30 AWESOME WOMEN

ARABIAN WOMAN, March 2006

They’re bold, outspoken and go-getters. Breaking boundaries against all odds has become second nature for women in the Middle East.

Arabian Woman pays tribute to 30 women whose stories and achievements and have influenced inspired us.

Hala Gorani

Syrian-things. American Hala Gorani is a rising star at CNN. Interviews with presidents, fashion designers and film stars under her belt, the satellite channel is now grooming her for great Blonde and blue-eyed, Hala was born in Seattle to Syrian parents who had instilled, early on, in her the value of hard work and proper education. A straight A’s student, in the early days, she did have her fair share of grim jobs. "My first ever on-air experience was on a radio show for young people, broadcast out of a Paris hospital," she recalls, "It was dreary and depressing; you had to walk down these long hallways to get to this tiny little booth with a microphone. I did a movie review, but it was so bad. After the first experience, though, the second experience is always better, and that gave me hope."

In 1996, Hala left Paris for London, where she joined business channel Bloomberg Television, as an anchorwoman on business and financial news reports. Two years later, she joined CNN International in London, reporting and presenting business news. Since then, Hala’s career has gone from strength to strength. From covering business and interviewing financial analysts, she is seizing the opportunity to anchor hard news bulletins.

She also gets to spend more time doing in-depth interviews, travelling across Europe to meet the biggest names in design, fashion and architecture. But although she relishes her new role, her first love is news analysis. "I really like Hard Talk presenter Tim Sebastian," she says. "You know you’ll get a balanced view. Even if he has an opinion, he is so attached to his image as a ferocious interviewer that he interviews everyone ferociously." One wonders, what’s next for this wonder woman?

To read the rest, pick up our March issue, on shelves now.