On Friday, May 22nd the TES2 class, Mrs Alexis and Mrs Attwell , organizer of the event, participated to a visio-conference with Roula Khalaf, chief- editor of the Financial Times.
It was an opportunity for the students to ask questions to Roula about her job as a chief editor as well as her career as a woman.
One main point of discussion was the covering of the covid 19 crisis by the press amongst the proliferation of fake news. Fact checking is a necessity and investigative journalism is primordial to guarantee democracy. The question of the future of the paper press after the pandemic was also raised.
The students really enjoyed this informative conference and appreciated Ms Khalaf's engagement and cordiality.
Félix: ‘This meeting was a mind-opener, it enabled us to approach the impact of COVID-19 on the media with another perspective. What I found most striking is the importance of the independence of the media even in the most difficult times.’
Solène: 'Not only do I have a lot of respect for her as she managed to make her way up in the hierarchy of a very competitive work environment, but she did it being a woman, and that doesn't happen often enough. I also was surprised at how gathered and patient she was considering that being a financial times editor, you're never off the job, it's a 7/7 day occupancy and stress in a way. Lastly, I enjoyed this interview, because she was personal, and it was quite inspiring to see that even having grown up through the civil war in Lebanon, she was able to make a life out of it, and a good one at that. Comes to show a negative situation can be turned into a good one.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet her, its an encounter I won't forget as it opened my eyes about many things, and made me even more determined to succeed in life.'
Alyssa: 'Throughout the talk, she explained many interesting and surprising facts about her role in society as well as at the Financial Times. She discussed the role of women in journalism. She said that 20 years ago there were mostly males in the industry. Today, however, there is more diversity but still leadership and opinion roles tend to be occupied by males because they have been around the longest - they were hired originally and they don't tend to leave as often. In the last 5 years, there has been an increase in the level of women employed at the Financial Times to 45% of the staff. Ms. Khalaf has made efforts to promote women in journalism, and has spoken at many different women's conferences and encourages women to speak on panels. She was asked how covid-19 had affected the newspaper industry. She explained that local newspapers found it difficult as social distancing and staying at home made newspapers less accessible for both journalists and consumers. Some news media like Buzzfeed don't charge anything but rely on the print newspaper resources. When Ms. Khalaf started discussing her personal life, this really moved me and inspired me. She left Lebanon because of the Civil War and managed to achieve such a high ranking position in journalism. She also risked her own safety by writing an article about Jordan Belford, the "Wolf of Wall Street", after which she was threatened by gangs and had to be escorted for a period of time. I thought this was very brave of her to voice the truth even though there could have been negative consequences. I personally felt empowered by Roula Khalaf because she has lived through a very challenging life and succeeded. She has inspired me as a woman who has overcome many obstacles to become a leader in the journalism industry.'
On Friday, May 22nd the TES2 class, Mrs Alexis and Mrs Attwell , organizer of the event, participated to a visio-conference with Roula Khalaf, chief- editor of the Financial Times.
It was an opportunity for the students to ask questions to Roula about her job as a chief editor as well as her career as a woman.
One main point of discussion was the covering of the covid 19 crisis by the press amongst the proliferation of fake news. Fact checking is a necessity and investigative journalism is primordial to guarantee democracy. The question of the future of the paper press after the pandemic was also raised.
The students really enjoyed this informative conference and appreciated Ms Khalaf's engagement and cordiality.
Félix: ‘This meeting was a mind-opener, it enabled us to approach the impact of COVID-19 on the media with another perspective. What I found most striking is the importance of the independence of the media even in the most difficult times.’
Solène: 'Not only do I have a lot of respect for her as she managed to make her way up in the hierarchy of a very competitive work environment, but she did it being a woman, and that doesn't happen often enough. I also was surprised at how gathered and patient she was considering that being a financial times editor, you're never off the job, it's a 7/7 day occupancy and stress in a way. Lastly, I enjoyed this interview, because she was personal, and it was quite inspiring to see that even having grown up through the civil war in Lebanon, she was able to make a life out of it, and a good one at that. Comes to show a negative situation can be turned into a good one.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet her, its an encounter I won't forget as it opened my eyes about many things, and made me even more determined to succeed in life.'
Alyssa: 'Throughout the talk, she explained many interesting and surprising facts about her role in society as well as at the Financial Times. She discussed the role of women in journalism. She said that 20 years ago there were mostly males in the industry. Today, however, there is more diversity but still leadership and opinion roles tend to be occupied by males because they have been around the longest - they were hired originally and they don't tend to leave as often. In the last 5 years, there has been an increase in the level of women employed at the Financial Times to 45% of the staff. Ms. Khalaf has made efforts to promote women in journalism, and has spoken at many different women's conferences and encourages women to speak on panels. She was asked how covid-19 had affected the newspaper industry. She explained that local newspapers found it difficult as social distancing and staying at home made newspapers less accessible for both journalists and consumers. Some news media like Buzzfeed don't charge anything but rely on the print newspaper resources. When Ms. Khalaf started discussing her personal life, this really moved me and inspired me. She left Lebanon because of the Civil War and managed to achieve such a high ranking position in journalism. She also risked her own safety by writing an article about Jordan Belford, the "Wolf of Wall Street", after which she was threatened by gangs and had to be escorted for a period of time. I thought this was very brave of her to voice the truth even though there could have been negative consequences. I personally felt empowered by Roula Khalaf because she has lived through a very challenging life and succeeded. She has inspired me as a woman who has overcome many obstacles to become a leader in the journalism industry.'