June 5, 2000
Web posted at: 3:37 p.m. EDT

(CNN) — Two decades after R.E. "Ted" Turner dedicated the cable news network to America, CNN will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Viewers will have an opportunity to revisit some of the most momentous news events of the past with the CNN journalists who first brought them to the air.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins the chat today to celebrate CNN’s 20th anniversary, of which she has had the joy to be a part of for the past 17 years. Amanpour has worked in most of the world's hot spots. Her most recent assignments have placed her in Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Haiti, Algeria and Rwanda and garnered an exclusive interview with Iranian President Khatami and coverage of the civil unrest and political crisis in Rwanda.

Chat Moderator: Welcome to CNN@20 Chat, Christiane Amanpour. We are pleased to have you with us today!

Christiane Amanpour: Well, it's great to be with you, particularly to talk about the 20th anniversary of CNN, which revolutionized the world of communications! I'm pleased to be able to talk about it for the next half an hour.

Chat Moderator: Ms. Amanpour, you came to CNN when the network was young and early in your own career. Did you ever dream that 17 years later, both you and the network would be so successful?

Christiane Amanpour: You know what? Yes! I came with the dream of being a foreign correspondent. I was DETERMINED to be a foreign correspondent. I knew that with a lot of hard work, I'd make it. CNN, I believe, was the only place that would have allowed me to become what I am, because it provided me with the opportunity. And because CNN was so young at the time, it was a place that wasn't so bureaucratic, and people could rise from the ranks, if they worked hard. You're right though, it's hard to believe that any of us imagined, twenty years ago, the phenomenal global impact that CNN has had.

	RELATED LINKS
CNN20

Question from Pame5Ashe: Christiane, what was THE most thrilling assignment with CNN? Which will you remember most?

Christiane Amanpour: I have a huge number of memories. Each step of the way for me was thrilling. I had a great time climbing the ladder. One thrilling moment in my early years at CNN was paying my own way to the Democratic Convention in SF in 1984. I went, just to see what was going on. When I got there, CNN discovered that they needed more help, another writer, so they hired me on. I'd only been at the network less than a year. This was an immensely important assignment. I was in the big convention center when Jesse Jackson and Mario Cuomo gave their historic speeches. It was really exciting.

Other thrilling moments were covering the Gulf War, and I've had many, many moments since, perhaps they were less thrilling, but they were much more daring and dangerous.

Question from Drm: Do you think it is more important to be a good journalist, or just in the right place at the right time?

Christiane Amanpour: I think both. I think I was in the right place at the right time when I joined CNN, but I was also committed to being as good a journalist as I could possibly be. That meant that I came in on weekends and hours I wasn't assigned to work. I'd practice the things I wanted to end up doing. I'd practice writing, and practice taped reports. I'd pester the executives, until finally they gave me a job as a correspondent.

But, let me assure you that there is no short cut to becoming a good correspondent. I say that because, even in the short time since I've been a correspondent, in the last ten years I've noticed many, many people wanting to come into television news, and everyone saying, "I want to be you!" as if they could just become a full-fledged correspondent, without doing all the legwork.

So, my advice to anybody who wants to be a correspondent is to work hard, and work their way up the ranks. I feel that by doing that, I gained a solid knowledge of how news works from every point of view, in other words, from every possible job in the industry, because I did them all on my way to becoming a correspondent.

Question from WrightsWife: Ms. Amanpour, how emotional was it being in the Gulf during the war?

Christiane Amanpour: Well, I'll be very frank. I did not find the Gulf War emotional. It was a war. There were armies fighting each other. I did find Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo and many other countries that I've covered since, very emotional because, unlike the Gulf War, the victims in those conflicts were all civilians. They were all people like you and me, who were not soldiers. It's very, very hard to watch women and children and old men suffering for no good reason.

Question from Naomi: Christiane, does the constant sight of violence change a person and their perspective?

Christiane Amanpour: It's a good question. I hope that I have not lost my humanity, and that I have not become cynical or hard; rather, that I'm able to convey the tragedy of this epic human suffering, and explain to the world how wars and famine and disasters affect the individual human being.

Question from Lisa: Does CNN provide any type of security for you in the dangerous places you cover?

Christiane Amanpour: Well, you know, in Yugoslavia, in Bosnia, news networks started using bulletproof vests, helmets and armored cars. The reason for them was we started losing people. Having that protection made it a little safer for us to do our job. And also, some news organizations, including CNN, give their people training courses in first aid, and some of the issues that might come up in conflict situations.

But of course, nothing can really protect you from the wackos that are out there wielding guns. Just last week, two of my friends, two of the most experienced war correspondents and journalists I know, were shot and killed by rebels in Sierra Leone.

Question from Imagi: Christiane, what is the current situation in Kosovo? Is it another Korea for us, endless occupation?

Christiane Amanpour: I believe that it will not be endless occupation, but that there will be many years in which the international community has to remain engaged there. It's not just the United States, but also European countries, but I believe it's worth it. Security and stability in the Balkans must be achieved.

Question from Guest62163: What is the future of a global news television? Just bringing the news or something else?

Christiane Amanpour: Well, the future is much like what the last 20 years have been. Just bringing the news is a huge, huge gift to the world. CNN has really revolutionized the process by which people can get basic information about matters which affect their lives. It has democratized information. For instance, people in dictatorships, or countries where they only have one state-controlled news organization. It's helped people in those places see a balanced and objective view.

I believe that the biggest contribution that a global news organization like CNN has made is that it's made it impossible for governments to slaughter their people, to commit atrocities, to violate human rights, without the whole world knowing.

Question from Pame5Ashe: Christiane, have you ever had a story that you felt was left "unfinished," that you wanted to get back to?

Christiane Amanpour: You know what? Many, many stories. Every story you cover is worth covering again in two years, five years, 10 years, just to see how it's developed. I would have liked to have spent more time in Somalia, in Rwanda. Even though I spent years of my life covering Bosnia, I believe there are still follow-up stories to do there. In other words, a story is never finished, at least the kind I cover, because they involve a continuum of war, and sometimes even peace.

Question from Tommy: In this era of globe trotting reporters, how do CNN and other news organizations ensure that their reporters understand the local context well enough to send in balanced reports?

Christiane Amanpour: Again, a very good question. This is how we do it: First of all, we have experienced journalists. Secondly, we always hire local people, often local journalists, to help us understand the situation on the ground. Good journalists will always seek out the right sources, a wide range of sources, and will interview many, many different types of people and professions, in order to get a full and balanced picture of the place. The best thing, of course, is when a journalist can spend a bit of time in a place, because with each passing day, their pool of knowledge grows.

Question from Democrat: Please tell us a story about the biggest thrill?

Christiane Amanpour: Hmm. I've done a lot of things that I look back on as exciting and thrilling, but involving a lot of danger and daring. I look back and wonder WHY we did it. In 1991, there was a coup against the government of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The president's palace was under sniper fire and mortar fire, and nobody, no journalist, had managed to get to the president to interview him.

One day, and I remember it very well, it was Christmas Day in 1991, myself, my camera woman and my female producer simply ran across the palace courtyard, and managed to avoid the gunfire. We got the first exclusive interview with the president of Georgia. That was very, very exciting. But truth be told, once we got in, we didn't know how to get out! So, we had to wait several hours, until the whole thing quieted down.

Question from StephenAnthony: A few years ago, you reported on Olympic athletes training in Bosnia during the war. Do you know what happened to them?

Christiane Amanpour: Yes. The woman who was training to be the marathon runner went to Barcelona, in 1992, I believe. She ran in the race, came in last, but she ran. Sarajevo was under siege, you remember, and just the fact that she was able to leave Sarajevo and run, that was a victory in itself. She came back to Sarajevo and began to carry on different work, after achieving her dream.

Question from CharliGirl-CNN: How will having a new baby affect the way you handle reporting?

Christiane Amanpour: That's the $64,000 question! It will certainly be more difficult for me to take on these dangerous assignments. But I am committed to the kind of work that I've dedicated my professional life to. And I look forward to many years of challenging news coverage, like I have been doing in the past.

	RESOURCES
CNN Chat Calendar How to Connect Message Boards Time Zone Converter Discussion Standards

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

Christiane Amanpour: Just that I truly believe that it's worth remembering and reflecting that the world of journalism can be a very, very noble profession. That good journalism can make a difference in the world, and that democracy depends on an informed citizenry. And so, that's what keeps me committed to doing this job.

Chat Moderator: Thanks so much for joining us today, Christiane Amanpour.

Christiane Amanpour: Thank you very much! It was really a pleasure.

Christiane Amanpour joined the CNN@20 chat by phone from London, England. CNN provided a typist for Ms. Amanpour. The above is an edited transcript of the chat.