By Nati Katz
In the sport of fencing, the opponents attack one another based on a set of movements and rules. In fact, the idea of being “on-target” stems from this ancient sport, when the masters would teach their students to attack only a valid target on the torso to secure a win.
Libby Alon is the most on-target career journalist you’ll ever meet, and also a fencing pro in her own right. Yet, despite the sharp skills in her DNA, she made a deliberate decision not to weaponize her journalistic instincts to grab sensational stories or play “gotcha” during interviews.
The recent meteoric rise of Israel’s Channel 14 News has caused it to achieve prestige status among the three most watched news networks. Called a “bona fide juggernaut” in the media, some of its shows, including “The Morning Show” and “The Patriots” hold number one ratings. With a sense of responsibility to bring the most critical news stories to its viewership, the network decided to dedicate a full-time Election 2024 correspondent to the U.S. to bring boots on the ground coverage to their audience.
An unexpected unfolding of events led their Chief International Desk Correspondent, Libby Alon, to land the job. She arrived in New York last week and is already making the rounds across town, reporting to her loyal and well-informed viewers back home.
On a very hot afternoon as the heat wave began, I had the good fortune to meet Libby for her first interview in the States.
Nati Katz: Welcome, Libby. What a crazy year it’s been. But for you, it’s just Year 1 at Channel 14. Was it all chaos from the start?
Libby Alon: Thanks for the welcome, it’s truly amazing to be here. That’s correct, I’ll be marking my first anniversary with Channel 14 in September. Previously, I served as journalist and producer for Channel 13, but joining this network is probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
NK: Why did you decide to make the move?
Libby Alon: I spent two years at the previous network and learned a great deal. But I was always a behind-the-scenes person: producing, researching, summarizing, and writing scripts for other anchors and reporters. It’s no secret that Channel 14 went through an extremely negative vibe on the part of the public and especially their peers in the media. The network had a bad name in the industry and media veterans enjoyed bad-mouthing us constantly. The fact that the network represented the political faction that led to legal reform only added more harsh criticism. However, we were determined to persevere.
In my previous job, I was not in the position to voice my views openly. The other network was extremely single-minded regarding ideologies that I’m not aligned with, and that part was difficult to navigate.
But the opportunity presented itself and gave me a lot to consider. My friends at the previous network tried to dissuade me, but I felt the most compelling aspect of the new job was the chance for me to shift to center stage and become an on-camera personality. As a result, I completely changed. I was able to overcome my on-camera jitters.
NK: Tell me about the beginning.
Libby Alon: They sat me at a desk and expected me to start pulling sources and news items and ultimately give a report in minimal time. Thankfully, my experience as a producer paid off. I applied everything I had learned before and started organizing my contacts, news sources, online broadcasts—everything I needed to jumpstart my position on the Foreign News Desk.
This was in September, just three weeks before October 7th. During my first three weeks on the job in front of the cameras, I knew I had to grow a thick skin when faced with harsh viewer feedback and the occasional trolls. It was hard, and I took it very personally in the beginning. What upset me most were not the insults, but when I made an honest mistake and would be publicly called out on it. I recall a time when I made a mistake about a specific political party in Germany and its size in the parliament. Or when I made a minor grammar mistake when interviewing in English. They would call me out and add shaming insults, saying it’s embarrassing to see the type of reporters this network hires. That was extremely difficult for me to deal with.
NK: Tell me about the morning of October 7.
Libby Alon: When I went to sleep the night before, I was glad for the chance to sleep in. But shortly after 6:30 a.m., my phone rang and it was my mother calling to tell me there were rockets coming from the south. Basically, I was asleep and couldn’t understand why this was so important that it warranted an early morning call. There are always rockets coming from the south. Once I logged onto Twitter and turned on the TV, my face paled. I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. These were sights that had a profound effect on me and I couldn’t sleep for days afterward.
NK: What did you do next? What did the network ask you to do?
Libby Alon: We debated on whether we should go on the air. Ultimately, we decided to wait for Motzaei Shabbat. My executive producer told me that he wanted me in Ashdod at first, which scared me. Everyone was on high alert, basically freaking out. As I was about to leave, they changed the destination to Tel Aviv and then a missile fell on Abarbanel Street. He asked me to report from there. You have to understand, this was my first time reporting from the field. I was a Foreign News Desk Chief—not a field reporter, certainly not during wartime. I realized then that I had to gather all the strength and courage I could muster and simply report out of resilience. Once I adopted this approach, I never turned back.
The viewership skyrocketed. People turned to Channel 14 for reliable, proud, Zionistic-oriented news reporting to make sense of world events. I realized that what I say on camera is what they hear and receive. I have to relay a sense of resiliency, a sense of “Am Yisrael Chai” even—or especially—when it comes to foreign news.
NK: Your uncle, the late Dan Alon, was a Munich Massacre survivor. Tell me about him.
Libby Alon: He went to Munich in 1972 to compete in the Olympics in the sport of fencing. When the Palestinian terrorists started attacking on the night of September 4th, they shot through the walls of an adjoining room to where my uncle was sleeping and captured one of the athletes. Miraculously, they skipped my uncle’s room and began attacking the Israelis in the next room. When my uncle and his roommates heard the screams, they knew the only way they could survive was by jumping off the balcony. He told me that he tiptoed quietly towards the porch, but stumbled on one of the Israeli flags that was on the floor. In a split second, he decided to wrap himself in the Israeli flag believing that if he was shot, at least he would be wrapped in the Jewish flag. When he jumped off the balcony, he looked up and met the eyes of the terrorist for a split second, and for some inexplicable reason, the terrorist walked back into the room. My uncle was always a major role model all my life. He was a patriot and real Zionist. Fencing is definitely a family tradition. My grandfather was a Hungarian fencing champ and so were his sons, my father and my Uncle Dan. I am also now quite adept.
NK: How did you arrive at this point in your career?
Libby Alon: Once I concluded my army service, I flew to Italy for medical school, but stayed only two years once I realized my passions lay elsewhere. I came back to Israel to pursue a degree in Middle Eastern studies from Bar Ilan University and truly believe everyone should familiarize themselves with the true history to counter the growing antisemitism. In my case, I had friends from abroad who attacked me fiercely following October 7. Classmates from Italy, friends from the States and Spain all attacked with the same nonsense we’ve been hearing here on campuses. But when I start asking them concrete questions about the true history of Israel and the lack of evidence of any “Palestinian” heritage, I leave them shocked. It simply does not exist. They are dumbfounded and speechless. That’s why I believe it’s my mission to inform, educate, and enlighten my Israeli viewers to bring the truth to their living rooms.
NK: What does your audience most want to see from a Chief International Desk Correspondent?
Libby Alon: You’d be surprised, but they absolutely love the basics. Explanations about the American political system, explaining who’s who in American history and government. What is the Senate, the Congress, the Administration. I get great feedback on simply explaining what no one else bothers to tell them, and in so doing, I fell in love with the American political system. It fascinates me and I’m so energized to be covering the elections.
NK: What are your plans for the near future?
Libby Alon: I will be heading to the RNC in Milwaukee and later to Washington, D.C. when Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to appear before Congress. Covering the Prime Minister in the U.S. is definitely a career milestone for me. Representing my country on a world stage is definitely a dream come true. n
Nati Katz is an accomplished communications strategist at The Futurum Group. He holds dual Master’s Degrees from Syracuse University, in Public Relations and International Affairs.