Samir Jeraj
Verified- Reporter, Freelance
- Policy Correspondent, The New Statesman
- Commissioning Editor, Hyphenonline
London
As seen in:
Hyphenonline,
The New Statesman,
BBC,
The Guardian,
The Independent (UK),
Metro (UK),
BMJ Open,
Euronews,
Substack,
The BMJ,
VICE,
VICE UK
and
Covers:
Housing, homelessness, social affairs, migration, local government.
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Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I did some freelance shifts as a front page editor for OpenDemocracy.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
When I was very small. I remember being fascinated by the mechanisms.
How is social media changing news?
It's making it faster and more contested.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Della Frye from the BBC version of State of Play.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Building trust with people and telling their stories.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
hashtags are funny?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mainly MS Office. I'm slowly learning coding in R.
What's your favorite social network?
Favourite is a stretch, but I use Twitter most often.
Who do you wish followed you?
Gary Younge. His books and articles are a constant source of inspiration. We're also both from Stevenage (well, I was born there).
Why did you become a journalist?
To tell stories that bring about change.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I don't think so. I did a restaurant review for my uni newspaper.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I worked on a piece for the BBC on victims of crime being referred to immigration enforcement.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read, write, repeat.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime is good.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Writing a chapter of a book about Europe just before Brexit.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A lettings agency wanted me to write some nice copy about them, clearly having not read any of my work slagging off lettings agents.
What's your favorite drink?
Black coffee (real, not instant. Never instant).
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On a bike, trying to stay alive on London's roads.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Guardian.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That housing is about getting everyone to own where they live.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.