Ian Phillips

About Ian Phillips

I lead the United Nations\' News & Media Division, overseeing news and multimedia content in 10 languages, as well as media services. Reporting to the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Global Communications, the role includes advisory and policy work, with particular focus on press freedom and the fight against misinformation/disinformation. I moderate televised panels and represent the organization at international, regional and inter-agency meetings and conferences. Previously, I was head of AP\'s international news operations, managing teams of journalists in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, with an emphasis in recent years on journalist safety and crisis management. Career highlights included re-designing AP\'s news operations to bring text, photos and video under one streamlined leadership structure; interviewing world leaders such as Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Venezuela\'s Nicolas Maduro and Belarus\' Aleksandr Lukashenko; extensive behind-the-scenes work to help get AP journalists out of jail or detention, and live stand-up TV broadcasts ranging from US election night to the war in Ukraine. Prior to working in New York, I was in charge of the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan from Cairo; east-central Europe, from Prague, and deputy editor for Europe and Africa from London. I have served on boards, including MINDS International and the International News Safety Institute (INSI). I am fluent in Spanish and French and get by in German and Italian.

Experience

1. Director, News & Media Division

   United Nations

   Apr 2023 — Present · NY, US

Education

• St. John's College. Cambridge University

  MA, Spanish and French

  1988 — 1992

Skills

• Copy Editing
• Newspaper
• Ap Style
• Storytelling
• Television
• Social Media
• Editorial
• Proofreading
• News Writing
• Strategic Communications
• Headline Writing
• Feature Articles
• Online Journalism
• Press Releases
• Broadcast
• Breaking News
• Publishing
• Fluent Spanish and French, Ok German
• Radio
• Media Production
• New Media
• Journalism
• Publications
• Change Management
• Editing
• Newspapers
• Spanish