Tony Jones on becoming a foreign correspondent

ABC Australia journalist Tony Jones talks to the Sydney Morning Herald about his first steps to becoming a foreign correspondent.

When Tony Jones was at Sydney University, a visitor to his boarding college changed his life. Flamboyant foreign correspondent Francis James came to talk about his experiences in South-East Asia and his views on the Vietnam War. “Argumentative sod that I am, and feeling I knew much more about Vietnam than he did, I got into an argument with him,” Jones recalls with a smile. “He said, ‘Listen, sonny, you haven’t got the faintest idea what you’re talking about,’ and I said, ‘Well, I think I do,’ and he said, ‘No, I don’t think you do and if you really want to know something, you can come and see me sometime.”‘ link

Jones did. He drove to James’ house and after a seven hour chat over tea and toast he left with a bundle full of books determined to become a foreign correspondent.