Benjamin Hall (journalist)
Benjamin Hall (born 23 July 1982) is a British journalist who serves as a State Department correspondent for Fox News Channel and is based in Washington, D.C. He joined the network in July 2015.[1]
Benjamin Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 July 1982 London, England |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | Fox News |
| Website | Official website |
Early life edit
Hall grew up in London, as a dual citizen, holding both US and UK passports.[2] He studied at Ampleforth College, City of London School, and Duke University,[3] and received a BA from Richmond University, London.[4]
Career edit
Hall began his career as a journalist focusing on the Middle East. Since 2007, he has written from the front lines for The New York Times, The Times of London, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The BBC, and other outlets, often as one of the first journalists on the ground.[5][6]
Hall has traveled to Syria and Iraq, repeatedly filing dispatches for BBC Radio and Agence France Presse, as well as the aforementioned publications – often from behind enemy lines and embedded with rebel and regime troops.[7]
Hall smuggled himself into Misrata, Libya during the height of the siege, and reported for Esquire Magazine, Channel 4 News, and others regarding Muammar Qaddafi's indiscriminate shelling of the local population. In 2014, he embedded with UN troops during the siege of the Mogadishu parliament, writing for The Times. He has reported from Egypt, Haiti, and Iran. He was a jury member of the London Kurdish film festival.[8]
Hall authored the book Inside ISIS: The Brutal Rise of a Terrorist Army, which was published by Hachette Book Group in 2015.[9]
On 14 March 2022, he was injured while on assignment reporting the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in Ukraine outside of Kyiv.[10][11][2] The vehicle Hall was traveling in was attacked; Hall was wounded in the legs while Fox war zone photo journalist and Irish citizen Pierre Zakrzewski, aged 55, were killed in the incident in Horenka, Kyiv Oblast.[12][13][14][15] Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshinova, aged 24, was also killed in the attack.[16][17] Benjamin was evacuated from a hospital in Kyiv by a non-governmental organization.[18]
Three weeks after the attack, Hall reported on Twitter that he had lost half of one leg, his foot on the other leg, suffered loss of function in one eye, damage to his hearing and injuries to a hand. He also paid tribute to his deceased colleagues.[19]
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace visited Hall on July 14, 2022, at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, where he had been recovering since the attack. Wallace wrote, "He looks incredible given everything he has endured, and he is truly an inspiration," in a note to Fox News staff.[20]
On September 14, 2022, Benjamin Hall made a surprise appearance at the Fox News Quarterly Address exactly six months after the attack occurred. In part, he said "I remember thinking that day then when I was lying there that there was one thing I needed to do, and that was to get home, try somehow to get home and see my family. And what's happened from then to now with so much support, so much goodwill, so much help from everybody". He also said that the attack on him and his co-workers was "a story, not really of tragedy, but one of goodwill."[21]
In November 2022, Hall received the Courage Award at the 4th Annual Patriot Awards. In part he said "I wish I could be there in person to pick it up, but I can't yet. I am doing very well now," he said. "I'm walking a lot better. I'm seeing better. My injuries are getting better and that is all thanks to the people who came to save me. It's thanks to the people who put me back together."[22]
In December 2022, Hall received the Foreign Press Award. Fox News President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace accepted Hall's award on his behalf, but Hall did give a recorded speech saying in part, "Thank you very much for this award tonight. I do think that this is not just an award for myself. It is an award for Pierre and for Sasha, who both died during that attack and also for every other war correspondent who has been injured or killed covering conflicts. And despite the attack... I think it is essential that people continue telling the news, telling the stories from war. I think that that's the only way we truly get to understand the atrocities, the disasters and the horror that's happening out there. And only then perhaps can good things can change come from it."[23]
On January 26, 2023, Hall returned to live television after months of being off the air while healing from the attack. He said he returned with no feet, one fully functioning hand, one eye, one fully working ear, and one leg. During the interview on Fox & Friends, he announced he wrote a book about the attack and the resulting months of healing called Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make it Home. The book was released on March 14, 2023, the first anniversary of the attack.[24]
References edit
- ^ "Benjamin Hall". Fox News. from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ a b Grynbaum, Michael M. (14 March 2022). "Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall has been injured in Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Benjamin Hall - Foreign Affairs Correspondent Fox News". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "From Fox News, Who is Benjamin Hall? - exclusive news". 8 April 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ Benjamin Hall (26 May 2014). "Soldiers wipe out al-Shabaab gang who attacked MPs". The Times. from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Kurdistan Contradicts Itself". The New York Times. from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ Hall, Benjamin (1 June 2012). . Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
- ^ Hall, Benjamin (18 April 2011). "Libyan Rebel Military Strength - How Strong Is Libyan Rebel Military?". Esquire.com. from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Inside ISIS". centerstreet.com. Hachette Book Group. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ Ruiz, Michael (14 March 2022). "Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall injured covering Ukraine war". FoxNews. from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Hernandez, Joe (14 March 2022). "Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall is injured while reporting from Ukraine". NPR. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Russia-Ukraine war: British Fox News journalist injured". BBC News. 14 March 2022. from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Pierre Zakrzewski, Fox News Cameraman, Killed in Ukraine". Variety. 14 March 2022. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin; Luscombe, Richard (15 March 2022). "Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski killed in Ukraine". The Guardian. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ Moore, Jane. "Taoiseach pays tribute to Irish citizen killed while reporting for Fox News near Kyiv". TheJournal.ie. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine war: Fox News cameraman killed in attack near Kyiv". Sky News. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Fox News' Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshinova killed in Kyiv". BBC News. 15 March 2022. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Marine Spec Operator Recounts Ukraine Rescue Mission for Benjamin Hall. Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Benjamin Hall [@BenjaminHallFNC] (8 April 2022). "To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown... but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here - and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Alvord, Kyler. "Fox News Journalist Ben Hall Is Recovering 'Remarkably' After Ukraine Attack as He Prepares for 40th Birthday". People.com. People. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Flood, Brian (15 September 2022). "Benjamin Hall surprises Fox News colleagues with moving words six months after deadly Ukraine attack". Fox News. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (18 November 2022). "Fox News' Benjamin Hall, Wounded In Ukraine Attack, Says He's "Doing Very Well Now" In Video Message To Fox Nation's Patriot Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Fox News' Benjamin Hall Earns Foreign Press Correspondents Award: 'I Think It Is Essential That People Continue Telling the News, Telling the Stories From War'". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Flood, Brian (26 January 2023). "Fox News' Benjamin Hall urges viewers to 'never give up' in emotional return to live TV". Fox News. Retrieved 22 February 2023.