Rosemary Church was born on November 10, 1962, in Belfast, United Kingdom. She is famous for being a CNN International news anchor for the program, CNN Newsroom.
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Background
Rosemary’s family life while growing up was reasonably stable, both socially and financially. Their income level was in the same tier as families in the upper middle class. They immigrated to Australia when she was only 8 years old.
Doing her schooling in Canberra, Rosemary had an interest in news reporting. Since her early childhood, she was attracted to the magic of media. This interest prompted her to pursue journalism studies. She went to study at the Australian National University and graduated from the school with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.. After getting her first step into the door of journalism, she decided to continue her studies. The determined young scholar achieved a Master’s Degree in Media and Law.
Broadcasting Career
She started her journalism career as a weekend news presenter with Network Ten and worked for about five years with the parent company, National Media Liaison Services, located in Canberra.
After her first stint in reporting, she went on to join the ABC-TV station of Australia as a reporter and newsreader. Here, she concentrated on news and current events. She was then made a Foreign Correspondent and an evening news anchor in addition to her core position of Senior Anchor. She presented the evening news as well as occasionally filing in for the mid day news.
Starting in 1998, Rosemary became a very famous news anchor and a household name. Her success was because of her reporting and correspondence for CNN International. The rise to fame was both a combination of her dedication to work and fate. She anchored most major events that were happening around the globe. Her journalistic qualities and charming personality with her previous employers made her an attractive target for CNN worldwide. CNN wanted to expand their reach beyond American reporters. Rosemary was one of the foreign reporters that they had on their list to acquire.
Her location within the Asia-Pacific Rim also propelled her to joining CNN. They felt that she would bring a local flavor to their network. She now anchors CNN newsroom, based in Atlanta.
Brave Reporter
She has a great deal of experience covering major global news because she has been in the field for over 25 years. During the morning hours of the day, she can be seen across Africa, Europe and the Middle East while reporting for Australia and Asia during the afternoon.
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Church is considered by many to be a very daring woman. She has covered many news events which required courage and dedication, including the tracking and killing of Osama bin Laden in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, which was followed and viewed by millions of people. On another occasion, a natural disaster that shook the world found her in the right place at the wrong time. Church was in Japan for a different news assignment when the massive earthquake that triggered a tsunami occurred. Close to its epicenter in Northern Japan, she covered the events as they were unfolding. She did a great job of documenting the human suffering as well as the technological and economic risks and consequences of the tragedy.
She has covered other important issues, such as terrorist attacks against the US. She has been on the pulse for news like the capture of Saddam Hussein, the events surrounding the Malaysia Airline and updates on its wreckage search.
Her dedicated reporting has made her a suitable candidate for numerous awards. She was nominated for and won the New York Festival's TV programming award for her splendid coverage of the handover process of Hong Kong to China by the United Kingdom in 1997.
Dealing with Controversy
On a risky front, she has covered stories about the police use of excessive force on innocent civilians. In the aftermath of the police shooting of a teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, large protests erupted in which the police responded with the use of tear gas and stun grenades. During her reporting, she asked why the police could not apply water cannons to counter the protesters instead of using violent and unnecessary force. Her suggestion was met with the negative feedback by some of her twitter followers. They demanded an apology because they felt that she was not being fair to the police.
Another event which generated controversy during her work was when she reported on the two week conflict prompted by the launching of missiles from Gaza strip into Israel in 2014. She commented on the accidental explosion of a hospital which was widely blamed on one of the combatants. This dividing opinion once again met with resistance from her follower base. She was attacked for not understanding the concept of the casualties of war.
Personal Life
In 1995, Rosemary married Patrick O’Byrne, who walked in the footsteps of his father and worked in the wine industry. Now, he works in French champagne house, located in Atlanta. Patrick and Rosemary have three children, Madeleine, and the twins, Hannah and James. Patrick’s family was warm and welcoming when they brough Church in their family with open arms.
Rosemary used to work with the Patrick’s brother Tom in Hobart. They were both journalists and enjoyed each other’s company and insights. Tom asked Church to join his family for a Christmas celebration and there she met Patrick. Church was always keen to be in a big family as her own had always been rather small. She found comfort in Patrick’s family. Her relationship has since been stable, having never divorced or separated from her husband. Along with their kids, they are a close knit family unit.
Her career has in the past taken a toll on her as a person and also on her family. After getting her big break with CNN, she was asked to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia, before her family was able to. Leaving behind her young children was difficult, but eventually they were able to follow her.
While leaving her children was a difficult task, having to adjust to the American culture was even more difficult. She had to adjust her mind, body and soul as she adapted to living in a new country. On top of this, her night shift work did not follow conventional working hours, which made the transition even more uncomfortable. Despite this, she still managed to balance her work and family life well, ensuring that the two conflicting needs were relatively balanced.
Last Modified: Apr 8, 2020
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