Wolf Blitzer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wolf Blitzer
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Blitzer in 2017
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| Born |
Wolf Isaac Blitzer
March 22, 1948 Augsburg, Germany
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University at Buffalo (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Employer | CNN |
| Title | Anchor, The Situation Room, CNN Chief Anchor |
| Spouse(s) |
Lynn Greenfield
(m. 1973) |
| Children | 1 |
Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist and TV news anchor. He is also an author. Since 1990, he has worked as a reporter for CNN, a major news channel. He is currently one of their main anchors.
Since 2005, Wolf Blitzer has hosted The Situation Room. Before that, he was CNN's main political anchor until 2021.
Contents
Early Life and School
Wolf Blitzer was born in Augsburg, Germany, in 1948. This was after World War II. His parents, Cesia and David Blitzer, were Jewish refugees from Poland. They had survived Nazi concentration camps. Sadly, many of his family members died during the war.
Blitzer and his family moved to the United States. They came under a special law for people displaced by the war. He grew up in Buffalo, New York. He went to the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1970, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. In 1972, he received a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. While studying there, he also learned Hebrew in Jerusalem.
Many people have asked Wolf Blitzer about his unique name. He has explained that "Blitzer" is his family name for many generations. His first name, "Wolf," comes from his grandfather. His middle name, Isaac, comes from his other grandfather.
Journalism Career
Starting in Washington and Jerusalem
Wolf Blitzer began his journalism career in the early 1970s. He worked for the Reuters news agency in Tel Aviv. In 1973, he became a Washington correspondent for Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli newspaper. He worked there until 1990. He covered American politics and news from the Middle East.
Blitzer speaks Hebrew fluently. He also wrote articles for Hebrew newspapers. He used the name Ze'ev Blitzer for Al HaMishmar. For Yedioth Ahronoth, he used the name Ze'ev Barak. Ze'ev is the Hebrew word for "wolf." Barak means "lightning" in Hebrew.
In the mid-1970s, Blitzer also edited the Near East Report. This was a publication for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). His writing there focused on how Middle East events related to United States foreign policy.
In 1977, Blitzer asked Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat a question at a White House press conference. He asked why Egyptians could not visit Israel. Sadat replied that visits would be possible after peace. Later that year, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel. Blitzer reported on the peace talks. These talks led to the Egypt–Israel peace treaty two years later.
In 1985, Blitzer wrote his first book. It was called Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter's Notebook. The book talked about his journey as a reporter. It also discussed the relationship between the United States and Israel.
Covering Jonathan Pollard
In 1986, Blitzer became well-known for his reporting on Jonathan Pollard. Pollard was a US Navy analyst accused of spying for Israel. Blitzer was the first journalist to interview Pollard. He later wrote a book about the case called Territory of Lies.
Blitzer's interview with Pollard caused some debate. His book about the case was listed as a "Notable Book of the Year" by The New York Times in 1989. The Times called the book "clear and easy to read."
Joining CNN
In May 1990, Wolf Blitzer joined CNN. He became their military affairs reporter. His team's reporting on the first Gulf War in Kuwait won an award. This made him a familiar name to many people.
In 1992, Blitzer became CNN's White House correspondent. He held this job until 1999. During this time, he won an Emmy Award for his reporting on the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In 1998, he started hosting Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. This interview show was seen in over 180 countries.
Blitzer's first job as an anchor was on The World Today in 1999. In 2000, he started his own show, Wolf Blitzer Reports. This show ran until 2005.
CNN has chosen Blitzer to lead their coverage of all U.S. presidential elections since 2004. Since August 8, 2005, Blitzer has hosted The Situation Room. This is a two-hour news program on CNN.
In 2013, he also began anchoring an hour of CNN Newsroom. In 2014, this program was renamed Wolf. The Wolf show ended in 2018.
In January 2021, CNN announced some changes. The Situation Room became one hour long. Blitzer continues to host documentaries and lead major breaking news coverage. In January 2025, it was announced that The Situation Room would move to a morning time slot.
Awards and Honors
Wolf Blitzer has won many awards for his journalism. In 2004, he received the Journalist Pillar of Justice Award. In 2003, he won the Daniel Pearl Award. His news team also won a George Foster Peabody Award for covering Hurricane Katrina. They received an Alfred I. DuPont Award for their reporting on the 1999 Southeast Asian tsunami. CNN's coverage of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, earned an Edward R. Murrow Award.
In November 2002, he won the Ernie Pyle Journalism Award for military reporting. In February 2000, he received the Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. In 1999, Blitzer won the Lowell Thomas Broadcast Journalism Award. He also won an Emmy Award for his reporting on the Oklahoma City bombing. Blitzer was part of the CNN team that won a Golden ACE award for their 1991 Gulf War reporting.
Many universities have given Wolf Blitzer honorary degrees. These include the University at Buffalo, George Washington University, Niagara University, Penn State University, the University of Hartford, and Howard University. In 2024, it was announced that Blitzer would receive the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Other Appearances
On September 17, 2009, Wolf Blitzer was a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy!. He finished with $2,000, losing to comedian Andy Richter.
Blitzer is a fan of the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team. He appears in a pre-game video for their home games called the "Wizards Situation."
Wolf Blitzer has appeared as himself in many films and TV shows. He played a news reporter in the James Bond film Skyfall. He also appeared in the Netflix political drama House of Cards. He made brief appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), and an episode of Ben 10: Omniverse.
Blitzer also played an important role in the 2009 documentary Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace. In it, he shared his experiences as a journalist. The film explores how the 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt became possible.
Personal Life
Wolf Blitzer is a big fan of his hometown NFL team, the Buffalo Bills.
Books
See also
In Spanish: Wolf Blitzer para niños
