lyse Doucet

Lyse Marie Doucet OBE, CM, is a Canadian journalist who works for the BBC as a senior presenter and chief international correspondent. She is a BBC World Service radio and television presenter and a BBC Radio 4 and BBC News reporter in the United Kingdom. She's also a documentary filmmaker and presenter.

Background

Lyse was born on December 24, 1958, in Bathurst, Canada. She graduated with a degree from Queen's University Kingston. Lyse was an enthusiastic scholar, and she even completed her Master's Degree at the University of Toronto.

Initially, she started her career as a volunteer, teaching English at very remote places of the Ivory Coast, where she lived for a while. She has a very generous heart and always hands her arms out, reaching out to the needy. She worked as a freelancer initially for BBC, and later, she devoted herself full time to her profession. When she was deployed to Asia, she covered news from various parts of the world.

Journalism Career

She is described as an enjoyable loving person and an easy woman to work with by her colleagues. She is a strong woman of substance who had a vision of reaching out to people worldwide. Her assignments kept her occupied all the time and focused on her passion. She didn't have to deal with any distractions because her goals kept her are on track. Her peers and close friends admire her poise and grace.

Staring with a humble beginning, she has reached the top positions in her profession. In a world where women are deprived of good education, she stands apart for reaching the pinnacle in her line of work. Her magnetic personality is alluring and attractive to viewers and fans. She has traveled all across the globe and covered stories that only a few journalists can claim the same.

She has covered some significant assignments, including tsunamis, the September 9/11 attacks, and the Palestine war. She also interviewed many prominent people from different fields of interest.

War Coverage

The Guardian asked Lyse how she felt about her reports on war incidents as a female since a war reporter is a male most of the time, "War reporting is like any reporting. Journalists come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just interested in the bombs and the bullets, some in the social-cultural-political aspects of war, some want to cover the human cost of war. I've met journalists who love war, love the adrenaline rush. I don't, and none of my closest colleagues would say they do either."

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Since war seems to be an endless cycle, Lyse was asked to answer if war coverage was futile since it never seems to end, "Do you mean, what's the point? Well, take Libya; it's four years since the protest started against Gaddafi in Benghazi, which was a historical moment, a heroic moment of a people rising and writing a story that everyone wants to tell. Now suddenly, it's become the ugliest of wars that make you cringe at the savagery of it. In terms of us as journalists, though, it's a privilege to tell these stories. But I think it is OK to turn away occasionally to remind yourself that it's not a normal state of affairs. It's hard – but let's be clear, the story's not about me."

When asked about the perception that terrorist groups plan their attacks to get on the headlines news, Lyse said, "This is a real challenge to journalists editorially. On the one hand, you don't want to give them the oxygen of publicity, but on the other, you cannot pretend it's not happening. Because unfortunately, [the videos put out by Isis] are the most grotesque form of violence and weapon of war that all of us have ever seen. We can't ignore it. But you should never show the beheading."

Personal Life

She has a very great fan following on her social networking profiles, especially her Twitter account. People that follow her tweet her many times and praise her for her achievements. She has aged very gracefully.

In all her hustle-bustle of a busy life, somewhere, her personal life seems to have been under wraps. Despite the celebrity status and the constant media spotlight, she has been free of all speculations and rumors that other public figures have to deal with.

She has never been linked up with anyone. She is not involved in any relationships or affairs that have been made public. She doesn't have a boyfriend or has ever been married either. No one knows whether it was her conscious decision to remain single or has trouble finding the right partner because she doesn't like to commit to her personal life too much. She doesn't invade her personal life and keeps it very private from the tabloid camera lens.

Award Winner

Despite her age, she is still giving her best to her work and winning awards. This comes at a time when other people around her consider retiring. Lyse is still basking in the sunshine.

She has spent quality years of her life doing backbreaking and essential work. Apart from her various accomplishments in the journalism industry, the one prestigious award is she is very proud of is the OBE Award. In 2014, The Officer of the Order of the British Empire was awarded to her for her services to British broadcast journalism. She has been covering various news assignments for over thirty years.

Apart from other prestigious awards, she got an award from the Royal Television Society for capturing an assassination attempt, which took place during the wedding ceremony of the brother of an Afghan for which she was invited. It was a scary incident, but people commended her for having enough courage to capture the event and present it for the world to see and learn from.

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