Alex Crawford

{{short description|British journalist (born 1962)|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Lead too short|date=November 2021}} {{Use British English|date=March 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Alex Crawford | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} | image = File:Alex Crawford.jpg | alt = | caption = Crawford in 2019 | birth_name = Alexandra Christine Crawford | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|04|15|df=y}} | birth_place = Surrey, England | occupation = Foreign correspondent | employer = Sky News | spouse = Richard Edmondson | children = 4 }}

'''Alexandra Christine Crawford''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (born 15 April 1962)<ref>{{citation |title=Birthdays |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 April 2014 |page=35}}</ref> is a British journalist who currently works as a Special Correspondent for Sky News based in Turkey.<ref name=SkyBio>{{cite web|url=http://skynews.skypressoffice.co.uk/biographies/foreign-correspondents/alex-crawford |title=Alex Crawford |publisher=Sky News |access-date=22 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101140402/http://skynews.skypressoffice.co.uk/biographies/foreign-correspondents/alex-crawford |archive-date=1 January 2013}}</ref><ref name=RTS>{{cite web|title=Alex Crawford, RTS Journalist of the Year, Posted to Sky News' South Africa Bureau |url=http://skynews.skypressoffice.co.uk/press-releases/items/2011-04/2024/alex-crawford-rts-journalist-year-posted-sky-news%E2%80%99-south-africa-bu |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421105737/http://skynews.skypressoffice.co.uk/press-releases/items/2011-04/2024/alex-crawford-rts-journalist-year-posted-sky-news%E2%80%99-south-africa-bu |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |date=27 April 2011 |publisher=skypressoffice.co.uk |access-date=27 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=OBE>{{London Gazette |issue=60009 |date=31 December 2011 |page=9 |supp=y}}</ref>

==Biography== Crawford was born in Surrey in 1962 to an English-Chinese mother and a Scottish father.<ref>''Desert Island Discs''. BBC Radio 4. First broadcast 10 January 2016.</ref> She was brought up in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe and educated at St John's Convent in Kitwe, Zambia and Chispite Junior and Chisipite Senior School in Harare, Zimbabwe and later at Cobham Hall School in Kent.<ref name="ual2">{{cite web|title=Alex Crawford OBE|url=http://www.arts.ac.uk/alumni/in-the-news/honoraryawards2012/alexcrawfordcbe/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419092925/http://www.arts.ac.uk/alumni/in-the-news/honoraryawards2012/alexcrawfordcbe/|archive-date=19 April 2013|publisher=arts.ac.uk|access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="HarperCollins2">{{cite web|title=HarperCollins Author Profile: Alex Crawford|url=http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/11223/alex-crawford|publisher=harpercollins.co.uk|access-date=22 December 2012|archive-date=15 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515151221/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/11223/alex-crawford|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=17 January 2013|title=Elders' News|url=http://www.cobhamhall.com/elders/elders-news/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731034335/http://www.cobhamhall.com/elders/elders-news/|archive-date=31 July 2015|publisher=Cobham Hall School|quote=Alex Crawford (special correspondent for Sky News) was appointed an OBE for services to broadcast journalism in January 2012. In February, she was also awarded the Royal Television Society Television Journalist of the Year Award for the third straight year. This is the fourth time she has won this award.|access-date=3 March 2012}}</ref>

Crawford first worked in journalism at the ''Wokingham Times'', completing a National Council for the Training of Journalists newspaper course in Newcastle while working there.

She subsequently worked for the BBC and for TV-am before joining Sky News when it was launched in 1989.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nctj.com/news-and-events/news/three-time-rts-winner-is-mays-alumnus-month |title=Three time RTS winner is May's alumnus of the month |publisher=National Council for the Training of Journalists |date=3 May 2011 |access-date=22 August 2011 |archive-date=18 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918091924/http://www.nctj.com/news-and-events/news/three-time-rts-winner-is-mays-alumnus-month |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=ual>{{cite web|title=Alex Crawford OBE |url=http://www.arts.ac.uk/alumni/in-the-news/honoraryawards2012/alexcrawfordcbe/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419092925/http://www.arts.ac.uk/alumni/in-the-news/honoraryawards2012/alexcrawfordcbe/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 April 2013 |publisher=arts.ac.uk |access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="HarperCollins2"/> She began working as a foreign correspondent for Sky News in 2005. Crawford has reported on the Gulf, the Middle East, the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya and more recently the Russo-Ukrainian War.<ref name=SkyBio/> She has been named Journalist of the Year on five occasions by the Royal Television Society and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to broadcast journalism.<ref name=SkyBio/><ref name=RTS/><ref name=OBE/> Her work has been recognized by the Foreign Press Association in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. She has also been cited by the Bayeux War Correspondents Awards for her reports from hostile environments for every year since 2007.<ref name=SkyBio/>

==Journalism since 2010== === Coverage of the Libyan Civil War === Crawford covered the 2011 Libyan Civil War. She was widely praised for her live on-scene reporting of the Battle of Tripoli. She was the first TV journalist to enter Libya with the rebels.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} She travelled with a rebel convoy into the heart of Tripoli, shooting direct live footage of the rebel advances, which reached Green Square with little resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces. She wore a helmet and bulletproof vest, stating that she did not feel in any danger, but wore them as a precaution against celebratory gunfire.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/22/libya-sky-alex-crawford | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Patrick | last=Foster | title=Libya coverage: Sky's Alex Crawford scoops her rivals | date=22 August 2011|access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/22/alex-crawford-sky-reporter-libya | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Leo | last=Hickman | title=Alex Crawford is our new journalistic hero | date=22 August 2011|access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8714868/Libya-Sky-News-reporter-Alex-Crawford-praised-for-dramatic-Tripoli-reporting.html | work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London | first=Andrew | last=Hough | title=Libya: Sky News reporter Alex Crawford praised for dramatic Tripoli reporting | date=22 August 2011|access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Erik Wemple|title=Alex Crawford explains her safety gear |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/alex-crawford-explains-her-safety-gear/2011/08/22/gIQAUFMaWJ_blog.html | newspaper=The Washington Post| date=22 August 2011|access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Jesse Emspak|title=Laptop, cigarette lighter aid reporter in Libya|url=http://news.discovery.com/tech/laptop-cigarette-lighter-aid-reporter-libya-110822.html|date=22 August 2011|publisher=news.discovery.com|access-date=22 December 2012|archive-date=7 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007163454/http://news.discovery.com/tech/laptop-cigarette-lighter-aid-reporter-libya-110822.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Alex Farber|title=Sky News' Alex Crawford praised for Libyan reports|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/sky-news-alex-crawford-praised-for-libyan-reports/5031059.article|date=22 August 2011|publisher=broadcastnow.co.uk|access-date=22 December 2012}}{{subscription required}}</ref> She also covered the raid of Bab al-Azizia live from outside the compound, and was one of the first journalists to go inside once the raid was over.

=== Coverage of the Northern Mali conflict === Crawford was active in covering the Northern Mali conflict from 15 January 2013 until the end of French military operations.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mali Conflict: France Recaptures Diabaly|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1040841/mali-conflict-france-recaptures-diabaly|date=21 January 2013|publisher=news.sky.com|access-date=27 January 2013}}</ref> Her Sky News team was the first to enter Timbuktu after it was liberated by French forces.

===Coverage of the Victoria Falls=== In 2015, Crawford reported that the Victoria Falls, separating the nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe, was drying up.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.sky.com/story/climate-change-sight-of-victoria-falls-cut-to-a-trickle-is-heartbreaking-11877819 | title=Climate change: Sight of Victoria Falls cut to a trickle is heartbreaking}}</ref> Tourism promoters and local leaders in both Zimbabwe and Zambia accused Crawford of being an alarmist and 'creating the news she reported on', by insisting on what the interviewees said in her report. The interviewees included a range of local workers, civilians, WWF leaders and an exclusive interview with the Zambian President who declared the drought the result of climate change. Every 10 years or so, the Zambezi river which passes through the falls experiences very high or very low water levels, a fact that Crawford was accused of not including in her report.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lusakatimes.com/2020/02/20/sky-news-is-spreading-absurd-news-over-dry-vic-falls-peter-jones/ | title=Zambia: Sky News is spreading "absurd" news over dry Vic Falls -Peter Jones| date=20 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-199025.html | title=Victoria Falls drying up: Where is the alarmist journalist hiding now?}}</ref>

=== Coverage of the Syrian Civil War === In April 2019, amid the ''Dawn of Idlib'' military operation, Crawford and her media team, including Sky producer Martin Vowles and two civilian activists came under fire from Syrian government forces in the contested village of Hbit in the northern Idlib Governorate. Crawford said, "we were spotted by a military drone and then repeatedly shot at with what we believe were 125mm shells probably fired from a T-72 Russian battle tank". Bilal Abdul Kareem, an activist from New York, who had been acting as Crawford's guide, was injured in the shelling by shrapnel, and taken to Khan Shaykhun for medical treatment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sky journalist and crew deliberately shot at by Syrian government |date=23 May 2019 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517123619/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/23/sky-news-journalist-and-crew-shot-at-by-syrian-government |archive-date=17 May 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/23/sky-news-journalist-and-crew-shot-at-by-syrian-government}}</ref>

=== Coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine === Crawford currently covers the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, having begun 5 March 2022.<ref>{{Citation |title=Ukraine Invasion: Civilians narrowly escape shelling in residential areas | date=5 March 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiZS6AJjrNs |language=en |access-date=2022-03-10}}</ref> On 9 March Alex Crawford interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in English, discussing the current state of the conflict.<ref>{{Citation |title=War in Ukraine: President Zelenskyy warns 'millions could die' unless the West intervenes | date=9 March 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LovBx0LzMjk |language=en |access-date=2022-03-10}}</ref>

== Personal life == Crawford lives in Istanbul, Turkey, with her husband, sports journalist Richard Edmondson. They have four children, born ca. 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2002.<ref>{{cite news|last=McGrath|first=JA|title=Edmonson's absence will be keenly felt|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/2369678/Edmonsons-absence-will-be-keenly-felt.html|access-date=27 December 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=13 December 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Edmondson|first=Richard|title=Richard Edmondson: Nothing angers my wife more than sexists who question her career|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/richard-edmondson-nothing-angers-my-wife-more-than-sexists-who-question-her-career-2345510.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402004450/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/richard-edmondson-nothing-angers-my-wife-more-than-sexists-who-question-her-career-2345510.html |archive-date=2014-04-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=27 December 2012|newspaper=The Independent|date=29 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Tyzack|first=Anna|title=My Perfect Weekend: Alex Crawford|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/my-perfect-weekend/8927944/My-Perfect-Weekend-Alex-Crawford.html|access-date=27 December 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=1 December 2011}}</ref>

== Publications == *''Colonel Gaddafi's Hat''. London: Collins, 2012. {{ISBN|9780007467303}} *''How to Survive in a War Zone''. London: Collins, 2012. {{ISBN|9780007506972}}

== See also == * War correspondent

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Twitter}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Alex}} Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Chisipite Senior School Category:British women television journalists Category:British women war correspondents Category:British war correspondents Category:English people of Chinese descent Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Cobham Hall School Category:People from Surrey Category:Sky News newsreaders and journalists Category:WFTV Award winners