Michael Holmes is an Australian journalist, best known as news anchor and correspondent for

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

, where he worked from 1996 to 2024. His most recent assignment was anchoring CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes at 12am ET from Friday through Monday. Prior to that he anchored '' CNN Today'' with

Amara Walker Amara Walker, or Amara Sohn-Walker (; née Sohn), is an American journalist and a former news anchor for CNN This Morning Weekend. She also was a correspondent on CNN. Early life and education Walker was born and raised outside Los Angeles. ...

. He has also anchored the 10a ET edition of ''

International Desk ''International Desk'' (also referred to as the ''I-Desk'') was a news program on CNN International. It delivered a round-up of the day's events. The show was a late night programme for Asia, an afternoon broadcast in Europe and a mid-morning new ...

'' and in early 2013 joined Suzanne Malveaux as co-anchor of CNN USA's ''Around The World'' at noon ET, an hour-long bulletin focusing on international news. Previously, he was the host of CNNI's behind-the-news program BackStory and other CNN International programs. He attended Wesley College in Perth from 1973 to 1977. Holmes began his career at the '' Daily News'' newspaper in Perth at the age of 17. Prior to his work at CNN, he was a reporter for more than a decade for Australia's

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

in Perth, Sydney, London and Melbourne. He spent four years based in London, covering

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, the

first Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

, the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and other major stories. After returning to Australia he was later deployed to cover the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was the first Australian anchor hired by CNN International (commencing in 1996), and has reported extensively around the world, including nearly 20 deployments to the

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

wars, as well as the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

including multiple assignments in Gaza and the West Bank and the 2011 uprising in Libya. He was also deployed to Ukraine to cover the Russian invasion in March and April 2022. In 2004 he was in a CNN convoy ambushed by insurgents in Iraq which cost the lives of two staff members. One deployment to Iraq during the deadliest time of the war resulted in the CNN Documentary "Month of Mayhem", which won the 2007 CINE "Golden Eagle" and won a second Golden Eagle for his work on the documentary 72 Hours Under Fire. He has won numerous other awards including two Peabody Awards for coverage of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and the battle for Mosul in 2017, and an Edward R Murrow Award for coverage of

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

. In November 2024, Holmes announced his retirement from CNN after 28 years. Holmes has more than 40 years' experience in journalism and has visited or worked as a foreign correspondent in more than 80 countries. He currently resides in

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 ...

References

External links

Michael Holmes profile
at CNN.com Australian television personalities Australian expatriate journalists in the United States CNN people Australian people of English descent People educated at Wesley College, Perth Mass media people from Perth, Western Australia 1960 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-tv-bio-stub