Dima Khatib

Dima Khatib
Born (1971-07-14) 14 July 1971 (age 53)[1]
Damascus, Syria

Dima Khatib (Arabic: ديمة الخطيب) is a Syrian-born journalist, poet and translator. She is the managing director of AJ+,[2] an award-winning digital news service in English, Arabic and Spanish launched by Al Jazeera Media Network in San Francisco, USA. She is currently the only female executive director within the Al Jazeera group and one of few female leaders in the Arab media sphere.[3]

Biography

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Khatib was born in Damascus[4] to a Syrian mother and a Palestinian father. Khatib speaks eight languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, German). She joined Al Jazeera back in 1997 as a junior intern in broadcast journalism to become a producer, correspondent in China and then Latin America Bureau Chief before making a total shift to internet journalism in recent years.[5][6]

Career

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Khatib has been classified among the most influential Arabs on Social Media.[7] She received attention during Arab revolutions for providing frequent updates and commentary about recent events via her Twitter account.[8][9][10] Today she tackles all kinds of issues on her social feeds, including social media, media, motherhood, poetry, Palestine and others.[11]

She started earning recognition during the Iraq War, when she worked as a live news producer in Doha for Al Jazeera Arabic Channel. She gave an interview to CNN's Larry King and Wolf Blitzer,[12] and was featured in Control Room, a 2004 documentary film about Al Jazeera and its coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[13]

During her assignment in Latin America she had exclusive and close access to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez[14][15] and interviewed several leaders such as Bolivia's Evo Morales and Brazil's Lula da Silva. Reporting from all over South and Central America she gave the Arab World an unprecedented insight into a far-away continent. From Caracas she would be cited as the source of breaking news such as Chávez being the first head of state to harshly condemn Israel over the Israeli-Lebanon conflict[16] and cutting ties with Israel years later. She also dismissed the claims that Gaddafi has escaped to Venezuela.[17]

She lectured journalism at the American University in Dubai (AUD) between 2013–2015 and gives talks around the globe. She organises regular poetry recitals in cities across the Persian Gulf region, as well as Europe and both North and Latin America.[18]

Prior to her work with Al Jazeera, Khatib has worked for Swiss Radio International in Bern and World Health Organization in Geneva, as well as Al-Raya Newspaper and Qatar Radio in French in Doha.[19]

Publications

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Poetry

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  • Love Refugee (Arabic: لاجئة حب), collection of poems in Arabic; available on Jamalon.[20]

Nonfiction

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References

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  1. ^ "Arab TV Gets a New Slant: Newscasts Without Censorship". The New York Times. 4 July 1999. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ^ "AJ+ appoints new managing director". The Peninsula. Qatar. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Management profile / Dima Khatib". Qatar: Al Jazeera. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  4. ^ Al Sayed, Samar (2 July 2015). "Dima Khatib: the reluctant poet who has become well versed". The National. UAE. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Dima Khatib | Off the Strip for free thinkers and adventurers". Sandraoffthestrip.com. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  6. ^ Ralph D. Berenger, ed. (2004). Global Media Go to War: Role of News and Entertainment Media During the 2003 Iraq War. Marquette Books. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-922993-10-9.
  7. ^ "Wamda". wamda.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. ^ Mackey, Robert (14 January 2011). "Arab Bloggers Cheer on Tunisia's Revolution". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  9. ^ Owen, Paul; Weaver, Matthew (17 January 2011). "Tunisia crisis: live updates". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  10. ^ Amnistía Internacional México (29 July 2012). "Redes sociales, activismo y derechos humanos. Entrevista a Dima Khatib". Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ salonmays (11 July 2011). "بابلو نيرودا بلسان عربي مع ديمة الخطيب ومحمد الشهاوي". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  13. ^ Shiv Malik (24 January 2005). "Broadcast and be damned". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  14. ^ Al Jazeera English (6 March 2013). "Dima Khatib talks about Hugo Chavez". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Al Jazeera Arabic قناة الجزيرة (27 April 2009). "لقاء خاص هوغو تشافيز". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Aljazeera.Net - Winning Arab hearts and minds". Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  17. ^ "Libya protests spread and intensify". Axisoflogic.com. 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  18. ^ QuéLeer H (10 April 2014). "طفل عربي - ديمة الخطيب". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Dima Khatib". Al Jazeera. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  20. ^ "لاجئة حب". jamalon.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
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