Yosri Fouda
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Yosri Fouda ( ar, يسري فودة ', ), is an Egyptian investigative reporter, author, and television host. He established
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
's office in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and was one of the star figures in the channel until he resigned in 2009. Fouda also worked as a television host at the
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
-based ONTV Egyptian Channel. He co‑authored ''Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Attack The World Has Ever Seen'', published in 2003 by
Arcade Publishing Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. It publishes American and world fiction and nonfiction. The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette.Weber, Bruce (J ...
.


Early life and education

Fouda was born in Manshyet Ganzour in
Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...
, El Gharbia. He got his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication at
Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
and was appointed as an Assistant lecturer after his graduation. He pursued his master's degree at the American University in Cairo and graduated in 1992. Shortly after his graduation he got a Diploma in TV production from the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In 1993, Fouda was granted a scholarship from the
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
to pursue his PhD in documentary at
University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
and
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
. His studies were interrupted after he was approached by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, who were looking for reporters with fluency in
Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
.


Career


BBC, Associated Press and ANN

Fouda's short lived BBC career spanned between 1994 and 1996. He took part in establishing the BBC Arabic service in 1994, and later served as a roving reporter alongside veteran journalist
Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as " ...
. He covered the Bosnian independence war, and other important events in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. After only two years the services of the
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
ic BBC subsidiary were suspended due to political reasons and Fouda joined the
Associated Press Television News {{About, the global video news agency, TVRI television programme, Dunia Dalam Berita, the airlines of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Airlines, the Indonesian public television, TVRI Associated Press Television News, also referred to as AP Video and often abbr ...
. He took part in establishing the Middle East desk at the news agency, as well as, setting up the
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based Arab News Network (ANN).


Al Jazeera

In 1996, he joined the newly formed
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
as a UK and
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
correspondent. A year later he helped in securing an independent production office for Al Jazeera, and established their office in London. He was later appointed as the bureau chief of the London Al Jazeera office. Fouda started his widely popular monthly program ''Top Secret'' ( ar, سري للغاية, ') in 1998.


Sirri lil-Ghaya and Al Qaeda

His program was greatly received by critiques and viewers in the Arab world and won the second place at the 1998 Cairo Radio and Production Festival. In April 2002, Fouda interviewed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-re ...
, who admitted his involvement, along with
Ramzi bin al-Shibh Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah bin al-Shibh ( ar, رمزي محمد عبدالله بن الشيبة; also transliterated as bin al-Shaibah; born 1 May 1972September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. Fouda does not consider his interview with the 9/11 orchestrators as a turning point in his career; instead he believes it introduced him to an international audience. It has been suggested that Fouda gave away the hideaway location of bin al‑Shibh to Aljazeera's chairman Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a cousin of the Emir of Qatar, and that
CIA director The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...
George Tenet received the location tip-off from the Emir, resulting in bin al‑Shibh's capture. Mayer, Jane, '' The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals'', 2008. p. 176. In 2006, Fouda, in charge of Aljazeera's London bureau, broke the story on the "martyrdom video" by " 9/11 hijackers"
Mohamed Atta Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; ar, محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا ; September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which f ...
and
Ziad Jarrah Ziad Samir Jarrah ( ar, زياد سمير جراح, '; May 11, 1975 – September 11, 2001) was a Lebanese terrorist and one of the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks. He was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the pl ...
. Fouda resigned from Aljazeera in 2009, almost two years before the
2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
that toppled former president
Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...
. His resignation was driven by his disagreement with the inter-politics of the news agency, along with his feeling that an important event will soon take place in Egypt. Soon after his resignation, Fouda joined ONTV to host a talk show ''Last Words'' (اخر كلام).


ONTV

Fouda joined the politically independent Egyptian channel in 2010. Although he received numerous "tempting" offers from Aljazeera rivals, Fouda chose to return to Egypt. ONTV was still a new channel with a small budget, but he believed in the channels administration and founder
Naguib Sawiris Naguib Onsi Sawiris (or Sawires; ar, نجيب اُنسى ساويرس ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telec ...
- a renowned Egyptian businessman.


2011 Egyptian revolution

Fouda supported the revolution from day one, and offered an uninterrupted coverage of the
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations in Cai ...
protests. Although he did not join the protests in Tahrir, he believed that his role should be in reporting and broadcasting the events as they unfold. His show gained massive popularity in Egypt during and after the revolution, and was at the top of TV show ratings. Fouda had interesting thoughts about the post-revolution Egypt, where he stated in an interview with
Stephen Sackur Stephen John Sackur (born 9 January 1964) is an English journalist who presents ''HARDtalk'', a current affairs interview programme on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. He was also the main Friday presenter of '' GMT'' on BBC World News. ...
that very little had changed in Egypt since the revolution, and that the ex-regime is still around and it should be preserved.


Suspending his talk show

His show constantly criticized Egypt's former military rulers and in October 2011, Fouda suspended his show in protest of what he called the "efforts by the country's military rulers to stifle free expression". He said "This is my way of self-censorship, either to say the truth or to be silent". The show went off air for three weeks and was resumed on November 13, 2011. At the start of his episode Fouda stressed that he stopped his program for three weeks to "prove a stance", and that his allegiance is always to "right and truth". On May 17 Fouda stated on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account that he will end the show in six weeks, but he then decided to continue for another year. The show was suspended again on late June, 2012. He did not offer a clear explanation of the reasons and chose to briefly tweet “I’ve stopped my show because I respect you, the details concern me alone. The only thing that matters for the viewer is my work”. The show resumed in September, 2012.


Leaving Deutsche Welle

In September 2018, Fouda parted ways with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in controversial circumstances that are now the subject of legal action.


Books

Yosri Fouda authored and co-authored a collection of three books. In May 2003, Fouda alongside Nick Fielding published ''Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Terrorist Attack the World Has Ever Seen''. Almost a year and a half later he published ''Serri lel-Ghaya'' meaning ''Highly confidential'', a seven part sequel, which includes a collection of carefully selected investigations. The sequel offers a deeper insight about various events discussed earlier in his show, and grants the reader access to secret reports, testimonies and evidences. This collection was published by the World Book Publishing in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, and is only available in Arabic. ''Capture or Kill: The Pursuit of the 9/11 Masterminds and the Killing of Osama bin Laden'' (updated edition 2012, Arcade Publishing, ) is Fouda's second collaboration with the British investigative journalist Nick Fielding. In 2015, Fouda authored ''In Harm's Way: From the Stronghold of al-Qaida to the Heart of ISIL'' book, it was published by ''Dar El Shourok'' in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
and is available in Arabic language. In 2016, he authored another book called ''The last words: A testimony of hope in the Egyptian Revolution.''


Accident

On Sunday March 24, 2013 Fouda fractured his neck in a car accident near the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
resort town of
Hurghada Hurghada (; ar, الغردقة ', ) is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is one of the country's main tourist centres located on the Red Sea coast. Overview Hurghada was founded in the early 20th century. For many decades it wa ...
. He was transported to the
Gouna Hospital El Gouna ( ar, الجونة ' , "the Lagoon") is an Egyptian tourist city, owned and developed by Samih Sawiris' Orascom Development, dating from 1989. It is located on the Red Sea in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, north of Hurghada. It is ...
and his situation was reported to be stable.


Quotes


See also

*
Television in Egypt Television in Egypt is mainly received through free satellite, while analog terrestrial represents 41% of total viewers. The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said the average time an Egyptian spends watching televisio ...
* ONTV (Egypt) * OTV (Channel) *
Reem Maged Reem Maged ( ar, ريم ماجد فوزى السيد أبو زيد ; born 1 January 1974) is an Egyptian journalist and former host of the popular '' Baladna bel Masry'' talk show on Egyptian ONTV. Maged's popularity and renown have dramatically ...
*
Bassem Youssef Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef ( ar, باسم رأفت محمد يوسف, ; born 21 March 1974) is an Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, surgeon, doctor, media critic, and television host, who hosted '' El-Bernameg'' (''The Show''), a satirica ...


References


External links

* * *
Yosri Fouda's Published Books
at
Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouda, Yosri 1964 births Living people Egyptian journalists