Zeina Khodr

Digging Deeper into Events that Shape the Middle East

At ACS we are always asking our students to think critically, ask questions, and to dig deeper. Al Jazeera English correspondent Zeina Khodr (ACS '90) has been doing this for years, beginning at ACS. 

I grew up in the Philippines, but my family moved back to Lebanon in the late 80s and I went to high school at ACS…Back then, what ACS stood for – diversity, learning to think, learning to ask questions – was so different from other schools in Lebanon. ”

Zeina KhodrClass of '90 - Senior Correspondent for Al Jazeera English

After ACS Zeina went to AUB where she majored in political science and minored in sociology.  She remembers, “I wasn’t interested in journalism back then, but I was interested in people.”

During her first semester she was asked to read the news in English on the AUB radio show The Voice of the Nation – an opportunity that led to many years working in both radio and television and, eventually, to Al Jazeera English. She has reported from conflict areas such as Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, garnering numerous awards along the way. Zeina’s coverage of the uprising in Tripoli and the fall of the Libyan capital was nominated at the Monte Carlo TV and Film Festival and at the Emmy Awards, and earned her the Sky Women In TV and Film award in the category "The ITV Achievement Of The Year." Her latest recognition was for her coverage of the explosion at the port of Beirut. The Royal Television Awards judges described her work as a “journalistic tour the force.”

“You have to be able to understand politics to be able to understand the news, how the world works, the international system and international law,” Zeina explains. “Studying journalism is not enough. You need to understand the politics behind the stories.”