 He was educated at the Anglican Grammar School, Brisbane, was a Rotary Exchange Student to the USA, dropped out of Medicine, graduated with a commission from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville and completed National Service with 3RAR infantry battalion.Ford began work in the media as a newspaper and radio journalist in Queensland, before joining the Seven Television Network in Sydney as a reporter and news reader.In 1981, he moved to the USA and joined CNN in Atlanta as a news anchor and reporter and was a founding anchor at CNN's Headline News.