Colleen McEdwards (born 1964 in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

, Canada) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-American journalist and educator. She reported for

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

for 10 years and

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...

for 16 years. After suffering from debilitating vertigo, she left broadcasting and earned a PhD in Education in 2012, and has taught at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

Early life and education

Colleen McEdwards received the inaugural alumni achievement award from the University of Waterloo, where she earned an Honors BA in English literature. Her first experience of journalism came while studying abroad in the former Soviet Union. While in Leningrad, she assisted an MTV crew covering Billy Joel's historic 1987 Soviet Union concert tour. Following a three-decade career in journalism, McEdwards completed an MA and PhD in education. She speaks French and English and reads Russian.

Journalism career

McEdwards has been a journalist in online, print, and broadcasting formats for more than 25 years. She was a senior political reporter with

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. She won awards for her political coverage, including her coverage of the trial of

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as The Scarborough Rapist and The Schoolgirl Killer, is a Canadian serial killer and serial rapist. He is known for initially committing a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario, a sub ...

and

Karla Homolka Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the actual rapes and murde ...

. Covering legal affairs, she was an outspoken critic of court-imposed publication bans. She joined

(CNNI) during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and covered major global events for over 16 years in the field or at the breaking news anchor desk. She reported from Moscow during Vladimir Putin's first term, covered the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia and developed expertise in Eastern European affairs. Her international assignments for CNNI included the

Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set ...

, the global

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

outbreak, and the 2008 US Election campaign. She received international recognition for her anchoring during the downing of SwissAir 111, the Iraq conflict, the Asia tsunami, the global financial crisis, Taiwan's Red Shirt uprising, and the September 11 attacks. US Ambassador

Richard Holbrooke Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 ...

described her as one of the most intelligent interviewers and professional presences on international television, and that he always appreciated being interviewed by her. McEdwards was referenced as a member of a "dream team" for international news coverage in a ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' column. McEdwards continues to consult in the digital media and journalism entrepreneurship industry. She is a Fulbright Specialist having completed digital media training projects in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also a published author of poetry, short stories, academic papers and family biographies.

Educator

McEdwards has been a professor of communications, journalism and digital media at the

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications The College of Journalism and Communications is an academic college of the University of Florida. The centerpiece of the journalism programs at UF is WUFT, which consists of both a WUFT (TV) Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television a ...

(CJC Online) and at

(GSU), where she directed study-abroad programs in new media and entrepreneurship in Asia and served as director of the department's writing center. She also taught at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was fou ...

, and Saybrook University. McEdwards won a "Digital Champions" fellowship at GSU, and a Scripps Howard Fellowship to the Cronkite School to promote and develop media entrepreneurship curricula.

Personal life and philanthropy

McEdwards is a trainer and mentor to young journalists and participates in many education and training events and professional affiliations. As a member of GSU's President's Society, McEdwards supports scholarships for minority students studying abroad and women's philanthropy initiatives. She served on a Georgia Communications and Government Relations Advisory Council related to educational opportunities for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. She has been a donor and a judge for various social impact media awards and access initiatives globally. McEdwards was moderator at the Yale Symposium on Human Trafficking and has moderated for organisations such as the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

for causes related to the persecution of journalists and the promotion of young entrepreneurs. She became a US citizen in 2008, while retaining her Canadian citizenship. In 2011, McEdwards suffered a bout of debilitating vertigo linked to unilateral deafness and vestibular degeneration. Live studio conditions were a factor. She has advocated for the Canadian Hearing Society and has volunteered with the Vestibular Disorders Association (VEDA) to increase public awareness about hearing loss,

Ménière's disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initi ...

, dizziness and balance issues.

References

https://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/mcedwards.colleen.html Journalist profile, Cnn.com retrieved Sept. 8, 2010 https://www.jou.ufl.edu/2017/05/22/colleen-mcedwards-online-masters-program-instructor/ Academic profile, UF, Jou.ufl.edu retrieved Jan. 21, 2020 https://cas.gsu.edu/profile/colleen-mcedwards/ Academic profile, GSU, GSU.edu retrieved Sept. 8, 2015 http://fitlot.org/miamis-solution-to-its-obesity-problem-cnns-colleen-mcedwards-reports/ Miami's Solution to its Obesity Problem, report, fitlot.org retrieved April 21, 2011 https://vestibular.org/news/09-15-2014/former-cnn-anchor-shares-her-story Former CNN Anchor Shares Her Story, vestibular.org, retrieved Jan. 22, 2020 https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2001/09/11/cnn-coverage-of-attack-on-us-airs-worldwide-across-turner CNN Sept. 11 Attack Coverage News Release, warnermediagroup.com retrieved Jan. 21, 2020 https://www.sagentwm.com/news/category/marshall-eichenauer/economy/page/13/ McEdwards Insightful Report, analysis, sagentum.com, retrieved Sept. 21, 2020 https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/cnn-s-millennial-programming-set-1117756841/ CNN Millennial Coverage Programming Press Release, variety.com, retrieved Dec. 14, 1999 https://www.multichannel.com/news/cnn-plans-pope-benedict-s-first-official-us-visit-366098 CNN Pope Benedict First Official U.S. Visit coverage press release, multichannel.com, retrieved Aug. 1, 2010 https://journalists.org/projects/georgia-collaborative-2014-challenge-fund/ Georgia News Collaborative Founders and Funders, journalists.org, retrieved Sept. 22 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZO0oNRTnFs McEdwards News Coverage, youtube.com, sample retrieved Jan. 21, 2020 https://www.hamiltonnews.com/news-story/5413371-from-the-halls-of-parkside-to-cnn-business-anchor/ From the Halls of Parkside to CNN Business Anchor, McEdwards Profile, hamiltonnews.com retrieved Sept. 21, 2020 https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/alumni-friends/alumni-awards/alumni-achievement-award/colleen-mcedwards McEwards Receives Alumni Achievement Award, uwaterloo.ca, retrieved Jan. 10, 2020 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/anchor-away/article4156012/ Anchor Away, McEdwards Moscow Profile, theglobeandmail.com retrieved Sept. 22, 2020 https://www.queenrania.jo/en/media/interviews/sunday-october-28-2007-colleen-mcedwards-cnn McEdwards Interviews Queen Rania of Jordan, CNN queenrania.jo retrieved Oct. 1 2010 https://news.uga.edu/uga-debate-against-oxford-union/ McEdwards Hosts Oxford Panel, Debate uga.edu retrieved Jan. 21, 2020

External links

Unofficial website.
Accessed 14 December 2007.

at CNN profile
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEdwards, Colleen Canadian television news anchors Canadian television reporters and correspondents 1964 births Living people Canadian women television journalists CNN people