CNN

David McKenzie

David McKenzie is an award-winning International correspondent for CNN International based in Beijing, China.

To date, McKenzie has reported on the once in a decade power transfer for the world’s second biggest economy, the allegations of Chinese hacking attacks on the U.S.,and the plight of migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing.

Prior to taking up his position in February 2013, McKenzie was the network’s correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya, where he won international awards for his coverage of the African experience and reported from across the continent for all of CNN’s platforms.

McKenzie was the first international reporter to gain access to Sudan’s controversial oil fields to report on alleged pollution and was one of the first foreign correspondents to uncover the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Since joining CNN, McKenzie has interviewed many high-profile personalities and leaders including Nobel Prize winners Wangari Maathai and Desmond Tutu, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

In 2011, McKenzie investigated the plight of the mentally ill in Kenya for CNN’s documentary series ‘World’s Untold Stories’. The program’s broadcast resulted in domestic and international human rights groups calling for government intervention. The matter was brought to the attention of the Kenyan government, who called for change; and the documentary, ‘Locked Up and Forgotten’, won the Amnesty International Media Awards in the "International Television and Radio" category.

McKenzie was also part of CNN’s award-winning coverage of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, where he uncovered the heartbreaking affect on Haiti’s Universities and the religious battle between Voodoists and Christians.

An avid sports fan, McKenzie was a crucial part of CNN’s World Cup 2010 coverage as he travelled thousands of miles across South Africa to take the pulse of the country.

McKenzie’s career started in New York as a freelance producer and writer for international broadcasters and newsgathering organizations including ABC News, BBC and Reuters. He joined CNN from UNICEF, where he served as a correspondent and producer with their Africa Services Unit. In that role, he reported from more than 30 countries in Africa, covering stories on the instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

McKenzie graduated from Duke University with degrees in Public Policy and Psychology and received a Masters in Journalism from New York University, where he was on a full scholarship (Broadcast and Knight Foundation Scholarship).

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@McKenzieCNN.