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Ben Wedeman is an American journalist from Washington currently working as a Senior International Correspondent for CNN Television since August of 2009.
Ben Wedeman Biography
Wedeman is an American journalist from Washington currently working as a Senior International Correspondent for CNN Television since August of 2009.
Wedeman has been with CNN since 1994 when he started as a fixer/producer/sound technician in the network’s Amman bureau.
He was formerly based in Rome, Italy, where he covered Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and Pope Francis’ election, as well as a series of Italian issues and the migrant crisis.
Away from Europe, Wedeman has covered the Syrian civil war, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s military-backed takeover, the Gaza battle of 2014, Iraq’s fight against ISIS, and the failed Turkish coup d’état in July 2016.
Wedeman was formerly based in Cairo, where he oversaw the network’s coverage of President Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow. Additionally, he became the first Western journalist to enter Libya shortly afterward, where he spent months covering the 2011 uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s rule.
Previously, he was stationed in CNN’s Jerusalem station, where he covered Palestinian affairs. In July 2007, Wedeman was the first reporter to report on the release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston from Gaza. He was in addition, the first western journalist to enter Gaza from Egypt during Israel’s offensive in late 2008 and early 2009.
During the war between Israel and Hezbollah in south Lebanon in the summer of 2006, Wedeman was CNN’s senior reporter in Tyre.
Wedeman also covered a string of Balkan wars, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the subsequent Second Intifada, in addition to various crises in Iraq, starvation, and strife in Africa, and notably award-winning coverage of Sierra Leone’s horrific civil war.
He covered the US-led invasion of Iraq from Kurdish territory in the country’s north, where he was one of the first journalists to cover the fall of Kirkuk in the year 2003.
Ben continued to monitor developments in Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship fell, traveling across the country and highlighting the multitude of challenges that coalition troops would face as they attempted to establish order in the post-Saddam era. Wedeman was also the first western journalist to interview Iraqi detainees who had been mistreated by American forces in the infamous Abu Ghraib jail.
He was a key figure in CNN’s coverage of Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 when Israel reoccupied the West Bank in retaliation for a spate of horrific suicide attacks. Wedeman documented the Taliban’s demise in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, and was the only Western journalist to interview Al-Qaeda terrorists holed up in the mountains of Tora Bora by radio and in Arabic.
Wedeman got his first interview with Marianne Pearl, the wife of kidnapped – and later executed – Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, shortly after in Karachi, Pakistan. He became the network’s Amman Bureau Chief in 1995, where he was in charge of not just the network’s coverage of Jordan’s changing relationship with Israel following their historic 1995 peace treaty, but also of the network’s coverage of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. He was also the only Western journalist who was granted an exclusive interview with Udai Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator’s notorious son.
Wedeman worked as a freelance print journalist in Amman, Jordan, before joining CNN, where he covered the news in Syria, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and Sudan. He also worked as a demolition expert for a French oil prospecting business near Raqqa, Syria, and at an international agricultural research center in Aleppo, Syria.
Ben is a fluent speaker in Arabic, and Italian, in addition to a working knowledge of ancient Egyptian and Hebrew. Additionally, he studied Russian, classical and contemporary Mongolian, and Japanese.
Ben Wedeman Awards and Education
A number of awards have been given to Wedeman for his reporting. He was part of the CNN crew that received the Overseas Press Club and Edward R. Murrow award for best television interpretation or documentary on global affairs in 1996.
He later won an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, and a Murrow award for coverage of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war. In addition, he won an Emmy and a Peabody award for coverage of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, a Peabody award for coverage of the Syrian civil war, and a Peabody award for coverage of the Mosul offensive.
He is a proud graduate of the University of Texas, Austin where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Oriental Languages and Linguistics. Later on, he joined London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies where he was able to obtain a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies.
Ben Wedeman Age
Wedeman was born on the 1st of September, 1960 in Washington, D.C, United States.
Ben Wedeman Family
He is the son of his loving parents, Miles G. Wedeman, father, born on January 23rd, 1923, and who unfortunately later passed away on October 23rd, 2013. Miles was a civil servant and diplomat and was a native of Pennsylvania. In addition, Miles was a devout Quacker working for Ivory Coast and Syria under USAID. Her mother goes by the names Martha Jean Wedeman and is a former reporter with The Washington Post.
Ben Wedeman Wife
He is in a happy relationship with his lovely wife, Yasmine Perni. However, he shares no more information in relation to his marriage and, or how they met and when they tied knots.
Ben Wedeman Children
He manages to keep this information away from the limelight. Wedeman shares no information in regards to whether he has any children or not. An update of this information will be out when available.
Ben Wedeman Height
He is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall which is about 1.72 meters.
Ben Wedeman Salary
He earns an estimated annual salary ranging between $10,000 to $100,000.
Ben Wedeman Net Worth
Wedeman has an estimated net worth of between $150,000-$2,000,000.
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