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Background piece in Ariel about Frank Gardner, who was critically injured in the shooting incident in Saudi Arabia, in which his cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed:
WHEN RISK BECAME A REALITY
by Sally Hillier
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was 'critical but stable' in a Saudi hospital on Monday night after the gun attack on Sunday which killed cameraman Simon Cumbers. The incident has shocked colleagues of the two men, both highly respected journalists, and brought home the dangers to news teams in the area
Frank Gardner was gunned down in Riyadh the day after he told BBC listeners about increased risks to westerners in Saudi Arabia. In a piece for From Our own Correspondent, broadcast on Saturday, he spoke of how thousands of expatriates were bracing themselves for further violence following last week's al-Qaeda raid on the oil town of Khobar in which 22 people, 19 of them foreigners, were killed.
'This is not the Saudi Arabia I know,' said Gardner. And he knows the country, and indeed the Middle East, very well.
Appointed the BBC's first security correspondent in 2003, he has established an unrivalled reputation with his reports on the global war on terror.
Equipped with what the corporation describes as 'a unique collection of skills' - he is a fluent Arabic speaker with an extensive knowledge of military and intelligence issues and numerous contacts in the Arab world he is widely respected as a chronicler and analyst of complex events.
'Frank is an outstanding reporter and one of the few correspondents to understand and be able to work across Arabic and western boundaries,' says Vin Ray, deputy head of newsgathering. 'He is an expert on the Middle East, al-Qaeda and the underlying causes of the war on terror.'
A graduate in Arabic and Islamic studies, Gardner, who is 42 and married with two children, worked as an investment banker with Saudi International Bank before joining BBC World as a reporter in 1995. Two years later he moved to Dubai, from where he covered a number of countries including Kuwait and Yemen, and in 2000 became the Middle East correspondent based in Cairo. After 9/11 he started offering his services as a specialist reporter on al-Qaeda and international terrorism.
'He more or less invented the job of security correspondent,' says Jonathan Baker, world editor, newsgathering. 'The creation of the post grew out of the work he was doing. It was obvious that there was a hole in the market and that Frank was the person to fill it. When he speaks people sit up and take notice, and he now gets drawn into any story with a terror perspective.'
Such is the demand for expert coverage in this area that the BBC recently appointed a second security correspondent. Senior broadcast journalist Gordon Corera has been given a six-month attachment, which he has yet to take up, to help and support Gardner.
Meanwhile, goodwill messages have been pouring in for the injured correspondent including many from listeners and viewers in the Middle East.
'Everyone is devastated over what has happened, not least because Frank is a genuinely nice and popular man,' says Baker.
Tony Grant, producer of From Our Own Correspondent, describes the journalist, a regular contributor to the programme since joining the BBC, as 'courteous, modest, unassuming... a pleasure to work with'. Moreover he is 'ultra professional'. His knowledge is vast and all his pieces are 'authoritative, descriptive and colourful'.
Steve Mitchell, head of radio news, agrees. 'From World Service and Radio 4 to Radio 1, Frank is the personification of the trusted voice of the BBC in the difficult areas of terrorism and security,' he says. 'If he tells you something you know it's right and he tells it in a way that helps all our audiences understand what's going on.'
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