United States Agency for Global Media

Robyn Kriel, 2008 winner

Reporter Robyn Kriel, working with freelance reporter John Miller, received the award for their series about life in Zimbabwe.

David Borgida, a Supervising Editor who nominated the journalists, said, “The global audience had seen little of what has been going on [in Zimbabwe] because the government controls what is seen and heard. This series provided that rare glimpse into real life in Zimbabwe.”

Reporting from around the world

Kriel is a CNN International anchor and correspondent currently based at CNN’s worldwide headquarters in Atlanta. She joined CNN in 2015 as their East Africa correspondent. Prior to joining CNN, Kriel was South African television station eNCA’s Chief Africa Correspondent. She then established and managed eNCA’s East Africa bureau from 2011 to 2015. From 2008 to 2011, Kriel was an anchor and reporter for eNCA based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kriel began her career in local news as a reporter at KWTX in Waco, Texas. Throughout her career, she has won a number of reporting accolades including an Edward R. Murrow Award for in-depth series reporting. In 2011, Kriel was recognized by Michelle Obama for what the First Lady called her “courageous reporting from Zimbabwe.”

Kriel has a Masters in War Studies from King’s College London and degrees in broadcast journalism and musical theater from Texas Christian University. She was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Kriel is married with a fifteen-month-old son.