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Steve Rosenberg

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For the researcher, see Steven Rosenberg. For the baseball player, see Steve Rosenberg (baseball).
Steve Rosenberg
Born
Steven Barnett Rosenberg

(1968-04-05) 5 April 1968 (age 56)
Epping, Essex, England
Alma materUniversity of Leeds
OccupationJournalist

Steven Barnett Rosenberg (born 5 April 1968) is a British journalist for BBC News. He has been its Moscow correspondent since 2003, except for being Berlin correspondent between 2006 and 2010. In 2022, he became the BBC's Russia editor.

Early life

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Steven Barnett Rosenberg was born on 5 April 1968 in Epping and grew up in Chingford, East London. He is Jewish.[1] During his senior high school summer holidays, Rosenberg worked at the BBC's teletext service, Ceefax.

Following A-Levels at Chingford Senior High, he attended the University of Leeds receiving, in 1991, a first-class degree in Russian Studies. Rosenberg then moved to Moscow, initially teaching English in the Moscow State Technological University STANKIN.

Career

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Rosenberg secured work with CBS News' Moscow bureau. He spent the next six years there, as a translator, assistant producer and producer. Between 1994 and 1996 he covered the first war in Chechnya.[citation needed]

In 1997, Rosenberg became a producer in the BBC's Moscow bureau. In 2000, he was appointed as a reporter and in 2003 he became the Moscow correspondent. Stories he covered included the Kursk submarine disaster (2000),[2] the Nord Ost theatre siege (2002)[3] and the aftermath of the Beslan school attack (2004).[4] In 2003, he interviewed Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.[5]

Between 2006 and 2010, Rosenberg was the BBC's Berlin correspondent, covering stories in Germany and across Europe. In 2010, he became Moscow correspondent.[6][7]

In 2014, Rosenberg and his crew were attacked in Astrakhan after interviewing the sister of a Russian soldier killed during the war in Donbas. The BBC complained to the Russian authorities.[8][9] In 2015, the government of Ukraine banned several journalists, including Rosenberg, over his coverage of the war. The decree stated those banned were a "threat to national interests" or engaged in promoting "terrorist activities". The BBC labelled the ban "a shameful attack on media freedom".[10] The authorities retracted the ban the following day.[11]

In 2018, Rosenberg was praised on social media by other journalists for confronting Vladimir Putin about the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Putin did not directly answer the question.[12] In November 2021, he interviewed Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko and elicited the admission from Lukashenko that Belarusian troops "may have helped migrants into [the] EU".[13][14]

On 10 March 2022, to strengthen the BBC's coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rosenberg was appointed Russia editor, an expansion of his role.[15]

Piano playing

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Rosenberg is an avid amateur piano player. As a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, Rosenberg covered the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he demonstrated his piano playing skills when appearing on the Ken Bruce Show, on the morning before the event. He played a short excerpt from every Eurovision winning song, a medley lasting ten minutes. He has repeated this several times since, including from the embassies in Russia of countries staging that year's contest, such as Portugal in 2018 and the Netherlands in 2021.[16][17] Later in the show, he took part in a 'Eurovision PopMaster', narrowly losing the competition to the author of The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History, John Kennedy O'Connor.[citation needed]

In 2013, after an interview, Rosenberg played the piano at the request of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. He played "Moscow Nights", which Gorbachev sang, followed by "Dark is the Night" and "The Misty Morning", a song he said was a favourite of his late wife Raisa.[18] After his interview with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Rosenberg published his performance of "Kupalinka", a protest song associated with the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests.[19][20][21]

As part of the BBC's programming in the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Rosenberg, alongside Mel Giedroyc presented 'Eurovision Piano Party'.[22] They were joined by Rebecca Ferguson (singer), Daði Freyr (Iceland's entry for 2020 and 2021), and others.

Awards and recognition

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  • 2022 Best TV Individual Contributor 2022, Voice of the Listener and Viewer awards for Exellence in Broadcasting [23]
  • 2023 Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards, Network Interview of the Year (Lukashenko)[24]
  • 2023 Broadcaster of the Year, London Press Club Awards [25]

References

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  1. ^ "Letter from Moscow - Steve Rosenberg on the changing relationship between Russia and Israel". BBC.
  2. ^ The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Murmansk "Inside the Kursk, visibility will be low, the risks high", radio report.
  3. ^ Rosenberg, Steve (15 January 2003). "Moscow siege victims defend decision to sue". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Mass funerals while Russia mourns". BBC News. 6 September 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Steve (24 August 2003). "Chasing 'Mr Chelski'". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Official twitter account". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  7. ^ "The Bridge between British and Russian business since 1916". Russo-British Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. ^ Conlan, Tara (18 September 2014). "BBC journalists attacked and equipment smashed in Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  9. ^ Holden, Michael (20 September 2014). "BBC protests to Moscow after assault on journalist". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  10. ^ Luhn, Alec (16 September 2015). "Ukraine bans journalists who 'threaten national interests' from country". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  11. ^ Luhn, Alec (17 September 2015). "Ukraine allows BBC journalists to remain". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  12. ^ "BBC reporter praised for confronting Putin with question on Russian spy attack". Arab News. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Belarus's Lukashenko tells BBC: We may have helped migrants into EU". BBC News. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  14. ^ Roth, Andrew (19 November 2021). "Lukashenko says Belarusian troops may have helped refugees reach Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Steve Rosenberg to become Russia Editor for BBC News". Media Centre. BBC. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Five decades of Eurovision songs... from memory". BBC News. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  17. ^ "BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg on the music that has shaped his life". Classical Music. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Duetting with Mikhail Gorbachev". BBC News. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  19. ^ Rosenberg, Steve [@BBCSteveR] (27 November 2021). "I play the Belarusian folk song Kupalinka" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Rosenberg, Steve (3 January 2021). Kupalinka - Piano solo. YouTube. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  21. ^ Braxton, Mark (19 January 2021). "Rosenberg's brilliant musical tributes have been cheering us up during lockdown". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on the BBC". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  23. ^ Chalk, Sophie (28 November 2023). "VLV Awards for Excellence 2022 | Voice of the Listener & Viewer". vlv.org.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  24. ^ "BBC wins 11 awards at Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  25. ^ "London Press Club Awards – winners announced". InPublishing. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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