Up until about 12 years ago we never, ever, wore flak jacket or helmets but now the nastiness has got worse.

There was no equal pay law when I started working. I was no different to any other woman in any other job at the time.

Beslan, where the Russian authorities stopped live coverage of the school being stormed, was an illustration of the progress we still have to make.

I wrote in the book very specifically what I wanted to write about, period, and left it at.

On the Northern Ireland question, for instance, the British and Irish governments prohibit media contact with members of the IRA, but we have always gone ahead, believing in the right to information.

Hair is also a problem. I remember once, when I was reporting from Beirut at the height of the civil war, someone wrote in to the BBC complaining about my appearance.

My job is to get to the heart of a story, to find out what's really going on; to get it verified and, then, to get it out to as many people as possible as fast as.