Imran Garda

Imran Garda (born 7 August 1982) is a South African of Indian descent journalist, presenter, and award-winning novelist.[1] He was the host of The Newsmakers on TRT World. He was formerly the host of Third Rail on Al Jazeera America[2] based in New York City. Garda was also a senior presenter[3] and producer for AJ+, Al Jazeera Media Network's all digital video news channel based in San Francisco. Previously, he worked for Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar and Washington, DC. He also hosted[4] the award-winning[5] show The Stream.

Imran Garda
Born (1982-08-07) 7 August 1982
Kagiso, Transvaal Province, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
OccupationJournalist, author, television presenter
Years active14
Notable credit(s)
The Stream
Inside Story
Newshour
Al Jazeera America News
AJ+
The Thunder That Roars
The Newsmakers
Third Rail
TitlePresenter of The Newsmakers on TRT World
AwardsOlive Schreiner Prize
Websitewww.imrangarda.com

Early career

Garda's media career[6] began as a sports presenter and reporter for SuperSport in South Africa in 2002. He covered mostly cricket and football. While at Supersport he was published as a freelance writer on politics—which included a series on Bosnia-Herzegovina ten years after the Yugoslav Wars ended.

With Al Jazeera

Garda worked in two different stints at Al Jazeera.

First stint
Imran Garda filming with Al Jazeera English in 2009

Garda joined Al Jazeera English in 2006 initially as a sports presenter, but was moved to news during the piloting phase. He anchored the news and Inside Story from Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Washington DC. He also hosted the award-winning (RTS) The Stream until he left the network in 2012. He reported from the US, Sudan, Turkey, Egypt, Namibia, Bahrain, Lesotho, India, South Africa and the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Garda hosted a 13-part series on the aftermath of the War in Gaza - Focus on Gaza and presented the long-form documentaries The Father of the Turks,[7] A Voyage of Life and Death[8] and India's Silent War.[9] He also contributed feature articles and blog posts to Aljazeera.com and The Huffington Post.[10] On 7 June 2012, Al Jazeera English announced that Garda would be returning to South Africa.[11]

Second stint

In 2013, Garda returned[12] to the network for the network's digital channel AJ+ based in San Francisco, California where he specialized in short documentaries, including a special on Black Lives Matter protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. Beginning in 2015, Garda also anchored the news at Al Jazeera America in New York City. On 16 April 2015 it was announced that Garda would host a show on Al Jazeera America called Third Rail, an hour-long, guest-driven debate program focused on under-reported stories and hot-button topics.[13]

TRT World

In October 2015, Garda joined TRT World, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation's English-language channel[14] as host of The Newsmakers, an interview and debate program with "in-depth reports and strong, unfiltered debates - examining the people and the stories that are shaping our lives."[15]

In April 2016 Garda and his colleague Jerome Evans were given rare access to make a documentary in North Korea during the Pyongyang Marathon.[16] Garda documented the challenges of doing journalism in the country.[17]

The Newsmakers also did a special show from London on the occasion of the historic Brexit referendum.[18]

Novel: The Thunder That Roars

In June 2014 Umuzi, an imprint of Penguin Random House published[19] Garda's debut novel The Thunder That Roars.[20] The book was awarded the 2015 Olive Schreiner Prize for prose and optioned for a feature film. A tale of a journalist who embarks on a journey to find a missing family friend and uncovers long-held family secrets and undergoes an inward journey of his own, the book was described by adjudicators as, "South African literature [that] soars above the tortuous apartheid history and redefines globalisation."[21] Reviewer Eric Garland called it, "[A] breathtakingly strong debut novel about the self-discovery and strained relationships of human beings in an era that defies understanding."[22] It was also long-listed for The Etisalat Prize for Literature.[23]

Big interviews

Garda has interviewed many influential people throughout his career. They include former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown,[24] former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai,[25] US Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill,[26] former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf,[27] UN Humanitarian Chief Stephen O'Brien, Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko,[28] former Chief UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq Richard Butler,[29] former US Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration,[30] Former President of Georgia and Governor of Odessa Oblast Mikheil Saakashvili,[31] former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide,[32] former Irish President Mary Robinson, former IAEA Chief Hans Blix, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,[33] NASA Administrator Charles Bolden,[34] Former Iraq Prime Minister and Vice President Ayad Allawi, Tibetan PM in exile Lobsang Sangay,[35] Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, ICC Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, former UN Humanitarian Chief John Holmes, Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic, UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson,[36] philosopher Slavoj Zizek, former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, former Iranian Chief Nuclear Negotiator Seyed Hossein Mousavian, and former cricketer turned politician and Current Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.

Garda has interviewed spokespersons and ministers from governments across the world. He has also had the opportunity to interview non-state actors from groups such as Hamas, Somali rebel groups, Chechen rebels, Uganda's LRA, and other designated terror groups. He has chaired panels for the World Humanitarian Summit, United Nations Human Rights Council, and Advertising Week.

References
  1. "Imran Garda's novel The Thunder That Roars wins the 2015 Olive Schreiner Prize for Prose". Penguin SA @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. "Al Jazeera America's Third Rail Debuts Tonight". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. "Al Jazeera launches AJ+, a global news community for those who don't watch news on TV anymore - Dignited". 17 September 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. "How They Did It: Al Jazeera's The Stream". Online News Association. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. "Awards". Al Jazeera PR. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. "One on One with Imran Garda". The Daily Vox. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  7. "Father of the Turks". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  8. Garda, Imran. "A voyage of life and death". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. Correspondent, Al Jazeera. "India's Silent War". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  10. "Imran Garda". Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. "Goodbye Imran!". Al Jazeera English. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  12. "Al Jazeera launches digital channel AJ+ in bid to woo younger viewers - Doha News". 15 September 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  13. "Al Jazeera America Launches Foreign Policy Program "Compass With Sheila Macvicar", New Program Airs Sundays at 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT". Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  14. "TRT World: Tough talks - Issue 93 - Magazine". Monocle. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  15. "Tv Schedule | TRT World". www.trtworld.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  16. TRT World (22 April 2016), The Newsmakers in North Korea, retrieved 26 July 2016
  17. World, Imran Garda Host of The Newsmakers on TRT (3 May 2016). "The Minds of the Minders: A North Korean Diary". HuffPost. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  18. TRT World (25 June 2016), The Newsmakers: UK EU Referendum Special, Part 1, retrieved 26 July 2016
  19. "Imran Garda's The Thunder That Roars Launched with John Maytham at The Book Lounge". Penguin SA @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  20. Garda, Imran (19 May 2014). The Thunder that Roars (1 ed.). Umuzi.
  21. "Imran Garda's novel The Thunder That Roars wins the 2015 Olive Schreiner Prize for Prose". Penguin SA @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  22. "Book Review: "The Thunder That Roars" by Imran Garda". Eric Garland. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  23. Literature, Etisalat Prize For. "Etisalat Prize For Literature". prize.etisalat.com.ng. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  24. TRT World (2 June 2016), TRT World's interview with UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, retrieved 26 July 2016
  25. TRT World (1 August 2016), The Newsmakers with Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, retrieved 4 August 2016
  26. Al Jazeera English (5 April 2010), 'Tough negotiations ahead' for Iraq, retrieved 26 July 2016
  27. Al Jazeera (26 October 2011), The Stream - Musharraf ready to return to Pakistan, retrieved 26 July 2016
  28. TRT World (10 March 2016), The Newsmakers: Interview with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, retrieved 26 July 2016
  29. TRT World (6 July 2016), The Newsmakers: Interview with Richard Butler, Former UN Chief Weapons Inspector, retrieved 26 July 2016
  30. Al Jazeera English (12 March 2010), US envoy praises Darfur peace talks, retrieved 4 August 2016
  31. TRT World (12 February 2016), The Newsmakers: The Iowa Caucus and Ukraine Crisis, retrieved 4 August 2016
  32. Al Jazeera English (21 October 2009), Interview: Kai Eide UN Special Representative in Afghanistan, retrieved 26 July 2016
  33. "Witness - Video of US attack in Iraq 'genuine'". YouTube. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  34. Al Jazeera English (31 December 1969), Talk to Al Jazeera - NASA administrator Charles Bolden, retrieved 26 July 2016
  35. Al Jazeera (7 November 2011), The Stream - Tibetan PM speaks out after self-immolations, retrieved 26 July 2016
  36. TRT World (2 June 2016), TRT World's interview with UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, retrieved 26 July 2016
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