GLOBAL NATIONAL LAUNCHES NEW FOREIGN BUREAUS

FIVE CANADIAN REPORTERS APPOINTED INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS IN LONDON, BEIJING, NEW DELHI AND JERUSALEM

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(Vancouver, August 21, 2008) Global National announced today the appointment of five veteran Canadian correspondents to its new international bureaus launching in London, Beijing, New Delhi and Jerusalem.

A solid team of Global National reporters will move overseas to keep Canadians better informed about our world. The roster includes Tara Nelson as London bureau chief and Stuart Greer as foreign editor reporting from London, U.K.; Lauren McNabb in Jerusalem; Jas Johal in New Delhi, India; and Ben O’Hara-Byrne in Beijing, China.

“These bureaus will take Global National’s signature storytelling to the world, providing a fresh, Canadian perspective on the major global issues that impact our country,” said Troy Reeb, Senior Vice President of News and Current Affairs for Canwest Media Inc. “We are particularly proud that we are able to fill all five of these high-profile positions with existing Global reporters. It is proof that Global News has become the place to be for the best Canadian journalists to tell the stories they want to tell, and viewers want to hear.”

Filing stories for both Global National and Global News affiliates across the country, the foreign correspondents will also contribute to Global Television’s groundbreaking new weekly current affairs series, 16:9. In addition, they will also file print articles for Canwest News Service on a regular basis. These international roles begin in September 2008, starting with reports from the London bureau with Tara Nelson.

About Global National:
Global National with Kevin Newman offers Canadians an early evening national news alternative with a distinctive voice and approach to the day’s top stories. (www.globalnational.com) The multiple award-winning half-hour newscast was recently voted Best Newscast by the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Canada and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (Gemini Awards). Global National is broadcast live seven days a week at 5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in the Maritimes) with news bureaus and correspondents in every major city in Canada; Washington, D.C.; London, U.K.; Beijing, China; New Delhi, India and Jerusalem, Israel.
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Media Contact:

Yvonne Chiang
604-422-6736
ychiang@globaltv.com

Global National Foreign Correspondent Bios:

Tara Nelson
London, UK Bureau Chief
Tara Nelson is Global National’s London Bureau Chief based in London, U.K. covering major stories throughout the European region. Most recently, Tara led Global National’s weekend newscasts as anchor and B.C. correspondent since its inaugural broadcast in 2001, delivering breaking news stories to Canadians including the Air France crash at Pearson airport in 2005 and the Robert Pickton murder trial verdict in December 2007.

Tara is originally from Sherwood Park, Alberta and is a graduate of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. She began her broadcast journalism career in 1991 in Terrace, B.C. and moved to Red Deer briefly before landing a position at Global Edmonton, where she both anchored and reported, specializing in consumer/investigative stories, before joining Global National.

Since then Tara has travelled to Los Angeles and New York for coverage of 9/11, both on the day and five years later. She covered the Columbia shuttle explosion in Texas in 2003 and has traveled to San Diego twice to cover particularly dramatic wildfire seasons. She was in both Ireland and Scotland documenting the aftermath of the fire that ravaged Canadian Forces submarine HMCS Chicoutimi, and spent three weeks in Torino, Italy covering Canada’s performance at the 2006 Olympic Games.

Stuart Greer
London, UK Foreign Editor
Stuart Greer takes on the new role of London Foreign Editor after spending the last five years as Global National’s freelance video-journalist for Europe.

Based in London since 2003, he’s covered major international stories throughout the continent – from riots on the streets of Paris to terrorist bombings on London’s transit system. Most recently Stuart was on the frontlines in Georgia reporting on the developing crisis there with Russia.

Born and raised in Montreal, Stuart is a graduate of McGill University with a BA in Film & Communications. He started his professional career as a radio reporter for CHOM-FM covering the 1995 Quebec referendum.

After a brief period at CJAD radio, Stuart joined Global Quebec in 1997 as National Assembly bureau chief where he followed the provincial political scene in Quebec City. He also hosted a weekly political panel.

Since moving to London, Stuart has also worked freelance for CBS News, BBC Radio and Sky News.

Jas Johal
South Asia Correspondent
Jas Johal began his journalism career as a producer and reporter at Vancouver news radio station CKNW, followed by 11 years as a senior reporter at BCTV News (now known as Global BC) covering stories as diverse as the Gustafsen Lake standoff, the 2003 Okanagan forest fires, the APEC summit, and federal and provincial elections. His favourite topics of interest include organized crime and politics.

Since joining Global National in 2005, Jas has reported from Afghanistan three times, as well as covered events in Pakistan after the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Jas has also followed several high profile court cases including the Air India bombing, the trial and sentencing of millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam, and that of accused serial killer Robert Pickton. He has traveled to Lebanon to report on ceasefire conditions and reported from Israel after the takeover of Gaza by Hamas.

Jas is a past recipient of the RTNDA, Can-Pro, and Canadian Association of Broadcasters Awards. In 2001, Jas was recipient of the Jack Webster Award for best feature after producing and hosting “India: Giant on the Move,” a national hour-long special that looked at the impact of economic liberalization in India and its repercussions on the west. In 2005, Jas produced and narrated a national documentary titled, “Road to Bollywood,” which followed young South Asians pursuing stardom in India’s movie capital. In 2008, Jas was chosen by the Vancouver Sun as one of the 100 most influential Indo-Canadians in British Columbia. He also sits on Simon Fraser University’s advisory council on India.

Ben O’Hara-Byrne
Beijing, China Correspondent
Ben O’Hara-Byrne is an award-winning, dedicated, accomplished journalist and has been with Global News since 2003, reporting from his beloved hometown of Montreal and Toronto before moving to Ottawa for Global National.

Ben has covered politics and foreign affairs from the viewpoint of everyday Canadians, breaking down complex issues and making sense of government policies for viewers. He has reported on-location in Afghanistan twice, covered Conrad Black’s lengthy trial and guilty verdict (of which he won a network RTNDA award for best spot news coverage), the 7-7 London bombings, the most recent Canadian federal election and several G8 meetings.

Ben has reported for CBC and CTV throughout his career, and made his mark covering breaking events like the WTO riots in Seattle and the blackout in New York City.

His stellar journalism has won him several awards including the RTNDA and the Edward R. Murrow awards. His work also garnered him a Gemini nomination for best reportage on his coverage on the Dawson College shootings.

Lauren McNaab
Middle East Correspondent
Lauren joined Global National from Global Winnipeg in 2003 as their Manitoba correspondent before moving to the Toronto bureau in 2005. Born and raised in Minnedosa, Manitoba, Lauren is a Carleton University graduate.

Lauren’s aggressive reporting style enables her to dig deeper into issues and provide Canadians with exclusive behind-the-scenes stories no one else can. In 2008, she and her camera operator risked their lives to become the only North American journalists to travel into the restricted Myanmar/Burma region to report first hand on the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis. She has also reported from Afghanistan twice covering the Canadian military’s efforts in the war-torn region. Lauren has also reported on the aftermath of several disasters in 2005: New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, Pakistan after the devastating earthquake and Sri Lanka after the disastrous tsunami.

Prior to joining Global National, she spent six months in Zimbabwe, Africa, writing for a local magazine, before moving back to Manitoba in 2000.