Transworld scoops book on politics by Channel 4's Jon Snow

Transworld has scooped a book on politics, society and the news by former Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow. 

Alex Christofi, editorial director, bought world rights for The State of Us: What I’ve Learned About Politics, Humanity and Our World from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. It will publish this autumn.  

The book traces key moments in Snow’s career, from getting thrown out of university for protesting over Apartheid to his reporting on major global developments everywhere from America to Iran. Snow argues that the greatest problems at home and abroad so often come down to inequality and says one of the few ways that we can challenge unfairness is by getting the news out. However, he notes that traditional media have been facing their own battles, with local news collapsing and big tech companies decimating revenues. 

Snow was the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News, presenting from 1989 to 2021. In that time, he has reported from dozens of countries, interviewing countless world leaders including Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Idi Amin, Tony Blair, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nelson Mandela, as well as cultural icons from Malala Yousafzai to Marcus Rashford. 

Christofi said: “Jon Snow is one of the greatest journalists of our time and has been a first-hand witness to many historic moments over the past four decades. In that time, he has been a model of fairness, reporting without fear or favour and, perhaps most importantly of all, demonstrating that the commitment to balance does not mean you have to leave your conscience at home. This book will be an important reckoning with the role of the news in the modern day, showing how, done properly, it can lead us towards a fairer society.” 

Snow added: “I’m delighted to be working with Alex and the team at Transworld on The State of Us. It feels tremendously liberating, after 45 years as a broadcaster, to be able to give voice to my views on the world.”