Begum Donmez Ersoz

Begum Donmez Ersoz currently serves as a reporter and simultaneous interpreter for VOA Turkish Service. She covers a vast area from U.S. politics to international diplomacy and foreign affairs. Her focus has mostly been Turkey-U.S. relations, NATO and U.S. Foreign Policy. She frequently appears on affiliate TV networks in Turkey to report on those issues.

Before joining VOA, Begum worked for CNN TURK for 12 years where she began her journalism career as an interpreter and editor at the height of the war in Lebanon in 2006. She served as the head of the world news desk from 2014 to 2018, managing daily coverage, supervising the team, planning for special events programming and coordinating with the crew on the field including conflict zones. She also ran the network’s English Twitter account until she left the network. She was selected to join CNN Fellowship Programs three times by her network’s management. She is a proud alumna of Bogazici University, Translation and Interpreting Studies and she completed M.A. classes in Political Science and International Relations at the same university. As a simultaneous interpreter by training and at heart, she always enjoys being a bridge between world leaders and the audience. She is happy that she has been able to melt her journalism and interpreting skills in the same pot.