Farnaz Fassihi
Encyclopedia
Farnaz Fassihi is an award winning Iranian-American
journalist. She is a senior staff writer for The Wall Street Journal covering the Middle East. . Fassihi is also the author
of Waiting for An Ordinary Day, a memoir of her four years covering the Iraq war and witnessing the unraveling of social life for Iraqi citizens.
Fassihi won six national journalism awards for her coverage of the Iranian presidential elections in 2009.
and Portland, Oregon
. She received a B.A. in English from Tehran University and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Fassihi is the great great grand-daughter of Princess Taj al-Saltanah Qajar, the notable daughter of Iran's ruler Naser el-Din Shah Qajar. Taj al-Saltaneh was a pioneer of women's rights in Iran and a prominent member of The Society of Women's Freedom and Iran's first female memorist.
Her memoirs, translated into English under the title of "Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity 1884-1914", is held in the archives of Iran's National Library.
cartoon. Her email is included in an anthology of historical letters written by American women, Women’s Letters, America from the Revolutionary War to the Present.
Fassihi contributed an essay about the Iraq war and propaganda in the book, What Orwell Didn’t Know, Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics.
Her essays on the subject of journalism, conflict reporting and courage have been published by Harvard University
’s Neiman Reports magazine and Columbia Journalism Review
.
She has been a guest speaker at numerous panels and journalism classes and a commentator for television and radio news shows on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, WNYC, PBS and National Public Radio.
Prior to joining the Journal, she was an investigative reporter and roving foreign correspondent for The Star-Ledger of Newark, NJ, a local news reporter for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island and a stringer for The New York Times in Iran and New York City.
She covered the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
from the foot of the collapsed towers and then followed the story to Afghanistan to cover the war. She served as the Journal's Baghdad bureau chief from 2002-2006 covering the war and its aftermath.
From 2006-present she has been based in Beirut, Lebanon covering the Middle East.
She has been covering Iran for more than a decade and spent two months in Tehran during the 2009 presidential elections.
The Robert F. Kennedy Award for best international reporting in print;
The Overseas Press Club's top award--Hal Boyle Award-- for best international reporting in print;
Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism from University of Oregon; The Taylor Family Award from Harvard University for Fairness and Accuracy in print journalism;
Sigma Delta Chi award from The Society of Professional Journalists for best international reporting;
National Journalism Award for best reporting in print from The Asian American Journalists Association.
In May 2006, Fassihi was awarded the prestigious Henry Pringle Lecture Award for her Iraq coverage by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, becoming the youngest person honored with the award.
Her coverage of the EgyptAir flight 990 crash won the New England News Executive Award as well as a finalist nomination for the Livingston Award.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
journalist. She is a senior staff writer for The Wall Street Journal covering the Middle East. . Fassihi is also the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of Waiting for An Ordinary Day, a memoir of her four years covering the Iraq war and witnessing the unraveling of social life for Iraqi citizens.
Fassihi won six national journalism awards for her coverage of the Iranian presidential elections in 2009.
Life
Farnaz Fassihi was born in the United States to Iranian parents and grew up in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. She received a B.A. in English from Tehran University and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Fassihi is the great great grand-daughter of Princess Taj al-Saltanah Qajar, the notable daughter of Iran's ruler Naser el-Din Shah Qajar. Taj al-Saltaneh was a pioneer of women's rights in Iran and a prominent member of The Society of Women's Freedom and Iran's first female memorist.
Her memoirs, translated into English under the title of "Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity 1884-1914", is held in the archives of Iran's National Library.
Career
Fassihi is widely known for penning a famous email in 2004 about the deteriorating situation in Iraq, which was hailed as the first unvarnished account of the war. The email was published in newspapers, websites and blogs around the world and became the subject of a DoonesburyDoonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
cartoon. Her email is included in an anthology of historical letters written by American women, Women’s Letters, America from the Revolutionary War to the Present.
Fassihi contributed an essay about the Iraq war and propaganda in the book, What Orwell Didn’t Know, Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics.
Her essays on the subject of journalism, conflict reporting and courage have been published by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s Neiman Reports magazine and Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
.
She has been a guest speaker at numerous panels and journalism classes and a commentator for television and radio news shows on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, WNYC, PBS and National Public Radio.
Prior to joining the Journal, she was an investigative reporter and roving foreign correspondent for The Star-Ledger of Newark, NJ, a local news reporter for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island and a stringer for The New York Times in Iran and New York City.
She covered the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
from the foot of the collapsed towers and then followed the story to Afghanistan to cover the war. She served as the Journal's Baghdad bureau chief from 2002-2006 covering the war and its aftermath.
From 2006-present she has been based in Beirut, Lebanon covering the Middle East.
She has been covering Iran for more than a decade and spent two months in Tehran during the 2009 presidential elections.
Awards
In 2010, Fassihi won six journalism awards for her Iran coverage, "Hearts, Minds and Blood: the battle for Iran":The Robert F. Kennedy Award for best international reporting in print;
The Overseas Press Club's top award--Hal Boyle Award-- for best international reporting in print;
Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism from University of Oregon; The Taylor Family Award from Harvard University for Fairness and Accuracy in print journalism;
Sigma Delta Chi award from The Society of Professional Journalists for best international reporting;
National Journalism Award for best reporting in print from The Asian American Journalists Association.
In May 2006, Fassihi was awarded the prestigious Henry Pringle Lecture Award for her Iraq coverage by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, becoming the youngest person honored with the award.
Her coverage of the EgyptAir flight 990 crash won the New England News Executive Award as well as a finalist nomination for the Livingston Award.
External links
- New York Times review of her book “Waiting for an Ordinary Day”
- Waiting for an Ordinary Day review from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
- Kennedy Journalism Prize for Farnaz Fassihi (Radio Zamaneh) (in Persian)
- http://aaja.org/features/articles/2010_06_18_01/
- http://www.spj.org/news.asp?REF=973
- http://www.rfkcenter.org/node/490
- http://opcofamerica.org/news/2009-opc-award-winners
- http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/newsitem.aspx?id=100133
- http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/articles/announcing-the-2010-payne-awards-for-ethics-in-journalism
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Khanom_Tadj_es-Saltaneh