Zecharias Zelalem
Verified
As seen in:
Facebook,
CNN,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Australia,
MSN Singapore,
Instagram Official Blog,
Reuters,
Scribd,
The Guardian
and
Covers:
Economy, politics, globalization, migration, war.
Doesn't Cover:
Pop culture I guess.
Journalist (account unmonitored)
Interview
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Bruh.
How is social media changing news?
It forced newsrooms to create a fact checking section.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Kermit the Frog. Endangered himself to cover the stories that matter: https://youtu.be/D3zstBjp_Q4
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Signal. Google Earth Pro is very underrated.
Who do you wish followed you?
Samira Sawlani started following me. Not much higher to aspire for...
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Skipped class to play football. Hard to write for the school paper when you're in detention every week.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Unearthing the truth about the embezzlement of $640,000 by Ethiopian diplomats solved an 11 year old mystery for Ethiopians in Lebanon.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Have a plan B.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Best pitch/pitches involved whistle-blowers. Always a thrill.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Spammy PR pitches sent by people to lazy to include my name, and start with something like "to the writer at this email address..."
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
A cafe...or driving around in search of one.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Goal.com, The Athletic, Ethiopia Insider...
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That we can be on this gig based out of Addis Ababa. No internet from prison there unfortunately.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.