Roger Cook (journalist)
| Roger Cook | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 April 1943 |
| Occupation | Journalist, broadcaster |
| Spouse(s) | Frances (m. 1983) |
| Children | 1 |
Roger Cook (born 6 April 1943) is a BAFTA award winning investigative journalist and broadcaster.
His parents were New Zealanders, but he was brought up in Australia and began his career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter and newsreader on both radio and television.
In 1968, he moved to Britain where he joined BBC Radio 4's The World At One programme and subsequently worked on several other BBC radio and television programmes, including PM, Nationwide, and Newsnight.
In 1971, he created and presented the Radio 4 programme Checkpoint, which specialised in investigating and exposing criminals, con-men, injustice and official incompetence - and then confronting the wrong-doers on tape. He is credited with creating a new genre of investigative reporting. One 1979 programme about notorious rock manager Don Arden proved to be a colourful encounter. 'When you fight the champion you go 15 rounds, you've got to be prepared to go the whole way,' Arden tells Cook: 'I'll take you with one hand strapped up my arse. You're not a man, you're a creep. You’ll be served with a writ shortly. If you want to dig up dirt about me, I’ll take your last five pounds for doing it.' The promised legal action never happened and Arden's career subsequently went into decline.
In 1985, Cook moved to Central and, in 1987, started and presented his own TV series,The Cook Report. In fact, it was a much better resourced version of his radio programme, with a large and dedicated research team, which enabled it to operate on an international scale. The show is perhaps best remembered for its ground-breaking filmed 'stings' and for Cook's trademark confrontations with his targets, during which he (and sometimes the film crew) could suffer verbal and physical abuse. Cook was variously described in the press as 'Nemesis in a leisure shirt', 'A cross between Meatloaf and the Equaliser', 'The bravest/most beaten-up journalist in Britain' and 'The Taped Crusader.'
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