Empoword Journalism held another workshop event as part of the ‘In Conversation with…’ series. Deborah Haynes joined Empoword Journalism’s features editor Orla McAndrew and social editor (Twitter) Yasmin Walker.
On Wednesday 27th January, Empoword Journalism hosted Sky’s Foreign Affairs Editor Deborah Haynes where she discussed her career from working at The Times to reporting from war zones.
Many journalists go into the industry because they love telling stories, and for Deborah Haynes, this passion for the industry started at a young age. She studied languages at Cardiff University, whilst also being involved with student media, and later took part in a work placement.
It was this excitement for languages which landed Deborah her first job working at TV Tokyo. Her time spent abroad also involved working with Intellectual Property Asia based in Hong Kong before then becoming an economics editor in Tokyo. However, her work has also taken her into danger zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Deborah has covered a number of conflict stories, including the 2005 London Bombings before working as the Iraq Correspondent for The Times and then going on to become their first female defence editor. In order to work in such high conflict environments, Deborah revealed how journalists prepare, by going on hostile environment training courses which equip them to be able to understand basic first aid and know what to do in a dangerous situation. She also revealed how big of a culture shock there is when coming back from such a place of suffering especially how over the years we have become immune to increasing tolerable levels of violence.
Her work surrounding conflict and war reporting led to her winning the Amnesty International Award in 2008. The award was for her reporting on the way Iraqi interpreters working for UK forces were being treated. Deborah emphasised how at the time she didn’t realise just how powerful journalism was in terms of being able to raise awareness for underrepresented people and their stories. The nature of the stories Deborah has reported on has been incredibly impactful. She shared how at times breaking such stories has come with anxiety. Although at times it may be uncomfortable, your role as a journalist is to break the stories that need awareness even if some people may not want these stories to be told. At times this anxiety is heightened by the pressures of social media.
As a journalist, social media can be a hostile environment, one which isn’t quite as transparent as being in a war zone. It’s important to understand that you’re putting yourself out there, especially with a rise in misinformation and conspiracy theories. This rise in social media has also made switching off from the constant news cycle very difficult. However, for Deborah, it’s clear to see that she loves her job so always stays in tune with the news – even if it is whilst eating breakfast.
Undoubtedly the pandemic has changed working habits and for Deborah, a majority of her work has been carried out at home with Sky providing equipment to do live broadcasts. Deborah recalls on her time working at The Times where a flexible working pattern was encouraged; at times she would reside in a London Starbucks. But, the current pandemic has made being a mum working from home difficult. Earlier on in the workshop, Deborah revealed how throughout her career she’s been able to play the role of Mum whilst juggling work commitments so has had to adapt whilst working from home.
Deborah Haynes’ Top Tips For Getting Into The Journalism Industry:
- You have to really believe in yourself, even when there are knockbacks.
- Whenever you’re reporting on a big story, you’re always going to feel nervous however you have to trust that your information is correct.
- Through work experience and networking, you can start to build on contacts, even if you don’t have a mentor, you can start building a group of people to call on for advice.
- The media landscape is always changing, so you don’t have to make the choice between print and broadcast.
- Learn a language! Sometimes having a language will really set you apart from other applicants when applying for jobs.
Podcast Recommendation:
- Into The Grey Zone hosted by Deborah Haynes for Sky News
If you missed our workshop you can catch up below: