Cal Perry

Cal Perry is an award winning journalist, who serves as CNN's an International Correspondent for CNN, based in Beirut. He previously held the Baghdad Bureau Chief position from 2006 and has been with the network for five years. He also reports for the network from a variety of cities all over the globe.

Seeming to concentrate on the Middle East, he has been involved in providing exclusive material for the network such as an interview with the exiled leader Kahled Meshaal of Hamas in Syria (filing a well known article entitled "face to face with top Hamas leader in a secret location") from a safe house in Syria. In 2008, he became the first reporter in more than 3 years to interview the President of Syria, in English. The Meshaal interview was the first interview the exiled leader had given to any Western Press in more than two years.

Noted also for his work during the summer war between Israel and Lebanon - CNN received the "Edward R. Murrow" award for excellence in Journalism for this coverage; the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston and the death of Yasser Arafat.

He and correspondent Karl Penhaul were the first journalists to arrive in Tyre, Lebanon, amid the early fighting there providing exclusive coverage for the network for the first week of the war. Cal wrote an article for cnn.com describing some of his experiences in Lebanon. Check out this link to read one entitled, "The True Cost of War" http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/21/perry.tyre/index.html?iref=newssearch

He is also well known for his work in Iraq on various embeds, but perhaps best known for the documentary he created, directed and filmed entitled "Combat Hospital," which provided viewers an inside look into one of the US military's busiest combat hospitals in Iraq.

Recently he was the first reporter to appear live from Bangladesh during the massive cyclone "Sidr," providing both on air coverage and still photographs - questioning the death toll that the government was releasing.

Cal Perry was involved in CNNs receiving the Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in Journalism for their coverage of the summer war in Lebanon.

Cal Perry won a "Dupont" award for his work in the networks coverage of the "capture of Saddam Hussein."

Cal Perry is also a well-known still photographer for the network throughout his work around the world. Among other "slide shows" he's perhaps received the most attention for exclusive photos from combat action with the Marine Corps in Ramadi, Fallujah and cities throughout Iraq.

References

*http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/perry.cal.html
*http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/08/26/btsc.perry.hamas/index.html
*http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/06/btsc.perry.dozier/
*http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/28/lkl.02.html
*http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/10/iraq.medics/index.html