Allsop, Kenneth, 1920-1973

Kenneth Allsop (1920-1973) was educated at St Andrew's College, served in the Royal Air Force (1940-44) and had several jobs as a reporter before becoming a feature writer for Picture Post (1950-55) and the Evening Standard (1955-56), and Literary Editor and columnist for the Daily Mail (1956-64). He was a book critic for the London Evening News and contributed regularly also to The Spectator, Punch and Nova . His television journalism began in 1955 as a reporter and interviewer for Independent Television News. He joined the BBC as a studio interviewer and film reporter in 1960, and for seven years, 1965-72, reached a wide audience aspresenter of the BBC's nightly current affairs programme Twenty-Four Hours . In his book writing, he specialised in American affairs and sociology. He was Rector of the University of Edinburgh in 1968-71.