Former PBS correspondent Ray Suarez is set to join Al Jazeera America. Beginning November 11, he will be the host of “Inside Story.”
“Ray has repeatedly proven that he can deliver compelling coverage of the most challenging news stories and events with objectivity and depth, punctuated by Ray’s own brand of thoughtful analysis,” Al Jazeera America president Kate O’Brian said in a statement.
Suarez resigned last month after more than 10 years as the senior correspondent for “NewsHour.” After he signed off, he told Fox News Latino, “I felt like I didn’t have much of a future with the broadcast. (They) didn’t have much of a plan for me.”
“This is an exciting time to be joining Al Jazeera America and a great opportunity for me personally,” Suarez said. “This is exactly what I wanted to do: host a program that provides viewers with a close look at the day’s news and the issues they care about the most without the partisan rancor that you often see and hear elsewhere on television.”
More from Al Jazeera after the jump.
RAY SUAREZ JOINS AL JAZEERA AMERICA
Former PBS NewsHour Veteran Will Host Inside Story
NEW YORK – (November 4, 2013) – Al Jazeera America, the American news channel that launched in August, announced today that celebrated journalist Ray Suarez has joined the channel as the permanent host of its daily program Inside Story. Suarez’s first day hosting the program will be Monday, Nov. 11.
“Ray’s extensive television and radio experience will be an incredible asset to Al Jazeera America and Inside Story’s viewers,” said Al Jazeera America President Kate O’Brian. “Ray has repeatedly proven that he can deliver compelling coverage of the most challenging news stories and events with objectivity and depth, punctuated by Ray’s own brand of thoughtful analysis. That’s exactly what Inside Story is all about.”
Suarez was with PBS’ NewsHour from 1999 to 2013, most recently as its chief national correspondent. He hosted National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation for six years before joining PBS. Ray also spent seven years reporting for Chicago’s NBC-owned station WMAQ-TV. Suarez began his career as a Los Angeles correspondent for CNN, a producer for the ABC Radio Network in New York and a reporter for CBS Radio in Rome.
In 2010 Suarez was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame. He is a co-recipient of two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards for NPR’s on-site coverage of the first multi-racial elections in South Africa and of the first 100 days of the 104th Congress.
Suarez is the author of the critically acclaimed “Latino Americans,” the companion book to the PBS documentary series of the same name that was published in 2013.
“This is an exciting time to be joining Al Jazeera America and a great opportunity for me personally,” Suarez said. “This is exactly what I wanted to do: host a program that provides viewers with a close look at the day’s news and the issues they care about the most without the partisan rancor that you often see and hear elsewhere on television.”
Inside Story provides analysis, background and context on the top stories of the day. The show goes beyond the headlines by analyzing the facts and providing expert opinions to give viewers a frank assessment of the latest developments. Each episode features a panel of expert guests who examine and debate urgent domestic and international topics that are consuming media outlets in the U.S. and globally.