ABOUT STEPHANIE BUSARI

A journalist with 20 years+ of experience in global newsrooms, Stephanie Busari is the pioneer and head of CNN's first digital and multi-platform bureau in Nigeria. She is a two-time Emmy-nominated journalist and editor.

Stephanie is a skilled and experienced newsroom leader who reports on-air for CNN International and has a strong track record of delivering impactful journalism in multiple formats.

She began her career as a news reporter in the early 2000s, swiftly building her reputation as an intrepid storyteller. Living in Belfast during the Northern Ireland Troubles, she interviewed a crucifixion victim and paramilitaries. She also edited a lifestyle magazine that chronicled the lives of young people in Northern Ireland and their attempts to build a life beyond the conflict.

In 2002, Stephanie was one of the first British journalists to cover the futile postcode warfare central to knife crime in Britain. Since then, she has gone on to interview Hollywood celebrities to global dignitaries such as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and many more.

After a short stint at BBC News, Stephanie joined CNN International in 2008. Her excellence in journalism was rewarded by the organisation, resulting in a swift career progression to Senior Editor for Africa.

Stephanie is recognized for her commitment to justice and speaking up for the voiceless. In April 2016, she exclusively obtained the ‘proof of life’ video which showed that the kidnapped Nigerian Chibok schoolgirls were still alive. The evidence kickstarted crucial negotiations, resulting in the release of over 100 schoolgirls from the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Stephanie earned a Gracie Award in 2017 for her fearless contribution to this story, alongside a Peabody Award in 2015 as a field producer for CNN’s coverage of the Chibok schoolgirls.
Stephanie has also received an “Outstanding Woman in the Media" accolade.

The United Nations celebrates Stephanie as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (2017) and she is recognized as one of the 25 most powerful female journalists in Africa (2020 - 2023). In 2020, she was selected for the prestigious Maurice Greenberg fellowship at Yale University.

A passionate and adept public speaker, Stephanie is regularly invited to moderate panels and share her profound insights. She is the founder of TEDxBrixton and has been a speaker at several organizations, including TEDGlobal, United Nations Women, and Said Business School, University of Oxford.