Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The Real-Life Reporter Behind 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'
Tina Fey’s character in her new film, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on the real-life journalist Kim Barker. She served as the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune From 2004 to 2009. During that time she covered the war in Afghanistan and also reported from Pakistan.
By Barbara Bogaev • • 1 min readTina Fey’s character in her new film, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on the real-life journalist Kim Barker. She served as the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune From 2004 to 2009. During that time she covered the war in Afghanistan and also reported from Pakistan. She wrote about her experiences in her book The Taliban Shuffle, which came out in 2011. It’s a darkly comic memoir recounting life in the so-called “Kabubble,” the Kabul enclave of journalists, government officials, NGO workers, fixers and others brought together by war. Eventually, Tina Fey convinced Paramount Pictures to option the memoir.
