James Longman
James Longman is ABC News’ chief international correspondent and has been at ABC News as a foreign correspondent since 2017. Based in London, Longman has reported from over 60 countries across all seven continents, often at the forefront of the most important international events of our time. He was in Moscow when Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, and spent time reporting from both the Russian capital and Ukraine, documenting the Russian invasion as the situation deteriorated day by day. He was one of the first reporters to see firsthand the horrors in Bucha, and one of the first ABC correspondents in Israel immediately following the Oct. 7 terror attack. For the first two weeks of the war in Gaza, Longman co-anchored ABC News Live’s coverage for which the team won an Emmy®.
Longman is an integral part of ABC News’ royal coverage and helped to lead ABC News’ standout reporting on the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the subsequent coronation of King Charles. Longman’s coverage of the Thai soccer team stuck in the rainforest cave made him a household name in Thailand, leading him to secure an exclusive interview with the boys once they were safe. Fluent in Arabic and French, his ability with languages and knowledge of the Middle East have also been an asset in covering the war in Syria, where he was among the first journalists to witness the fall of Baghouz, the last ISIS town, and the first to interview American ISIS bride Hoda Muthana.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Longman was the first correspondent in the Italian village where the virus was spreading, documenting its transmission to 15 countries around the world and inspiring him to front the documentary “Virus Hunters,” in partnership with National Geographic. Other notable assignments include the fire at and subsequent restoration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, earthquakes in Indonesia and Turkey, and volcanic eruptions in Iceland and Spain. He has also covered the Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris and has even brought viewers to the remote waters of the Antarctic to track humpback whales.
Longman has been recognized for his outstanding work, including Emmy Awards for his contributions to network coverage of the climate crisis and for his work in Israel and Ukraine. He was honored with a David Bloom Award for his reporting on LGBTQ+ abuses in Chechnya and the David Kaplan Overseas Press Club Award for his coverage of the ouster of Syrian President Assad. Longman has also expanded his reporting to examining the genetics of mental illness in a new book, “The Inherited Mind,” which documents his family’s history of schizophrenia and depression.
