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Rudi Bakhtiar

Fan Club Web Site

UPDATE: Rudi Joins Fox News Channel!

From a Fox News Channel press release, January 11th, 2006::

Rudi Bakhtiar has joined FOX News Channel (FNC) as a general correspondent, announced Bill Shine, Senior Vice President of Programming, FOX News.

In making the announcement, Shine said, “Rudi’s experience anchoring and reporting from around the world make her a great asset to Fox.  We are excited to have her on board as we enter an exciting new year.”

Bakhtiar recently served as a primetime contributor on CNN, based in New York.  During her tenure at the network, Bakhtiar held various positions, including a three year stint (2002-2005) as anchor for CNN Headline News’ nightly newscast.  Prior to that, Bakhtiar was the morning anchor on Headline News and was on air during the terrorist attacks in 2001. 

Throughout her career at CNN, Bakhtiar’s international reporting has taken her to various foreign regions including Jerusalem, South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Mali.  After joining the network’s Los Angeles bureau in 1996 as an intern, Bakhtiar later relocated to the network’s headquarters in Atlanta where she became a video journalist for CNN International.  She also served as a segment producer for CNNfn and assisted in the launch of numerous business programs on CNN International, before becoming an on-air reporter for CNN Newsroom in 1999.

A graduate of UCLA, Bakhtiar is a recipient of the 2002 Iranian American Republic Council Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding achievements, excellence and accomplishments within the Iranian American community.  That same year, Lycos named her as one of the top 20 most popular television news personalities in the broadcast industry.

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Info on Rudi from CNN:

Who is she?   Rudi Bakhtiar was the lead news anchor for CNN Headline News' late show Headline News Tonight, 2002-2005. Rudi anchored the network's coverage of Operation Enduring Freedom as well as that from Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2003. She was based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, and had been with CNN since 1996.

Rudi was on the air live when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks began. She reported throughout that day and has continued to cover the unfolding event as the crisis turned into a search-and-rescue mission that evolved into a war on terrorism. In 2002, Rudi traveled to Jerusalem to produce reports on the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Previously, Rudi was a co-anchor of CNN Student News, the 30-minute, commercial-free news and features program designed specifically for use in the classroom. She provided multiple reports for the network while on assignment from numerous countries including South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mali.

Rudi has been honored for her work, most recently, with the 2002 Iranian American Republican Council Achievement Award in recognition of Outstanding Achievements, Excellence and Accomplishments within the Iranian American community.

Rudi joined CNN in 1996 as an intern in the Los Angeles bureau and relocated to the network's world headquarters in Atlanta in 1997 as a video journalist for CNN International. She was a segment producer for CNNfn and helped launch four new business programs on CNN International.

Throughout her career with CNN, Rudi has worked on programs including CNN Impact, CNNfn's Asia Biz and various shows on CNN International.

In 2002, Rudi was recognized by Lycos as one of the top 20 most popular television news personalities in the broadcast news industry.

Where did she grow up?   Rudi was born in California and raised in Iran.

Education?   Bachelor of Science in biology, University of California at Los Angeles.

Family?   A younger brother and even younger sister.

Likes to do during downtime:   Water-skiing, snow skiing, horseback riding, tennis, oil painting.

CD must-haves:   Enigma; Sarah McLachlan, "Mirrorball"

Movie picks:   "The Deer Hunter," "The Godfather," "The Godfather Part II," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Good Will Hunting"

Best surfing:   economist.com; nytimes.com; espn.com

On her bookshelf:   "The Fountainhead," Ayn Rand; "The Secret History," Donna Tartt; "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee; "The Old Man and the Sea," Ernest Hemingway

Her autobio:   I was born to Iranian immigrants in Fresno, California. By the age of 2, I had managed to talk my parents into moving out to Los Angeles ... you would too if you lived in Fresno. But L.A. wasn't the answer either and on my 5th birthday, I was on a plane to the Middle East, where I hoped my parents would reap the rewards of their American education. They did ... for a while.  But in 1979, there was an Islamic revolution in Iran; the shah was overthrown. The Ayatollah Khomeini took over, and many were killed. My world, as I had known -- and loved it, was over. I owe a lot to those trying times: I would not be the person I am today if I had not been forced to endure five post-revolution years in Iran. That kind of oppression and lost opportunities inspired me to make the most of my life and take nothing for granted.

My weekends are full of tennis, skiing, horseback riding, yoga (not really a sport, but it brings me peace and harmony after a long week's work -- i.e., it helps keep me sane.) But I really love to try new and exciting sports. I'm going rock climbing when I get back from my trip to Madrid, Spain. (Did I mention that I love to travel?) And I've recently taken up taekwondo. (OK, let me just lament for a second here. I hurt in places I don't even know the names of!) I could go on and on ... but I've got to get into makeup and be on the set in an hour to host your favorite show. No!  Not "Survivor" (although I'm proposing that CBS choose the CNN newsroom as the next locale for the new series ... Put their survivor skills to a real test! It's craaaaazy over here!)

The most memorable story I've ever done was during the economic crisis in Asia. I covered a story on malnourished children in Indonesia, and I can't forget the images of poverty and starvation there. In the future, I hope that I will be able to leverage my position as an anchor/reporter to bring more stories of children in need to the forefront.

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Rudi has probably skyrocketed their ratings! (Not probably, HAS.) Fantastic imaging, fantastic job, just fantastic. Voice and everything projects 10+++! #1Fan 
-J.M.

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