AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The Associated Press has named Karin Laub, a veteran Middle East correspondent, as its chief of bureau for Jordan.
In her new role, Laub will also take a lead in producing stories of regional interest and remain involved in coverage of the Palestinian territories. The appointment was announced Wednesday by Ian Phillips, AP’s Middle East News Director.
Laub has written about and helped direct coverage of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in previous roles as Jerusalem news editor and chief correspondent for the Palestinian territories. She has also covered recent wars and conflicts in the region, reporting from Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
“Karin Laub will give AP’s customers valuable insight into the inner workings, and also fears, of a country that has traditionally been a rock of stability but that is now faced with the considerable threat of the Islamic State group on its doorstep,” said Phillips, who oversees AP’s video, text and photo coverage in the region.
In 2014, Laub was central to AP’s coverage of the Gaza war, living for almost two months in a city under bombardment, helping direct coverage, and writing a wide range of hard-hitting stories.
She has guided coverage of major events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including two Palestinian uprisings, the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. After the start of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, she traveled extensively in the region, reporting from behind rebel lines in Libya and Syria and producing stories of regional scope.
“Laub has been a thoughtful student of the region for decades, achieving an insider’s view that enables her to execute stories that dig deep and go beyond the headlines,” said Dan Perry, AP’s Mideast text editor. “She’s tenacious and tireless, with a deeply human perspective. Our coverage of Jordan, a complex place in a dangerous neighborhood, should benefit greatly.”
Laub, 59, joined the AP in 1983 as a reporter in its Newark, N.J. bureau. In 1986, she joined the international desk in New York and a year later was transferred to Jerusalem. She was appointed Jerusalem news editor in 1995 and chief Palestinian correspondent in 2006.
Laub, who grew up in Hamburg, Germany, holds a degree in political science from Hunter College in New York.
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