About Martin

Martin is the presenter of the nightly skynews.com newscast which is unique in the broadcasting world: its content is influenced by the most clicked and most talked about stories online. Producers don’t choose the programme content – web news consumers do. On Fridays, the programme has extra time and an extra element: the weekly digest and discussion about Technology - enticingly entitled Technology_Unplugged.

Martin and skynews.com won the “Innovation of the year” category at the prestigious Royal Television Society Journalism awards in 2008.

He also hosts the occasional and unconventional discussion show Unplugged - an irreverent and informal approach to a talk show - which is made for the growing audience on the Sky News website and Sky News Active.

Martin is an enthusiast for new technology as a journalist and a performer. He enjoys reporting new developments for TV and online through the blog Technology_Unplugged. He is an occasional speaker on news, media and technology topics for talk station LBC 97.3 in London.

Martin also enjoys pioneering the latest computer and graphics tools to aid the presentation of a story.

Martin presented Sky News’ first virtual broadcast from a 3D House of Commons during the 1997 general election and has worked with 3D and virtual reality technicians on every major election since: notably hosting wall and VR sequences for the general election results programme in 2010, that saw another milestone - the channel's move into HD broadcasting.

He introduced tablet computers to the newsroom, allowing fellow presenters and himself to move away from the anchor desk for some sequences, while still keeping in touch with breaking news and email reactions from viewers.

He is widely acknowledged as master of the vast Sky Newswall, all 10 metres of it, that sits to the rear of the main studio in the Sky News Centre.

For the 2010 Election show, tablet technology allowed Martin to have remote control of the Viz RT graphics machines that feed the newswall.

For the Presidential Election in the USA, won by Barack Obama, Martin worked with the latest 108” touch screen inside an entirely green studio, which was electronically overlaid with bespoke Election scenery.

Martin joined Sky News in 1990 at the height of the Gulf War, and presented Sky News’ flagship Sky News at Ten and the Nine o’clock News before moving to Sky News Today.

Martin has anchored the channel’s coverage of some of the biggest breaking news stories, including the September 11th terrorist attacks on the US, the subsequent bombing of Afghanistan, the Iraq War, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the subsequent funeral, the trial and later acquittal of Michael Jackson and the Beslan school siege.

He once stayed on air for a record nine hours, covering the extraordinary occassion when a whale came up the River Thames in London and became stranded. The rescue attempt made gripping TV all day!

Martin has regularly anchored Sky News programmes on location, and presented Sky’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina from the disaster zone and coverage of the Israel – Lebanon conflict. He played a key role in the channel’s acclaimed coverage of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, travelling to Sri Lanka and interviewing many of the survivors and rescuers.

Martin’s broadcasting career stretches over thirty years. He started out presenting news, phone-in and discussion programmes for BBC Radio Oxford, then secured promotions to Radio Northampton and Radio Cambridgeshire before moving to the bi-media world of BBC South where he worked for both South Today and Radio Solent.

In 1989, he moved to the start-up BSB News service and later joined Sky News, after working as a Field Producer in Amman, Jordan during the first Gulf War.

He is media consultant to a number of charities, undertaking media training, corporate video work and web site design.

When not at work, he enjoys messing about in boats, or going to or taking part in theatrical productions. He is married to Sarah, they have three sons and live near Windsor.

Contact: Kate Moon at Speak Easy - kate@speak-easy.co.uk