Leila Fadel | |
|---|---|
 Fadel atSXSW 2024 | |
| Born | 1981 (age 43–44) Lebanon |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Northeastern University |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Employer | National Public Radio |
| Awards | George Polk Award |
Leila Fadel (born 1981) is a Lebanese Americanjournalist and the cohost ofNational Public Radio'sMorning Edition, a role she assumed in 2022. She was previously the network'sCairobureau chief.[1][2] Fadel has chiefly worked in the Middle East, and received a George Polk Award for her coverage of the Iraq War. She is also known for her coverage of the Arab Spring.
Fadel grew up in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.[1] She was aJack Shaheen Mass Communications scholar and graduated fromNortheastern University School of Journalism in 2004.[3]
In 2004, Fadel began her career in journalism at theFort Worth Star-Telegram as a crime and higher education reporter.[1] She began covering theIraq War in 2005 forKnight Ridder. By early 2006, she had completed two postings inBaghdad,Iraq. Then, she returned to Baghdad forMcClatchy. She also covered the2006 Lebanon War. She continued in Baghdad for McClatchy through 2009, where she contributed to McClatchy'sBaghdad Observer.[3][4][5]
In 2010, she joinedThe Washington Post's Middle East team.[1][2] On February 2, 2011, Fadel and photographer Linda Davidson were among some two dozen journalists arrested by the Egyptian Interior Ministry.[6][7][8] The next day, Fadel and Davidson were released, but placed underhouse arrest at a hotel. Two localPost employees remained in custody, interpreter Sufian Taha and driver Mansour el-Sayed Mohammed Abo Gouda; according to Fadel, Abo Gouda was beaten.[9]
She covered theArab Spring and its aftermaths in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria forThe Washington Post.[1] In July 2012, Fadel was hired byNPR as Cairo bureau chief and covered the aftermath of the Arab Spring.[1] She was a national correspondent atNPR reporting on race and diversity until she became host ofMorning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcastUp First..[10]
Fadel speaks conversationalArabic.[1]
In 2006, she stated:
My goal is to find the missing voices, the ones I heard on the streets of Beirut and Saudi Arabia but which were often missing in American media... Great journalism is the ability to capture moments in time, weave them together, and tell the story of all people without condescension, without judgment and without an agenda.[3]
