Anchors & Reporters
Octavia Nasr

Octavia Nasr is CNN’s senior editor of Middle East affairs and a 25-year-veteran of the news business. A leader in integrating social media with newsgathering and reporting, Nasr’s latest reporting on the elections in Iran and their fallout served as a backdrop to showcase her expertise in both traditional as well as social-media-driven content.

Nasr serves as an on-air and off-air analyst across all platforms of CNN Worldwide. She covers Middle East politics and current affairs, global terrorism and militant Islam. Her weekly Mideast Voices segment and her blogs offer a glimpse into the region rarely discussed on U.S. television.

Since she joined CNN, Nasr covered every major Middle East story. During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, she traveled to the region and contributed to CNN’s award-winning coverage of the conflict. In 2005 she reported from Lebanon and Syria on The Cedar revolution and its regional repercussions. In 2003 she managed the 15-member Arab desk which coordinated coverage of the Iraq war, and provided CNN domestic and international audiences an inside look into Arab media and culture and how they viewed the conflict.

Nasr's experience and deep knowledge of the Middle East put her in the spotlight during CNN's coverage of September 11th and its aftermath. Shortly after the attacks, she spent months traveling in the Middle East region coordinating on-air appearances and forging exclusive newsgathering deals with media partners.

Nasr anchored CNN World Report and CNN International's World News from 1993 to 2003. Among the major stories she covered live were the Bosnian war, the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Japan’s Sarin gas attack, the Concorde crash, and every major step of the Middle East peace process.

Nasr is the recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Journalism award from the Lebanese-American Chamber of Commerce. She was honored CNN World Report’s 2003 Achievement Award for her numerous

contributions to the program. Her work has also brought her with her colleagues recognition and many prestigious awards including: Edward R. Murrow for Continuing Coverage of the 2006 war in Lebanon; Golden Cable ACE Award in 1993 for CNN’s coverage of the Gulf War; and Overseas Press Club Award in 2002 for CNN’s post 9-11 coverage.

Nasr joined CNN in 1990 and served as an editor on the international assignment desk coordinating coverage of the first Gulf War. Before joining CNN, she was a war correspondent for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. She reported from the front lines of the civil war during Lebanon's most dangerous times for journalists. Her journalism career began in 1985 as an assistant news director at LBC before becoming executive producer of news.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts. She is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

 

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