The Independent has announced that one of Britain’s foremost foreign correspondents, Sam Kiley, is to become its world affairs editor.
Kiley, who recently reported for CNN, will report to Editor-in-Chief Geordie Greig and have a wide brief as a foreign affairs reporter, writer and commentator.
Kiley has over three decades of experience reporting on stories from the Somali famine to the Rwandan genocide, and wars in the Balkans, across Africa, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Independent says his appointment reflects its dedication to serious, rigorous journalism, which has seen the title become a global publication, growing across its six bureaux to become a top 10 title in the US and the largest quality digital news brand in Britain, with over 18 million monthly users.
Kiley spent six years as senior international correspondent in Abu Dhabi for CNN, leaving in December 2023. Prior to this he spent seven years at Sky News, reporting on conflict and security from London and the Middle East. He began his foreign reporting career in 1990 as LA correspondent for the Sunday Times then as Africa bureau chief for The Times in 1991, moving to cover the Middle East in 1999, before writing for the Evening Standard from 2001. In 2003 he began a career in broadcast journalism, joining Channel 4 as a correspondent for the documentary series Dispatches. He joined Sky News in 2010 where he specialised in defence, security, and foreign news as foreign affairs editor.
Independent Editor-in-Chief Geordie Greig said: “I’m delighted that Sam is joining our team to reinforce our commitment to covering foreign affairs with brilliant dispatches and analysis. He will be a superb addition. The Independent has a long, distinguished history of award-winning foreign journalism, and I’m proud to be able to continue that by appointing Sam.”
Newly appointed World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said: "I’m thrilled to be joining The Independent. I’ve admired its stylish and entertaining approach to journalism since it was first published. The Independent is growing fast and adapting quickly. I’m fizzing with enthusiasm to be joining an organisation that is defining the future of the media industry. Geordie’s vision for a news organisation that makes the best use of the written word, of audio, and of video for story telling is spot on. I still love the founding slogan, and challenge, of the paper ’The Independent. It is. Are you?’”
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