FREELANCE JOURNALIST

You are currently working with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Georgia. What does that entail? 

I started out producing a series of radio stories for IWPR. Now my role is more diverse. In addition to articles, I write regional reports, plan trips for journalists to the field, and assist journalism students with radio projects. 

FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT | CAIRO

You’re a freelance journalist based in Cairo. What does that entail?

Being a freelance journalist in Cairo means that you must always be alert and available: anything could happen at any time, in the most unpredictable moment and at the craziest hour of the day. This is true for all journalists but in particular for freelancers that work on their own and must be updated all the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

DIRECTOR | NATHALIE REIS TRANSLATIONS

You have been an English to French translator for 18 years now. What does it entail?

Being a translator means working with written words (as opposed to spoken words for interpreting). Translating is transferring a text from one language into another language, in my case English into French, whilst respecting the style, the register and the content of the original text.

On a typical workday, after I have walked my dog for an hour, I start work at 9-ish and translate solidly until 1pm. Then I may do some marketing (replying to emails from potential clients) or some invoicing. I usually translate for another two hours in the afternoon.  

CONFERENCE INTERPRETER

You’re a conference interpreter. What does that entail?

Conference interpreters make sure that everybody understands what everybody else is saying. To minimise delays, conference interpreters interpret ‘simultaneously’: they instantly interpret what they hear the speaker say. This means that conference interpreters listen and talk at the same time – and that requires special powers!

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | REVEAL

What does Reveal do?

Reveal is part of The Center for Investigative Reporting, one of the oldest non-profit investigative newsrooms in the country. We produce a weekly radio show “Reveal,” stories for our website revealnews.org, and a range of videos, from short news pieces to documentaries. We’ve collaborated with a bunch of other outlets, most recently Frontline, MSNBC, PBS NewsHour, The New York Times and Telemundo, to produce stories.

WEST COAST GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT REPORTER | DEVEX

Tell us about Devex. How did you get involved?

Devex is a media platform for the global development community. I lived on the East Coast for ten years: throughout college, at my first job at Politico, and at NationSwell, a company that I helped start. I had a variety of roles for East coast- based media organisations and I also freelanced for Devex. I really liked their model, and I missed international news reporting. NationSwell was my first introduction to 'solutions journalism', but it was US focused. I freelanced for Devex as a way to keep engaged with international issues. When I was moving to the West Coast, I reached out to them and asked if they had any opportunities for me. At the time, they were actually looking for a West Coast correspondent that would be based in Seattle. But we mutually decided that it made a lot of sense to have the West Coast Reporter live in the Bay Area.