Charlotte Wazen

Charlotte Wazen El Khoury (Arabic: شارلوت وازن الخوري; born June 23, 1942) is a Lebanese former television personality and presenter. She worked from 1963 to 1990 on various TV shows and radio stations.

Beginnings

Born in a large family, Wazen is the third of six children. At school, she was often praised for her ease in public speaking and presentation.

She started working at Compagnie libanaise de Télévision (CLT) when she was 18, presenting TV adverts. A neighbor who worked in TV production encouraged her to apply for a job on TV.

Though her father, an army officer, did not like the idea, he agreed to accompany her to the interview. As soon as he entered the studio, he said to a neighbor who was there, "Make her fail". Instead, Jean-Claude Boulos, who was responsible for the program at the time, exclaimed when he saw her on the monitor: "Not bad at all, the little one!"

Career

Rise

In 1971, the Lebanese media industry had only two distinct TV channels, CLT (formerly Tele Liban) and Tele Orient (which later merged to form Tele Liban.) At the time, Wazen was working for CLT, presenting a small program for the Majallati—a weekly show presenting contests between students testing their knowledge. She was offered a position at Tele Orient as a co-host for a popular show, co-hosted by Najib Hankach.

Later in her career with Tele Orient, she was chosen for a six-month program in Glasgow, Scotland sponsored by the Thompson Foundation, dedicated to training journalists in developing countries.