Mohamad Bazzi
Encyclopedia
Mohamad Bazzi is a Lebanese-American award-winning journalist
. He is the former Middle East
bureau chief at Newsday
and a current faculty member of New York University
. Bazzi was the 2007-2008 Edward R. Murrow
Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
. He is currently an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
.
While at Newsday
, Bazzi covered the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, where he focused on militant Islamic movements, regional politics, and the war on terrorism. He was Newsday
's lead writer on the Iraq
war and its aftermath. He also covered the 2000 Palestinian uprising, the 2001 war in Afghanistan, and the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
for the United States
in 1985, when he was 10 years old. He began his journalism career in middle school writing for community newspapers in Queens. As a high school student he wrote more than 30 stories for New Youth Connections (now YCteen), New York's citywide magazine by and for teens published by Youth Communication. He became a United States citizen in 1994. His Middle Eastern background and fluent Arabic have recently played an important role in his rapidly rising career in journalism. He graduated magna cum laude in 1997 from CUNY. Bazzi was born in Beirut
. He came to the U.S. with an older brother; another brother is in France, yet another is in Spain, and their parents and a sister remain in Lebanon. English
is Bazzi's third language; he learned both Arabic and French
as a child in Lebanon, and English after he came to the United States
. Bazzi became a staff writer for Newsday
in 1998.
In ten years on staff at Newsday
, he was a metro reporter in New York City and served as the paper's United Nations
bureau chief. His articles and commentaries on the Middle East have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Newark Star-Ledger, and The National (Abu Dhabi). Among Bazzi's awards are the 2008 Arthur Ross Award for distinguished reporting and analysis on foreign affairs; the 2008 American Academy of Religion Award for in-depth reporting on religion; the 2005 Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize; the 2004 News Analysis Award from the NY Society of the Silurians; the 2004 James Aronson Award for social justice journalism; the 2003 Silver Medal from the United Nations Correspondents Association; and the 2002 Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding print reporting on South Asia.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is the former Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
bureau chief at Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
and a current faculty member of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Bazzi was the 2007-2008 Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
. He is currently an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
While at Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, Bazzi covered the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, where he focused on militant Islamic movements, regional politics, and the war on terrorism. He was Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
's lead writer on the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
war and its aftermath. He also covered the 2000 Palestinian uprising, the 2001 war in Afghanistan, and the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Early life
Mohamad Bazzi left his native LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1985, when he was 10 years old. He began his journalism career in middle school writing for community newspapers in Queens. As a high school student he wrote more than 30 stories for New Youth Connections (now YCteen), New York's citywide magazine by and for teens published by Youth Communication. He became a United States citizen in 1994. His Middle Eastern background and fluent Arabic have recently played an important role in his rapidly rising career in journalism. He graduated magna cum laude in 1997 from CUNY. Bazzi was born in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. He came to the U.S. with an older brother; another brother is in France, yet another is in Spain, and their parents and a sister remain in Lebanon. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is Bazzi's third language; he learned both Arabic and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
as a child in Lebanon, and English after he came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bazzi became a staff writer for Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
in 1998.
In ten years on staff at Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, he was a metro reporter in New York City and served as the paper's United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
bureau chief. His articles and commentaries on the Middle East have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Newark Star-Ledger, and The National (Abu Dhabi). Among Bazzi's awards are the 2008 Arthur Ross Award for distinguished reporting and analysis on foreign affairs; the 2008 American Academy of Religion Award for in-depth reporting on religion; the 2005 Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize; the 2004 News Analysis Award from the NY Society of the Silurians; the 2004 James Aronson Award for social justice journalism; the 2003 Silver Medal from the United Nations Correspondents Association; and the 2002 Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding print reporting on South Asia.
Awards
- 2008 Arthur Ross Award for distinguished reporting and analysis on foreign affairs from the American Academy of DiplomacyAmerican Academy of DiplomacyThe American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy...
- American Academy of Religion Award for in-depth reporting on religion
- 2005 Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize from the United Nations Correspondents Association
- James Aronson Award for social justice journalism from Hunter CollegeHunter CollegeHunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
- 2002 Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding print reporting on South Asia from the South Asian Journalists AssociationSouth Asian Journalists AssociationThe South Asian Journalists Association was founded in 1994 in New York City. South Asia refers to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal. The current president is Jigar Mehta, Previously a Video Journalist for the New York Times.SAJA celebrates its 15th anniversary July...
- Young Reporter of the Year Award from the New York Press ClubNew York Press ClubThe New York Press Club is a membership organization of and for journalists and media professionals in the New York City metropolitan area. The club is a private, non-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any government office or agency and does not advocate or participate in any political...
External links
- Column archive at The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
- Mohamad Bazzi, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
- CUNY BA and Prize-winning Journalist Reports from Islamabad, Jalalabad, Kabul, Joyce Kaplan, CUNY, February 2002
- 2008 Arthur Ross Award for Distinguished Reporting & Analysis of Foreign Affairs, The American Academy of Diplomacy
- 2009 CUNY Baccalaureate Commencement Keynote Speech: Mohamad Bazzi, CUNY