Dubai: Prominent Lebanese journalist, Giselle Khoury, breathed her last on Sunday at her residence in Beirut at the age of 62, following an outstanding journalistic career marked by interactions with numerous key decision-makers and officials from across the Arab world.
Giselle's journey in the media commenced in 1986 at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation where she hosted many Arab and global political and cultural personalities on her show "Hiwar Al Umr" from 1992 to 2001.
Transitioning in 2002 to the MBC Group, Giselle played a pivotal role in founding Al Arabiya channel, anchoring a weekly political talk show for a decade from 2003 to 2013. She then moved to BBC Arabic, engaging with politicians and intellectuals worldwide on her show, Al Mashhad. Among her notable guests were figures like Jacques Chirac, Abdallah Ghoul, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and others.
In the field of production, Giselle co-initiated Al Rawi Productions in 2009, kicking off with a four-part autobiography of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Accolades for Giselle's work came from prestigious corners. In 2005, The New York Times listed her among the top 8 female journalists globally in TV news and political programs. French Presidents Emmanuel Macron and François Hollande honored her for freedom of expression and with the Order of Arts and Letters, respectively.
Having a profound impact on journalism, Giselle chaired the Samir Kassir Foundation from 2006, an organization she founded honoring her late journalist husband, aimed at fostering democratic culture and free expression in Lebanon and the Arab world.
In her later career, Giselle joined Sky News Arabia in 2020, introducing new content under "With Giselle" across various platforms, reaching audiences throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Sky News Arabia joined the media fraternity in mourning the loss, reminiscing Giselle's remarkable journey that began with Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and culminated at Sky News Arabia, where her show "With Gezal" continued to host eminent figures from the Arab world.
Giselle Khoury, a graduate in audiovisual media from Lebanese University and a diploma holder in the history of ancient civilizations from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, leaves behind a legacy of fearless journalism and an unyielding quest for truth, having spent decades engaging with and challenging the power corridors.
