Christiane Amanpour to be Speaking in Pasadena
CNN’s chief International correspondent Christiane Amanpour, will be making a rare public speaking appearance in Pasadena as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. She will be at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Wed., Feb. 15, at 8 p.m.
Individual tickets to Amanpour are not available. However, Amanpour and the remaining speakers are still available in a subscription package of four speakers for $198.
Amanpour has reported live from the most troubled areas around the globe, cementing her reputation as the preeminent international correspondent in war-torn or conflicted regions.
Whether it was Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda or the Balkans, Amanpour was there as CNN’s foreign correspondent, bringing conflicts into context.
Not only does Amanpour personally possess an international background (originally from Iran, her family fled during the Iranian Revolution), she’s also an insightful commentator on global affairs as well as an expert interpreter of international headlines -- and their effects and influence across cultures.
With an intellectual fearlessness to match her personal bravery, Amanpour calls the global-political situation exactly as she sees it, providing audiences with her candid interpretation of events and how they’ll shape the international landscape.
Amanpour has an extensive history of firsts with prominent world leaders and global events. Her high profile interviews include a recent exclusive with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, French President Jacques Chirac prior to the 2003 conflict in Iraq and with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who granted her his first interview after September 11, 2001.
She interviewed Mahmoud Abbas, the first Palestinian prime minister, secured the first ever interview with Jordan’s new monarch, King Abdullah, in May 1999 and was the last journalist to interview the King’s father, days before his death.
She traveled to recent natural disasters including the Pakistan earthquake and the Asian Tsunami. Amanpour covered the opening of the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq, the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. She was also there for the first democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2004 Amanpour covered the Darfur conflict, traveling to the region twice and secured an exclusive interview with Sudanese President al-Bashir. Just this month, she made news while reporting from Tehran, Iran.
Amanpour began her CNN career in 1983 as an assistant on the network’s international assignment desk in Atlanta. She has since worked in CNN’s New York and Frankfurt bureau. Before joining CNN, Amanpour worked at WJAR-TV, Providence, R.I., as an electronic graphics designer. From 1981 to 1982, she worked as a reporter, anchor and producer for WBRU-Radio, also in Providence. Amanpour graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor of arts in journalism.
For her unprecedented and heroic reporting from the Balkans, Amanpour received a News and Documentary Emmy, two George Foster Peabody Awards, two George Polk Awards, a Courage in Journalism Award, a Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival Gold Award and the Livingston Award. Recently, Amanpour was named a Fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists. This honor recognizes significant contributions to journalism.
The Distinguished Speaker Series is held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Each program begins at 8 p.m. Amanpour is the fourth of seven talks offered as part of this year’s series. She will be followed by three speakers including Nicolas de Torrente (March 13), Mikhail Gorbachev (April 5) and Tom Wolfe (May 24).
Subscriptions to the Pasadena Series may be purchased by calling (800) 508-9301 or on the Web at www.speakersla.com.
The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa, the Pasadena Star-News, Rusnak of Arcadia, and Talkradio 790 KABC, sponsor the series.Christiane Amanpour20060209iubvxknc(LA)