Steve Centanni
STEVE CENTANNI
Correspondent and Anchor Fox News Channel ·
War Correspondent·
Kidnap Survivor, Gaza 2006·
Winner of David Bloom Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting, 2007·
30-year career in TV and Radio journalism
First Days of Fox
Steve Centanni joined the fledgling Fox News Channel as it went on the air in 1996. His first assignment with the innovative new cable network was to cover the Bob Dole Presidential campaign, traveling with the candidate for the final 8 weeks before the election and reporting live from points all across the county.
Since then, he has covered a wide variety of stories in the U.S. and around the world. Based in Washington DC, his assignments have included the White House, the Supreme Court, the State Department, and the Pentagon. He has traveled with President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Post 9-11/Afghanistan
Soon after 9/11, Centanni was sent to Islamabad, Pakistan to cover preparations for the invasion of Afghanistan. It was there he interviewed soon-to-be President Hamid Karzai and became the first journalist to report the fall of the Taliban in their final stronghold, the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. He was among the first journalists into Kabul as U.S. and NATO forces gained control.
He returned later the same year (2002) for another six week assignment in Kabul, reporting on the birth of a fledging government, the re-establishment of a free society and the opening of schools and universities to women following the dark age of Taliban rule.
Iraq
Beginning in March, 2003, Centanni traveled to Iraq four times. During the first days of the war, Centanni was embedded with the Navy Seals on a secret mission to secure the offshore oil loading facilities in Iraqi waters near Um Qasr. The terminals were seized in the dark of night with no shots fired and no casualties resulting.
Later, Centanni barely escaped incoming fire that struck the former Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad, reported on frequent mortar attacks on the Green Zone, and responded to car bombings and other attacks in The Capital, Tikrit, Mosul and Al Anbar Province.
In July 2003, Centanni and his crew were the first television journalists to arrive on the scene of a fierce firefight in Mosul, Iraq that resulted in the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, the two sons of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
Kidnapping
In 2006, on assignment in Gaza, Centanni and photojournalist Olaf Wiig were kidnapped at gunpoint by Palestinian militants. They were held for 13 agonizing days as their families, friends and colleagues hoped for the best, but feared the worst. Intense international negotiations led to their safe release.
The hostage ordeal was broadcast around the world, and triggered a huge outpouring of support. Millions were riveted to the news coverage, hung on every hopeful (or discouraging) word, and sent their fervent prayers and good wishes.
Centanni has spoken publicly about the kidnapping with Fox’s Shepard Smith; with GretaVan Susteren on Fox’s On The Record; with Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes; and with Dianne Sawyer on ABC’s Good Morning America.
David Bloom Award
In April 2007, Centanni accepted the David Bloom Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting sponsored by NBC and presented at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington D.C. With President Bush in attendance, Centanni spoke of the increased danger to journalists around the world and the urgent need for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Background
Steve Centanni is a native of San Francisco (who grew up in Los Altos, California); a graduate of San Francisco State University; and an award-winning anchor, reporter, producer and writer at TV and Radio stations in Northern California and Alaska (including KSAN/KNEW Radio in Oakland, KRON-TV in San Francisco and KTUU-TV in Anchorage Alaska).
STEVE CENTANNI
Correspondent and Anchor Fox News Channel ·
War Correspondent·
Kidnap Survivor, Gaza 2006·
Winner of David Bloom Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting, 2007·
30-year career in TV and Radio journalism
First Days of Fox
Steve Centanni joined the fledgling Fox News Channel as it went on the air in 1996. His first assignment with the innovative new cable network was to cover the Bob Dole Presidential campaign, traveling with the candidate for the final 8 weeks before the election and reporting live from points all across the county.
Since then, he has covered a wide variety of stories in the U.S. and around the world. Based in Washington DC, his assignments have included the White House, the Supreme Court, the State Department, and the Pentagon. He has traveled with President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Post 9-11/Afghanistan
Soon after 9/11, Centanni was sent to Islamabad, Pakistan to cover preparations for the invasion of Afghanistan. It was there he interviewed soon-to-be President Hamid Karzai and became the first journalist to report the fall of the Taliban in their final stronghold, the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. He was among the first journalists into Kabul as U.S. and NATO forces gained control.
He returned later the same year (2002) for another six week assignment in Kabul, reporting on the birth of a fledging government, the re-establishment of a free society and the opening of schools and universities to women following the dark age of Taliban rule.
Iraq
Beginning in March, 2003, Centanni traveled to Iraq four times. During the first days of the war, Centanni was embedded with the Navy Seals on a secret mission to secure the offshore oil loading facilities in Iraqi waters near Um Qasr. The terminals were seized in the dark of night with no shots fired and no casualties resulting.
Later, Centanni barely escaped incoming fire that struck the former Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad, reported on frequent mortar attacks on the Green Zone, and responded to car bombings and other attacks in The Capital, Tikrit, Mosul and Al Anbar Province.
In July 2003, Centanni and his crew were the first television journalists to arrive on the scene of a fierce firefight in Mosul, Iraq that resulted in the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, the two sons of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
Kidnapping
In 2006, on assignment in Gaza, Centanni and photojournalist Olaf Wiig were kidnapped at gunpoint by Palestinian militants. They were held for 13 agonizing days as their families, friends and colleagues hoped for the best, but feared the worst. Intense international negotiations led to their safe release.
The hostage ordeal was broadcast around the world, and triggered a huge outpouring of support. Millions were riveted to the news coverage, hung on every hopeful (or discouraging) word, and sent their fervent prayers and good wishes.
Centanni has spoken publicly about the kidnapping with Fox’s Shepard Smith; with GretaVan Susteren on Fox’s On The Record; with Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes; and with Dianne Sawyer on ABC’s Good Morning America.
David Bloom Award
In April 2007, Centanni accepted the David Bloom Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting sponsored by NBC and presented at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington D.C. With President Bush in attendance, Centanni spoke of the increased danger to journalists around the world and the urgent need for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Background
Steve Centanni is a native of San Francisco (who grew up in Los Altos, California); a graduate of San Francisco State University; and an award-winning anchor, reporter, producer and writer at TV and Radio stations in Northern California and Alaska (including KSAN/KNEW Radio in Oakland, KRON-TV in San Francisco and KTUU-TV in Anchorage Alaska).
