Early life
Barnett was born in Milton Keynes, England to Pamela and Michael Christie. He has one older brother, Danny Christie. His mother was later remarried to Gary Barnett, a US Air Force sergeant who served in the Gulf War. The family relocated to the city of Phoenix in Arizona.
Education
Barnett was educated at Garden Lakes Elementary School and Westview High School, a public high school in Avondale, Arizona, before being hired by Channel One News and relocated to Los Angeles.[3]
In 2008, Barnett received a bachelor of arts degree in political science with a focus on international relations from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was a member of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and was profiled in The Daily Bruin in April 2007. [4] While a student at UCLA, he also worked as a correspondent and host on movie-centric cable network channel ReelzChannel. After graduation in July 2008 Barnett was hired by CNN International.
Channel One
In 2001, the in-school program Channel One News hired Barnett as an anchor/reporter. He was their youngest at the age of 18 and worked alongside Maria Menounos, Seth Doane and Gotham Chopra among others. Barnett covered Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention; the attacks on 11 September 2001, reported from the United Nations when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented flawed intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction and from the US Capitol during passage of the Homeland Security Act.
Barnett was chosen as one of Teen People magazine's "20 Teens Who Will Change The World" for his early work. [5] He left Channel One News in 2006 after being accepted to UCLA to finish his undergraduate studies.[6]
CNN
CNN International hired Barnett as an anchor and correspondent in 2008, days after he graduated from UCLA. He initially reported on the rise in influence of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and anchored ‘World Report’ and 'iReport for CNN'.[7] He was also part of the most viewed streaming-video event in history during U.S. President Obama's Inauguration on CNN.com.
As an anchor and correspondent for CNN International based in Atlanta, Georgia, Barnett has anchored coverage of the Ferguson, Missouri protests, the death of Robin Williams and the search for MH370. He was previously a CNN correspondent based at CNN's bureau in the city of Johannesburg, in South Africa. While there, he covered the death of President Nelson Mandela, the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, various miner strikes and the 50th anniversary of the African Union's founding. In 2010, he anchored a live noon eastern news-hour on CNN International from CNN Abu Dhabi which focused on the beginnings of the Arab Spring.
CBS News
In June 2016, Barnett joined CBS News as a Washington, D.C.-based Correspondent appearing on CBS This Morning, the CBS Evening News and on the digital network CBSN. He has reported on the U.K. "Brexit" vote, coup attempt in Turkey and U.S. presidential race.[8]
Moderator/Speaker
Barnett regularly moderates panel discussions and speaks at conferences on the topics of innovation in journalism, U.S. politics and various international issues. Events include:
NABJ/NAHJ Conference, Washington, D.C. (2016)[9]
The World Affairs Council, Atlanta, Georgia (2015)[10]
International Press Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa (2014) [11]
World Bank Open Contracting Johannesburg, South Africa (2012)[12]
Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2010)[13]
International Press Institute, Vienna, Austria (2010)[14]
Internet meme
Barnett became the focus of an Internet meme in August 2014 during CNN's coverage of the Ferguson, Missouri protests. Viewers noted Barnett's response to his co-anchors suggestion that police use water cannons on demonstrators. Buzzfeed described Barnett's expression as "did that just happen" and "is this real life?" [15]
US citizenship
On September 21, 2015, Barnett announced on his CNN show that he had that day become a US citizen.
= new reply since forum marked as read
