Najwa Shihab facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Najwa Shihab
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Najwa Shihab in 2022
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| Born | 16 September 1977 Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
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| Alma mater | University of Indonesia (S.H.) Melbourne Law School (LLM) |
| Occupation | Actress Journalist Presenter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf
(m. 1997; died 2025) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Quraish Shihab Fatmawati Assegaf |
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Najwa Shihab is a well-known Indonesian journalist and television presenter. She was born on September 16, 1977. She is also an actress. Her family has roots from the Bugis and Arabic people. Her father, Quraish Shihab, was a former Minister of Religious Affairs. Her uncle, Alwi Shihab, was a former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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Early Life and Education
Najwa Shihab went to Jakarta High School No. 7. This was until 1996. During high school, she joined a special program. It was called the American Field Service program. Through this program, she lived in the United States for one year. After high school, she studied law. She earned her law degree from the University of Indonesia. Later, she also studied media law. She did this at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Najwa Shihab's Career in Journalism
Najwa Shihab started her career in journalism in 1999. She first worked at a TV station called RCTI. In 2000, she joined Metro TV. This was a new news channel at the time.
Reporting on the 2004 Tsunami
In 2004, a huge tsunami hit the Indian Ocean. Najwa Shihab was sent to Aceh to report on it. She saw a lot of destruction there. She also saw many bodies. Her reports and interviews with government officials made her well-known. She even received an award for her brave reporting. The award came from the Indonesian Journalists Association.
Starting Narasi TV
After working at Metro TV for over ten years, Najwa Shihab left in August 2017. She then started her own news company. It is called Narasi TV. She founded this company in 2018.
Acting Roles
In 2022, Najwa Shihab also became an actress. She played a character named Nani Wijaya. This was in the movie Sri Asih. Nani Wijaya was the first person to play Sri Asih in 1954.
Mata Najwa Talk Show
Najwa Shihab began hosting her own talk show. It was called Mata Najwa. The show started on Metro TV on November 25, 2009. It aired every Wednesday evening. Many important people were guests on her show. These included former presidents like Habibie and Megawati Soekarnoputri. Former vice presidents and the governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, also appeared.
The show stopped airing on Metro TV on August 23, 2017. This was when Najwa Shihab left the channel. However, Mata Najwa returned to television. It started airing on a different channel, Trans7, on January 10, 2018.
The Empty Chair Interview
In October 2020, Najwa Shihab did something unusual. She interviewed an empty chair on her show. The Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, was supposed to be there. He had not been seen much during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Najwa Shihab explained her reason. She wanted public officials to explain their plans for the pandemic. She said the explanation did not have to be on her show. This "empty chair" interview was a first in Indonesia. She believed it was still a form of journalism. Journalists in other countries, like the United Kingdom and the United States, had done similar things.
