Peter Bergen – Biography, 5 Key Facts About The CNN Journalist

Peter Bergen – Biography, 5 Key Facts About The CNN Journalist

Peter Bergen is an award-winning American journalist and author famously known for being CNN’s National Security analyst. He is equally a distinguished professor at Arizona University and the vice president of The New America Foundation. Amazingly, the media icon found his spot in the limelight after conducting Osama bin Laden’s first television interview in 1997, where the militant leader revealed his plot to attack the US. Berger has also interviewed prominent US politicians like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton, among others. Keep reading as we take you through his biography and other interesting facts below.

Peter Bergen Biography

Peter Bergen came into this world on the 12th day of December 1962. He was born to Sarah Elizabeth and her husband, Donald Thomas Bergen, in the Minneapolis City of Minnesota, US, and was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. He spent his early years in London, completing his basic education at the Ampleforth College situated in North Yorkshire, London. While there, he graduated as one of the best students in his class, which earned him a scholarship to study at New College, Oxford in 1981. There he got a bachelor’s degree in Modern History in 1985.

Soon after his graduation, Bergen started his journalism career with ABC News, working as a correspondent and analyst from 1985 to 1990. During his career at ABC, he went to Pakistan to cover a documentary about the Afghan refugees. He also anchored several documentaries on BBC Channel 4.

After leaving ABC in 1990, Peter Bergen was recruited by CNN where he has served in a wide range of positions; correspondent, analyst, and producer. Aside from CNN, he has equally worked as a producer and anchor in other popular networks, including Discovery, National Geographic, and HBO. He has also served as a guest writer for a variety of other mainstream publications, including Vanity Fair, The Daily Telegraph, Washington Post, Time, New York Times, The Guardian, and Wall Street Journal, among others.

5 Key Facts You Need To Know

1. He Produced His First Television Interview in 1997

After joining CNN, Peter Bergen quickly rose through the ranks, and by 1997, he was already a producer. He garnered worldwide popularity after posting his first interview with Osama bin Laden. Since then, he has produced a wide range of documentaries including Terror Nation, Kingdom of Cocaine, CNN and Time, and CNN Impact. For his unparalleled work, he has been nominated for a number of Emmy Awards and was honored with the Edward R. Murrow’s Press Club Award in 1994.

Peter Bergen – Biography, 5 Key Facts About The CNN Journalist
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2. He Has Authored Seven Books

In addition to his outstanding journalism career, Peter Bergen is also a prolific writer who has authored seven books, of which three are top New York Times bestsellers. He launched his first New York Times bestselling book, Holy War, Inc., in 2001. Later on, he released a non-fiction book titled The Osama bin Laden I Know, in 2006. Five years after that, he released his third book, The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda, which won him the Gold prize for the best book about the Middle East from Washington’s Institute.

His other publications include Manhunt, The Ten Year Search for Bin Laden From 9/11 to Abbottabad, United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists, Drone Wars: Transforming Conflict, Law, and Policy, and Talibanistan: Negotiating the Borders Between Terror, Politics, and Religion.

3. He is currently the Vice President of the New America Foundation

Bergen has held several positions as a non-partisan think tank in the US. He currently serves as the vice president at New America, a non-partisan organization that focuses on national security studies, education, technology, health, and asset building, etc. In his role, he oversees the Global Studies, fellows and directors of the International Security Program, and the Future of War program.

4. He is Happily Married and Has Two Children

Peter Bergen is happily married to a woman named Tresha Mabile. Tresha, a graduate of American University, is an American documentary and film producer as well as a national security analyst. The pair are said to have met each other many years ago while visiting the middle-east. Together, they have two children; a son named Pierre Bergen and a daughter named Grace Bergen.

5. His Net Worth

The award-winning journalist has been incredibly successful in his career, as can be seen through the numerous awards he has received. Because of this, Bergen reportedly earns a salary said to be well over $300,000 a year. His net worth is further said to be in millions, although the exact figure is not known.

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