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For over a decade millions of people behind
the Iron Curtain depended on her voice to bring them truth, to
be apprised of real news, not to be blindfolded by Communist
propaganda. Heard around the Globe on Radio Free Europe/ Radio
Liberty and the Voice of America this voice gave people hope
and strength. "Communists despised and feared that
voice" said one prominent Russian dissident "we had
to hide in our basements or travel to the wilderness with our
short wave receivers to hear her broadcasts, because the
Soviet leaders made even listening to them a capital crime;
monstrous frequency jammers were ordered to work full blast
when her reports were aired, yet this voice could not be
silenced."
Meet Emily Topol, the woman behind the
voice. In 1977 Emily graduated summa cum laude from
GITIS, Russia's elite institution, alma mater
for many world renowned radio and TV producers. Immediately
upon graduation she landed a coveted journalistic job with
Russia's largest daily, Izvestia - soon becoming one
of most popular young reporters in the former USSR. However,
Communist rulers did not take kindly Emily's free spirited
style and commitment to truth and objectivity. In 1980 Emily
was forced to abandon what seemed to be the beginning of a
stellar career, forfeit her Soviet citizenship and leave her
homeland as a political refugee.
Emily emigrated to the US where she first
worked for NRS, Russian largest and oldest daily in the West.
Soon thereafter she joined the New York news bureau of
Radio Liberty emerging through the next decade one of the most
recognizable voices and names in American-Russian media.
In 1994 Emily accepted an offer to become a
correspondent for the Voice of America.
Emily also makes television appearances
becoming an anchor and a talk show host for the WMNB-EABC - a
Russian language broadcast service of the SkyView network. She
continues to write and her columns regularly appear in the
Moscow News, NRS and other most respected Russian language
publications. Her never ending quest for truth and integrity
in world-wide reporting, |
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©
2003 US-Russia Press Club
All rights reserved |
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"Emily's
voice, heard the World over thanks to Radio
Liberty, forbidden by the Communist leaders,
helped and guided us through some of the darkest
times in the history of our Nation. It was the
voice of hope, voice of freedom."
_______________________
Andrey Sakharov, physicist, human rights champion,
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate |
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her incredible energy and dedication to the
highest professional standards have made Emily one of
the most respected newscasters on both continents.
Charles Kuralt, late CBS anchor, once said: "When I
need real hard facts for a breaking "Russian
story" she is the first I call upon to help".
Emily's on the air guests include Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail
Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Zbignew Bzhezhinsky, Golda
Meir and other world dignitaries.
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After the collapse of the Communism
to which, many say, her fervent reporting contributed,
Emily remained on the frontiers of fighting wrong, now
taking on Russian organized crime. Her fearless
investigative reporting has helped unmask the corrupt
influence of new Russian racketeers in Russia and in the
West. "I can't afford to be
judgmental", says Emily, "my only mission is
to get to the truth and tell it to my audiences: it is
they who decide what's good and what's evil."
In 2002 Emily returned to Voice of
America now as an international broadcaster in VOA's
newly launched TV network. | |
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