Lucia Newman
| Lucia Newman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lucia Newman February 18, 1952 London |
| Occupation | Reporter |
| Notable credit(s) | Maria Moors Cabot prize from Columbia University |
| Spouse(s) | Demetrio Olaciregui |
| Children | Pia and Laura (Laurita) |
Lucia Newman (born February 18, 1952 in London) is a reporter for Al Jazeera English and former reporter for CNN. In 1991, she received the Maria Moors Cabot prize from Columbia University for contributing to "the advancement of press freedom and inter-American understanding".[1]
In March 1997, Newman became the first United States journalist (although she is actually British) in twenty-seven years to have permanent residence in Cuba.[2] The North-South Institute praised her reporting and wrote that because she knows several languages, "she can find out things others cannot". Newman is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. However, after Newman's first news broadcast, Ninoska Pérez Castellón criticized her for not interviewing people who were against the Cuban government. Pérez wanted Newman to show Cuba as a "normal place", not a "rogue nation".[2]
Newman has reported for CNN in a number of Latin American countries. She reported in Panama. On September 16, 1987,[3] the Panama government expelled Newman from the country after a mob saw her grinning during an interview with Manuel Noriega.[4] Oriega called her a "disinformer".[5] She was a correspondent in Nicaragua during 1985 to 1989 and in Chile from 1989 to 1993.[6] From 1993 to 1997, Newman was head of CNN's bureau in Mexico.[6] In 2006, she departed from CNN and became a reporter for Al Jazeera English.[6][7]
Newman was born on February 18, 1952 in London.[8] She was born to Lucia, Santiago's consul-general in Moscow, and American journalist Joseph Newman, who worked from Cuba for the New York Herald Tribune.[9] Lucia's mother and father met in Moscow. The two were ejected from the country, he because of a "Stalinist crackdown on the Western press" and she because Chile severed its diplomatic connections with the Soviet Union. They traveled to Europe, where the young Lucia was born in London. Soon after, the family moved to the United States, spending time in New York and Washington. In June 1959, her first-grade teacher commented in Lucia's report card, "Lucia loves stories almost as much as she enjoys telling stories for our group."[8]
Newman said in an interview that "I didn't consider myself of a particular nationality" and that in the United States, she felt like a "foreigner". During holidays, she spent much of her vacation in Chile with her large extended family.[8] Upon graduating high school, she studied journalism at the University of Chile in Santiago. After General Augusto Pinochet's coup d'état on 11 September 1973, Newman discovered that professors and colleagues started to vanish. Calling this "scary, no, terrifying", Newman moved to Australia, where she landed a job at the Australian Embassy serving as a Spanish–English translator. The University of New South Wales accepted her "tuition-free" as a student.[8]
In April 1979,[8] she received a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New South Wales. She is married to Demetrio Olaciregui, who creates documentaries. They have two daughters, Pia and Laura (Laurita).[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "4 Journalists Are Winners of Cabot Prizes". The New York Times. 1991-10-31. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ a b Baker, Donald P. (1997-03-20). "Their Woman in Havana". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ Human rights in Panama. New York: Human Rights Watch. 1988. p. 38. ISBN 0-938579-61-4. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ Zuckerman, Laurence; Kane, Joseph J. (1988-06-06). "Press: The Global Village Tunes In". Time. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22.
- ^ "Headlines around the world". USA Today. 1987-09-17. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ a b c "Al Jazeera International ropes in two former CNN journalists Lucia Newman & Mariana Sanchez". Indiantelevision.com. 2006-03-30. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ "Al Jazeera hires CNN's Newman". Los Angeles Times. 2006-03-30. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e Rosenburg, Carol (1997-02-25). "CNN's New Cuba Correspondent; Some Worry that Lucia Newman Won't Report Freely From Island, But Journalist's Main Concerns Are Finding a Home, School for the Kids". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ a b Kloer, Phil (1997-08-25). "CNN reporter embraces Havana". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
