Mariam Saab is a Lebanese-Australian journalist and television presenter. Saab is a news presenter on ABC News.[1][2][3]
Background
editSaab was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in a Lebanese-Australian family. She grew up in the Sutherland Shire and attended Illawong Public Primary School followed by The McDonald College performing arts high school.[4]
Her mother, Majida Abboud-Saab, migrated to Australia from Beirut in 1967 aboard RHMS Patris and became a prominent Arabic-language broadcast journalist.[5] A former SBS Arabic language executive producer, Abboud-Saab is widely regarded as having put the world's first dedicated multicultural public television channel to air.[6]
Career
editIn 2004, Saab began her career at SBS Radio as a broadcaster for Alchemy, the station's national youth news, current affairs and music program.[7]
During a stint in the Middle East, Saab was a journalist for the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.[8] Her work included coverage of continued poverty in the country, and was reported in policy briefings.[9] During this period, Saab also worked as a freelance producer for Al Jazeera English, France 24, SBS TV and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) with assignments in Doha, Tunisia, Beirut and Paris.[10]
Saab was one of the organisers of the Beirut Music and Art Festival, featuring 200 local and international artists, including headliners Sister Sledge, Roger Hodgson and Earth Wind and Fire.[11]
From around 2014 to 2018, Saab lived in Paris, where she was an English-language news and programs presenter for France 24, a global French-government-owned TV channel. She covered the November 2015 Paris attacks and their aftermath.[12] She also frequently appeared as a music critic for France 24's Arts program, Encore,[13] reporting on music trends from destinations including Tripoli and Beirut,[14] and interviewed high-profile artists and entertainers including Australian music icon Paul Kelly.[15]
Since 2019, Saab has presented for Australia's national ABC News channel, appearing as an evening news anchor.[16] She covered the worst of the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. Her work has also appeared on various ABC digital platforms.[17]
In the media
editIn September 2020, Saab featured in the Australian edition of Marie Claire, commenting alongside a diverse group of high-profile Australians about their hopes and dreams for the Australian nation and its growing need for change when it comes to much of the country's cultural, social and environmental framework.[18]
In the December 2020 edition of Australian Marie Claire, Saab featured alongside her husband and their two children in a portfolio of candid moments honouring the COVID-19 pandemic year that was, and joining in celebration of family, high fashion and frills fit for the festive season.[19]
Personal
editSaab is married to Franco-Lebanese musician Rami Khalifé.[20] The couple met when she interviewed him for SBS broadcasting during a music tour in Australia in 2009.[21]
Saab is praised for her fashion sense on screen.[22]
References
edit- ^ "ABC News channel: 2022 highlights | TV Tonight". 27 January 2022.
- ^ "The latest ABC News headlines". www.abc.net.au. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Producer, Mariam Saab and her son, with pianist Rami Khalife and Marcel Khalife". Radio National. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Mariam Saab". The McDonald College – Performance Centred K–12. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Majida Abboud-Saab former EP of SBS Arabic Radio introduces Session 2 (YouTube, 2013)
- ^ Dick, Tim (21 October 2010). "What's so special about SBS now?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Ang, Ien; Ang, Len; Hawkins, Gay; Dabboussy, Lamia (2008). The SBS Story: The Challenge of Diversity. UNSW Press. ISBN 978-0-86840-839-2.
- ^ "Mariam Saab". www.dailystar.com.lb. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017.
- ^ Alami, Mona (April 2014). The Impact of the Syria Crisis on Salafis and Jihadis in Lebanon (PDF) (Report). MEI Policy Focus 2014-3. Middle East Institute.
- ^ "Producer, Mariam Saab and her son, with pianist Rami Khalife and Marcel Khalife". Radio National. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Beirut Music and Art Festival: 'This is just the beginning'". www.dailystar.com.lb. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Encore! - Artists around the world say 'We are Charlie'". France 24. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Mariam SAAB: news, videos, reports and analysis". France 24.
- ^ Mashrou’ Leila on sexuality, love, beauty and music (YouTube, October 2014)
- ^ Australian music icon Paul Kelly: 'Life is Fine' (YouTube, 2017)
- ^ "ABC News Weekend". www.abcaustralia.net.au. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Marcel Khalife's return to post-revolutionary Tunisia". Radio National. 18 April 2013.
- ^ "Australian Celebrities, Journalists And Activists On Australia's Future". Marie Claire. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "9 Uber-Stylish Australian Families On What Family Means To Them". Marie Claire. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Producer, Mariam Saab and her son, with pianist Rami Khalife and Marcel Khalife". Radio National. 16 April 2013.
- ^ Cornwell, Jane. 2013. Grand oud man of music. The Australian 25 Nov 2013: p.13.
- ^ "Australian Celebrities, Journalists And Activists On Australia's Future". Marie Claire. 27 August 2020.