Certainly, we cannot list out the world's greatest journalist and presenters of all time without mentioning one name— Christiane Amanpour. The CNN journalist has been and Iconic figure over the past years,having interviewed various Heads of State,Prime Ministers,Individuals and Groups alike. no doubt, she's carved a niche for herself .. But every great person must have a story to tell! see the excerpts below :



They call me the fearless woman but I call myself “the accidental journalist” because I hadn’t grown up always wanting to be one. As a child I lived in Iran, where there is no press freedom. Consequently, there was nothing about the profession that attracted me. But journalism ended up claiming me through an odd series of events.I was sent to a catholic girl’s boarding school in England at the age of eleven and returned to Iran without a plan for my future. I’d briefly entertained the idea of becoming a doctor, but my grades weren’t high enough for medical school; so I was left somewhat adrift. My world was turned upside down in 1979 when the Iranian revolution erupted, spurring my family into exile and sparking my future career interest. Martial law was imposed, many of my father’s contemporaries were rounded up and arrested some of them executed, soldiers and tanks lined the streets and a nighttime curfew went into effect across the country. There was a great deal of uncertainty about our future as a nation. Would the Shah hang on to power? What would happen when the Ayotollah came back?I returned to the England, but my circumstances were radically different. I came from a privilege background. Now my father could no longer support me; his funds had been frozen and I needed to make my own way. At the time my younger sister was attending a small journalism college on Fleet Street in London, but after the first term she dropped out, deciding theprofession didn’t interest her. Now that every cent counted, I was damned if we were going to lose this money that my family had already laid out. I went to the headmaster’s office to ask for our money back, but he said no, the feewas nonrefundable. I replied,“ThenI’d take her place.”so began my journalism career.I learned some basic skills at the school, and by the end of the first term, id caught the bug. If I really want to make it in the world, I thought I have to go to America. Immediately I began to apply to colleges in the states, with an eye towards becoming a foreign correspondent. Having lived through these unbelievable international events – including the revolution- I knew this career was perfect for me.By the early eighties I was finishing my education at the college of Rhode Island and doing an internship at the local television station, where I was graphic operation. That job was fascinating because it put me in the control room, the nerve center of a TV news program. After id been there awhile a colleague said to me, “Have you heard about the new cable station calledCNN? I hear they put people on the air who have English ascents. Maybe you want to give them a try.”By then I had done the requisite pounding of pavement… writing letters, looking for entry-level jobs at various local stations, and more than ones I was told that my Britishascent and unconventional looks were liabilities. There was no way I’d be accepted by Middle America TV viewers, I was informed. My long and foreign – sounding name was also considered and impediment. “Christiane Amanpour?” they would say “That will never fly on television. No one would be able to pronounce it.”So I called the personnel department at CNN and was interviewed by phone. The woman asked me ten questions… basic information like, “What is the capital of Iran?” and shortly afterward, I was told I got the job. I’d be working as an assistant at the foreign desk. Although a small core of people encouraged me in my first months, several others were not so helpful. Especially my boss. Maybe my enthusiasm and eagerness annoyed her… maybe I’d done something to piss her off… but it was clear that I was not a favorite of hers, and she let me know it. Belittling my ambitions at every possible turn.CNN is certainly not the place for you,she’d say to me.You’ll have to go off to somesmall market and work your way up.One of my job on the desk was to telex various instructions to our overseas affiliates. Sitting at the telex machine, I faced the wall, with my back to the newsroom. Whenever senior executives strolled into the newsroom, my boss regale them with comments about my supposedly misguided ambition,“she wants to be foreign correspondent”…as if that was the most hilarious thing in the world! Then she would send me off to the vending machine to fetch her coffee and twinkles.Sometimes tears of frustration and rage would pour down my face; but I never let on and I was determined to press on. I wasted no time. The minute I found out CNN was looking for a writer, I bottled off the desk, got the job and began writing news copy for the anchors. Then I moved up to senior writer. I kept falling into dead men’s shoes winding my way up through vacancies.Finally, I landed my first foreign assignment. My boss had by then left and CNN needed to fill a correspondent’s position in our Frankfurt office. Two or three correspondents were ahead of me, but they declined“hey, I’ll go anywhere,”I said and suddenly I was off to Germany. A couple of months later, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and off I went to Persian Gulf region. Before I knew it, I was in middle of the hottest story covering the gulf war, and in ajournalistic sense I never came back.It’s been a long and fascinating journey for me and every step of the way has demanded hard work… but intensely enjoyable hardwork. I don’t believe in sailing through life. My earlyexperience in CNN taught me to have absolute clarity of vision, to know what I wanted and to have the courage and stamina to pursue my goals.People will always try to pull you down in life… and kill your dreams in a peculiar way, that’s not such a bad thing. In the end, it gives you an opportunity to prove you want itenough, and that you’re strong enough to keep going. Life isn’t supposed to be too easy.


Source:- http://www.validinspiration.com/america/the-accidental-journalist

Very inspiring story... it only shows that if you must be great,you gotta start little, you might face challenges, but it should only make you stronger,what matters is where you're going

Woooow.. i"m touched already.. look at a girl who went Tru hurdles, trials and frustrations in life...


To me, I see her as CNN's number 1.....


But if u tell a Nigerian reporter to go to sambisa nw, he/she will just divert to kaduna and say he/she is in sambisa..

Why should it be in front page...

Is she a celeb from our father's land??





In other news am crushing on Mozhan Marno from Blacklist.

waiting for dis to make FP

"My early experience in CNN taught me to have absolute clarity of vision, to know what I wanted and to have the courage and stamina to pursue my goals.People will always try to pull you down in life… and kill your dreams in a peculiar way, that’s not such a bad thing. In the end, it gives you an opportunity to prove you want itenough, and that you’re strong enough to keep going. Life isn’t supposed to be too easy."

Epic. Well said.

donbenedict:
Woooow.. i"m touched already.. look at a girl who went Tru hurdles, trials and frustrations in life...


To me, I see her as CNN's number 1.....


But if u tell a Nigerian reporter to go to sambisa nw, he/she will just divert to kaduna and say he/she is in sambisa..

lol... you got me cracking ... well am not sure Amanour herself will go to sambisa

fulfillbill:
Why should it be in front page...

Is she a celeb from our father's land??





In other news am crushing on Mozhan Marno from Blacklist.

try get small sense na

JustCurious:
"My early experience in CNN taught me to have absolute clarity of vision, to know what I wanted and to have the courage and stamina to pursue my goals.People will always try to pull you down in life… and kill your dreams in a peculiar way, that’s not such a bad thing. In the end, it gives you an opportunity to prove you want itenough, and that you’re strong enough to keep going. Life isn’t supposed to be too easy."

Epic. Well said.

Exactly..... Well said indeed

Oga lalasticlala this is fp material sir

Oga lalasticlala knows the front page worthy posts, you shouldn't tell him his job.





























Peace bro and hope you have a safe trip to FP.

Oga lalasticlala knows the front page worthy posts, you shouldn't tell him his job.















































Peace bro and hope you have a safe trip to FP.

When I hear her name I think about the hard work it takes before one's name can become synonymous with something. Many people today only see her face on TV and the attendant glamour. They never saw the days she was being belittled by her boss.

One day, the mention of my name will also conjour distinctly positive images in the minds of every hearer.

adeaks:
When I hear her name I think about the hard work it takes before one's name can become synonymous with something. Many people today only see her face on TV and the attendant glamour. They never saw the days she was being belittled by her boss.

One day, the mention of my name will also conjour distinctly positive images in the minds of every hearer.

Amen.. I claim it too