Sara Sidner
Born (1972-05-31) May 31, 1972 (age 51)
Miami Lakes, Florida, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Florida
OccupationCorrespondent (CNN)
Websitewww.cnn.com/...

Sara Sidner (born May 31, 1972) is an American TV reporter who is a co-anchor of the morning edition of CNN News Central. She anchored Big Picture with Sara Sidner on CNN+, the network's short-lived subscription service.

Early life

A native of Miami Lakes, Florida, Sidner was born to an African-American father and a British mother.[1] She graduated from Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School[2] and the University of Florida with a telecommunications degree. While a student at the university, she played on the women's volleyball team, which made the Final Four during her last year.[3][4]

Career

Sidner began her on-air reporting career at WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Florida. This was followed by periods at KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, WINK-TV in Fort Myers, Florida, and KDFW-TV in Dallas, Texas. At KDFW, she spent three years as a consumer reporter/anchor.[3] She also distinguished herself by reporting on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[3] In January 2004, Sidner joined KTVU in Oakland, California, where she served as a weekend co-anchor of KTVU Channel 2 News at 6 and The Ten O’Clock News. She also served as a weekday reporter for the station.[3]

Sidner has received many journalism awards. These include a Regional Emmy Award, a Lone Star Award, and several Associated Press Awards.

CNN

Previously, Sidner was a national and international correspondent for CNN, based in Los Angeles. She has previously been based in Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi, and New Delhi.[5] At CNN, Sidner has reported on a wide range of subjects including the 2011 Libyan civil war, the launching of India's first uncrewed lunar probe, and the Mumbai terrorist attacks.[6][7]

On May 31, 2020, while in Minneapolis covering the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin, Sidner conducted a newsmaking live interview with the city's police chief, Medaria Arradondo, in which Arradondo expressed his opinion that the three other officers who were present during the murder also bore responsibility.[8]

In January 2023, CNN announced plans to revamp its daytime programming. Sidner was named a co-anchor along with John Berman and Kate Bolduan from 9 a.m. until noon on their new program titled CNN News Central, which later debuted on April 3, 2023.[9]

On October 11, 2023, Sidner was accused of streaming unverified information regarding victims of the Kfar Aza massacre carried out by Hamas in Southern Israel.[10] She had reported that "babies and toddlers were found with their (quoted) heads decapitated in Kfar Aza in southern Israel after Hamas' attacks in the kibbutz over the weekend, a spokesperson for Israel's prime minister says."[11][12] CNN later reported that the Israeli government cannot verify the claim that Hamas beheaded infants, but indicated that Hamas murdered the babies by other means.[13] U.S. President Joe Biden initially claimed that he had seen evidence of Hamas terrorists beheading children, before the White House clarified that they cannot confirm whether any beheadings took place.[14][15][16] Sidner then apologised via her personal Twitter account and alleged that she had been misled by other parties.[17][18][19][12]

Health

On January 8, 2024, during the end of CNN News Central, Sidner revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.[20]

References

  1. ^ Stephen Battaglio (December 22, 2011). "The Biz: CNN's Sara Sidner Talks War Reporting". TV Guide. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Carter, Scott (July 5, 2013). "The Flashback Files: Gators Volleyball Player Sara Sidner". Florida Gators.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sara Sidner". Oakland, California: KTVU-TV. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2011. Sidner has received many journalism awards, including a Regional Emmy Award, a Lone Star Award, and several Associated Press Awards for her work at KDFW-TV in Dallas where she reported on the Columbia space shuttle tragedy.
  4. ^ "Former Gator Sidner Achieves Broadcasting Dream". Florida Gators. January 28, 2009. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2022. In a November 17, 1991 Florida volleyball match-day program, former Gator Sara Sidner (1990–92) was quoted as saying 'Florida has an excellent journalism school, which is one of the reasons why I came to UF. I am interested in broadcast journalism.'
  5. ^ "CNN Profiles - Sara Sidner". CNN. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "Anchors & Reporters: Sara Sidner". CNN. Retrieved August 24, 2011. Sara Sidner is CNN's multiple award winning, Jerusalem-based international correspondent and is responsible for the network's coverage of India and South Asia.
  7. ^ Fernandez, Sofia M. (August 23, 2011). "CNN's Sara Sidner Hit by Shell While Reporting From Libya". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 24, 2011. CNN reporter Sara Sidner experienced the hazards of covering an unstable region Tuesday when she was hit by a shell of a bullet shot in celebration of the rebel takeover of Tripoli in Libya.
  8. ^ Maxouris, Christina (June 1, 2020). "Minneapolis police chief says all four officers involved in George Floyd's death bear responsibility". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Johnson, Ted (March 29, 2023). "CNN Sets April Premiere Dates For Daytime 'News Central'". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "CNN correspondent apologizes for spreading misinformation regarding infant beheading". en.royanews.tv. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  11. ^ @CNN (October 11, 2023). "Babies and toddlers were found with their "heads decapitated" in Kfar Aza in southern Israel after Hamas' attacks in the kibbutz over the weekend, a spokesperson for Israel's prime minister says" (Tweet). Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ a b Staff, The New Arab (October 14, 2023). "CNN journalist apologises for claiming Hamas beheaded babies". www.newarab.com/. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Berlinger, Matthew Chance,Richard Allen Greene,Joshua (October 12, 2023). "Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack". CNN. Retrieved October 16, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "White House clarifies Biden's claim he saw photos of terrorists beheading children in Israel-Hamas war". NBC News. October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Tomazin, Farrah (October 12, 2023). "White House walks back Biden's claims over Hamas baby beheadings". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  16. ^ ToI Staff. "White House: Biden has not seen or independently confirmed Hamas beheaded Israeli children". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  17. ^ @sarasidnerCNN (October 13, 2023). "I would argue we were mislead. I am going to report on what heads of governments say. That is what new orgs do" (Tweet). Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @sarasidnerCNN (October 12, 2023). "The Israeli government now says today it CANNOT confirm babies were beheaded" (Tweet). Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "CNN reporter apologizes for defending Israeli claims that Hamas beheaded babies". aa.com.tr. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Kyler Alvord. "CNN anchor Sara Sidner reveals stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis: 'I love my life more now'". People.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.

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