Elie Nakouzi

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Elie Nakouzi
Born (1969-07-14) July 14, 1969 (age 54)
Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation(s)Television broadcaster, presenter

Elie Nakouzi (born July 14, 1969) is a Lebanese-American television broadcaster and presenter with over 35 years of experience in international affairs and Middle East broadcasting. He has interviewed

Omar Al-Bashir, General David Petraeus
, among many other World Leaders.

Early life and education

Nakouzi is a Lebanese-American journalist and Executive producer. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to

Christian Lebanese parents before immigrating to the USA with his family in 2010.[citation needed] He enrolled in medical school, changed his concentration to computer science, before deciding on international relations.[1]
He also taught Political Science and International Affairs at the Lebanese-American University (LAU). In 2010, Nakouzi immigrated to the USA and launched his Production house, Make Sense Productions, and won more than 16 awards for various projects.

Career

Nakouzi began his career as a presenter on Parliament of the Youth, a program hosted by Radio Voice of Lebanon, in 1990. In 1993, he became anchor of a reproduction of Parliament of the Youth, made for ICN Network.

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation) in 1994 which allowed him to continue to address issues directly related to the Syrian invasion of Lebanon
.

In 1997, Nakouzi became the senior anchor at MurrTV's Take a Stand program. At its core, Take a Stand addressed reforming the loss of civic values that resulted from the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, including promoting democratic values and ending human rights abuses.

Syrian officials
, and MurrTV was forcibly shut down in 2002.

Following the closure of MurrTV, Nakouzi accepted a position with

Iraq War of 2003, From Iraq focused on security issues as well as political and social realities in Iraq at the time. With a weekly interview of influential political players in Iraq, From Iraq focused on the former Iraqi regime's human rights abuses, the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and the country's future. From Iraq ran from 2003 to 2006.[5]

From 2007 to 2009, Nakouzi hosted Besaraha, which in Arabic translates to "Frankly Speaking". Besaraha consistently secured interviews with many prominent world leaders and provided in depth conversation from viewpoints not widely expressed in mainstream Middle Eastern media.[6] Besaraha was positively received within the Middle East and holds the record for most heads of state interviewed in one year by any Arabic news outlet. The show was watched by more than 30 million viewers weekly.

Following death threats for his involvement in Lebanon's 2009 Parliamentary elections, Nakouzi emigrated from Lebanon to the United States and started his own production house, Make Sense Productions. In 2013, Nakouzi cofounded The Dialogue Chronicle, a politics and humor blog staffed entirely by activist writers.

Journalistic achievements

In 2007, Nakouzi became the first Arab news anchor to interview U.S. President

Afghanistan War
, this interview allowed audiences within the Middle East to understand the positions of the United States in contrast with the opinions usually presented in mainstream Middle Eastern media.

Other interviews of note include:

Political achievements

As a senior political anchor and activist, Nakouzi has participated in the electoral process of several countries within the Middle East. In 2009, Nakouzi presented a program on

Al-Arabiya TV
dedicated to covering the Lebanese Parliamentary elections. The program soon expanded to become the focal point for information concerning the elections. Nakouzi's program provided daily updates on campaign and candidate information in an easily accessible manner for all Lebanese voters.

Many observers leading up to the 2009 Lebanese Parliamentary elections predicted sweeping wins by

Lebanese Parliament.[11]

However such political involvement on the side of the secular

March 14th Alliance
produced a backlash among Islamist organizations in Lebanon. In the wake of the 2009 parliamentary elections, political violence and a string of assassinations broke out in Beirut. Nakouzi and his colleagues that had been involved with the elections soon found themselves targeted by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Concerned for his personal safety and that of his family, Nakouzi immigrated to the United States in 2010.

The events of 2009 were not the first time Nakouzi's work had put his life in danger. While with Al-Arabiya TV, Nakouzi introduced a debate-style concept between electoral candidates of the newly reconstituted government of Iraq. His political work in Iraq soon saw him declared an infidel by Al-Qaeda.[12] As a result, the Al-Arabiya Bureau in Baghdad was bombed, killing dozens of his colleagues.[13] He was officially declared the target of this attack.

References

  1. ^ "Elie Nakouzi: Transparency in Presenting Sensitive Topics are not Offensive to Lebanon's image Abroad". Asharq Al-Aswat. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Elie Nakouzi: Transparency in Presenting Sensitive Topics are not Offensive to Lebanon's Image Abroad". Asharq Al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Elie Nakouzi Studying Offers from Arab Satellite Channels Before the Court Shall Decide the Decision to Close MurrTV". Asharq Al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Broadcaster Elie Nakouzi Join the Team". Asharq Al-Awsat. 23 April 2003. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Al-Arabiya Programs". Al-Arabiya News Channel. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  6. ^ "News Archive". Al-Arabiya. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  7. ^ Al-Arabiya TV. January 14, 2009. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Al-Arabiya TV. August 22, 2008. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Former Official in the Bush Administration: War is Coming Amid Failure of Iran's Sanctions Alarabiya.net 30 October 2008.. Accessed 20 March 2015
  10. ^ Al-Arabiya TV. July 7, 2008. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Harnisch, Chris. "2009 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections". Critical Threats Project. American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Al Arabiya seeks media niche". The Washington Times. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  13. ^ "Car Bomb Kills 8 Marines; 7 Killed in Al-Arabiya Blast". Fox News. Associated Press. 31 October 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2011.

External links

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