CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR TO RECEIVE 2019 INTERNATIONAL EMMY® DIRECTORATE AWARD
New York, May 1, 2019 – Christiane Amanpour, one of the world’s most preeminent broadcast journalists, currently Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of PBS’ nightly global affairs show Amanpour, will receive the International Academy’s 2019 Directorate Emmy® Award, it was announced today by Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The International Academy’s Special Emmy will be presented to Amanpour at the 47th International Emmy® Awards Gala, on Monday, November 25, in New York City.
“Christiane Amanpour has been on the frontline of broadcast news for over 35 years,” said International Academy President & CEO, Bruce L. Paisner. “Her personal contributions and influence on the development of global news gathering make her a defining figure for the news community. Her work and her standards are especially important today as the press is increasingly being targeted and silenced. We look forward to honoring her exemplary career and recognizing the importance of an independent press, with our Directorate Award.”
“My career has not focused on the destination but rather on the journey. It’s one that’s led me to the firm belief that we must stand up for the truth. I am honored by this award, as I continue my work to always be truthful not neutral.” said Christiane Amanpour.
Amanpour’s career spans over thirty-five years. Beginning in 1983 as an entry-level assistant on the international assignment desk at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, Amanpour rose through the organization becoming a reporter at the New York bureau, and later, the network’s leading international correspondent. Amanpour’s fearless and uncompromising approach made her popular with audiences, and a force to be reckoned with by global influencers — in 1996, Newsweek said that her reporting from conflict hotspots in the Gulf and the Balkans had helped make CNN ‘must-see TV for world leaders’.
Described by Jeff Zucker, Chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports as the most important journalist in the history of CNN; Amanpour has secured throughout her time at the network, exclusive interviews with global power players. In the wake of the September 11 attacks she was the first international correspondent to interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. During the height of the Arab Spring she conducted an Emmy-winning interview, the last, with Libya’s former leader ‘Colonel’ Moammar Gadhafi, she was also the last journalist to interview Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak just before he was deposed. She has also reported from the aftermath of many humanitarian crises including the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2011 Japanese tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina.
In addition to her work as an anchor and reporter, Amanpour is an active rights campaigner. A board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Centre for Public Integrity, the International Women’s Media Foundation and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom and Safety of Press, she has used her profile to raise awareness of key global issues and journalists’ rights.