Ruth Sherlock
Ruth Sherlock | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 28, 1987 Hereford, England |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, international correspondent |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | International correspondence for NPR, coverage of Middle East conflicts, The Daily Telegraph U.S. editor |
Ruth Sherlock (born 28 April 1987) is an English journalist who currently holds the position of international correspondent at NPR.
Early life and education
Originating from Hereford, Sherlock has some Italian ancestry. She received her early education at Hereford Waldorf School and completed her A Levels at Hereford Sixth Form College. Following a gap year, she enrolled at Durham University, where a travel grant from Hatfield College allowed her to gain professional experience in the Middle East and study the Arabic language.
Career
Sherlock launched her journalism career as a freelancer, placing strong emphasis on building ties within local communities. While reporting in the West Bank and Israel, she covered the 2011 Egyptian revolution from Cairo and reported on Libya’s civil conflict, contributing stories to the Los Angeles Times and The Sunday Times.
In 2012, she was honored with The Press Awards’ Young Journalist of the Year and took on the role of Middle East Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph. Her work included coverage of the Syrian civil war, notably reporting on the 2013 Queiq River Massacre. Sherlock tracked American aid worker Kayla Mueller until Mueller’s abduction by the Islamic State in August 2013. In 2014, Sherlock escaped an attempted kidnapping in Yabrud.
By early 2015, she had advanced to U.S. editor for The Daily Telegraph, where she reported on the 2016 presidential election. As of 2019, Sherlock was serving as an international correspondent for NPR, focusing on stories related to the Islamic State, with particular attention to women and children impacted by the group.
Her journalism played a key role in NPR’s podcast Embedded short series "How it Ends," which followed families seeking relatives who had joined the Islamic State; this series earned a nomination for the Livingston Award in 2020.
Personal life
Sherlock resided in Beirut until 2023 and has since relocated to Rome.
Awards
- 2012 The Press Awards, Young Journalist of the Year
- 2014 British Journalism Awards (shortlisted) for reporting on Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons
- 2020 Livingston Award (shortlisted) for "How it Ends" featured on Embedded
- 2024 Hard News Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association), shared with Awadh Altaie, Ahmed Qusay, and Larry Kaplow for the piece "20 Years after Abu Ghraib"