Who's Who

Jon Knighton

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JON'S PROFILE

Jon is part of the senior production team for British Forces News as Deputy Editor and Sports Editor. He can also be found in front of the screen now and again!

Jon has 24 years behind him with BFBS and nearly 30 years in broadcasting. He began at BBC Radio Humberside while still a student at the university. Armed with a history degree, he then embarked on stints at Radio York and Radio Leeds, before hearing about BFBS.

After getting his postgraduate diploma in journalism, he was offered a traineeship with BFBS, and was sent off to Gibraltar. Since then he has worked in Cyprus, BFG and the Falklands, in both radio and television. Eight years ago Jon returned to the UK to set up the TV Sports team, which now brings daily forces sports news and action to our audience.

He’s had many great moments working for BFBS, including interviews with Prime Ministers, members of the Royal Family, top sports stars and a rare interview with the President of Cyprus. He’s also had great experiences including flying with the Red Arrows and travelling in helicopters and on military vehicles. What gives him the most satisfaction though, is hearing from members of the audience in isolated detachments who have enjoyed stories or coverage that BFBS has given them.

Jon writes:

"I have spent nearly 25 years with BFBS and almost thirty years in broadcasting. It is a great privilege each day to broadcast to our forces and I feel as strongly about that today as I did on my first day at our old London studios in 1986. Currently, I am deputy news editor and sports editor for British Forces News. It is big responsibility to bring a daily news programme to our audience and I also love going in front of the camera, especially for our sports coverage and on outside broadcasts.

I’ve done most things in BFBS Radio and TV including presenting breakfast and drive on BFBS radio in Germany and reading news bulletins on the BFBS radio network from London. One of the most difficult jobs I had to do was present the breakfast show in Germany the day Princess Diana died in Paris. One of the best was when I competed with the Armed Forces Rally team.

I’ve always been very proud of my colleagues and what we do at BFBS, because we will always go that extra mile for our audience. It is because we have always known what a special group of people the forces are and they deserve our best. Our current team in Afghanistan are a great example of that.

I hope we play an important part in keeping the forces informed, entertained and their morale high. Visits to isolated detachments and FOBs usually confirm that!"

You can email Jon: forcesnews@bfbs.com

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