Josh Rushing

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Josh Rushing bigraphy, stories - American journalist

Josh Rushing : biography

July 24, 1972 –

Josh Rushing co-hosts Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English’s flagship program about the Americas. As an international correspondent, Rushing has hosted and produced programs all over the world. So far in 2011 Rushing has filmed two Fault Lines episodes in Mexico ( and ) and third in . He’s also traveled to Iraq for his eighth time to provide special news coverage marking the .

Rushing’s book, , was published by Palgrave-MacMillan in 2007. The book blends his personal story with a unique behind-the-scenes look into the controversial AlJazeera broadcast networks. Rushing is also published in ‘s 10th Anniversary of 9/11 special edition.

Rushing blogged regularly for AJE and the Huffington Post before beginning his own online journal.

Notes

In the Press

Every major news outlet has covered Rushing’s career: , The Today Show, Anderson Cooper 360, and All Things Considered, The O’Reilly Factor, (read the unabridged version on author ), (cover), the LA Times (front page), (front page), the New York Times, , and countless more.

What the press have said about Mr. Rushing:

  • “Mr. Rushing as a sort of AlJazeera Anderson Cooper: the same earnest emotiveness, the same blue-eyed magnetism…. He has that charisma—a presence that pops….”
  • “What’s the opposite of the Ugly American? Josh Rushing fills the bill.”
  • “AlJazeera’s Matt Lauer”
  • “Open, earnest, articulate—characteristics that should make any American proud.” L.A. Times
  • “Earnest and thoughtful, a patriot and a skeptic—with shrewd observations…”
  • “His star turn made blue-state audiences swoon and marked him as a matinee idol for the nervous new century: a U.S. Marine, clean-cut, thoughtful, culturally sensitive….The hunk of war.”

Biography

Rushing enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1990 and completed basic training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California.

He was selected for Public Affairs and attended the Defense Information School (DINFOS) in 1991. He was selected for the and studied at the University of Texas at Austin where he received a dual degree in Ancient History and Classic Civilization in 1999. Rushing became a Mustang upon his graduation from UT and moved to Quantico, Virginia, to further his military officer training at The Basic School (TBS). Though slated to be a Marine Corps aviator at TBS, a hearing loss prevented Rushing from completing flight school. Instead, he returned to Public Affairs and reported to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Rushing moved to Los Angeles in 2002 where he represented the Marine Corps in Hollywood in the . 

Aware of future military operations in the Middle East, Rushing volunteered to deploy with forward units before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Rushing was assigned to United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in Doha, Qatar, during Operation Iraqi Freedom where he served as a spokesperson to General Tommy Franks. Unbeknownst to him, an independent film, Control Room, captured his efforts to communicate the American message on Al Jazeera Arabic. The documentary debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and enjoyed theatrical release across the world. After the Pentagon ordered him not to comment on the film, he left the Marine Corps after 14 years of active duty service in October 2004 and later helped start Al Jazeera English in 2005.