Anthony Hayward

Anthony Hayward (born 26 October 1959) is a British journalist and author.

He is a regular contributor to The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and has written more than 20 books about television and film.

The subjects of justice and censorship have been constant themes throughout his work.

"Hayward is particularly good on conflicts with authority," wrote one critic reviewing his biography ''Which Side Are You On?

Hayward was born in Caversham, Berkshire, brought up near Romsey, Hampshire, and attended Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury, from 1971 to 1978.

He trained as a journalist at the London College of Printing (now the London College of Communication, University of the Arts) (1978-1980) and won its 1979–1980 Journalism Prize.

He gained a Higher National Diploma in Journalism and the National Council for the Training of Journalists' Pre-Entry Journalism Certificate, both with distinction.

Hayward was a reporter, features writer and subeditor on local newspapers and national magazines, editor of the Deben Journal, the trade magazine Radio and the consumer magazine New Video Viewer, and a subeditor on national newspapers, before joining the staff on the features desk of TV Times (1985–1989).

He turned freelance in 1989 and has since written about television and film for publications in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and South Africa.

In 2001, Hayward's book In the Name of Justice: The Television Reporting of John Pilger was published by Bloomsbury.

It was described by the Far Eastern Economic Review as "an excellent introduction to abuses of power around the world" and by Julian Petley (The Independent) as "a fascinating account of the changing nature of censorship on British television".

Den Shewman, of the American film trade magazine Variety, wrote: "Anthony Hayward's excellent account of Pilger's work shows how [his] sensibility [to justice and injustice] has driven Pilger to create 50 British television documentaries over the last 30 years, programs that have changed public policy and saved lives… Pilger's professional life has been dedicated to exploring tragic situations, and Hayward stares unblinkingly into these horrors".

As well as giving scores of radio and television interviews, Hayward has been chair or speaker at many events, including the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts (2001, 2004, 2006), the Ways with Words Festival, Dartington (2001), the Mashamshire Arts Festival (2005), the Bradford Film Festival (2006, 2007) and the AV Festival (2008).

Ken Loach and His Films'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004).

Ken Loach and His Films, Hayward's 2004 book, was described by the New Statesman'' as "an eloquent insight into the work of Britain's finest and most courageous film director".

The discussion with John Pilger that he chaired at the 2006 Hay Festival was included as a bonus feature with the DVDs Documentaries That Changed the World (2006) and Heroes – The Films of John Pilger 1970–2007 (2008).

He has contributed to The Guardian (since 2009), The Daily Telegraph (since 2018), The Times (since 2023) and The Independent (since 1993), as well as writing for the i, The Herald, Scotland, The Scotsman, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sunday Express, The Sun, Sunday magazine, Now, best, Chat, Take a Break, Saga, Yours, Private Eye, TV Times, What's on TV, TV & Satellite Week, Inside Soap, TV Week (Canada), TV Week (Australia), TV Guide (New Zealand), The Stage, Screen International, Broadcast, Sight & Sound and The Listener.

In 2013, Profiles International Media published an updated account, Breaking the Silence: The Films of John Pilger, as an e-book to tie in with Pilger's documentary film Utopia.

''Which Side Are You On?

He has also been a contributor to BBC Radio 4's Last Word programme since 2017 and consultant on the Channel 5 series Secrets & Scandals of... (2022).