A foreign affairs specialist and presenter at ITN from 1978, Gowing became Diplomatic Editor for the flagship Channel 4 News from 1989.

At the time of the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Gowing anchored coverage for over seven hours, reportedly only having had 40 minutes sleep before being driven back to Television Centre to present.

Gowing was on air for six hours during the BBC's coverage of the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 attacks, which led to the channel receiving the 2002 Hotbird Award.

[2] Gowing was a moderator at the 'Peace to Prosperity' conference, organized by Jared Kushner, part of a US-led initiative to normalize relations between Israel and regional states without reaching a political solution on Palestine.

[3] Gowing expertly steered discussion away from any mention of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, according to Jack Moore, a journalist covering the conference.