they could nominate Rick Perry but it’s not impossible,” Naughtie adds. While the Texas Governor is a “seasoned politician,” he has shown a “real lack of grip” on the Middle East, among other issues.

Romney’s weaknesses are his liberalism, faith and wealth. As Massachusetts Governor, he introduced a nearly universal health insurance plan. Many evangelicals “regard Mormonism as a cult” and it’s also “very easy to portray him as a very rich, smooth, Wall Street corporate fat cat, largely because that is indeed what he is.”

Although Americans frequently talk about freedom, enterprise and the American Dream, “very rich folks from Wall Street are not the flavour of the month” at the moment. However, Naughtie’s hunch is “if the Republican Party is serious about winning the election, they should nominate him.”

His own experience of America goes back to studying at Syracuse, upstate New York, back in the mid-1970s. He clearly regrets the polarisation and growing cynicism in its society, which in turn causes serious political damage.

The American constitutional settlement assumed that parties in Congress would search for consensus but his sources in Washington are “very gloomy about the prospects of any administration and Congress being able to sort out some of the deep-seated problems because the ideological rift is so profound now.”

Partisan talk shows and radio reflect the prejudices of their audiences, who are “not interested in hearing another point of view”. An ex-army colonel and Tea Party activist whom he met in Kentucky only listened to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

Getting answers

Hearing that makes him more proud of British radio’s style: “We have managed to preserve in this country the idea of the interview as being something that is an opportunity for people to hear their concerns, their questions, being put and answered.”

For almost every interview, his rule is: “You work out what the one thing is you want to know or you’ve at least got to be determined to get at, and everything else is a bonus.”

Going with the conversational flow is better than sticking to a plan. An alert interviewer who listens to the answers can pick up something intriguing, unexpected or surprising.

Naughtie sums up: “In a good interview, the person being interviewed has always had an opportunity to put their case across, assuming they’ve got one, but the question that most of your listeners want to hear asked has been asked and answered.” The art of it is “letting people feel that they really have learnt something, that light has been cast on something.”

On radio, it’s hard to avoid interrupting a down-the-line interview and eye contact makes the process much more straightforward. “Politicians and experienced people know it. When they’re actually there, it’s much better for us and it’s much better for them too,” he comments.

Realistically, some BBC services to the public will be hit by cuts. That said, he thinks that austerity is forcing to BBC to “think very hard” about its core values and what it does best.

“The BBC can never win because it’s got to try to please everybody, which is impossible,” he quips. With News International on the defensive, when it could otherwise be criticising the licence fee, this is “rather a happy coincidence.”

In brief, what does your working week involve?

Farming Life is published twice a week within the News Letter, so every day is busy. Most of my time is spent dealing with emails and phone calls, organising coverage for the big agricultural stories of the week and liaising with the photographer to get a good coverage from right across the province.

I am sometimes asked to go along to speak at events such as agricultural show launches or AGMs or club dinners and this is a great opportunity to touch base with our readers and hear their views on the paper and the industry as a whole. During the summer months I also like to get along to a few of the local agricultural shows.

You’ve talked about “times of growing opportunity for young people coming into agriculture.” What are the reasons for optimism?

Despite the economic downturn, the agri-industry is probably the only industry that has shown strong resilience and is bucking the trend. And with the world’s population expected to almost double by 2050, there will be a huge demand for produce. The industry also offers a vast range of opportunities for young people interested in product development, science, and research and development.

I think too people from non-farming backgrounds are beginning to get a real interest in where their food comes from and that’s thanks to programmes like ‘Lambing Live’ and ‘Countryfile’.

You could call it the Adam Henson effect.

What is distinct about agricultural journalism?

I started out in my career working in weekly newspapers where you have to have a pretty good knowledge of absolutely everything. Agricultural journalism is a very technical subject; it’s not all about milking cows and lambing sheep, but there is a lot to get your head round in terms of EU directives and policies. 2011 is a big year in terms of the way ahead for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the slice of the budget farmers in Northern Ireland will receive in their single farm payments.

What have been the most memorable stories you have covered in your career?

I think the most memorable stories stand out from my time working for weekly newspapers where I covered just about every possible subject imaginable. I don’t think it’s so much the stories that stand out but the people who were generous enough to share their feelings with me, as a journalist, in difficult or tragic circumstances.

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

Without a doubt it’s meeting people within the industry and particularly the farmers themselves who are out there grafting 24/7. Farming is not a job. It’s a way of life and sometimes success or failure can depend on nature itself and a battle against the elements.

What’s the most challenging part?

Just like any job in journalism, there is a degree of pressure involved in meeting deadlines, but it’s a case of dealing with it and doing the best job that you can.

How do you relax in your free time?

What free time? I have two sons, aged 14 and 12, and seem to spend much of my time driving them about. I am a Sunday school teacher at my local church and editor of the church magazine (more deadlines!)

I do enjoy a Sunday afternoon walk with my King Charles spaniel Sophie and I like getting to grips with the weeds in the garden. I live on a small holding and it’s therapeutic to get out in the fresh air to help round up the sheep or the cattle or helping out at lambing time.

Briefly describe how you got started in journalism.

After completing my undergraduate degree at University of Ulster I applied to a post-grad course in broadcast journalism in London on a bit of a whim. I’d actually started a different course back in Belfast, when I got word that I’d been accepted on to the competitive post-grad. I was always interested in news and current affairs but hadn’t really gone down the usual route of chasing after a career in journalism while at school and uni. It was only when I started the course in London that I realised this what I wanted to do all along.

How does your daily routine work out?

That depends greatly on what shift I’ve been slotted on to. Early starts and late finishes are commonplace for most journalists and it’s no different in commercial radio. I also work a lot of weekends.

On an early newsdesk shift, the day starts at 5.30am. The first thing I do is to check what stories have been left for me by the previous night’s desk editor before scanning through the emails and news wires. Then I check the morning papers and start putting the 6am news bulletin together.

The rest of the morning carries on in the same pattern: checking sources, writing scripts, carrying out and editing phone interviews. Then when a reporter arrives in we discuss what the big stories are, what ones we’re going to cover and the treatment they’ll be given. The evening shift generally works the same way with a lot of planning ahead for the next day. I also leave the news room to report on stories at different locations.

What have been the main highlights of your career so far?

The main highlights go hand in hand with the big stories I have covered and the biggest story to date has to be Peter Robinson’s defeat in the Westminster elections last year. The surprising result made huge waves not just here, but in the national media too.

The Hazel Stewart trial in Coleraine earlier this year was another gripping story I had the opportunity to report on. While the shocking events brought great sadness for all involved, the dramatic court case with Colin Howell as a prosecution star witness was one I doubt we’ll see in Northern Ireland again.

Other highlights include covering the visits of George Bush and Hilary Clinton and several royal visits. Last year I was selected to take part in a study programme for young journalists in the United States. It was a great programme looking at the impact of new media. I even ended up in the Cheers bar (from the TV show) in Boston singing the theme tune with basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. Don’t ask!

What’s unique about Downtown and Cool FM?

We’re unique in that we provide a news service for two different stations with different audiences. That can be a challenge as we seek to ensure that our stories are relevant and tailored to meet the needs and interests of a wide range of listeners. I think we have a unique, commercial sound which sets us apart from our rivals. We always aim to provide listeners with the most up to date, accurate and impartial breaking news. The station’s output extends further into community life through our Cash for Kids charity. Again news plays a vital role in our coverage and this year our annual radiothon raised £100,000 for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

Why did you decide to go into radio journalism?

As I said in the first answer, I applied for a postgraduate course in London in broadcast journalism on a bit of a whim and haven’t looked back since. I love the immediacy of radio and the opportunity to use a range of editorial, technical and broadcasting skills.

Do you prefer reading or reporting the news?

It’s a common misperception that all a news reader does is read the news every hour. This might be the case at larger news organisations, but in commercial radio the person reading the news is generally the person that writes the scripts, checks sources, follows up leads, carries out interviews and edits them for broadcast. I enjoy this side of the job but it can get manically busy at times. I equally enjoy reporting and find this is where the real journalism is done, out on the beat talking to people about the stories that matter.

How do you relax in your free time?

As you can imagine I consume a lot of news outside of work, mainly online as well as on radio and TV. I cycle a bit and try to keep fit, but it’s a bit of a struggle with my funny working hours. I’m most relaxed when spending time with friends and family.

Briefly outline how your media career started.

I worked hard at university in Loughborough to grab as many experiences as I could and eventually settled on wanting a career in the media. I helped make this happen by presenting a radio show on the student station and being the sports editor of the union magazine.

From there I blagged a pass for the media centre at the Sydney Olympics, volunteered some articles for papers back home, and then got a job with my local paper, the Impartial Reporter in Enniskillen.

What’s unique about sports journalism?

It’s fun. And it shouldn’t be taken too seriously!

In your view, how do the print and broadcast media differ in style?

When working as a reporter for UTV at Ireland rugby matches away from home I was quite envious of the print guys because they basically just had themselves to worry about. They could write the story, press send, and the work was done. There are many more elements to television reporting, including filming, editing and sending packages back via satellite. You have to work more as a team and there are more variables. I do a fair amount of travel writing and really enjoy the extra freedom you have in print. With broadcasting, you are always led by the pictures.

What makes for a good match commentator?

A quick mind followed by a quick mouth. My Sky Sports colleague Mark Robson is one of the best in the business in my opinion, and very versatile. A good commentator can make his carefully prepared ad-libs sound natural and his research come across as informative rather than showing off.

Which three interviewees stand out from your career so far?

I am hugely impressed with Rory McIlroy and always enjoy interviewing him. He is a wonderful ambassador for Northern Ireland and we should all be extremely proud of him.

I wasn’t quite so impressed with John McEnroe. We had a big row in front of a crowd in The Odyssey Arena when he lost that famous temper after losing a match against Henri Leconte.

I have interviewed my brother Andy quite a few times; he is a professional footballer with Rangers and a Northern Ireland international. I always find it strange, but rewarding too, as I’m very proud of him and being 11 years older feel quite protective of him.

Out of your record-beating attempts, what was the greatest achievement?

I am obviously very proud of winning a world title for Ireland in elephant polo a few years ago but the sporting achievement I am most proud of is captaining the winning team in the first ever Race Around Ireland cycle challenge.

This took months and months of training and planning and was the most exhilarating three days and nights ever, with no sleep, intense competition, exhaustion and dozens of really tough hill climbs. My team of four beat the favourites by over an hour, and we had so many hurdles to overcome along the way, including losing our bikes two hours before the start. Character building!

How does elephant polo work?

We call elephant polo the biggest sport in the world (in terms of the weight of the teams, that is). It is basically the same as conventional polo but much, much slower, and with a few unique rules such as ‘no forcing your elephant to lie down in front of your goals’ and the fact that teams must swap elephants at half-time. It’s fantastic craic and one of my all-time favourite experiences.

What’s the next step?

We won the contract to produce the BBC’s Moto GP coverage for the next three seasons and so far it is going really well. It’s great to be producing major network television from Belfast and the fact that so many local people get a chance to be involved is very gratifying.

I enjoy balancing the management and business demands of this role with my presenting gigs, and get as much of a kick out of seeing our company develop and succeed as I do out of fronting live television. I think it’s really important to have a lot of variety in work and life in general, it’s just much more interesting that way. I am always up for fresh challenges and have a deep ‘think tank’ of ideas, though the tank is to remain closed for a few years under order of the wife.

Free time interests

I’ve two boys under two years old and I work in several different roles with a lot of travelling, so I don’t have much free time. I train a lot: I swam the length of Lough Erne in a relay this summer and am then running 150 miles across the Sahara next April. I also love gardening when the weather is decent, and I read when it isn’t.

“Positivity, strategic thinking and collective thinking” are needed in this term, according to SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone. He had no time for “silly debates” over accepting £400 million from the Irish Government for roads. People on the ground need hope, he emphasised, citing a school leaver whose family could not afford to send him to unvirsity.

A shared future needs to be taken seriously, Alliance’s Chris Lyttle contended: “This is not an aspirational issue. It’s a real problem. It has serious human, financial, reputational costs for Northern Ireland.”

He wanted to introduce a duty on government departments to co-operatie; Alliance proposes a Governance Bill to bring this about.

“We are absolutely obsessed with process with no focus on outcomes,” new UUP MLA Mike Nesbitt said of the system of government. Invest NI spends 10 per cent of its year managing end-of-year finances rather than encouraging economic development. He wanted to see a change in language, from “promoting” interests to advancing them. A debate was also needed on “what does success look like in 2015?”

In the Q&A session, all three MLAs said there was more scope for North/South co-operation.

Nesbitt saw lower corporation tax as a “huge risk” but one worth going for. As a Victims Commissioner, he found that civil servants were focused on ticking boxes on public service agreements. The last Environment Committee found a “total absence of read-across” on climate change policy, McGlone remarked.

DUP and Sinn Féin MLAs were invited but were unable to attend.

Reviewing the Assembly election results, Dr Sydney Elliott said there is “no current political threat” to the St Andrews coalition. The DUP and Sinn Féin are well ahead of the UUP and SDLP, the TUV lacks support and dissident republicans did not contest the Assembly election.

The campaign itself majored on bread and butter issues apart from the First Minister issue. The difference in turnout between east and west did not necessarily match the nationalist-unionist divide. Unionists in the west tend to vote better than those in the east.

Going forward, he said some key questions included:

• Is it necessary to have 105 of 108 MLAs as members of governing parties?

• Can committees exercise opposition where the chairs are dominated by the main parties?

• Is declining turnout a reflection on the parties, devolution or disinterest?

A cut in constituencies (from 18 to 16) would reduce the Assembly from 108 to 96 members based on the current rules. However, Stormont could follow the Scottish Parliament’s example which kept its size (129 MSPs) despite a similar reduction.

The political landscape: a preview

Progress on corporation tax and cutting the size of government is most likely, according to Mark Devenport’s “best guesses” for the way ahead.

BBC Northern Ireland’s political editor said it was “highly unlikely” that the UK Government would reject the devolution of corporation tax, having gone so far down the process.

John O’Dowd is a more conciliatory Education Minister than Caitríona Ruane, already talking about academic streaming within schools. While Catholic bishops wanted to end selection, Catholic grammar schools may differ. Devenport anticipated progress on the Education and Skills Authority and local government reform.

On health, Edwin Poots faced a hard decision over the future of Belfast’s A&E units. The DUP manifesto was open to private and voluntary providers, and the Strategic Investment Board was considering how capital could be brought in from elsewhere.

It was hard to see progress on segregation or in the dispute over Mary McArdle as a Sinn Féin special advisor. Owen Paterson preferred historians handling the legacy of the Troubles, rather than lawyers, but the PSNI was seeking

Boston College’s oral history records as evidence. The Irish Language Act dispute may be resolved by introducing a catch- all Minority Languages Act, as Alliance had suggested.

MLAs will enjoy three years without an election, up to the European polls in June 2014.

The sunset clause on justice devolution will return those powers to the NIO in May 2012, unless a way forward is agreed. Sinn Féin prefers d’Hondt while the DUP backs the cross-community system. As a compromise, changes could be deferred until a cut in the number of government departments.

Jim Wells and Simon Hamilton are due to take on the health and finance portfolios, respectively, in mid-2013. The next Westminster poll is due in May 2015 and Owen Paterson’s Normalisation Bill may extend the Assembly’s term to five years, taking it up to May 2016.

Unusually for a legislature, the new Assembly starts with 105 of its 108 members being government backbenchers. Inside the Executive, the two Alliance ministers are seen as “team players” by the DUP and Sinn Féin but the SDLP and UUP face the dilemma of whether to go into opposition.

Cut spin and open up government

Ministers “tend to be wrapped in cotton wool” and need to talk directly to journalists, Noel Doran has stated. The Irish News editor criticised officials’ attitude to the press.

When his paper’s political correspondent Diana Rusk was refused entry to a briefing with Michael McGimpsey earlier this year, other journalists walked out on the Minister and his officials.

Overall, Belfast’s political reporting was “pretty mild” and “polite” compared to the Dublin and Edinburgh press. Doran had attended a 10 Downing Street reception for the regional media but no similar event had been held at Stormont.

Newspapers were in flux and, after the Sunday Tribune’s closure, he expected other Dublin titles to go under. Government hand-outs for papers would take them into “dangerous territory”, implying political control, and should only be “the last option”.

Health had been an example of “how not to run a department,” he claimed. The Irish News’ extensive reporting found a refusal to tell the public “what they really had a right to know”. Disclosure after disclosure therefore followed.

He remarked: “The time has come to move beyond symbolism, important as that may be, and towards solid legislative progress which has been in fairly short supply.”

Outline your career path to date.

I always had an interest in journalism and politics but thought lawyers made the big bucks. So I graduated with a law and politics degree from Queen’s University, hoping to ‘keep my options open’. After graduating, I went to Dublin and worked for the Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland which was a terrific first job to land as a graduate. The Ombudsman was a barrister called Pauline Marrinan Quinn (now Ombudsman for the Defence Forces). She was a really interesting and inspirational lady who set very high standards for herself and everyone she employed.

In 1999, I joined the Fianna Fáil press and research team in Leinster House and really enjoyed being on the inside during those early years of Bertie Ahern’s reign as Taoiseach. However given all that was happening politically in Northern Ireland with the post-Good Friday Agreement power sharing administration, I was eager to return home.

In 2001, I took up a role as press officer for the SDLP. Taking up that role was very much a baptism of fire. I had some experience of working with the media but working in politics in Northern Ireland was a completely different ball game and I had to learn quickly! In my first year, I went with the SDLP delegation to the Weston Park talks. I travelled to the White House and Downing Street. It was an extraordinary time for politics at Stormont and it was a privilege to watch it close up.

Of course, one of the other areas I always had an interest in was the law and the justice system. So when I was offered a newly created post in 2003 as public affairs officer in the Police Service, I jumped at it. I was then promoted to Head of News in the Police Service and in 2009 took up my current post as Head of Communications in the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.

What makes for a good press officer?

I’ve worked with a range of good press officers from really diverse backgrounds –

some of them were former journalists, others from a PR background and some like myself just ‘fell into it’. But they all have one thing in common: they understand the media and they understand the need to be available at all times to both the media and members of their own organisation. There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to get hold of a press officer at a critical time. Being able to ‘keep your head when all about you are losing theirs’ is also very useful.

How is a press query handled once you receive it?

It really depends on the nature of the query. All calls are logged and I would work closely with the Director and operational deputy directors in the Probation Board to ensure that when someone is seeking information they get accurate information in a timely manner. In some cases, particularly in relation to public protection issues, there is a need to work closely with other agencies: the police, the Prison Service, the courts.

Because of the nature of the Probation Board’s work, there are times when you simply cannot give the media the information they want. However, journalists are aware of that and as long as you are up front and honest, they are generally very understanding.

What particular challenges does communications work for the Probation Board involve?

I think people are less aware of the work carried out by probation officers than they are of some of the other criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland. I know when I joined the organisation, I was surprised at the range of work carried out by the Probation Board. The Probation Board really provides services at every stage of the criminal justice process – at court, in custody and in the community.

I think at times there is also a perception that probation is a soft option and is more concerned with the rights of offenders than victims. A lot of what I have tried to do in the last 18 months is about communicating the work that is done both directly and indirectly with victims and explaining the key role probation officers play in helping ensure safer local communities.

What professional standards are binding on press officers?

First and foremost honesty. If a journalist doesn’t trust you or believe you, they won’t talk to you. Likewise you have to be trusted by your colleagues and those with which you work.

How has the Freedom of Information Act changed your role?

As Head of Communications within the Probation Board, I am responsible for Freedom of Information as well as looking after all internal and external communications and public affairs. So I have a very direct role with freedom of information. I think it is really important that communications officers and freedom of information officers work closely together. My staff work together in an open planned office and on a practical level that is very beneficial in terms of sharing information. Sometimes journalists use freedom of information when it would be much easier for them just to pick up the phone and ask a press officer. In those cases it can be useful for press officers to offer help to journalists. I think on a more general level, freedom of information should make us all pay better attention to keeping and maintaining good records.

Outside work, what are your main interests?

My five-year old daughter is my main interest outside of work. Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications for Tony Blair, wrote recently about happiness and said: “Work-life balance is hard. We should put our kids first but busy people can’t and don’t. But I am at my happiest when I am at my closest to them. And I know this too – a parent is never happier than his or her least happy child.”

My husband and I are blessed in that we have a very happy child who is looked after when we work by my parents, which makes a massive difference. My husband is Director of Communications for the University of Ulster, so we tend to spend a lot of time glued to media in some shape or form.

When we get the chance, I also love watching films, reading, walking and I recently bought a bike but hopefully it’s not all downhill from here on.

“I’m learning constantly, not just from famous people but also from other actors my age, my peers,” remarks Martin McCann.

Brought up in the Divis flats, he “always loved films and acting” and at the age of 11 spotted an advert for playing the role of the Artful Dodger at the Belfast Arts Theatre. “I auditioned for it and got it. I just kept acting because I liked it and my career basically went from there,” he comments.

After his debut his mother put him in a black taxi and sent him to the Rainbow Factory School of Performing Arts in Belfast, a cross-community project set up to bring young Catholic and Protestant children together through drama.

“I just did drama extra-curricular. I never really did drama classes at school or went to a drama school. Sometimes I wish I had done but I feel at 19 or 20 if I had went and done three years in a college somewhere, I probably wouldn’t be as far on as I am now,” says McCann.

While drama school can “make people become better actors for the rest of their lives”, it just wasn’t his “path”.

Performing

As a child McCann spent most of his spare time watching films or performing. “I loved movies. When I was watching a film I would look at the lead actor or character and I would try and become them for a week, imitating them and copying their voice. I must have been a very annoying child to say the least,” he quips.

A school trip to the theatre gave him the inspiration to take to the stage: “One of my first theatrical experiences was going with the school to watch a bit of theatre and I thought: ‘Wow, how fantastic is that? You can get up, perform and help to tell a story.’”

At the age of 28, McCann has already secured modest roles in ‘The Pacific’, the TV show ‘Pulling Moves’, the blockbuster ‘Clash of the Titans’ and has even played Irish music legend Bono in ‘Killing Bono’, which was in cinemas last month.

While he lives in London he enjoys visiting Belfast regularly: “I’m there because of my career and it’s the only place that I can properly audition for things but pretty soon I’ll probably be buying my first place in Ireland. I live like most actors, always travelling and living out of a suitcase.”

Success

The business is “tricky” and it usually takes around 10 to 15 years to become an “overnight success”.

“I have no proper gauge of how well I’m doing or how well I’m not doing. I’m just doing what I love doing. Being an actor is difficult because at any one time just 2 or 3 per cent of us are working out of the 100 per cent that want to be doing it,” he explains.

McCann adds: “It’s not an easy profession. But if you ask any actor, it’s all they know really and it’s all they can do. I wouldn’t be particularly good at anything else so I’ll stick at it!”

All of the roles he has played to date have had their “different strengths” but his favourites include working with Irish screenwriter and director Terry George in ‘Whole Lotta Sole’, which was filmed in Belfast last month.

“I played a character called Jimbo. He’s a young man with a gambling addiction. He runs a fish shop and his life is falling apart. I like playing troubled characters; I don’t know what that says about myself,” jokes McCann.

Getting into character isn’t a problem but it often takes a lot of research: “If I’m auditioning I’ll try to get a little bit of information on the character. For example, for Bono I had to watch a lot of early Bono footage and get the essence of that.

“If it’s a character that isn’t real, the most important thing is to learn your lines and show up on time.”

Influences

One of his biggest influences was well- known actor Pete Postlethwaite, with whom he worked closely with during filming for ‘Killing Bono’. It was the star’s final film as he passed away in January after a lengthy illness.

He had previously described McCann as a “brilliant young actor with a great career ahead of him” and said he “wiped everyone else off the screen”.

“Pete Postlethwaite was a big influence on me; he taught me a lot. He was not only a great man on screen; he was also a great man off it. He held himself very well and he was just a really nice person to be around and to work with,” recalls McCann.

In February, the West Belfast actor scooped an IFTA award for his performance in ‘Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne’. He claimed the award ahead of household names such as Liam Neeson, Colm Meaney and Cillian Murphy.

“I really didn’t expect it,” confesses McCann. “I just took my mum down and I thought if we can get some free champagne and some free food and a night out, it’d be good fun. Then Kim Cattral called my name out and I’d worked with her before. It was just a really nice night and a great experience.”

With a hectic schedule of filming over the last few months, McCann is looking forward to a holiday but is also excited about filming for ‘Shadow Dancer’ in Dublin when he returns.

In the longer term he intends to “keep plodding along and we’ll see what happens and where it goes from there.”

How did you get started in journalism?

I had no formal journalistic training. I was thinking of becoming an actor but I knew my heart wasn’t entirely in it. I had nothing else planned but as I was about to leave Queen’s University I knew I had to earn some money. I asked for advice at the careers office where they told me there were summer vacancies in the BBC’s radio current affairs department.

I joined the BBC in Belfast as a freelance (with no training) at the height of the hunger strikes in 1981. I was given a tape recorder, told that I would be paid if I got any interviews that were broadcast and that’s how it all began. I lasted four months in Belfast, moved to Derry for four months and then back to Belfast, where I began to dig in and slowly, very slowly, to get regular shifts, then a regular job, first in radio current affairs, then radio news, then television news.

There’s no question that growing up in Northern Ireland and then reporting it gave me a training in and a taste for reporting conflict that has stood me in good stead for 30 years.

You have worked in radio and TV. What are the main differences and which do you prefer?

I like radio. There’s a wonderful freedom in just having a tape recorder and your own voice to paint sound pictures of the day’s events. But in the end it’s the combination of sound and pictures and words that inspires me. I think television news can have extraordinary impact. It’s how most people get their news. To edit a report that contains compelling images and to find just the right words to fit with them is a wonderful, daily challenge.

How is ITV News’ international coverage organised?

We have six bureaux around the world, with coverage co-ordinated by a foreign desk in London. Compared to the BBC’s many bureaux around the world, we are thinly stretched. But we fight hard. We make tough decisions about what to cover and what, sadly, we cannot go to and what has to be done from London. We box above our weight.

What has been the most difficult story you have worked on to date?

Wars are always hard. They’re about survival. When you are advancing with a British army unit like the Royal Marines, as I was in 2003 in the first days of the war, there’s only a very short time to actually do the journalism. You are busy jumping out of helicopters, humping equipment, running across open ground, scrambling into ditches under fire, then trying to eat, get enough sleep and work out how on earth you are going to get your story out of the battle zone and onto the news programme.

Sometimes it’s very hard to operate under the watchful eyes of a government, like Libya’s, that tries to censor you and restrict your movements. On other stories it’s hard to move around. Earthquakes are a perfect example. I’ve covered more than a dozen earthquakes now so I know what to expect and, believe me, it’s not easy. Other stories exact an emotional toll, like Beslan.

What do you enjoy most about the job?

As a journalist in Northern Ireland there was a dirty little secret: it was fun. Challenging yes, sometimes awful, but fun. The thrill of the call that led you into fast cars and a chase for the story, the sheer excitement of some of it, the (foolish) belief that, as journalists we were relatively safe – part of this was the young man’s belief in his own immortality!

No journalist worth his, or her, salt in Britain or Ireland should have been anywhere else but in Belfast. It was war in the United Kingdom. Democracy was being challenged by murderers, perverted by the authorities, there were legitimate grievances on both sides, a hidden, dirty war to uncover.

What more could any young journalist want? And for me it was a chance to bypass the tedium of journalism in any other part of the UK. No flower shows or obituary columns; it was straight to the funerals and obituaries as they happened. You wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

Today, the thrill of being on the front line of history remains. To be involved in the revolutions in the Middle East − albeit as a bystander − is extraordinary. But I also love doing my job with colleagues who are friends. We leave our hotel every day with a blank videotape and by the end we have a story to show the country. And once it has been sent to London, your job is over for the day.

It’s a daily challenge, long hours (in Libya recently it was 16 hours a day for nearly three weeks, non-stop) but the satisfaction of producing something at the end that really matters, that really shows people in the UK what’s going on, is wonderful.

How do you relax?

I love sport. I used to play football, but now I run, everything from 5K to a marathon. I did my first marathon last year, to celebrate being 50, and did it in three hours 23 minutes, which I was very pleased with.

I love wine and have a small cellar in my house. I love poetry and music. In Northern Ireland I was the drummer in a school, then university band. I love good food, great coffee but most of all I love doing all of this with my family, my wife and two lovely daughters. I am very lucky to have them and to have a wonderful career.

If you’ve ever been to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, you will doubtless remember the weird and wonderful walkways and escalators that transport travellers around this futuristic space.

You don’t get much time to decide which walkway to choose, and once you’re onboard there’s nothing you can do to alter the general direction of travel until you can jump over to another. Pressing the emergency stop is an option, but rarely a good choice.

Since first experiencing the place many years ago as a student, it has become my own little metaphor for life’s big choices.

Having travelled the walkway of presenting political programmes for the last eight years at the BBC, an opportunity arose to switch tracks to business and economics. I can’t say that I didn’t hesitate – but I jumped and am very happy with the choice.

I joined the BBC to present The Politics Show at its inception. I had worked in newspapers, radio and television but this was my first go at live presentation. It was daunting, but exciting.

We quickly established the new Sunday slot as an important fixture on the political scene. Our approach was traditional enough – interviews and in-depth reports – dressed up in a dress-down style that fitted with a lunchtime weekend audience.

In the early days we faced competition from UTV which had launched its own Sunday programme. This was a bit of a problem in terms of finding guests – much as politicians love the limelight, their families do sometimes insist on a day off – but it also helped reinforce Sunday as a big day for politics.

The Politics Show was designed for devolution – a network programme with regional ‘opts’ – and an early feature of the programme was a determined effort for the network part of the programme to try and link-up with the regional parts.

In our case, this generally meant live chats with Jeremy Vine explaining the latest crisis in the peace process. Stormont had been suspended just a few months before we came on air and – although we didn’t know it at the time – it wasn’t going to return for another four years.

But despite the stalemate in the institutions, politics itself was full of high drama: Drumcree, decommissioning, the Robert McCartney murder, the Northern Bank robbery, the rise of the DUP, the demise of David Trimble, the tentative moves towards Sinn Fein and DUP talks, the IRA standing down, Paisley and Adams meeting at Stormont.

This ‘high politics’ of the peace process was our meat and drink. With the return of Stormont and a functioning Assembly, the bread and butter issues began to receive more attention – though the days of high politics and high drama weren’t over. We witnessed the end of the Paisley era, the potential end of the Robinson leadership, a threat to the entire process over a failure to devolve policing and justice, and then the resurrection of both Robinson’s leadership and the entire process with a deal on justice that allowed Stormont to see out its first full term.

Dovetailing our Stormont coverage with the Sunday programme made a lot of sense and allowed me to see the nitty- gritty of Assembly business close up during the week while trying to offer an analysis of the big picture at the weekend.

As the Assembly and Executive return for what promises to be a second full term, they will no doubt reaffirm their commitment to make the economy their number one priority. It was hard to believe that commitment last time around when there was so much unfinished business of high politics and low political dealing to sort out. This time, it’s a more credible boast.

That political context, combined with the unprecedented global pressures and changes affecting our economy, all added up to the most interesting time to take an economic journalism brief. This particular walkway had a neon sign above it flashing: “Jump aboard now, Jim.” I look forward to the challenges ahead, unsure of where exactly I’ll be taken, but confident that I’ll enjoy the journey and hopeful that BBC viewers and listeners will too.

How did you get started in journalism?

It was a last minute change of mind which took me towards journalism. I’d always enjoyed writing and was very interested in current affairs but was initially planning to study law. Once I realised that I didn’t want to be a lawyer, the only thing I could think of was journalism.

I managed to get a place on the old NCTJ pre-entry course at the old College of Business Studies and went straight into this practical training course after school. My first full-time job in journalism was as the news editor of the first community radio station outside of Belfast. I went on from there to work for The Irish News and after that ended up in UTV before joining the BBC in 2003.

Where does your interest in politics come from?

I must have been a bit of a political nerd from an early age. I always remember watching Newsnight. I was interested in studying politics but it wasn’t offered as an A-level at my school, so I went with a friend in our lower sixth year and studied it independently through the College of Business Studies. My teacher, a great character called Bobby Lunney, really encouraged us and we both emerged with respectable grades at the end of the year.

Please describe your normal routine.

I’m at Parliament Buildings Monday and Tuesday for Stormont Today. These are long days as there is a lot of preparation to do for the programme which is recorded after 8pm. On Thursdays I’m at Broadcasting House preparing for Sunday’s Politics Show. I also pen a weekly missive which is sent to subscribers via email. On Sundays I’m back at base for the live broadcast. On any other day of the week I may be working for radio – normally Good Morning Ulster – or on other television projects. Sometimes I even take a day off.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Journalists are adrenaline junkies. We have short attention spans and thrive on stories that are dynamic. Politics can provide those stories. I love the concept of journalism being a trade at which you can continue to improve and that I can avoid the need for retirement by keeping busy and curious until the day I’m minor copy on the obit pages.

In your view, what makes a good interview?

You want the viewer or listener to be interested and to learn something new. The style you adopt will depend on the issue, the interviewee and the context in which the interview is taking place. When I interviewed Bill Clinton in 2004 it was clear that he was tired, and in a very bad mood before we began. There was lot riding on it and we needed him to open up, so that was an interview where the initial approach had to be coaxing and then progress to challenging. In other situations I’m happy to go in hard from the beginning if the story demands it.

How would you rate the current level of public interest in politics?

The turnout figures at election time suggest the interest in politics here has now dipped below the general level of engagement in the UK as a whole. That’s a remarkable change. However, our viewing figures remain very healthy and when there’s a big political story we see them go through the roof. People here seem to remain fairly obsessed with local politics.

What have been the three main political trends in this Assembly? How do you see the next one changing?

The decision of the DUP and Sinn Féin to form a government was the biggest change we’ve seen in decades. Since then, despite some well-documented deviations, the general trend has been one of co-operation between these two parties with the combined objective of stabilising the current structures of government and reaching the finishing line of a full term in office.

How do you unwind?

I read, cycle, and sometimes cook. I enjoy great movies and television. I’m a huge radio fan and when I’m not listening to our own news output on BBC Radio Ulster I’ve normally got Radio Four, RTÉ 1 or Radio Five Live on. I’m also a busy dad and enjoy getting the kids out and about at the weekends. When we can organise the babysitting I love to get out with my wife for a nice meal and a couple of drinks, a chance to pretend that we don’t have all those responsibilities to keep us worried.