Insights from the Frontlines: Matt Frei’s Journalistic Odyssey and Guidance for Aspiring Reporters

Alfie Johnson

The origins of this interview with Channel 4’s Presenter and European Editor, Matt Frei, begins in a rather unconventional manner. As I was doing some Christmas shopping with my family in London, the familiar figure of Matt Frei caught my eye and I sensed an opportunity. As I nervously approached and asked whether he would consider doing an interview for my podcast, I was shocked and delighted at his receptivity to the idea.

This story resumes several weeks later, as I sat down at my desk in student halls and opened Zoom up on my laptop. Slight feelings of anxiety were undeniable, but these soon dissipated when Frei entered the call. I was met with the charismatic figure that had been across my screens for years, as Matt sat down illuminated by the lights of Channel 4 News’ very own studio.

‘It was four days of driving for a one-hour interview,’ Matt says as he describes his recent interview with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. ‘We recorded a whole hour which was great and he was quite open, his English has improved massively, thank God!’

Frei has had a fascinating career in journalism, reporting on politics across the world, becoming a mainstay on national television for decades.

Frei is a British-German journalist and Channel 4’s Presenter and European editor. Previously working for the BBC, Frei has had a fascinating career in journalism, reporting on politics across the world, becoming a mainstay on national television for decades. His radio show on LBC demonstrates his engaging expression of opinion and probing interview techniques, qualities which were apparent during our call.

‘I was the only member of the BBC team who spoke fluent German so it gave me a head start’, Frei says as he reflects on the coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 as his first ‘big break’. ‘It was an amazing story because it was a revolution, it was history unfolding, it was the world changing, yet not a single shot was fired.’

Frei has covered numerous conflicts including the First Intifada in 1993 between Palestine and Israel, and more recently the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, placing himself in perilous situations to deliver news to millions globally. Frei’s motivation for this journalism is unequivocal.

‘The minute you, as a journalist, have the power to move politicians in powerful countries to intervene militarily, you become part of the military equation whether you like it or not’, Frei says. ‘The letters TV that were written on your car or armoured vehicle went from being a shield to becoming a target.’

When reporting on the Bosnian conflict during the 1990s, Frei admits the trepidation he felt at the aggression aimed towards journalists and the media. ‘You drove into the underground garage quickly, negotiating incoming fire because journalists were now considered the enemy. The CNN camerawoman in the car in front of me was badly shot up and lucky to live. It was so scary,’ Frei recalls.

Frei was explicit in his illustration of the influence that journalism can have on conflict, continuing to use the Bosnian conflict as his example. ‘The weaker side (Croats and Bosnians) realised the only way to win was to give journalists access to massacres or the aftermaths of massacres. We put those pictures on TV in America and Britain and that moved democratically-elected politicians to get involved in wars which they didn’t really want to get stuck into.’

‘What I strive to do is be both a reporter and an anchorman’. 

Frei had returned from Ukraine a few days before our interview, and is familiar with the country, winning a BAFTA for News Coverage as part of ‘Live in Kyiv’ in 2023. ‘What I strive to do is be both a reporter and an anchorman’, Frei explains. ‘If you have been there, and you have seen it and smelt it and taken the pulse, you are in a much better position to be a better presenter.’

When conflicts become devastating due to the unprovoked conflicts of the aggressor, such as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, maintaining a sense of neutrality is undoubtedly difficult. Considering over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have lost their lives due to Russian aggression since the beginning of the war in 2022[1], Frei believes ‘there is no neutrality’. ‘Nothing justifies bombing a granny out of her flat, massacring civilians in Bucha, nothing justifies rolling your tanks across borders of a sovereign country.’

However, remaining neutral in the face of reporting atrocities can be a challenging aspect of a reporter’s job when presenting events which are emotionally charged. Frei downplays this element of news reporting however, ‘You should be able to criticize the killing of civilians on both sides, without being labelled as anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist or Islamophobic. I think this is one of those areas where there is no black and no white, there are only shades of grey.’

‘The international tribe of journalists and politicians and indeed the audience, have the attention span of fruit flies and we move from one thing to another.’

Although the immediate impact of war is always horrifying, this shock can often be forgotten with attention switching to the next big world event. A demonstration of this is the effect the Palestine and Israel conflict, beginning in 2023, has had on media coverage of the Ukraine and Russian conflict. Frei believes that this constant change in focus is inevitable in journalism. ‘Unfortunately, the international tribe of journalists and politicians and indeed the audience, have the attention span of fruit flies and we move from one thing to another. If you are Zelensky, relying on convincing your audience then to see the audience’s eyes wander is a very painful thing,’ Frei says.

Interviews continue to be an integral aspect of journalism, as the public see the squirming of a politician being pressed by a journalist or reflect on an eyewitness’s first-hand account of devastation during a conflict. Frei has become a recognized intermediary between politicians and the public throughout his career, conducting countless exclusive interviews with world leaders. ‘Interviewing a well-briefed clever politician like Jacob Rees-Mogg can be tough because he has his arguments, he’s well prepared, he likes the fight,’ Frei says.

Interviews can be valued for their contentious nature. Following the disastrous Haitian Earthquake in 2010, Frei interviewed Bill Clinton discussing how the US was going to aid the victims. Frei adds, ‘I thought whilst I have got him, I might as well ask him about Monica Lewinsky. He did not like that one bit, so that interview ended quite badly.’

‘The most difficult thing to do in an interview is to be completely silent at one stage.’

In an industry characterized by constant discussion, ironically Frei believes the most underrated skill can be being silent. ‘The most difficult thing to do in an interview is to be completely silent at one stage. Imagine the devastation of interviewing the Prime Minister who gives you an answer you are not convinced by, and saying nothing in response. You just look at them and they think ‘my God he’s had a stroke… he’s gone dumb….’, but imagine the power of silence in the middle of a ministerial interview. I have never had the balls to do it, but I am going to try,’ Frei says.

The chaos and terror of war is an experience that many have not been exposed to within their lives, however Frei has placed himself next to and interviewed those feeling the loss of war on countless occasions. Frei recalls one impactful interview with an elderly Vietnamese woman in 2000, after Bill Clinton became the first president to visit Vietnam following the war with the US. ”I asked her ‘Did you lose anyone in the Vietnam War?’ She opened the bedside drawers and there were six medals beautifully laid out, one for each of her six sons whom she had lost in that war,” Frei remembers. ‘There is 15 seconds of silence and whatever you say sounds trite. I felt like crying but that would have been ridiculous because she was so stoical about it.’

Journalism is an industry built on constant adaptation, reflecting an ever-changing socio-political climate. It is also one that is increasingly competitive to enter. Frei shares simple instructions for aspiring journalists to, ‘Watch, listen, learn and then open your mouth or unclick your pen’. Journalism is an industry of narratives fueled by strong opinions and unique experiences, which Frei believes can sometimes become too polluting. He advises that, ‘Sometimes you have got so many preconceived ideas that you are not listening to the answer. Take a step back, take a deep breath, ask what do I want them to hear, what can I tell them and, how can I do this in an interesting way?’

‘The main qualification is that you have got to be able to talk. You have got to talk and talk.’

Since the turn of the century, audible journalism including radio and podcasts has become increasingly established and familiar. Frei has welcomed this, starting to present his own show on LBC radio in 2016. ‘The main qualification is that you have got to be able to talk. You have got to talk and talk. You are riding that broadcasting tiger and if you have a good story, some good guests and good callers it is fantastically good fun.’

Some commentators say that the future of journalism looks difficult but Frei thinks we are in a ‘golden age’. The ways that we engage with journalism and the news is changing, with 30% of people saying that social media is the predominant way they receive news in a 2023 study conducted by Econsultancy. Yet Frei points out that, ‘anyone can tell a story on their iPhone, blog or podcast. It’s the mass democratisation of news and information.’

‘That element of information seduction or information persuasion is tricky and we are all working on it. But good storytelling is the key.’

However, the statistics paint a slightly less optimistic future for journalism, with the number of news programmes attracting over four million viewers decreasing 72% since 2014, including a 12% decrease in viewership of the UK’s most established news programme BBC News. Frei admits, ‘It’s a constant chase, especially for young audiences. None of my four kids ever watch me on TV! They watch clips of me on social media but they don’t sit down to watch Channel 4 news at 7pm. That element of information seduction or information persuasion is tricky and we are all working on it. But good storytelling is the key.’

Writing this in the week of Alexei Navalny’s death, we are reminded of both the relevancy and power that journalism wields in the modern day. Navalny’s media-driven protest against immoral Russian politics saw him vilified by mainstream Russian media. In a world where corrupt governments suppress political opponents, to have access to the truth is vital and is achieved through the kind of credible and trusted reporting espoused by journalists like Matt Frei.

Alfie Johnson