Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 2hAfter a lifetime of reading The Guardian, I made my debut writing for it this weekend. So have a shufty at my piece about Bosnia's young voters, ahead of the elections which are happening right about now. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...theguardian.comCan anything politicians say at Sunday’s election stop young people from leaving Bosnia?They are the support base for non-nationalist parties but are voting with their feet and not on ballot papers 060
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Well - when the opposition took power in North Macedonia, they didn't do anything about the Skopje 2014 statues, buildings and retro-fitted facades. A country like that has other priorities for its spending. And there's the rub. Once built, how can a "responsible" new govt justify removal costs? 110
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Here's what I wrote about Skopje 2014 back in, ah, 2014. If US citizens want to know what their capital might look like once Trump is done with it, take a gander: monocle.com/affairs/urba...monocle.comStart againMacedonia's Skopje 2014 project aims to instill civic pride with new statues and buildings, but its neo-classical style has proven deeply controversial. 061
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Skopje on the Potomac? It seems that Donald Trump is taking inspiration from North Macedonia's capital when it comes to reshaping the monuments and buildings of Washington DC. Caveat: the Skopje 2014 "antiquisation" project was not an unqualified success. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...theguardian.comThe desecration of DC: from a giant arch to a nuke-proof bunker, Trump’s legacy-building blingfest is an architectural atrocityA bloated ballroom, a six-storey military HQ, a helipad-cum-cocktail patio, a gilded angel on a giant arch honouring himself … our architecture critic deplores the decorator-in-chief’s mutilation of W... 2187
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Why would Serbia's government want to associate its country with a war criminal? The Hague tribunal always made it clear that individuals were tried and convicted - not states or peoples. But glorifying criminals is not unique to Serbia. My latest for Monocle. monocle.com/affairs/ratk...monocle.comThe ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ is dead – but divisions live on in the BalkansSerbia’s former president Boris Tadić got it right. Ratko Mladić was a “stain” – and his death in custody in... 060
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 18/08/2026The BBC's leaders are facilitating cuts instead of fighting against them. Will anybody take a principled stands against the (badly) managed decline of a vital institution? When a Fifa official shows you how to do it, you know your moral compass is out of whack. www.linkedin.com/posts/guydel...linkedin.comYou do not have to follow orders. BBC leaders would do well to learn that - with an example from a most unlikely source. The man in the picture below is Kevin Lamour, the Chief Operating Officer of…...You do not have to follow orders. BBC leaders would do well to learn that - with an example from a most unlikely source. The man in the picture below is Kevin Lamour, the Chief Operating Officer of ... 051
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 16/08/2026It was terrific viewing. Also love the attitude of the male sprinters - Hughes, Glave and Azu - especially the former after missing out on 200m gold to a competitor who may face a 4-year ban for refusing a dope test. The sporting spirit appears to be strong in the team. 130
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Yup, the logistics are truly suboptimal. As for the buses - sponsorship opportunity? Should be the sort of value-in-kind proposition the organisers set up with an event like this. 010
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Well, had they put it on in London, it would have sold out. As Diamond League and World Champs indicate. But there were simple solutions - ensure finish times fit with public transport schedules; make ticket prices reasonable; better local publicity (say, one of the jumping events in city centre). 110
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 11/08/2026I wanted to go to the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. But per this article, prices are way too high. And the late finishing time makes getting back home to anywhere other than the local area arduous-to-impossible. A shame - live athletics is fab. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...theguardian.comEuropean Athletics Championships face backlash over ‘crazy prices’ and empty seatsKeely Hodgkinson’s coach and the BBC commentator Steve Cram have led a chorus of concern about high ticket prices causing lower attendances at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham 120
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Thanks. And indeed, BiH's overarching problem is that its political leaders are ethno-nationalists whose MO is: divide, rule and profit. As for the "sniper tourism" story - it is extraordinary how many respectable news outlets ran the allegations without doing so much as a smidgen of "standing up". 022
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Why are foreign correspondents important? I explain for Monocle. The example I use is the so-called "sniper tourism" story in Bosnia. A tale with elements of Squid Game that has been going around the world since last November. The major problem: there is no evidence. monocle.com/culture/medi...monocle.comIn an age of misinformation, on-the-ground reporting is the only safeguardThe Sarajevo sniper-tourism scandal proves why reporting from trusted sources is more important than ever. 0116
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 22/07/2026I know first hand that trying to do complicated stuff on zero-to-very-little sleep is a daft idea. It's the sort of thing broadcast foreign correspondents do - especially freelancers, who are very motivated to do late bulletins and early lives. But no sleep, no quality. Get to bed! 090
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 19/07/2026This is possibly the greatest-ever answer in a newspaper questionnaire. In this case, The Guardian's "honest playlist". Oddly enough, I heard 6Music playing back to back Tricky the other day and immediately feared the worst. 040
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Link to Monocle_Radio's The Globalist here. My chat about the potential Orient Express revival starts 46 mins in. monocle.com/radio/shows/...monocle.comUkraine tackles Patriot missiles and Asean talks Myanmar’s civil warWill producing Patriot missiles be the turning point that Ukraine’s defense needed? Asean members discuss how to engage with Myanmar... 020
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Trieste-Belgrade railway revival actually happened? The governments of Italy and Serbia affirmed their commitment last week. And other EU and regional bodies are on board. Hopefully the rest of us will be as well, come 2029. Here's what I told Monocle Radio. 292
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 04/07/2026What happened when I asked Albania's PM Edi Rama if we should be worried about him? That's after the corruption investigations involving his closest political allies. Find out here. www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comThousands of Albanians demand prime minister's resignationFlamingos have become a national symbol of protest, triggered by opposition to a luxury development. 040
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Non-executive director. £43k pa. www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/...bbc.comSir Robbie GibbNon-executive director; Member for England 122
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026The BBC is doing this all by itself. But it's the legacy of more than a decade of senior leadership meekly accepting repeated, massive real-terms funding cuts/failing to make the case for properly funded public service media. But still merrily drawing 6-figure salaries. www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/...bbc.comSenior staffFind out more about the BBC’s Senior Leaders including their roles and pay 010
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Well, it actually goes something like this: senior BBC leadership meekly accept repeated massive real-terms funding cuts over a period of more than a decade. Divisional heads implement repeated "cost cutting" rounds, never risking their own £250k+ pa roles by standing up. Rinse, repeat and wither. 010
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026If I could like this ten times, I would. Puts it all in a nutshell. 0112
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Thank you, Maxine. Somehow these things are not viewed holistically. Senior current and former diplomats have told me they had no inkling this was coming. As I've written elsewhere, the UK govt needs to see the BBC as an ally - or at least soft power asset - not an adversary. 040
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Thank you. Meekly accepting repeated cuts over the past 2 decades has been a ruinous strategy. 060
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026No arguments from me on that front. The BBC has been doing the same to itself as well. 020
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 27/06/2026It's not even redundancy. As we're freelancers, BBC News will not pay any severance. And they've made it clear that they're too busy dealing with staff cuts to offer any assistance to the freelance correspondents they are cutting loose. But indeed, this is a region you ignore at your peril. 1153
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 25/06/2026That's "Kushner's island" over there. Properly known as Sazan. I'm on the Albania coast near Vlorë, talking to people about the pros and cons of tourist developments - and the impact on wildlife. Watch this space. 3305
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Hmm... Blair and Campbell arranged the unjust defenestration of the last decent DG the BBC had. Greg Dyke was prepared to take a political bullet for the corporation and its people. One can't say that of his successors. 110
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Thank you. I was having a good chat with Misha the other week. I devoured that book myself. 010
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Parachute journalism has always been problematic, for the reasons you state. And doesn't make much sense if a news organisation has its own correspondents on the ground. They can't possibly have the same knowledge as a resident correspondent. I am a big fan of @bbcstever.bsky.social. 020
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 23/06/2026I wrote to Lisa Nandy, twice, as the representative of the BBC's freelance foreign correspondents. No reply on either occasion, about a year apart. I warned that BBC cuts were putting its foreign coverage at risk, with knock on effects regarding disinformation, etc. Total silence. 000
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 23/06/2026It should. Senior leadership should not meekly accept repeated real-terms funding cuts. 010
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 22/06/2026The region I cover is complicated. I didn't file for almost 3 months when I first arrived. Because I wanted to get to know it first. Parachute journalism - or worse, desk journalism - just won't cut it here. 120
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 22/06/2026Everything comes down to choices. For some people, having the World Cup free to air is vital. But the reason we are where we are is that successive governments imposed massive real-terms funding cuts on the BBC, and the organisation's senior leadership failed to push back. 120
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 22/06/2026I have not used X for a long time. Since it became X, really. 120
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Finding it hard to disagree with anything you've written there. 110
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026There's a lot of culture. But much of that's been crippled by the UK leaving the EU. 1122
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Funnily enough, last November, the head of foreign news told me he only cared about "Ukraine, Gaza and whatever Trump does". 291
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Add to that the fact that we don't get holiday pay, sick pay, NI contributions, pension contributions, etc. If we're reporting from our bases, there are no travel or accommodation costs. We don't need fixers, because we already know plenty of contacts. The list goes on... 020
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026I'd like to see the government find a funding solution for the BBC. It's ridiculous to have it scrabbling for funding and making cuts all the time. How can one run an organisation that way? Which is not to say that BBC senior leadership have performed well. 0100
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Yes, it's high time the government realised that the BBC is an asset, not an adversary. 1401
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026They think they can cover from desks. They want to do more on social media - fair enough. But the best content comes from knowledgeable people in the field. 2341
Guy De Launey @guydelauney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Thank you, Kurt. Well, I'm hopeful that people value what I do enough to want to work with me. I'm open to ideas and connections if you have any. 010