Barbara Serra
| Barbara Serra | |
|---|---|
 Serra at the Italian Cultural Institute, 2015 | |
| Born |
Barbara G Serra 19 August 1974 Milan, Italy |
| Residence | London, England |
| Education |
London School of Economics City University, London |
| Occupation | Journalist, news presenter |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC Radio 4, Sky News, Five News, Al Jazeera English |
Barbara Serra (born 19 August 1974) is an Italian-born British-based broadcast journalist and TV newsreader, currently working for Al Jazeera English.
Early life
Serra was born in Milan, with her father native to Sardinia, and her mother from Sicily. From the age on nine, she was raised in Copenhagen in Denmark. As a result of this upbringing she is multi-lingual, speaking: Italian; English; Danish; and fluent French.
In 1993, she moved to the UK to study International Relations at the London School of Economics. She then undertook a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the City University, London, to train as a journalist.
Career
Serra's journalistic career started at the BBC, as a researcher. She spent three years working as a producer/presenter for BBC London News and produced on Radio 4's Today programme. She regularly presented EuroNews on BBC Radio Five Live. Her most challenging on-air moment was having to improvise a 5-minute radio bulletin without any scripts due to a technical mishap.
In 2003, she joined Sky News as a reporter, working on both domestic and international assignments. Serra covered a wide range of stories, from the death of Pope John Paul II in Rome, to the Michael Jackson trial in California. In July 2005, as part of a Sky News deal to deliver Five News, she became presenter of the evening News on four nights on Five.
Serra joined Al Jazeera English in April 2006 as part of its launch-team, based in its London office.[1] Having started as a London-based European reporter, she now works primarily as a London anchor on the flagship programme Newshour. She also presents the programmes People & Power and Streetfood Palermo. Since September 2007, she has co-presented on Italian state TV RAI, on a weekly programme called TV Talk from the Al Jazeera studios in London.
Personal life
Serra Married Lawyer Mark Austin in 2008.They later divorced in 2012. Serra is engaged to fellow reporter Mark Kleinman
References
- ↑ Al Jazeera International announces Barbara Serra Archived May 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. AME Info, 3 April 2006