Jennifer Griffin is an American journalist who works as national security correspondent at
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
for
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
. She joined Fox News in October 1999 as a
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
-based correspondent. Prior to the posting, she reported for three years from
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
for Fox News.
Since 2007, Griffin has reported daily from the Pentagon where she questions senior military leaders, travels to war zones with the Joint Chiefs and
Secretaries of Defense, and reports on all aspects of the military. Griffin coauthored ''This Burning Land:
Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict with her husband''.
Career
Before working at the Pentagon, Griffin was based in Jerusalem, Israel and provided coverage of the
Second Palestinian Intifada, suicide bombings, military incursions and failed peace deals. In 2000, she provided on-site coverage of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, its withdrawal from the Gaza strip in 2005 and Yasser Arafat’s funeral. In 2009, Griffin conducted a rare interview with former Prime Minister of Israel
Ariel Sharon before he lapsed into a coma.
In 2004, Griffin was among the first reporters to arrive in the wake of the
South-East Asia tsunami tragedy, reporting from Phuket and Khao Lak, Thailand.
After college, Griffin reported for ''
The Sowetan
''The Sowetan'' is an English-language South African daily newspaper that started in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng ...
'' newspaper in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she covered
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
's prison release and South Africa's transition from
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
.
In October 2019, Griffin fact-checked President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
after he claimed the U.S. never gave a commitment to the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
. In response, Griffin tweeted “Not true. According to a former top senior military adviser to President Trump, ‘We told them over and over ‘We are your friends. We will never leave you."
In September 2020, Griffin, citing anonymous sources, confirmed key details of an article in ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' that reported President Trump had characterized veterans and fallen American soldiers as "losers" and "suckers." The report had been previously confirmed by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. Trump and several aides who said they were present at the time denied the report, with the president and others calling for Griffin to resign. Numerous reporters, including some from Fox News, defended Griffin's integrity and reporting. She stood by her report, characterizing her sources as "unimpeachable."
In September 2022, Griffin inked a new multi-year deal with Fox News. In addition to this new contract she was also promoted to Chief National Security correspondent. This new promotion comes after she traveled to Lviv and Kyiv, Ukraine covering Russia's invasion. Griffin also secured exclusive interviews with top officials, including Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba
Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba ( uk, Дмитро Іванович Кулеба; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, and communications specialist, currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also concurrently a member ...
and
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
Lloyd Austin
Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...
, and spearheaded FNC’s coverage of the conflict stateside with around the clock updates from the Pentagon.
Supporting veterans
As National Security Correspondent as the Pentagon, Griffin has supported veterans through numerous organizations and events. In 2021, Griffin assisted The Independence Fund with giving away the 2,500th Track Chair to a wounded warrior veteran.
For the past decade, Griffin has hosted the Wounded Warrior Experience, which features inspiring stories of sacrifice and recovery from wounded veterans and service members. The program touches on issues faced by wounded warriors, the resources available to them, and their successes in moving forward in their lives. The program highlights the importance of aiding America’s heroes during their transition from military to civilian life.
Griffin serves as the emcee of the annual CAUSE gala, which celebrates and shows our appreciation for America’s wounded, ill, and injured service members and their caregivers.
Since 2010, Griffin has hosted the
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine's Heroes of Military Medicine Awards.
Griffin is a member of the Board of Directors for the
Prevent Cancer Foundation
The Prevent Cancer Foundation (PCF) (formerly the ''Cancer Research Foundation of America'' or the ''Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation'') is a United States-based charity, and one of the leading US health organizations devoted to the earl ...
and an Advisory Board Member for Report for America.
Breast cancer
Griffin was diagnosed with stage 3
triple-negative breast cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is any breast cancer that lacks or show low levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and/or gene amplification (i.e. the tum ...
in 2009, and underwent
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
, a double
mastectomy
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...
, and radiation for treatment. She was declared in remission in 2010. Griffin's story has been featured on the ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' show, ''
People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine, and
Oprah.com.
Personal life
Griffin is the daughter of John W. Griffin, a partner in a
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
law firm, and Carolyn J. Griffin, the producing director of Metrostage, a theater in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
A 1992 graduate of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, Griffin has a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in comparative politics.
In October 1994, Griffin married
Greg Myre, a journalist who is NPR's national security correspondent and has reported for the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. The couple met at a political rally in a sports stadium in South Africa, on October 29, 1989. Griffin was a college student at Harvard, working for ''The Sowetan'' newspaper while Myre was a staff correspondent with the Associated Press.
Griffin and Myre have three children.
References
External links
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Griffin, June 25, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Jennifer
Living people
Harvard College alumni
American women war correspondents
Place of birth missing (living people)
Fox News people
American women television journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American journalists
21st-century American journalists