Paula Slier
Paula Slier is the Middle East Bureau Chief for RT and has worked in broadcasting for over 20 years as a foreign correspondent, war reporter, anchorwoman and news editor. Paula has received numerous awards for her work, including being a finalist in the TEFI awards of the Russian Academy of Television for her coverage of the Libya conflict. She was also named a finalist by the Association for International Broadcasting for her reporting on Hamas tunnels in Gaza.
Her documentary “119 Unlived Lives” produced for RTDoc took third place in the best documentary film category at the Moscow International TV festival in 2016. It follows Paula's journey to Auschwitz to uncover what happened to her Dutch family after letters written by a cousin from a labour camp were found by chance fifty years after 119 members of her family were killed in the Holocaust.
Paula’s assignments have taken her across the globe and she can often be seen reporting from the frontlines of Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. She has been embedded with the US army in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Syrian and Russian armies in Syria, and the Peshmerga (Kurdish) forces in Iraq.
In 2015 Paula was named the Southern Africa winner in the media category of Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards, having twice been recognized as one of the most influential women in her native South Africa. She was also the inaugural winner of the 'Jewish Woman in Leadership' of the South African Jewish Achievers Award given to outstanding members of the South African Jewish community.
She has twice been recognized by the Russian president Vladimir Putin for her 'colossal input into the development of Russian journalism and for her professionalism in covering issues of paramount importance.' She has participated in various working sessions of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) for human rights and democracy dedicated to the work of journalists in conflict zones.
Paula is the founder and CEO of Newshound Media International, a global media production company. Prior to working with RT, Paula was an anchor and senior reporter with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.