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Alex Crawford

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Alex Crawford
OBE
Born
Alexandra Christine Crawford

(1963-04-15) 15 April 1963 (age 61)
Nigeria
NationalityBritish
OccupationForeign correspondent
SpouseRichard Edmondson
Children4

Alex Christine Crawford, OBE (born 15 April 1963)[1] is a British journalist who currently works as a Special Correspondent for Sky News based in South Africa.[2][3][4]

Career

Crawford first worked in journalism at the Wokingham Times, completing a National Council for the Training of Journalists newspaper course in Newcastle while working there.

She subsequently worked for the BBC and for TV-am before joining Sky News when it was launched in 1989.[5][6][7] She began working as a foreign correspondent for Sky News in 2005. Crawford has reported on the Gulf, the Middle East and more recently has covered the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya.[2]

She has been named Journalist of the Year on five occasions by the Royal Television Society and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to broadcast journalism.[2][3][4] Her work has been recognized by the Foreign Press Association in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. She has also been cited by the Bayeux War Correspondents Awards for her reports from hostile environments for every year since 2007.[2]

Coverage of the Libyan Civil War

Crawford covered the 2011 Libyan Civil War. She was widely praised for her live on-scene reporting of the Battle of Tripoli. She was the first TV journalist to enter Libya with the rebels.[citation needed] She travelled with a rebel convoy into the heart of Tripoli, shooting direct live footage of the rebel advances, which reached Green Square with little resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces. She wore a helmet and bulletproof vest, stating that she did not feel in any danger, but wore them as a precaution against celebratory gunfire.[8][9][10][11][12][13] She also covered the raid of Bab al-Azizia live from outside the compound, and was one of the first journalists to go inside once the raid was over.

Coverage of the Northern Mali conflict

Crawford was active in covering the Northern Mali conflict from 15 January 2013 until the end of French military operations.[14] Her Sky News team was the first to enter Timbuktu after it was liberated by French forces.

Coverage of the Syrian Civil War

In April 2019, amid the Dawn of Idlib military operation, Crawford and her media team, including Sky producer Martin Vowles and two civilian activists came under fire from Syrian government forces in the contested village of Hbit in the northern Idlib Governorate. Crawford said, "we were spotted by a military drone and then repeatedly shot at with what we believe were 125mm shells probably fired from a T-72 Russian battle tank". Bilal Abdul Kareem, an activist from New York, who had been acting as Crawford's guide was injured in the shelling by shrapnel and taken to Khan Shaykhun for medical treatment.[15]

Personal life

Crawford was born in Nigeria in 1963 to a Chinese mother and a Scottish father.[16] She was brought up in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe and educated at Cobham Hall School in Kent.[6][7][17]

She currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband, sports journalist Richard Edmondson, and four children.[18][19][20]

Publications

  • Colonel Gaddafi's Hat. London: Collins, 2012. ISBN 9780007467303
  • How to Survive in a War Zone. London: Collins, 2012. ISBN 9780007506972

See also

References

  1. ^ "Birthdays", The Guardian, p. 35, 15 April 2014
  2. ^ a b c d "Alex Crawford". Sky News. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Alex Crawford, RTS Journalist of the Year, Posted to Sky News' South Africa Bureau". skypressoffice.co.uk. 27 April 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b "No. 60009". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 9.
  5. ^ "Three time RTS winner is May's alumnus of the month". National Council for the Training of Journalists. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Alex Crawford OBE". arts.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  7. ^ a b "HarperCollins Author Profile: Alex Crawford". harpercollins.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  8. ^ Foster, Patrick (22 August 2011). "Libya coverage: Sky's Alex Crawford scoops her rivals". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  9. ^ Hickman, Leo (22 August 2011). "Alex Crawford is our new journalistic hero". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  10. ^ Hough, Andrew (22 August 2011). "Libya: Sky News reporter Alex Crawford praised for dramatic Tripoli reporting". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  11. ^ Erik Wemple (22 August 2011). "Alex Crawford explains her safety gear". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  12. ^ Jesse Emspak (22 August 2011). "Laptop, cigarette lighter aid reporter in Libya". news.discovery.com. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  13. ^ Alex Farber (22 August 2011). "Sky News' Alex Crawford praised for Libyan reports". broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2012.(subscription required)
  14. ^ "Mali Conflict: France Recaptures Diabaly". news.sky.com. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  15. ^ Sky journalist and crew deliberately shot at by Syrian government
  16. ^ Desert Island Discs. BBC Radio 4. First broadcast 10 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Elders' News". Cobham Hall School. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Alex Crawford (special correspondent for Sky News) was appointed an OBE for services to broadcast journalism in January 2012. In February she was also awarded the Royal Television Society Television Journalist of the Year Award for the third straight year. This is the fourth time she has won this award.
  18. ^ McGrath, JA (13 December 2005). "Edmonson's absence will be keenly felt". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  19. ^ Edmondson, Richard (29 August 2011). "Richard Edmondson: Nothing angers my wife more than sexists who question her career". The Independent. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  20. ^ Tyzack, Anna (1 December 2011). "My Perfect Weekend: Alex Crawford". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
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