Steve Centanni
Encyclopedia
Steven James Centanni is an American
news
reporter for Fox News Channel
.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as an embedded journalist with the Navy SEALs and provided numerous first reports for the network, including a report that the U.S. had captured two main offshore oil
terminals located 22 miles (35.4 km) off Iraq
's southern coast, preventing them from being blown up by Iraqi forces.
Previous to Fox, Centanni had worked for KRON-TV
in San Francisco, California
.
and earned a Bachelor's degree
in broadcasting from San Francisco State University
. Centanni also attended Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California
, graduating in 1964.
On August 14, 2006, he was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen while on assignment in Gaza City, along with Olaf Wiig, a cameraman from New Zealand
. A witness saw two vehicles blocking the journalist's transmission truck and a masked man put a gun to their bodyguard's head, forcing him to the ground.
An internal message by Fox News Channel Senior Vice President John Moody confirmed the abduction and instructed employees not to comment on it.
On August 19, Fox News Channel broadcasted a video by Centanni's brother pleading for the reporter's immediate release.
On August 23, the Holy Jihad Brigades
claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of both Centanni and Wiig. They demanded the release of all "Muslim
prisoners" by the United States
within 72 hours. A video was broadcast by Al-Jazeera. No armed men were in the video, and the captives appeared to be in good health.
On August 26, the three-day deadline passed uneventfully at 9:00 GMT. Hours earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas
official, said there were promises that the journalists "will not be harmed" and that he expected the situation to resolve in the "coming hours".
news service Ramattan and FOX News reported that Centanni and Wiig were released unharmed, shortly after a new video was released. In the video, both journalists, wearing beige robes, read statements saying that they had converted to Islam
, with Centanni stating "Islam is not just meant for some people; it is the true religion for all people at all times." After being freed, Centanni stated "We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, and don't get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam, and learned a lot of very good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do, because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
reporter for Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
.
Journalism career
Centanni joined FNC in 1996. He is currently based in Washington D.C. as a national correspondent.During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as an embedded journalist with the Navy SEALs and provided numerous first reports for the network, including a report that the U.S. had captured two main offshore oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
terminals located 22 miles (35.4 km) off Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's southern coast, preventing them from being blown up by Iraqi forces.
Previous to Fox, Centanni had worked for KRON-TV
KRON-TV
KRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Education
Centanni attended the University of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and earned a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in broadcasting from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. Centanni also attended Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, graduating in 1964.
Gaza kidnapping
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. A witness saw two vehicles blocking the journalist's transmission truck and a masked man put a gun to their bodyguard's head, forcing him to the ground.
An internal message by Fox News Channel Senior Vice President John Moody confirmed the abduction and instructed employees not to comment on it.
On August 19, Fox News Channel broadcasted a video by Centanni's brother pleading for the reporter's immediate release.
On August 23, the Holy Jihad Brigades
Holy Jihad Brigades
The Holy Jihad Brigades is a Palestinian organization that suddenly gained prominence in August 2006 by kidnapping two journalists in the Gaza Strip...
claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of both Centanni and Wiig. They demanded the release of all "Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
prisoners" by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
within 72 hours. A video was broadcast by Al-Jazeera. No armed men were in the video, and the captives appeared to be in good health.
On August 26, the three-day deadline passed uneventfully at 9:00 GMT. Hours earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
official, said there were promises that the journalists "will not be harmed" and that he expected the situation to resolve in the "coming hours".
Release
On August 27, the PalestinianPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
news service Ramattan and FOX News reported that Centanni and Wiig were released unharmed, shortly after a new video was released. In the video, both journalists, wearing beige robes, read statements saying that they had converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, with Centanni stating "Islam is not just meant for some people; it is the true religion for all people at all times." After being freed, Centanni stated "We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, and don't get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam, and learned a lot of very good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do, because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."