Nationality American Occupation Journalist | Name Liz Wahl Role Journalist | |
Profiles | ||
Why Russian TV anchor quit on-air
Liz Wahl (born May 27, 1985) is an American journalist. She was a correspondent for the Russian government-sponsored RT television network from 2011 to 2014 but gained prominence by leaving the network following a harshly critical on-air resignation. She currently works as a correspondent for Newsy.
Contents
- Why Russian TV anchor quit on air
- Russia Today anchor resigns on air
- Resignation from RT America
- References
She was born at Subic Naval Base in the Philippines to a Filipina mother and an American father of Hungarian descent. She was raised in Connecticut. She graduated from Fairfield University. Her paternal grandparents were refugees from Hungary, who fled the on-coming Soviet invasion during the Hungarian Uprising. Wahl cited her grandparents' experience as a factor in her public denunciation of RT and the network's coverage of Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
Wahl worked at the United States branch of RT for over two years.
Russia Today anchor resigns on-air
Resignation from RT America
On March 5, 2014, Wahl went off script, during her live segment, and resigned her job while denouncing her employer RT for its allegedly distorted coverage of the 2014 Crimean crisis. She also claimed that RT censored her interview with Ron Paul on the day she resigned. Ron Paul himself denied any censorship.
RT America responded by calling Liz Wahl's actions "Nothing more than a self-promotional stunt." The video of Wahl's resignation quickly went viral on the internet, with millions of hits on YouTube. She appeared on three major American cable news outlets - CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC - was also invited to appear on The View, and the shows of Anderson Cooper, and Stephen Colbert for additional interviews.
Barbara Walters initially voiced criticism of Wahl, saying she should not be treated like a hero, but has since recanted and praised Wahl's efforts. Politico published Wahl's tell-all firsthand story detailing her early career, how she was recruited to RT, her frustrations working for the Russian-funded network, and her resignation.
In July 2014, reporter Sara Firth from RT's London Bureau resigned for similar reasons to Wahl's.
Since 2015, she has been a correspondent for Newsy.