Zain Verjee, Anchor, World News, CNN, London bureau
I think the biggest learning has to be what you make of yourself; because it is really easy to want to emulate other people, other styles, other techniques, which is great because you can learn and absorb. But it has taken me ten years to become comfortable with myself and the way I present on television and some people like it and some don’t. Some hate my hairstyle and some like my talking style. Everyone has an opinion and that’s fine because you are in a public forum. I am very comfortable with myself and how I have developed as a professional.
I think the biggest learning has to be what you make of yourself; because it is really easy to want to emulate other people, other styles, other techniques, which is great because you can learn and absorb. But it has taken me ten years to become comfortable with myself and the way I present on television and some people like it and some don’t. Some hate my hairstyle and some like my talking style. Everyone has an opinion and that’s fine because you are in a public forum. I am very comfortable with myself and how I have developed as a professional.
Q. In your career you have covered many sensitive issues, including ramifications of Benazir Bhutto assassination and September 11 bombing. What are some of the pointers you keep in mind before approaching such coverage? Firstly, when you are in a potentially volatile situation, like when Benazir Bhutto had arrived in the country after being banished for a long time, there was a lot of tension before the assassination and there was a heightened sense of fear. The first thing to keep in mind is that one cant get swept up in emotions from the events around. And it is extremely important to not let the sensitivity of the situation show in your coverage. What you say has certain ramifications on the viewers of that country. You have to be very careful to make sure that the report that you are presenting is balanced. I would also say that when you are interviewing people of stature, it is easy to be intimidated. But my experience has taught me not to allow them to take control of the interview. You have to maintain your confidence and keep your questions short. If you ask a short and direct question to any of the leaders, you tend to get better answers. Another thing to keep in mind that is you should not be afraid to cut them off in case they are deviating from the subject or rambling on and on
Q. How important is showcasing your point of view in covering something as huge as 9/11 bombing? I don’t think your point of view should be there. No one wants to hear your point of view. Unless it is a point of view programme that you are doing, in which case expressing your views forms the very foundation of the programme. Otherwise I am not there to talk about what I think but report occurrences as they happen and let the viewers form their own opinions. The only time where I consciously had to make an effort to not let my point of view interfere with my reporting was for the coverage from Kenya, which is where I have grown up. I made sure that my coverage was disassociated from my point of view, which was emotional.
Q. Please tell us a little about the shows that you have done in the past like ‘The New Diplomat’ and ‘Your World Today’. What are the shows that you are currently involved with and any new shows that are on the horizon? When I started with CNN, I was anchoring general news bulletins. I hosted a show called ‘Q and A’ for South Asia, which was really great as it was my first experience with a talk show at CNN. Then I joined the state department at Washington for three years and I came out with a series called the ‘The New Diplomat’ which was about what diplomacy is like in the 21st century for the United States. Now I will be hosting a really exciting new show. It will essentially be a show that will be in a different country each month and will give an informed, perspective on things about that country that you wouldn’t normally hear about. I am not going to do hard politics and news but more of culture and how do people live and make money. Malaysia will be the first one that I will be covering, followed by Turkey and Nigeria. The programme will be called ‘iList’. It is such a great opportunity because, as compared to when I was travelling with Condoleezza Rice all over the country I was with her convoy and it was like a bubble of security, I will get to see the real people and their way of living.
Q. Is there an international coverage that you vividly remember and why? I vividly remember the Kenya election violence story because I was really present and it was home, I had grown up in that neighbourhood. Even more because I got shot by a tear gas cannon shell and I remember it really well; I have a scar from that on my back. It was all quite frightening and very unfortunate as it all happened in my home and outside the hotel I had grown up around. The other coverage that I remember clearly is going to Pakistan before Musharraf declared emergency and Bhutto was ousted from the country. The whole time period was tense and I was there throughout. I have covered the Hajj pilgrimage quite a few times as well. It is just because of the sheer volume of people and the rituals that are involved it is fascinating place to be.
Q. What are the attributes that one must have to make it big as a news anchor internationally? I think mostly a person needs to be curious and I don’t think anyone needs to be brilliant. But I think they should have a genuine interest in understanding people and the world around them. He or she should be willing to absorb information. I also think that one has to have a degree of confidence in yourself to be on TV. Anyone who is aspiring to be on TV should concentrate on what is unique about them rather than to ape someone else’s style. I also think that they should read a lot.
Q. As an anchor there have been various occasions where you have to moderate discussions by people from varied backgrounds. What are your personal do’s and don’ts to ensure that you get the best out of the discussions and your speakers? The first is to speak to them before the show and tell them to keep their answers short. The reason is that there is a limited amount of airtime and if you are interviewing one person at a time then everyone has to more-or-less get an equal amount of time to speak. If it is a politician or a newsmaker then I would not hinder them. But if it is an analyst or one of our own reporters then it is best to tell them so that they can use the airtime optimally. Therefore, always speak to your guests before the show, keep your questions short, and show some kind of a reaction and always listen to the answers intently. It is imperative that you listen carefully to the answers and probably ask questions that are based on the replies, rather than bluntly move on to the next predetermined question. Lastly, do not concentrate on just one or two guests but give all of them equal amount of time to speak and express their views.
Q. Anything about the September 11 bombing that you can recall? I very clearly remember the faces of the people and how emotional it was. I remember everyone’s reaction in the news room when the two towers collapsed, I was there. It was a moment of total disbelief. When the first tower fell everyone was not quite sure what had happened or whether or not it was an accident. But when the second tower came down it was very evident that it was an act of terrorism. What stands out most is the human story and not just the dramatic pictures.
Q. Tell us a little about your book, Live and On the Air, and how it has been received. What in your own experience have been the biggest learnings for you? I wrote that a long time ago when I was 22. It was received really well because at that time I was in radio and the book was about a girl who comes to the city and works at a radio station. It was obviously my experiences. But I put it in a local African context. In my spare time I still do a lot of creative writing that I thoroughly enjoy. Lately I find myself with more time to be creative and do have some ideas as well for another book.
Q. Since it has been more than a decade that you started your professional life, which has been the biggest learning for you from your own experiences? I think the biggest learning has to be what you make of yourself; because it is really easy to want to emulate other people, other styles, other techniques, which is great because you can learn and absorb. But it has taken me ten years to become comfortable with myself and the way I present on television and some people like it and some don’t. Some hate my hairstyle and some like my talking style. Everyone has an opinion and that’s fine because you are in a public forum. I am very comfortable with myself and how I have developed as a professional. However, it is far easier said than done because it has taken ten years of being on television everyday and I have finally gotten to a point that I am quite comfortable.
Q. You must have seen Indian coverages on many Indian news channels. What is your take on Indian coverages and what can they learn from foreign news channel coverage? I think that the Indian media in general is extremely vibrant. It is the biggest democracy in the world and the media reflects that. It has an immensely talented pool of journalists. Every channel has different techniques of doing things. I do think that it is a question of learning because western news channels’ way of working is better. They have techniques and styles that can be incorporated here. But I must reiterate that the news channels in the west are not better. Each country has its own organic news culture. For example in Kenya they have an equally vibrant news culture. It is also important to keep in mind that in India we have the freedom to say what we want to say. But it comes with a serious degree of responsibility.
Q. Which is the one news coverage you would have loved to cover from yesteryears and why? I think covering the Mogul Empire would have been fantastic. How they functioned and how they collapsed after centuries of dominance in the Indian subcontinent, would have made for a great coverage. I think I also would have like to cover when the man walked on the moon for the first time. More recently I would have loved to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of communism. French Revolution would have again made for a brilliant coverage. That would be a chapter of history I would be fascinated with. All these occurrences through history were turning points for the world. For our generation it was September 11 because the way East saw West and vice versa, completely shifted.
Prior to her current assignment, Verjee was the news presenter for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer in Washington, D.C. She reported on a range of news stories and interviewed prominent foreign policy thinkers. Verjee covered the US State Department for CNN for two years closely following American foreign policy. She travelled with with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to more than a dozen countries, including Israel, Turkey, Libya, Russia and South Korea. During her time in Washington DC, Verjee launched an innovative series called The New Diplomat which looked at the dangers and challenges American diplomats face today. Verjee previously co-anchored CNN International's rolling newscast, Your World Today, with Jim Clancy, and hosted the debate program Q&A on that network.
CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of more than two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other TV news organization in the United States; internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 260 million households abroad; and, the CNN Digital Network is consistently the No.1 current events and news destination on the web. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and national news organizations around the world. CNN is division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.
Q. How important is showcasing your point of view in covering something as huge as 9/11 bombing? I don’t think your point of view should be there. No one wants to hear your point of view. Unless it is a point of view programme that you are doing, in which case expressing your views forms the very foundation of the programme. Otherwise I am not there to talk about what I think but report occurrences as they happen and let the viewers form their own opinions. The only time where I consciously had to make an effort to not let my point of view interfere with my reporting was for the coverage from Kenya, which is where I have grown up. I made sure that my coverage was disassociated from my point of view, which was emotional.
Q. Please tell us a little about the shows that you have done in the past like ‘The New Diplomat’ and ‘Your World Today’. What are the shows that you are currently involved with and any new shows that are on the horizon? When I started with CNN, I was anchoring general news bulletins. I hosted a show called ‘Q and A’ for South Asia, which was really great as it was my first experience with a talk show at CNN. Then I joined the state department at Washington for three years and I came out with a series called the ‘The New Diplomat’ which was about what diplomacy is like in the 21st century for the United States. Now I will be hosting a really exciting new show. It will essentially be a show that will be in a different country each month and will give an informed, perspective on things about that country that you wouldn’t normally hear about. I am not going to do hard politics and news but more of culture and how do people live and make money. Malaysia will be the first one that I will be covering, followed by Turkey and Nigeria. The programme will be called ‘iList’. It is such a great opportunity because, as compared to when I was travelling with Condoleezza Rice all over the country I was with her convoy and it was like a bubble of security, I will get to see the real people and their way of living.
Q. Is there an international coverage that you vividly remember and why? I vividly remember the Kenya election violence story because I was really present and it was home, I had grown up in that neighbourhood. Even more because I got shot by a tear gas cannon shell and I remember it really well; I have a scar from that on my back. It was all quite frightening and very unfortunate as it all happened in my home and outside the hotel I had grown up around. The other coverage that I remember clearly is going to Pakistan before Musharraf declared emergency and Bhutto was ousted from the country. The whole time period was tense and I was there throughout. I have covered the Hajj pilgrimage quite a few times as well. It is just because of the sheer volume of people and the rituals that are involved it is fascinating place to be.
Q. What are the attributes that one must have to make it big as a news anchor internationally? I think mostly a person needs to be curious and I don’t think anyone needs to be brilliant. But I think they should have a genuine interest in understanding people and the world around them. He or she should be willing to absorb information. I also think that one has to have a degree of confidence in yourself to be on TV. Anyone who is aspiring to be on TV should concentrate on what is unique about them rather than to ape someone else’s style. I also think that they should read a lot.
Q. As an anchor there have been various occasions where you have to moderate discussions by people from varied backgrounds. What are your personal do’s and don’ts to ensure that you get the best out of the discussions and your speakers? The first is to speak to them before the show and tell them to keep their answers short. The reason is that there is a limited amount of airtime and if you are interviewing one person at a time then everyone has to more-or-less get an equal amount of time to speak. If it is a politician or a newsmaker then I would not hinder them. But if it is an analyst or one of our own reporters then it is best to tell them so that they can use the airtime optimally. Therefore, always speak to your guests before the show, keep your questions short, and show some kind of a reaction and always listen to the answers intently. It is imperative that you listen carefully to the answers and probably ask questions that are based on the replies, rather than bluntly move on to the next predetermined question. Lastly, do not concentrate on just one or two guests but give all of them equal amount of time to speak and express their views.
Q. Anything about the September 11 bombing that you can recall? I very clearly remember the faces of the people and how emotional it was. I remember everyone’s reaction in the news room when the two towers collapsed, I was there. It was a moment of total disbelief. When the first tower fell everyone was not quite sure what had happened or whether or not it was an accident. But when the second tower came down it was very evident that it was an act of terrorism. What stands out most is the human story and not just the dramatic pictures.
Q. Tell us a little about your book, Live and On the Air, and how it has been received. What in your own experience have been the biggest learnings for you? I wrote that a long time ago when I was 22. It was received really well because at that time I was in radio and the book was about a girl who comes to the city and works at a radio station. It was obviously my experiences. But I put it in a local African context. In my spare time I still do a lot of creative writing that I thoroughly enjoy. Lately I find myself with more time to be creative and do have some ideas as well for another book.
Q. Since it has been more than a decade that you started your professional life, which has been the biggest learning for you from your own experiences? I think the biggest learning has to be what you make of yourself; because it is really easy to want to emulate other people, other styles, other techniques, which is great because you can learn and absorb. But it has taken me ten years to become comfortable with myself and the way I present on television and some people like it and some don’t. Some hate my hairstyle and some like my talking style. Everyone has an opinion and that’s fine because you are in a public forum. I am very comfortable with myself and how I have developed as a professional. However, it is far easier said than done because it has taken ten years of being on television everyday and I have finally gotten to a point that I am quite comfortable.
Q. You must have seen Indian coverages on many Indian news channels. What is your take on Indian coverages and what can they learn from foreign news channel coverage? I think that the Indian media in general is extremely vibrant. It is the biggest democracy in the world and the media reflects that. It has an immensely talented pool of journalists. Every channel has different techniques of doing things. I do think that it is a question of learning because western news channels’ way of working is better. They have techniques and styles that can be incorporated here. But I must reiterate that the news channels in the west are not better. Each country has its own organic news culture. For example in Kenya they have an equally vibrant news culture. It is also important to keep in mind that in India we have the freedom to say what we want to say. But it comes with a serious degree of responsibility.
Q. Which is the one news coverage you would have loved to cover from yesteryears and why? I think covering the Mogul Empire would have been fantastic. How they functioned and how they collapsed after centuries of dominance in the Indian subcontinent, would have made for a great coverage. I think I also would have like to cover when the man walked on the moon for the first time. More recently I would have loved to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of communism. French Revolution would have again made for a brilliant coverage. That would be a chapter of history I would be fascinated with. All these occurrences through history were turning points for the world. For our generation it was September 11 because the way East saw West and vice versa, completely shifted.
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