Top 10 Most Famous Journalists Around the World

Edward Roscoe Murrow (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965), born Egbert Roscoe Murrow, was an American journalist and war correspondent. He first gained fame during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for CBS News. During the war, he recruited and worked closely with a group of war correspondents known as the 'Murrow Boys.' A pioneer in both radio and television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports on his television program See It Now, which helped lead to the criticism of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Journalists like Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, Bill Downs, Dan Rather, and Alexander Kendrick consider Murrow one of the greatest figures in journalism, praising his integrity and honesty in reporting. As a world-famous broadcaster who captivated millions of listeners, Murrow was a trailblazer in foreign news reporting via radio. His lively speaking style and effective communication made him beloved by many. Additionally, he produced numerous television reports on war-related topics. Though he had no formal journalism education, he laid the foundation for the development of broadcast journalism with his experience, passion, and bravery in the field.

After graduating from high school in 1926, Murrow enrolled at Washington State College (now Washington State University) in Pullman, where he majored in speech. A member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, he was also active in political affairs at university. In his youth, Murrow was known as 'Ed,' and during his sophomore year, he changed his name from Egbert to Edward. In 1929, while attending the annual convention of the National Student Federation of America, Murrow delivered a speech urging university students to take a greater interest in national and global issues, which led to his election as president of the federation. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1930, he moved east to New York. From 1932 to 1935, Murrow served as assistant director of the Institute of International Education and later worked as assistant secretary for the Emergency Committee to Aid Displaced Foreign Scholars, an organization that assisted renowned German scholars who had lost their academic positions. Murrow married Janet Huntington Brewster on March 12, 1935, and their son, Charles Casey Murrow, was born in West London on November 6, 1945.

Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist, best known for anchoring CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981). In the 1960s and 1970s, he was often referred to as 'the most trusted man in America' after being named in a public poll. Over his career, Cronkite reported on major events from 1937 to 1981, including World War II bombings, the Nuremberg Trials, the Vietnam War, the Dawson Field hijackings, the Watergate scandal, the Iran hostage crisis, and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and Beatles musician John Lennon.

He was also widely recognized for his extensive coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the moon landing and the space shuttle missions. Cronkite was the only person outside of NASA to receive the Ambassador of Exploration Award. His signature sign-off phrase, 'And that's the way it is,' became iconic as he concluded each broadcast. Known as 'the most honest man in America,' Walter Cronkite left an indelible mark on journalism with his reporting on critical events like the Vietnam War, President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and the Apollo moon landing. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 92.

Kathryn Adie CBE DL (born September 19, 1945) is a British journalist. She served as the Head of BBC News from 1989 to 2003, during which time she reported from conflict zones around the world. After retiring from BBC in early 2003, she became a freelance presenter for the program *From Our Own Correspondent* on BBC Radio 4. Adie was born in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, and was adopted as a child by John and Maud Adie, a Sunderland pharmacist and his wife. Her biological parents were Irish Catholics, and she reconnected with her birth mother, 'Babe,' in 1993, establishing a loving relationship that lasted more than 20 years. While she was unable to trace her biological father, John Kelly, or his family from Waterford, she learned that he had a brother named Michael. Adie received her secondary education at Sunderland Church High School and later studied Scandinavian Studies at Newcastle University, where she also performed in several Gilbert and Sullivan productions. In her third year, she taught English in the northernmost regions of Sweden.

Adie's career with the BBC began after graduation, starting as a radio assistant at BBC Radio Durham. By 1976, she was working as a television news reporter in Plymouth and Southampton, before joining the BBC's national television news team in 1979. In May 1980, she was the first reporter on the scene when the Special Air Service (SAS) intervened to end the Iranian Embassy siege. As smoke bombs exploded in the background and SAS troops moved in to rescue the hostages, Adie reported live and unfiltered to one of the largest news audiences ever, hiding behind a car door as events unfolded. This marked a major breakthrough in her career. She continued to report extensively for BBC News, covering high-profile stories such as the Dennis Nilsen serial killer trial in 1983. Throughout the 1980s, Adie was frequently dispatched to cover disasters and conflicts, including The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the 1986 U.S. bombing of Tripoli (a report that drew criticism from Conservative Party chairman Norman Tebbit), and the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. She was promoted to Chief News Reporter in 1989, a position she held for 14 years.

Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American journalist and television lawyer who became famous as the longest-serving host of NBC’s *Meet the Press*, a role he held for over 16 years. Russert also served as senior vice president of NBC News, Washington bureau chief, and the host of CNBC/MSNBC's weekend interview show. He was a regular contributor to *The Today Show* and *Hardball* on NBC. Russert reported on several presidential elections and conducted NBC’s 2008 election poll for *NBC Nightly News*. *Time* magazine named Russert one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. It was later revealed that he had been a source for columnist Robert Novak for over 30 years.

Russert graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University in 1972 and earned a J.D. from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1976. On *Meet the Press*, he once recalled attending Woodstock in a Buffalo Bills jacket and with a beer box in hand. While in law school, a former official from his alma mater, John Carroll, asked Russert to organize some concerts for the school, as he had done when he was a student. Russert agreed but insisted on being paid, as he was nearly out of money for law school. One of the concerts he booked featured a then-unknown Bruce Springsteen, who charged $2,500 for the performance. Russert later shared this story during an appearance on *The Tonight Show* with Jay Leno on June 6, 2006. In honor of his contributions, John Carroll University named its Department of Communications and Theatre Arts after Russert.

Hu Shuli (born 1953) is the founder and publisher of Caixin Media. She is also a professor at the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University and an assistant professor at the Journalism and Communication School of Renmin University of China. The first issue of *Century Weekly*, backed by Caixin Media, was published on January 4, 2010. Hu is a member of Reuters’ Editorial Advisory Board and a participant in the World Economic Forum’s International Media Council. She also serves on the global board of United Way Worldwide and the board of the International Crisis Group. Hu Shuli was born in Beijing into a family with a rich journalistic heritage. Her grandfather, Hu Zhongchi, was a prominent translator and editor at *Shen Bao*, and her brother, Hu Yuzhi (1896-1986), was an early advocate for language reform and modern literature.

Hu attended the prestigious Beijing 101 High School, but during the Cultural Revolution, her family faced severe criticism, and her mother was placed under house arrest. Hu became a Red Guard, traveling across the country and trying to educate herself. After two years, she joined the People’s Liberation Army and, when university education resumed in 1978, she gained admission to Renmin University of China, where she graduated with a degree in journalism in 1982. She later pursued further studies in economics and journalism at Stanford University in 1994 and earned an EMBA from Fordham University and the China Economic Research Center at Peking University in 2002. Prior to founding *Caijing*, she worked as an assistant editor, reporter, and international editor at *The People’s Daily*, China’s second-largest newspaper. She joined *China Business Times* in 1992 as an international editor, became the chief reporter in 1995, and left in 1998 to start Caijing. In 2001, Hu became the director of financial news at Phoenix TV. She is the author of several books, including *New Financial Time*, *Reform Bears No Romance*, and *The Scenes Behind American Newspapers*. In 2006, the *Financial Times* named her one of the most influential commentators in China, and *The Wall Street Journal* listed her among the “Top Ten Women to Watch” in Asia.

Wolf Blitzer Isaac (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist, news anchor, and author. He has been with CNN since 1990 and is one of the network's lead anchors. He is the host of *The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer* and, until 2021, served as CNN’s political anchor. Born in Augsburg, Germany in 1948 during the Allied occupation after World War II, Blitzer is the son of Cesia Blitzer (née Zylberfuden), a homemaker, and David Blitzer, a builder. His parents were Jewish Polish refugees who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, but Blitzer’s paternal grandparents, uncles, and aunts all perished there. The Blitzer family immigrated to the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. Wolf grew up in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from Kenmore West Senior High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University at Buffalo in 1970 and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. In 1972, he received a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, during which he also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and learned Hebrew.

Blitzer has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Justice Anchor Journalism Award from the Respect for Law Alliance and the 2003 Daniel Pearl Award from the Chicago Journalism Veterans Association. His news team won the George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the Alfred I. DuPont Award for reporting on the 1999 Southeast Asia tsunami, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN’s coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In November 2002, he was awarded the Ernie Pyle Journalism Award from the U.S. Veterans for his military reporting. In February 2000, he received the Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Award from the Anti-Defamation League. In 1999, Blitzer was honored with the Lowell Thomas Broadcast Journalism Award from the International Platform Association. He has also won an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. Blitzer was part of the CNN team that received a Golden ACE Award for their Gulf War coverage in 1991. In 1994, *American Journalism Review* recognized him and CNN as the readers' choice for Best Coverage of the Clinton Administration.

One of the most renowned faces at ABC News, Christiane Amanpour has long been the anchor of major interview programs. Known for her expertise in interviewing world leaders, she has produced a range of in-depth works that have left a lasting impression on audiences. As a result, Amanpour has received numerous prestigious awards. Born on January 12, 1958, Amanpour Maria Heideh CBE is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. She is the primary international anchor for CNN and the host of *Amanpour*, CNN International’s nightly interview program. She also presents *Amanpour & Company* on PBS.

Amanpour was born in the western London suburb of Ealing to Mohammad Taghi and Patricia Anne Amanpour (née Hill). Her father, a Persian from Tehran, and her mother, a Catholic, raised her in Tehran until she was 11. Fluent in both English and Persian, Amanpour completed most of her primary education in Iran before being sent to a boarding school in England at the age of 11. She attended Holy Cross Convent in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, and later New Hall School, a Roman Catholic institution in Chelmsford, Essex. After the Islamic Revolution began, her family returned to England, not due to exile but because of the Iran-Iraq War. They eventually remained in the UK as returning to Iran proved difficult.

Joseph Pulitzer (born April 10, 1847 – died October 29, 1911), originally named Pulitzer József, was a Hungarian-American Jewish newspaper publisher. He was the owner of the *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* and *New York World*. Pulitzer is best remembered for establishing the Pulitzer Prizes in his will, in which he left $2 million to Columbia University in 1904. He specified that three-quarters of the money should fund the creation of the Columbia School of Journalism, and the rest should be used to create journalism awards. The Columbia Journalism School was founded in 1912, and the Pulitzer Prizes were first awarded in 1917. Pulitzer was born in Makó, Hungary, into a wealthy Jewish family. His mother was German Catholic. The family moved to Budapest when he was young, and he was sent to a private school. At 17, he attempted to enlist in the military in Austria, England, and France, but poor health prevented him from achieving his dream of becoming a soldier. He eventually joined the U.S. Army, serving in the 1st New York Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War, but was discharged in 1865 after the war ended. Following the war, he briefly returned to New York, where he faced financial difficulties, living in a railroad car and working various jobs, including as a stableman and waiter.

In 1869, Pulitzer joined the Republican Party, and by 1872, he was a delegate to the party’s national convention. Disillusioned with the corruption within the party, he switched to the Democratic Party by 1880. In 1872, he purchased a stake in the *Westliche Post* for $3,000. In 1878, at the age of 31, Pulitzer married Katherine “Kate” Davis, a wealthy and socially prominent woman from Mississippi. They had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Tragically, their daughter Lucille died of typhoid fever in 1897 at age 17. Pulitzer went on to purchase *New York World* from Jay Gould in 1883 and soon made it the largest newspaper in the U.S. He was also elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1884. By 1887, he had begun hiring prominent investigative journalists, and in 1895, *World* published the first color comic strip, *The Yellow Kid*. Pulitzer was also a major figure in promoting sensational journalism, and under his leadership, *World* became the most influential newspaper in the country. In 1909, he was sued for libel by Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, though the court dismissed the case. Due to health problems, including blindness and depression, Pulitzer withdrew from the day-to-day management of *World*. In 1907, his son took over the administration, and Pulitzer spent six weeks in Europe to recover his health. He passed away shortly after returning to New York and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was a pioneering American journalist and broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and one of the few female commentators on radio in the 1930s. Thompson was regarded by many as the 'First Lady of American Journalism' and was recognized by *Time* magazine in 1939 as having influence comparable to that of Eleanor Roosevelt. Born in Lancaster, New York, Thompson was the third of three children born to Peter and Margaret (Grierson) Thompson. Her mother passed away when Dorothy was seven years old, leaving her father, a Methodist minister, to raise the family on his own. Peter remarried, but Dorothy had a strained relationship with her stepmother, Elizabeth Abbott Thompson. In 1908, to avoid further conflict, Peter sent Dorothy to Chicago to live with her two sisters. There, she attended Lewis Institute for two years before transferring to Syracuse University as a sophomore. At Syracuse, she studied politics and economics and graduated in 1914. Thompson felt a strong sense of social duty to fight for women's suffrage in the U.S., a cause that would shape her political beliefs. After graduation, she moved to Buffalo, New York, where she worked on a women's suffrage campaign until 1920, when she moved abroad to pursue a journalism career.

After her work on women's suffrage in the U.S., Thompson moved to Europe in 1920 to further her journalistic ambitions. She became involved in the early Zionist movement and had a breakthrough when she visited Ireland in 1920 and interviewed Terence MacSwiney, one of the leaders of the Sinn Féin movement. Her most significant journalistic work took place in Germany in the early 1930s. While working in Munich, Thompson met and interviewed Adolf Hitler for the first time in 1931. This encounter formed the basis for her book *I Saw Hitler*, in which she warned of the dangers of his rise to power in Germany. She described Hitler in unflattering terms: "He had no shape, almost no face, a man who looked like a caricature, his frame seemed cartilaginous, lacking bones. He was small and frenetic, frail and insecure. He was the very prototype of the little man." As Nazi power spread across Europe, Thompson was called to defend her assessment of the 'little man,' as it appeared she had underestimated Hitler's potential. The Nazi regime found her book and articles offensive, and in August 1934, Thompson became the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany.

William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was a renowned American newspaper publisher and media mogul. He began his publishing career in 1887 when he took over *The San Francisco Examiner*, replacing his father. He later moved to New York, where he acquired *The New York Journal* and waged a fierce 'circulation war' against Joseph Pulitzer's *New York World*. This rivalry played a pivotal role in the birth of sensationalist journalism. As Hearst expanded his media empire, he built a chain of nearly 30 newspapers in major U.S. cities. He also ventured into magazines, creating a vast global network of publications. A member of the Democratic Party, Hearst served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives but failed in his bids for New York City mayor in 1905 and 1909, as well as for New York governor in 1906.

Despite his political setbacks, Hearst wielded immense political power through his media outlets, at times shaping public opinion during critical moments such as the Spanish–American War in 1898. His life story became the inspiration for the central character in Orson Welles' classic film *Citizen Kane*. Hearst’s opulent mansion, perched on a hilltop near San Simeon, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, became a California landmark after being gifted to the state in 1957. It is now a national historic site open to the public.