KATHY GANNON
Past Shorenstein Fellow, Harvard University
SPECIAL REPORT
Journalism Maybe
August 8, 2023 • Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
It was December 2001.
The U.S.-led coalition had taken control of Afghanistan and installed a government of warlords. It was led by Hamid Karzai, the only man among the Afghan allies without a private militia.
Karzai’s swearing-in ceremony had taken place, and he was ensconced in the presidential palace when a news conference was called.
Hundreds of reporters, who had swarmed into the Afghan capital after the collapse of the Taliban, attended the presser to find a member of the ousted, extraordinarily secretive movement on the stage before them, ready to answer their questions.…
WHAT’S HAPPENING
As Leila Molana Allen and Saima Mohsin receive the 2024 Kathy Gannon Legacy Awards in London, they remind us of women journalists worldwide who continue to pursue truth and often contribute more to journalism than the stories they tell.
CFWIJ is proud to support and honor both winners.
Through the awards, CFWIJ reaffirms its commitment to Kathy Gannon’s values, encouraging a new generation of journalists to carry her legacy forward. We look forward to celebrating these courageous women and the power of journalism at the Rory Peck Awards in London on November 28.…READ MORE
Afghanistan after nearly three years away
For me Afghanistan is the people, the friends I have known for decades, and others I meet on the street, who smile, ask if they can help, put their hand to their heart to greet you.
Returning to Kabul after nearly three years was like coming home. Immediately the essence of Afghanistan emerged. At passport control, a smile, a hand to the heart and Salam-o-Alakum. The same from the bearded gentleman behind the counter that collects information from foreigners entering the country.…READ ON SUBSTACK
ABOUT KATHY
Kathy Gannon was a Joan Shorenstein Fellow for the 2022 fall semester at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. For 35 years she covered Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Associated Press as chief correspondent and later, news director. She has covered the 2006 war in south Lebanon, the Iraq war, the Central Asian States, and Azerbaijan. Gannon was the only Western journalist allowed in Kabul by the Taliban in the weeks preceding the 2001 U.S.-British offensive in Afghanistan.
In addition to her coverage of South Central Asia, she has covered the Middle East, including the 2006 Israeli war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and war in northern Iraq.
In April 2014 Gannon was seriously wounded—hit by seven bullets—while covering preparations for Afghan national elections when an Afghan police officer opened fire on the car in which she was riding. Her colleague and close friend, AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, was killed in the attack.