Peter Arnett, Pulitzer-winning war correspondent and CNN’s Baghdad voice, dies at 91

LOS ANGELES — Peter Arnett, the New Zealand-born journalist who became one of the most recognisable faces of modern war reporting — first through dispatches from Vietnam and later through live television reports from Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War — has died. He was 91.

Arnett died on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, in Newport Beach, California, after battling prostate cancer, according to his son, Andrew Arnett. He had entered hospice care days earlier and was surrounded by friends and family.

From Southland to Saigon

Born in Riverton, New Zealand, Arnett began his career in local news before moving into international reporting, where he gravitated toward major global flashpoints.

His work in Vietnam for the Associated Press brought him international prominence. Reporting through some of the war’s most consequential years, he developed a reputation for staying close to events on the ground and for describing conflict in clear, human terms. That reporting earned him the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

Arnett remained in Vietnam until the fall of Saigon in 1975, part of a small group of foreign correspondents who continued working as the conflict reached its dramatic conclusion.

“Live from Baghdad”: a defining moment in TV news

If Vietnam made Arnett respected among journalists, the 1991 Gulf War made him a household name.

During the opening phase of the war, Arnett was part of CNN’s team reporting from Baghdad, delivering live updates from inside Iraq as the U.S.-led coalition began its bombing campaign. As other journalists left, he became one of the few Western correspondents still reporting from the city, with broadcasts that helped define the power — and the pressure — of 24-hour television news.

Those reports were widely praised for their immediacy and criticised by some for the constraints of reporting from inside an authoritarian state during wartime. The tension reflected Arnett’s core approach: he believed in staying put and reporting what he could verify, even when the environment was politically charged and highly controlled.

Interviews, access — and controversy

Over decades in conflict zones, Arnett covered multiple wars and political crises and interviewed prominent figures, including Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, as part of his broader record of access-driven war reporting.

His willingness to work inside contested information environments also brought professional consequences. Later in his career, he faced high-profile controversies — including criticism and job losses — after comments about U.S. war strategy that drew backlash during the Iraq War era.

Recognition and legacy

Arnett’s influence extended beyond the stories he filed. He helped shape expectations for war correspondence in the television age: the value of presence, the importance of eyewitness description, and the ethical and practical challenges of reporting amid propaganda, censorship, and danger.

He was formally recognised by New Zealand, receiving a national honour for services to journalism.

Arnett is survived by his wife, Nina Nguyen, and their children, Elsa and Andrew.