At the age of 24, James travelled to Syria to report on the early days of conflict and wrote for several UK newspapers including The Telegraph while there. 

A fluent Arabic and French speaker, Longman has worked as Beirut Correspondent for the BBC on the conflict in Syria and the Middle East and has reported on terrorist incidents across Europe, including two weeks of continuous live reporting during the terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice.

He has undertaken longer-term investigations as a news reporter for the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Two and BBC News, including a feature on the inheritance of mental health and his own experiences with mental health issues in his family.

James was nominated for Royal Television Society Young Talent of the Year award at the Television Journalism Awards 2017.