Sky News, one of the U.K.’s top news channels, has named Yalda Hakim its lead news presenter. She’ll helm a new primetime program focusing on international news adding to Sky News’ multiplatform offering.
“I am honoured and excited to be joining Sky News as lead world news presenter,” Hakim said.
She added, “I have long admired Sky for its smart, fearless, and world-class reporting. At a time when global media must work harder than ever to earn the confidence of our viewers, I look forward to giving my all as part of one of the most talented and accomplished news teams anywhere.”
Executive Chairman Sky News Group David Rhodes said, “We’re so excited to have Yalda join Sky as our lead world news presenter.”
“Sky News has always featured an award-winning international news report, with Alex Crawford, Stuart Ramsay, Dominic Waghorn, and so many colleagues on the front lines of our coverage every day. Yalda bolsters this multi-platform presentation—her professional accomplishments and personal journey make her an ideal addition to our newsroom,” he added.
Hakim was most recently a presenter for the relaunched BBC News Channel, which combined two news outlets: BBC News, a U.K.-focused news channel, and BBC World News, which catered to a global audience.
She had been named one of the five chief presenters at the BBC News Channel and anchored The Daily Global with Yalda Hakim. Hakim had been with the BBC since 2012, joining the news organization as a presenter for the news show Impact with Yalda Hakim.
In her time at the BBC, she’s reported on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where she had a headline-making interview with Ukrainian President Zelensky and also led BBC’s coverage of the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021.
Having Hakim is a big get for Rhodes, who joined Sky News this past February. Rhodes, of course, was the former news chief of CBS News, leading the organization from 2011 to 2019.
Interestingly enough, two former U.S. news executives are running two of the U.K.’s marquee news organizations. Deborah Turness, who was in charge of NBC News from 2013 to 2017, is now the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs.
What makes all this even more interesting is that Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, which the NBCU News Group is a part of, acquired Sky News in 2018.