| Andrew Beatty | |
| Birth Name: | Andrew Beatty |
| Birth Place: | Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, UK |
| Alma Mater: | Queen's University Belfast |
| Years Active: | 2004–present |
| Known For: | White House Correspondent for Agence France-Presse |
Andrew Beatty (born 1980 in Dungannon, Northern Ireland[1] [2] [3]) is a Northern Irish journalist and editor. He is best known for his current role as the White House Correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP). He also serves as a regular pool reporter for the travels of both the president and vice president.[4] [5] [6]
Beatty previously was the AFP news editor for Southern Africa, an AFP war correspondent in North Africa, a Latin America correspondent for Reuters, and a Brussels-based correspondent for The Economist.[7]
Raised in Tyrone and Antrim, Beatty attended Queen's University Belfast and earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 2002. He also studied philosophy at the University of Salamanca and anthropology at Stockholm University.[7]
During his career, Beatty has covered notable events such as the Great Recession; the 2010 Haiti earthquake and its aftermath; the 2011 Libyan Civil War, where he covered the battles for Ajdabiya,[8] Misurata,[9] [10] Bani Waled and Tawergha where he was shot at but unharmed; the death of Nelson Mandela; the 2014 Lesotho coup and the 2016 U.S. presidential election and transition.[11]
A 2017 study found that Beatty was one of the journalists most frequently called on by Obama White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.[12] He has been critical of both the Obama and Trump administrations' perceived inaccessibility and hostile attitude towards journalists.[13] [14] [15]
In June 2017, Beatty received viral attention for criticizing then-Breitbart writer Katie McHugh for tweeting what critics considered inflammatory comments about Muslims following multiple terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom.[16]