The Man at the Microphone

In parallel with his work for the printed page, Keith Aitken has followed a distinguished career as a radio presenter.

He is probably best known as a presenter of current affairs discussion programmes for BBC Radio Scotland: notably, Head Lines, Newsweek Scotland, Election Call and Keith Aitken's Year. Many remember the string of four live special programmes he hosted on the evening of the Dunblane tragedy.

But he has also written and presented a wide range of other feature and discussion programmes for Radio Scotland: the Postcards series of travelogues, for example; historical programmes like the Shoulder to Shoulder series (based on Keith's book, The Bairns o'Adam) and The Marxist Messiah; conversation-based series like A Place in My Mind, Tell-Tale and Two Faces; and documentaries like The Thistle and the Poppy, The Colour of Money and Mining the Oceans.

Keith's work at BBC Scotland swiftly attracted attention from elsewhere in the BBC, and he was duly recruited as a regular presenter of Four Corners on Radio Four and Network UK on the BBC World Service.

He frequently appears as a contributor to radio discussion programmes, known to producers as a reliable source of informed and cogent comment. His radio work has also paved the way for his success as a conference facilitator, media trainer and after-dinner speaker.

In more recent years, he has turned his studio expertise with growing success to a new opportunity: presenting podcasts. These enable commercial and policy-based customers to adapt their key messages to the new media, through crisply produced podcasts that compress a lot of information into ten or fewer minutes, using the accessible format of a professional media interview.

Keith has also made numerous television appearances over his career, and his ease before the camera has brought commissions as a writer and presenter of corporate DVDs and videos.

Contact Keith Aitken : keith@kaitken.fsnet.co.uk