Derek J Taylor studied law and history at Oxford University, before joining the UK company Independent Television News as a reporter/correspondent. He reported from Northern Ireland, Rome, South Africa, the USA and the Middle East, during which time he covered five wars. He spent seven months in Iran during the Islamic revolution, working for ABC News of America after US passport-holders were expelled – a time and place portrayed in the film Argo. In his later career, he became CEO of the world’s biggest TV news agency owned by The Associated Press of America. He now works as a historian, journalist and public speaker.

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