FAQ

Many of the answers here are vague,
but I will update this whenever something new surfaces.


Date of Birth?
March 25, 1969 (thank you, Anderson Cooper)

What color are his eyes?
Blue.

Height?
Around six feet, based on times he has been on-camera next to Anderson Cooper (5'11") and Nic Robertson (6'2").

Weight?
All I can come up with is this mention from March of 1994:
Ware, his frame as light as 87kg (192 lbs) when he returned, has started this season weighing 103kg (223 lbs) after undertaking a weights and dietary programme in the off-season.
(He did mention in the Monocle interview that he was back to what he weighed when he was 17.)

Is he married?
One of the most-asked questions. Michael has frequently stated that for security reasons he does not discuss his personal life. Earlier in his career he mentioned his parents on occasion and in one article he mentioned a girlfriend, but it has been several years since he talked about family. (One exception being some childhood memories about his father in the Monocle interview conducted in October 2007.)

How did he break his nose?
One of the other most-asked questions, this was finally and definitely answered during the RWC coverage: playing rugby, more than 10 times, and yes I think he was serious when he offered to break it again on-camera.

Is it true that he, like most reporters, stay safe in the Green Zone most of the time?
Nope. While many reporters who "parachute in" for short periods of time do spend their time in the GZ or on American bases, the reporters who are based there live and work in the so-called Red Zone -- meaning the rest of Baghdad. When he worked for Time, their house was near the Al Hambra hotel on the eastern side of the river (footage of his room after one of the frequent bombings there was included in the Frontline episode about the insurgency; the CNN bureau is on the western side of the river, within a half-mile of Haifa Street. Like all media compounds, both locations required extreme security fortifications. A recent article discussed the status of many of the international news bureaus.

CNN once aired a video that showed a sniper targeting American troops. Is it true that Michael was with the sniper?
Absolutely not. As is made extremely clear during the report, Michael added a voice-over narration to a video that was sent to CNN: "CNN obtained the graphic tape through intermediaries from the Islamic Army of Iraq, one of the most active insurgent organizations in the country." CNN debated for several days as to whether they should air any portion of the video, and determined that it was not appropriate to shield the American public from the nature of the warfare our troops were facing. Michael has never had prior knowledge of an attack (he was once taken -- blindfolded, his cellphone taken from him beforehand -- to a field where rockets were lobbed at the base at the Baghdad airport) and he always made extremely clear to his insurgent contacts that no information they gave him would be kept secret.

What about the rumors of a relationship with CBS' Lara Logan?
I don't really do gossip, but Lara has confirmed their relationship in an interview she gave to the Washington Post, saying that it ended in November. (If you care about my personal opinion on the way the gossip was covered by the media, you can read my thoughts on the blog or at ATC.)