Associated Press. Aida started off the Balkan war as a citizen simply waiting in a milk line in Sarajevo in 1995. But through a series of incidents, she became a fixer for the Associated Press, then a journalist trainee, then a full-fledged journalist and finally the lead reporter in the Balkans conflict. Her journalism was forged under fire. But her formal bio is: Aida Cerkez is a writer, manager and editor with 20 years’ experience in covering the Balkan region for major international media organisations. She was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1962, and grew up in the former Yugoslavia and Germany. Aida Cerkez became chief of the Associated Press (AP) Sarajevo bureau in 1994, while the Bosnian capital was under siege. She assumed responsibility for the AP’s coverage of the on-going conflict in words and images, as well as managing logistics and security for more than and dozen local employees in three field offices, and for visiting correspondents. In 1995, Ms. Cerkez won the Associated Press’ Gramling Award for best managed media operation. As of 2009 Aida Cerkez is also in charge of planning AP regional television coverage. In 2005 Aida Cerkez joined the board of the New York University’s Centre for Investigative Journalism, based in Sarajevo.