After a thirty year career in national and international broadcasting in London, Dublin, Sydney, Washington DC, Delhi and Doha, Alan Adair (BA (Hons) Film, Radio & Television Studies, 1991) has been appointed as Chief of Unit to The United Nations. Based at the headquarters in New York, his role is to oversee the global studios and facilities of UNTV and be a leading member of the Communications Unit.

We spoke to Alan about this incredible career to date, his memories from his time at CCCU and the best advice he’s ever received.

What is your current role and what are your main responsibilities?

As Chief of UNTV I am tasked with ensuring that the meetings of the United Nations, like the Security Council or the General Assembly, are covered for broadcast. This happens in a traditional television control room aided by multiple remotely controlled broadcast cameras. Our aim is to tell the story of the meeting and give context to those meetings for client broadcasters and news agencies.

We are also engaged in recording ‘messages’ and interviews for the Department of Global Communications which are then edited and distributed on various platforms for the consumption of broadcasters and member nations.

During the annual ‘UNGA’ week that coverage ramps up and we also supply pool coverage and the infrastructure for guests and dignitaries to communicate their messages to national broadcasters and members of the accredited media affiliated to the United Nations.

I run a small team of dedicated professionals and encourage consistency and dynamism to the coverage.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

The opportunity to live in Manhattan and work in the salubrious campus of the United Nations is a great honour. It is a challenging role and requires a great deal of coordination with the various levels of the UN. No day is predictable, and it is very different from the broadcast environment in which my career had developed up until now.

How did you get to where you are today?

I worked for Sky News as a Director for many years, having worked my way up through the ranks from a humble tape operator with another CCCU Alumni in fact, who went on to become a very successful Camera Operator/DP.

Then I worked as Head of Output for Al Jazeera (English) in Doha, Qatar and around the globe for them. I was poached by CCTV (China Central Television) to set up their operations in the United States in Washington DC and set the blueprint for what became CGTN.

I then moved back to Al Jazeera Media Network to oversee the refresh of their whole brand and their productions for six channels. Before a short stint at Al Jazeera America (for its brief life) and then back to the UK where I freelanced for Channel 4 News and Sky News before this appointment at the United Nations.

“Being able to travel worldwide to international destinations like Sydney, Washington DC, Doha, Beijing, Downing Street etc. as well as the challenge of working in remote locations like Sudan or Kurdistan, have been highlights for this little boy from Belfast.”

How did your time at University support your career journey?

The skills I learnt in the basics of planning and recording multicamera studio productions have proved the most crucial in my immediate line of work. The discipline I learnt in radio editing and film editing powered that career along. As well as a practical grounding in broadcast disciplines, my academic studies equipped me with an ability to articulate and present ideas as well as teaching me how to approach a project, work out the trajectory of that project, and present solutions to the daily problems I encountered throughout my career in corporate broadcast and governmental institutions.

What has been the highlight of your career?

Being able to travel worldwide to international destinations like Sydney, Washington DC, Doha, Beijing, Downing Street etc. as well as the challenge of working in remote locations like Sudan or Kurdistan, have been highlights for this little boy from Belfast. However, may favourite job that I ever did was providing the pool coverage for the world’s media of the last landings of Concorde in Heathrow Airport way back in 2003!

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Working in the Student Union bar at Christ Church gave me the greatest grounding that I could have asked for in terms of approach to paid and professional work, namely the main lesson, “Never ask anyone to do a job you are not prepared to do yourself.”

That is the advice I give anyone who ever asks.

Do you have a favourite memory of your time at CCCU?

I was at Christ Church for four year as I did a sabbatical year as Deputy President of the Student Union. Prior to that I was the Events Officer which meant I organised all the gigs, discos, balls, and annual, themed events. My favourite memories are of standing at a vantage point and watching the room as people who had trusted me with their limited student finances enjoyed an event. If they were dancing, I was happy!