Seen From Abroad: 10 Questions with Senior CNN International Correspondent Jim Bittermann
October 26, 2021
CNN International Correspondent Jim Bittermann will be interviewed live by Webster University Gleich Scholar and Journalism student Jordyn Grimes. The interview will be streamed online on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. CDT. It is open to the public and free.
This is the first official public event being held by the Gleich Honors College, which was established earlier this year after a generous donation from Marianne and Peter Gleich.
“This is an exciting opportunity for students to learn from a internationally recognized professional who is on the front lines of international news,” said Professor Emily Thompson, the interim director for the Gleich Honors College. “The dialogue format explores, not only different perspectives on world events, but also different stages in a specific career.”
Bitterman is CNN’s senior international correspondent based in Paris. He joined CNN in 1996 and has covered the death of Princess Diana, NATO airstrikes in Kosovo, the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, several World Cup soccer championships, and numerous other historical events.
Before joining CNN, he was ABC’s correspondent in Paris where he covered the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Gulf War and the U.S. deployment in Somalia. Before ABC, he worked for NBC where he earned an Emmy for his coverage of the 1988 Sudan famine. He previously produced news for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpo newsmagazine, and was a news reporter in Cleveland and Pittsburg.
He began his career in journalism in 1970 when he covered the presidential campaign of Birch Bayh and Edmund Muskie. Over the years, he has earned numerous awards, include a CableACE award for CNN’s coverage of the civil war in Zaire. In addition, he has been an assistant adjunct professor of communication at the American University in Paris, where he teaches broadcast news and documentary film production.
Bitterman has a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, where he was later named the Alumnus of the Year in 1989 and the University’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2000.
About the Gleich Honors College
The Gleich Honors College offers additional academic challenges, global opportunities for purposeful community engagement, and interdisciplinary research training. It builds upon the existing Impact Scholars program, which for the past two years has connected a diverse group of students with the people and experiences that inspire them to strive for personal excellence in the service of social justice and community service locally, regionally and internationally.
The Impact Scholars program was established in 2018 for undergraduate students in St. Louis. The program seeks students who are notable in diverse ways. It does not automatically select students; rather students must apply to be considered. The program is open to all undergraduates, from freshman to graduating seniors, as well as transfer students.
View the Live Interview
To view the live interview, click on this link at 10 a.m. Nov. 2 to start the Zoom session.