18 April 2006 - Al Jazeera International, the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, announced today the appointment of Kimberly Halkett as weekend news anchor at their Washington DC broadcast centre.

Speaking on her appointment, Washington D.C. Bureau chief, Will Stebbins, said, "We are very pleased to have Kimberly Halkett joining us, as she is not only a skillful news presenter, but also a dogged and effective reporter - and, due to her provenance, and as she is a Canadian, Kimberly will ensure that we keep the entire region within our editorial perspective."

On her decision to join Al Jazeera International, "In North America there is a thirst for international news stories that right now are not being told.  The opportunity to be a part of a news network that strives to quench that desire for stories from around the globe is one I could not pass up," says Kimberly.

Kimberly joins Al Jazeera International from Global National where she was a correspondent for Global Television's flagship evening newscast.  As a reporter for the Canadian network, Kimberly covered dozens of major news stories including the 2004 U.S.  Presidential election and the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Prior to that, Kimberly lived and worked in Washington D.C., working as a correspondent for the Fox network's highly rated primetime program, America's Most Wanted.  Travelling throughout the United States and Canada, Kimberly used her investigative reporting skills to put together reports on some of North America's most dangerous felons.  Her determined reporting assisted both Canadian and American law enforcement in their fight to put some of the region's most dangerous criminals behind bars.    

Born in Victoria, Canada, Kimberly began her broadcast career in 1996 as an investigative reporter at BCTV in Vancouver.  Her award winning reporting prompted the government of British Columbia to amend its consumer laws to protect people from cross border fraud.  Kimberly then moved to Vancouver Television (now BC-CTV) where she became one of the main presenters for that station's evening newscast.  Kimberly is a graduate of Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto. 

Al Jazeera International also announced the appointment of world journalist Rob Reynolds as Senior Washington Correspondent at their Washington DC broadcast centre.

"I am truly hopeful that Al Jazeera International can provide a very badly needed new voice in global journalism, and will help people in the Americas to know more about the world," says Reynolds. "I am excited about introducing a global audience to America and the American people in a way that they have never seen them before. Hopefully together we can challenge misconceptions and cause people to re-assess some negative stereotypes"

Prior to joining Al Jazeera International, Reynolds was Washington correspondent for CNBC, where he covered events including the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, the disputed election of 2000, and the 2004 race between President George Bush and Senator John Kerry. Reynolds also travelled for the network on newsgathering trips to Europe, Russia China and Brazil. In 2002, during the run-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Reynolds reported a multi-part series on "The Price of War" for CNBC which included stories filed from Cairo, Amman, Damascus and Aleppo, Syria. Following the invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Reynolds reported from Kuwait and the southern oilfields of Iraq.

"Rob Reynolds is a seasoned correspondent, with that unique mix of both national and international experience, which makes him the ideal candidate for Al Jazeera International. We are overjoyed to have him on board" remarked Will Stebbins.

From 1996 to 1998, Reynolds was Moscow correspondent for NBC News, reporting for NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, MSNBC and a variety of other NBC news programs.  From 1990 to 1996, Reynolds was a London-based correspondent for CNN. Among his first assignments in that capacity was coverage of the run-up to and fighting during the first Persian Gulf War. Reynolds was also instrumental in arranging for the installation of CNN's communications link from Baghdad, which enabled the network to scoop the world with its live coverage of the night the war began.

Prior to 1990 Reynolds was a producer at CNN's Washington bureau. He joined the network in 1982 following a year as an assignment editor at WJZ TV in Baltimore, Maryland. Reynolds is a 1979 graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon and received a degree in Journalism from Columbia University in New York in 1981.

-Ends- 

About Al Jazeera International
Al Jazeera International is the world's first English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East.  Broadcasting from within the Middle East, looking outwards, Al Jazeera International will report inclusively, offering all perspectives of a story, providing a fresh approach to news coverage and revolutionizing viewer choice across the globe.

Al Jazeera International is building on the ground breaking heritage of its sister Arab language channel - Al Jazeera, which was responsible for changing the face of news within the Middle East, extending that fresh perspective from regional to global.  Al Jazeera International is the only international channel inside the Middle East looking out.

With broadcasting centres strategically placed across the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London, and Washington D.C., Al Jazeera International is perfectly positioned to bring the world a fresh 360 degree perspective on world news.

Al Jazeera International's reporting is accurate, impartial and objective.

For further information please contact:
Doha:
Charlotte Dent or Lana Khachan:
+974 489 0713/6
Email: press.int@aljazeera.net 

US:
Rana Jazayerli,
+1 202-372-6347
Email: rana.jazayerli@aljazeera.net

or Katie Bergius:
+212 486 7070
Email : aljazeera_intl@brownlloydjames.com 

UK:
Sheila Thompson:
+44 207 591 9610
Email: aljazeerainternational@blj.co.uk

© Press Release 2006

 

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