
John Holliman (October 23, 1948 – September 12, 1998) was an American broadcast
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
. He was a member of the original reporting corps for
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, serving as its agriculture correspondent after serving in the same capacity for Associated Press Radio in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. He rose to prominence as one of CNN's "Boys of Baghdad" during the first
Persian Gulf War
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, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
in 1991 and was one of only three journalists reporting from
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
when allied bombing of the city began. He was later known for his coverage of
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
,
technology
Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
, and
space exploration
Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...
.
Holliman began his broadcasting career as a news and sports
reporter
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
for a local radio station in his hometown of
Thomaston, Georgia. After two years at junior college, he transferred to the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
in
Athens, Georgia
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
. There he worked in the School of Journalism's student broadcasting operations, graduated, and began working as the news director for radio station
WGAU, and later as senior newsman at radio station
WRFC. He then moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and worked at the AM radio station
WSB where he became a local celebrity by broadcasting live for several days from the site of a fire at an oil tank farm in
Doraville, Georgia
Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,623.
History
Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, ...
.
Holliman landed a job in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, working as agricultural editor for the Associated Press. When CNN was created in 1980, he returned to Atlanta to host a weekday morning segment on farming and
agricultural news. He was also the first member of the CNN Washington bureau. His international exposure increased after he covered the student uprising in
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. His "Holy Cow!" exclamation as a bomb exploded in Baghdad during the first night of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 became a national newspaper headline.
Holliman was a frequent speaker and strong supporter of student journalists at the University of Georgia's School (later College) of Journalism.
On September 12, 1998, he was killed in a head-on collision in his car near his home in suburban Atlanta. In May 1999,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
dedicated the
Launch Complex 39 Press Site auditorium at the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...
in Holliman's name.
NASA photos from 1999
at Kennedy Space Center, archived January 23, 2009
In popular culture
John Holliman appeared in Robert Wiener's book '' Live from Baghdad''. He appeared as a character in the 2002 HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
film of the same name where he was portrayed by actor John Carroll Lynch.
The book as well as the film features Holliman's sudden involvement, under Wiener's supervision, in CNN's coverage of the Gulf War. Holliman was part of the live coverage of the January 17, 1991 Baghdad air strike where he, along with colleagues Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
and Peter Arnett, kept broadcasting from their Al-Rasheed Hotel room amid extensive aerial bombing
An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
by the Western Coalition forces.
John Holliman played himself in the science fiction film '' Contact'' (1997), based on the Carl Sagan novel of the same name.
6711 Holliman (1989 HG) is a main-belt asteroid named for him.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliman, John
1948 births
1998 deaths
People from Thomaston, Georgia
American television journalists
Place of birth missing
Road incident deaths in Georgia (U.S. state)
CNN people
American male journalists