Colleen McEdwards
| Colleen McEdwards | |
|---|---|
 International Journalist and Professor at: CNNI, CBC, GSU | |
| Born |
May 1964 Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian/American |
| Website | http://cmcedwards.wix.com/colleenmcedwards |
Colleen McEdwards (born 1964 in southern Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian who has spent 16 years anchoring for CNN International and 10 years reporting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. CNNI Bio
Photo: Journalist and Educator
She continues to consult in the industry and teaches journalism at Georgia State University, also directing study abroad programs and directing the department's writing center. She completed her Ph.D. in 2011. GSU Biography McEdwards won awards for her political coverage and for her coverage of the sensational Paul Bernardo trial in Canada. Covering legal affairs, she was an outspoken critic of the various court imposed publication bans that prevented accurate trial information from being reported to the public. Right to Know
She reported in Canada, the U.S., Prague and Haiti for the CBC, and for CNN and CNN International from Moscow during Vladimir Putin's first term Moscow Link. She covered the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia and developed expertise in Eastern European affairs. Her international assignments for CNNI included the Lockerbie Bombing trial, the global SARS outbreak, as well as the 2008 U.S. Election campaign and leadership tours of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
She received international recognition for her anchoring during the downing of SwissAir 111, the Iraq conflict, the Asia Tsunami, the global financial crisis, Taiwan's Red Shirt uprising, the September 11'th attacks and many other global events. She has interviewed global leaders including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Gates, Tony Blair, Hamid Karzai, Benjamin Netanyahu, Muhammad Yunus, and celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Lleyton Hewitt, Alexander Ovechkin, Sergei Fedorov, Erin Brokovich, Julia Ormond, Murad Sofizade [1] and Mick Fleetwood.
Before his death in 2010, U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke described her as one of the most intelligent interviewers and professional presences on international television, someone by whom he always appreciated being interviewed. Holbrooke
McEdwards was referenced as a member of a "dream team" for international news coverage in a Financial Times column. FT Column
She became a U.S. citizen in 2008; however, maintains a Canadian passport.
Career
She was a real estate and business professional, and has been a journalist in online, print, and broadcasting formats for more than 25 years. Before joining CNN, McEdwards was a senior political reporter with CBC News in Toronto, Ontario. She was a prominent face in CNN's economic crisis coverage and has covered most of the major global news events either in the field or on the breaking news anchor desk over 16 years at CNN International.
Colleen has a master's degree in instructional design and in 2011 earned a Ph.D. in education with a specialization in technology management and the application of learning platforms to maximize performance improvements for adult learners. Thesis
She is a trainer and mentor to young journalists throughout the world and participates in many education and training events and professional affiliations. She is a published author of poetry, short stories and academic papers. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning She writes family history stories both online and in print, meticulously researching historical context and fleshing-out stories rather than family trees.
She speaks French, English, some Russian and some Spanish.
McEdwards was moderator at the Yale Symposium Yale Law Link on Human Trafficking and has moderated for organizations such as the Ford Foundation for causes related to persecution of journalists and women entrepreneurs. She got her first taste of journalism as a student in the former Soviet Union. While studying in Leningrad, she helped an MTV crew covering Billy Joel's historic Soviet concert tour.
In 2011 she suffered a bout of debilitating vertigo linked to unilateral deafness and vestibular degeneration. Live studio conditions were a contributor to flare-ups of her condition. She wrote about it for CNN.com prompting dozens of replies, questions from others seeking treatment, and well-wishes. She has advocated for the Canadian Hearing Society and currently volunteers with VEDA (Vestibular Disorders Association) to increase public awareness about hearing loss, Meniere's disease, and dizziness and balance issues. VEDA Link
References
External links
- Unofficial website. Accessed 14 December 2007.
- Colleen McEdwards at CNN profile
- Personal website