Nabeelah Shabbir
- Journalist and Editorial Consultant, Freelance
- Deputy Director of Research, International Center for Journalists
Europe, Oxford
She/ her. Views mine
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I had a year of media experiences, but technically I am still in my first job - editor of the English linguistic version of cafebabel.com
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes! I wrote my 'early novels' on one
How is social media changing news?
By allowing itself to be a part of it
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
No-one in particular but I liked the nineties Bollywood big glasses-notepad-slicked back hair versions
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means being a storyteller, a news bearer, a neutral source who has weighed up the best of the information. An innovator
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I really liked the hashtag 'Gracias, Sara', ab during the 2012 world cup; as a Brit I too would have resorted to talking about the weather
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
From the most original angle possible, selling me the story as if it were already sold with comfortable room for adjustment
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Pen, paper, dictaphone, flipcam... Nothing too insane - yet
What's your favorite social network?
I cannot favour one over the other: each serves its purpose! I'd like to be more instagrammy but I don't have a smartphone
Why did you become a journalist?
It was the best way to cover up my asking questions all the time. It also allowed me to follow 1000 topics instead of working on just one
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
At school I was mainly busy laminating pretend entrepeneurial business cards for myself and my friends; I'd found my dad's machine at home..
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The article I wrote in Prishtina in 2007 awakened my passion for the Balkan region thanks mostly to the people I met there
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Stay fresh, original, inspired. Get up and move, network, talk to people, investigate your own prejudices and smile! Write all the time
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time apart from when the rent or taxes are due in
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