Maria is a regular live news presenter at TRT World in Istanbul and hosts the flagship news programme ‘News Hour with Maria Ramos’. She’s an extremely versatile presenter, equally comfortable fronting live news bulletins, current affairs programmes, and field reporting. She is also a highly acclaimed host for United Nations and international conferences.
British-born to Spanish parents in one of London’s most multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, Maria developed her international outlook from an early age.
She speaks five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic and is learning Turkish. She has lived in and reported from countries all around the globe, with long stints in Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Maria started as a researcher for the Miami Herald in Central America. She then moved to Francophone Africa: Senegal, Madagascar, and Mauritius for Le Monde newspaper. In Italy, she lived in Milan and then in the Veneto region for Time Magazine.
In love with the lens from a young age!
My early broadcaster days on Bahrain TV!
Following the events of 9/11 and driven by a desire to understand Middle East politics and learn Arabic, Maria joined Bahrain TV International (BTV) as a reporter. She went on to anchor with BTV, then freelance for the BBC in Syria, Jordan and later fronted CNBC’s Middle East regional programme. Maria returned to London as a world news presenter for Bloomberg UK.
During a stint in the business world, Maria started an international communications agency serving European environmental companies. She became the Advisor to the CEO of Formula E – managing the international media coverage from the initial start-up phase to a global racing series alongside Formula 1.
Maria reporting for BBC World News from Damascus, Syria.
Maria reporting for Bahrain International TV from Manama, Bahrain.
Reporting on the 2008 US elections from Madrid.
Now, Maria is part of the main lineup on TRT World as a solo anchor, regularly breaking news live on TV.
Maria was the first to break Theresa May stepping down and Abu-Bakr Al Bahgdadi’s assassination. She was live for Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe resignation and Donald Trump’s first visit to North Korea.
Maria regularly fronts special shows. She co-presented the 2017 Turkish Presidential elections and provided live election results using Augmented Reality, becoming the first at TRT World to use it. Maria is sometimes the relief presenter for the flagship current affairs programme ‘The Newsmakers’.
Her leadership in guiding high-profile discussions—from the European Parliament in Brussels to the UN World Tourism Day event in Riyadh—demonstrates her versatility and global appeal. One of her opening speeches in classical Arabic even went viral.
Always keen for a challenge, Maria has run half-marathons all over the world, including the Sahara Marathon, in support of Saharawi refugees. She is currently part of a Turkish running team.
Maria graduated from King’s College London and is part of their alumni leadership mentoring programme. She is also a mentor to upcoming journalists through Women in Journalism UK.
