1. Entering Journalism and Professional Experience
How did you first get involved in journalism?
My high school in Vermont was a student news bureau.
Was there a pivotal moment that inspired you to pursue this path?
I used to watch the local news with my dad every evening.
Having worked at outlets such as Fox News, CBS News, Reuters, and CoinDesk, how have these different experiences shaped your perspective on journalistic practices?
These different experiences showed me how universal newsrooms can be: same shit; sifferent newsroom.
2. Digital Media and Storytelling
In your view, how have digital platforms transformed the way we tell stories in journalism?
Every new method of storytelling gets journalism closer to telling the truth: from oral communication to TV news and digital platforms.
What do you think is the most critical element for a story to be impactful in a digital environment?
Know who you are speaking to and decide the audience you wish to engage.
3. Education and the New Generation of Journalists
You teach a course titled “Journalism and the Machine” at The New School. What core issues or themes do you focus on in that course?
I focus on technology and its influence on the journalism industry.
What skills or competencies do you find most important to instill in emerging journalists today?
Storytelling: it’s more important than learning any emerging journalism technology.
4. Women Journalists and Representation
Could you share more about your work with the Women Do News project?
I promote digital gender equality by writing Wikipedia articles for women journalists.
How would you describe the key challenges women journalists face in terms of visibility in digital spaces?
Digital gender inequality stems from a systematic devaluing of women in all industries.
5. Wikimedia Activism
What kind of content do you produce through your collaboration with Wikimedia NYC, and what kind of impact do you aim to achieve?
My journalism career helped me identify key news influencers to speak on panels at Wikimedia events.
How does open access to knowledge intersect with journalism today?
Journalism is the underlying source code of the open knowledge movement. One is not possible without the other.
6. Ethics and Editorial Principles
Have you encountered ethical dilemmas while working in different newsrooms? If so, how did you approach them?
Yes, I don’t approve of any work done without a livable wage and healthcare; it is a herculean task to find such work in newsrooms.
How do you prioritize ethical principles when developing content strategies?
A content strategy is most effective when it is developed with clear ethical principles outlined beforehand.
7. Future of Journalism
What are your thoughts on the growing impact of AI and algorithms in journalism?
Journalism pivoted to other tech hype in the past: AI is just the current tech obsession.
How do you envision journalism evolving in the next decade?
Merrimack College Professor of Media and Communication | Melissa Zimdars
Media and Reality: Critique of a New Era A Pr Carnet World Interview Series
1. Academic Background and Motivation
What initially motivated you to work in the field of media literacy and combating misinformation?
My primary field is Media Studies, and in the fall of 2016 I taught an Introduction to Media course that included working on media literacy. I created an in-class assignment to help students evaluate and identify different kinds of online media sources, from fake news and clickbait to satire and political reporting.
I posted that assignment online asking my peers for feedback and it went viral! However, when some news organizations picked up the story, my in-class assignment turned into a “fake news list”! I realized that if such a silly thing could be reported on so wrongly by reputable organizations, it’s going to be an uphill battle for them—for everyone, really—to responsibly engage with media.
Your project “List of Fake News Sites” gained significant public attention. Could you share the motivation behind it and the academic/social impacts it had afterward?
After my work went viral I tried really hard to make it a stand-alone resource or a more public-facing document to help people. I better defined terms, expanded the list of sources, and added tips for evaluating sources. A number of libraries added it to their collections as a resource. Eventually the document expanded to over a thousand different sources with the help of some awesome librarians, and it became a dataset for researchers to use when examining fake news and mis/disinformation sources and networks. Now, that dataset has been folded into other, larger datasets that are more consistently updated to help people analyze these kinds of sources.
Personally, I’ve turned more toward understanding how people engage with mis/disinformation, how it travels from fringe to mainstream social media platforms, how hands-off rules and regulations by both platforms and governments enable its spread, and how reputable news organizations sometimes play a role in amplifying and laundering it for wider audiences.
2. Fake News, Disinformation, and Digital Media
After the 2016 US presidential elections, the term “fake news” became widely discussed. Do you think this term still holds meaning today, or has it become diluted?
I never found ‘fake news’ to be particularly helpful. In Media Studies, we previously used the term to talk about satire and other comedic forms of news. But around 2016 it became a kind of catchall for problematic content rather than a specific kind of quickly produced false content that mimicked the style of news. Now, non-satirical ‘fake news’ is typically considered a kind of mis/disinformation alongside things like political propaganda, pink slime websites (political sites that look like local news sources), and other types of sources that primarily produce content to persuade rather than to inform.
How does the decline in trust toward traditional media and the rise of social media as a primary news source affect efforts to combat disinformation?
Declining trust (in media, in government institutions, in health and science information and systems, and so much more) is a huge problem, especially among people who identify with the political right.
Whether people trust a source of information is deeply connected to their own political beliefs, and rightwing media figures and organizations within the United States have spent decades undermining and vilifying legacy media institutions while simultaneously building up their own incredibly robust and lucrative rightwing media system. Their system is incredibly insular, repeating the same talking points over and over, regardless of their accuracy, across articles, podcasts, websites, and social media accounts or platforms, creating what is called a propaganda feedback loop. If anyone in that system pushes back and challenges a talking point, they are then also deemed to be untrustworthy and risk losing their credibility with rightwing audiences.
So, basically, we have a situation in the United States where there are two media worlds. One of those worlds connects to legacy media organizations and the other serves the political right and is deeply connected to the Trump administration. Engaging in one means distrusting the other, so trying to reach people who engage the latter with accurate information is unlikely to work because they are very unlikely to trust it.
3. Media Literacy and the Future of Education
In your view, how can media literacy education be made more accessible not just for students, but for the general public as well? Are there any initiatives you find particularly effective?
We definitely need to incorporate media literacy much earlier in our educational systems, but outside of accessible public resources and library events, I’m honestly not sure. I’ve actually become pretty cynical in this area. Media literacy is necessary but it’s not a solution. We really need an overhaul of our media and social media systems: more public service journalism, less profit-motivated and rage-enhancing social media platforms, regulations and policies surrounding AI and the slop it churns out, structural changes to our political institutions and systems, actual political consequences for public figures who repeatedly lie, and so much more. We need to fix fundamental aspects of our media environments before we can fully depend on people to successfully navigate them.
What role should academics, journalists, and content creators play in fostering media criticism? How important are interdisciplinary collaborations in advancing critical media literacy?
Academics and educators obviously play a critical role in helping students develop critical thinking skills and media literacy. Journalists and content creators can and should do more in helping remove the barriers that people face when they have to practice or use those skills when navigating media environments. That means creating news or content with integrity and responsibly and quickly correcting mistakes. But journalists and creators can only do so much as individuals working within and via broken systems. It’s ultimately the organizations and platforms that need to do a lot of the fundamental work.
For example, it would be helpful if news organizations did away with mis/disinformation-spreading sponsored content that litter their own websites in the form of “chumboxes.”
4. Gender and Digital Representations
From the perspective of feminist media studies, what are your observations on the representation of women on digital platforms? How do these representations intersect with the production of misinformation?
We’ve seen a huge amount of political propaganda in the U.S., including mis/disinformation, that is deeply sexist, racist, and xenophobic. For example, anti-abortion mis/disinformation frequently underpins anti-abortion policies across many states. Anti-abortion policies also connect to growing resentment that many young men feel over the gains that women have made in education and in the workforce, and that resentment is manifesting in social media content and propaganda arguing that a woman’s “true” role is to be in the home raising children. Political influencers and propagandists convince young men that the past was better for them, legitimizing their grievances, blaming the gains of women for whatever they feel like they do not have, and inspiring their support of regressive policies that try to exert more control over women’s lives. And the propagandists spewing this nonsense, who are usually but not exclusively men, somehow receive fawning profiles rather than criticism in outlets like The New York Times and applause rather than condemnation for the highest figures in the United States government.
5. Future Outlook
What are your predictions for the next five years regarding media consumption, content production, and access to information? How should we prepare for these changes?
I think things are going to get much worse over the next five years. Public media in the U.S. is being further stripped of funding alongside research into mis/disinformation, legacy media organizations are laundering extremist political information and governmental actions to the general public, social media platforms and search engines are integrating “AI” into everything at a breakneck speed despite its propensity to hallucinate and churn out slop. Thus, our already “enshittified” media environments are on track to become even moreso. There isn’t much any of us can do as individuals since we do not own the means of media production and distribution, but we can be more mindful of how we use social media, particularly in terms of what we might post or reshare and how much time we spend endlessly scrolling. We can and should directly support news organizations that are doing good work, that are holding people in positions of power accountable. Ultimately, we can and should continue to work toward making our media environments better while teaching people how to best navigate them despite the road before us being long and likely quite bumpy.
The Good Deed is based on your experiences visiting refugee camps in Greece. How did you balance factual accuracy with fictional storytelling in this novel?
I believe that if one is going to write fiction set in real places and encompassing real events, one should be accurate about those. So although the people in my novel, The Good Deed, are all invented, I like to say they all could exist. Likewise, even as the events that happen to those people are also invented, they, too, could happen to anyone in their circumstances. Thus I used my research in the camps, my talks with real people, and my fact gathering to make the story as plausible and authentic as possible.
What motivated you to transition from nonfiction accounts in Map of Hope and Sorrow to a fictional narrative in The Good Deed?
There are always barriers with real people. One has to worry about putting them in danger, re-traumatizing them, invading their privacy, for a start. But those dangers don’t exist with fictional characters. Thus I feel that I can get deeper into people’s hearts with fiction. I can go deep inside what it feels like to be forced away from your home, what it feels like to live as a stranger in a land that’s hostile to you, what it’s like from moment to moment to live in a refugee camp, and the ways that one can find comfort and sustenance and friendship and love. I wanted to write about the way human beings survive, the hardship, which I find very moving.
And I wanted to do it from the inside, which is the landscape of fiction.
How did your collaboration with Eyad Awwadawnan influence the development of characters and events in The Good Deed?
Eyad taught me so much about life in Syria, life as an Arab, life as a Muslim, life in a refugee camp. He and I combed over every word of my novel together, so he could make sure I made no cultural or other mistakes. He helped steer me away from extremes and stereotypes and he helped me understand my characters from the inside out. And he helped me work within the Arabic language.
Refugees, War, and Gendered Violence
Your work often highlights the unique challenges faced by women refugees. What systemic changes do you believe are necessary to address these issues effectively?
The biggest change to help women is to end mysogyny! Meanwhile, we should all be raising our sons to understand that women are their equals in every way, and not sexual objects there for men’s pleasure or vessels for motherhood alone. We should also be enshrining this fact in the law, ensuring that women have the same rights and opportunites as men have. In refugee camps, single women and survivors of any kind of abuse ought to be given safe and secure housing, medical and psychological care, and a supportive community. Unfortunately, this is not happening. I address more specific systemic changes in the last chapter of my book, Map of Hope and Sorrow.
In your research, what common misconceptions have you encountered about refugees, and how do your writings aim to challenge them?
The world is very busy demonizing refugees these days. Authoritarian, populist and nativist leaders such as Donald Trump in the United States, Viktor Orbán in Hungary and many more like to find scapegoats on which to direct the ire of the populus and distract them from the real threats of climate change, economic injustice and erosion of human rights. This is the oldest playbook in history. Today, people are told that refugees are all lazy opportunists who have come to live off the fat of the land, or are all terrorists, or are religious extemists out to change change our cultures and lifestyles. Or that they are all criminals, murderers and rapists. None of these accusations have any a basis in fact. Research has long shown that immigrants commit fewer crimes than natives and are not interested in changing anybody’s way of life. They simply want to survive and build a decent future for their children. All my books about refugees, fiction and nonfiction, are aimed at counterracting these negative streotypes by reminding readers that refugees are no different from them, and that any of us, with enough bad luck, could be a refugee.
How do you approach the sensitive task of portraying trauma and resilience in your characters without perpetuating stereotypes or causing further harm?
By being specific and accurate. By never eroticising or glamorizing violence or war. By being honest about how destructive violence is, and yet realistic about how people survive. I try very hard never to write the kinds of lies we see everywhere: that war is glamorous, that soldiers are noble, that victims can always rise up and win.
Military Culture and Sexual Violence
Your book The Lonely Soldier brought attention to sexual assault in the military. What progress have you observed since its publication, and what challenges remain?
For a time there was some progress, in that at least the subject of sexual assault was no longer hidden in the military. But now, with Trump in office in the US and his henchman, Pete Hegseth in charge of the military, the department designed to push back against sexual violence has been dismantled, the honoring and recognition of women has been banned, and a culture of white, Christian, macho mysogyny has been glorified. This is a disaster for anyone in the military who has been harassed, bullied or sexually assaulted, and for any woman hoping to be treated with respect.
How did your investigative work on military sexual assault influence your subsequent novels, such as Sand Queen and Wolf Season?
I could never have written either of those novels without the inside knowledge I gained from my three years of interviewing women in the military, and all I read and heard about that very insular and secretive culture. Because of that research, I had the confidence to portray war trauma, sexual assault, sexism within the military, and how all that affects people when they come home from war.
What ethical considerations guide you when writing about real individuals’ experiences with trauma and violence?
I start by making sure I understand the risks they face. Are they living without legal protection? Are they under threat? Are they still too shaken to speak about certain topics? And how I can protect them on these fronts? It is very important to treat any source who has been traumatized as a partner, not someone to get something out of, so you can discuss how best to protect them together. It’s important to be respectful and sensitive, and not to force anyone to tell you anything they don’t want to. I like to give my sources control over what to say about themselves, and to make sure we understand each other’s goals in doing these interviews in the first place. Why do they want to tell me their stories? And why do I want to tell them myself? Find shared goals so you can work together toward the same end.
Writing Across Genres and Teaching
How do you decide whether a story should be told through fiction or nonfiction? What factors influence this choice?
I don’t decide – it doesn’t work that way. What inspires me to write nonfiction is when I see an injustice that isn’t understood or known enough about, and so feel I need to let the public know. What inspires fiction can be a visual image, a sentence, the sketch of story I heard somewhere once. Novels grow out of characters, nonfiction out of facts.
As a professor at Columbia University, how do you incorporate your fieldwork and research into your teaching methodology?
I bring all I learn out in the world into my teaching. I teach courses on social justice journalism, so all my work on the miltary, war, refugees has been useful. It helps me advise students on ethical interviewing, on research, and on style.
What advice would you offer to aspiring journalists and writers who wish to cover topics related to war, refugees, and social justice?
Do your homework. Read as much as you can about your chosen subject. Don’t go in with a fixed idea you want to prove, go in looking for answers and stories you might not even expect. Prepare to have your eyes opened, your mind changed. Make sure you know why you are pursuing this subject and why your subjects want to talk to you. Treat people with respect. Never make a promise you can’t keep. Never break a promise you have made. Above all, be honest.
1. Women in Journalism and the History of Struggle
In your book “Undaunted”, you discuss the challenges women journalists have faced for over 180 years. What are the biggest structural barriers women face in today’s media landscape?
The greatest challenges for women in journalism today are first and foremost the same challenges faced by men: the diminution of the public’s trust in what it reads or hears or sees, the collapse of the long-standing advertising model that sustained the industry and allowed it to thrive, and the current lack of a reliable alternative. For women particularly, although there have been many advances over the past two centuries, threats to personal safety abound, both virtually and physically.
What sociological and cultural dynamics do you think lie behind the fact that women have historically risen to prominence in journalism during times of crisis?
It’s interesting, isn’t it? Historically, this has happened time and time again. In times of war, as men went off to battle, openings for women emerged out of necessity. And in the case of individual organizations, as they neared collapse, we see women gaining opportunities that were rarely offered beforehand, as if to gain attention for outlet as it struggled to survive or as a “Hail Mary” pass, a desperation move. In the 1930s and 1950s, I found several examples of women becoming city editor or even managing editor in organizations that were on the brink of collapse. Inevitably, they collapsed soon after. Note the current prevalence of women in all positions in cable and television news and draw your own conclusion. Again, historically, there were always a few editors functioning under severe budgetary restraints who figured out it was possible to attract a higher caliber of talent for the little they could pay if they hired women, who worked for less (so delighted for the opportunity!) when the top class of men would go elsewhere for better pay. That pay disparity persists.
Do you believe that pioneering figures like Margaret Fuller and Nellie Bly still serve as sources of inspiration for women journalists today?
I know they do. Certainly Nellie Bly. Just check my daily Google Alert for her name or the queries I receive from middle school girls, wanting information for their school projects, or from podcasters who know a good story when they see one. Bly inspires them as she inspired me.
2. Media Ethics, Identity, and Representation
When researching the phenomenon of “passing” in journalism, how did you observe its effects on media professionals?
Do you mean undercover reporting? That’s too involved a subject for a short answer. I’d refer you to this piece of mine, written some years ago, which I note seems to be taught often:
What concrete steps do you think media organizations should take to overcome the underrepresentation of women and minority groups?
A perennial need and so much has been tried over the past fifty years or so. There’s progress, but never enough, and yet it remains so very important because we know the representation within a given outlet, the better, the truer, the product. I wish I had a better answer.
In your view, is “undercover” reporting still an ethical practice in modern journalism, or has it become outdated in the digital age?
It’s expensive to undertake and fraught with ethical and legal conundrums, but it is still practiced, sometimes very effectively. Despite the potential pitfalls, as a form, it responds so well to so many of journalism’s most important goals, especially: to inform by penetrating walled off institutions and situations that mean to keep the public out and to prompt those in a position to do so to act to right societal wrongs. The narrative power of the form is undeniable; it makes the significant interesting—another high journalistic value.
3. Looking Ahead and Professional Advice
What are your greatest concerns and hopes for the future of journalism as a profession?
That the field survive as those who care most would want it to and that we develop better ways for the public to be able to discern authentic information from mis- and deliberately false information.
What key strategies do you think are most important for women journalists to become more visible and influential in the industry?
Do great work. Be like my five Pulitzer Prize- winning former students: ambitious, disciplined, courageous, and indefatigable. Historically, exceptional talent and great networking skills have proved to be important, too, in bringing women to the fore. Even in times when there was almost no place for women in the field, the cream has risen. Be the cream.
What values and approaches would you personally recommend to aspiring journalists entering the field?
See above; add passion, diligence, and above all, integrity.
One of Pr Carnet’s editors, Semay Buket Şahin, delivered a compelling presentation on May 6, 2025, at the International Marmara Graduate Communication Students Conference hosted by Marmara University. Her talk, titled “Social Integration through Forced Migration and Digital Identities,” focused on how Russian influencer communities who migrated to Turkey following the Russia-Ukraine war reconstruct their digital identities and adapt socially through TikTok, within the framework of media ecology.
Utilizing digital ethnography as her method, Şahin examined the role of social media platforms in the integration of migrant individuals into a new society. She emphasized how TikTok’s open and merit-based structure plays a significant role in this process. Şahin also analyzed Turkish audience comments to demonstrate how the interaction between content creators and viewers contributes to cultural adaptation.
This comprehensive presentation was recognized as an original academic contribution at the intersection of media ecology, digital cultural industries, and identity theory.
Who is Semay Buket Şahin?
Semay Buket Şahin completed her master’s degree in Classical Philology at Istanbul University and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Radio, Television, and Cinema at Marmara University. Her academic work focuses on media archaeology, digital culture, migration, and identity studies, and she has published various scholarly articles and books in these fields.
She is also one of the co-founders of Pr Carnet Journal, where she produces content on current developments in media and communication. Her book “The Archaeology of Civilization and Communication” is considered one of the first publications in Turkey to explore the field of media archaeology.
In addition to her contributions in Turkey, Şahin has also delivered presentations at international conferences on media archaeology, further expanding her academic presence and influence abroad.
THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL ART AND THE ROLE OF CULTURA INQUIETA
What has been the most impactful transformation you’ve witnessed in the development of Cultura Inquieta as a digital platform for culture and art?
Seeing how Cultura Inquieta has become a community—growing larger and more emotionally connected—has been the most impactful transformation. We don’t just share art, we share sensitivity, conversations, doubts, beauty, and critical thinking. We’ve learned to listen as much as we publish, and that has allowed the platform to evolve with a soul of its own.
How has the way people connect with art changed through digital platforms?
The connection is now more immediate. People don’t just consume art—they comment on it, reinterpret it, and share it as part of their identity. It’s become more democratic, more everyday… and also more emotional. There’s a lot of information, a lot of stimuli, but also more opportunities to be creative, to make and share the beauty around us with the rest of the world.
AESTHETICS AND NARRATIVE IN CONTENT CREATION
What aesthetic and narrative elements do you prioritize when creating content for Cultura Inquieta?
Emotion—always. The first thing we look for is something that stirs us. Aesthetically, we value whatever has soul: it can be minimalist or baroque, but it must speak. Narratively, we prioritize the beauty of simplicity, poetry, and honesty. We care about substance, but also about how we tell the story—above all, it must have humanity.
ALGORITMS VS. CREATIVITY
How do you think algorithms affect creativity and originality in digital media?
They’re a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can amplify what we do and connect valuable content with more people. But they also sometimes push us to repeat formulas, to play the game of “what works.”
The key is not to lose our center. At Cultura Inquieta, we ask ourselves: Does this add something? Does it make sense for us to tell this? If the answer is yes, we trust it will find its way, even if the algorithm doesn’t bless it right away.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND DIGITAL STRATEGY
What strategies do you use to keep the audience engagement alive and meaningful at Cultura Inquieta?
We talk. We ask questions. We listen. We make those on the other side feel involved. Sometimes it’s with an open question, sometimes with a story we know resonates with all of us. Our commitment is born out of respect: we don’t treat the community as a passive audience, but as a chorus of voices with whom we build something together. And we also leave room for silence—where reflection often takes root.
THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL ART
What trends or directions do you think will shape the future of digital art?
I see art becoming increasingly hybrid, sensory, and participatory. Artificial intelligence, immersive environments, augmented reality… they’re going to change how art is created and experienced. But I also believe the future lies in reclaiming emotion, even in the digital realm: works that challenge us, that make us feel human amidst the code.
PERSONAL CREATIVITY AND SOURCES OF INSPIRATION
What inspires your own creative process? Are there digital platforms, artists, or themes that especially influence you?
I’m inspired by whatever makes me pause. A photograph I can’t stop looking at for no clear reason. A sentence that sticks in my chest. I draw a lot from everyday life: from the silences in a conversation, from the way someone talks about what they love. I’m also inspired by artists who cross disciplines—people who write through music, who paint through words. Digitally, I like platforms that care for both visuals and text equally, like It’s Nice That or Another Magazine. But above all, I’m inspired by the Cultura Inquieta community: what they share, what they comment, what moves them.
ART AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
How do you see Cultura Inquieta’s role in contributing to cultural or social transformation through the public visibility of art?
Cultura Inquieta is a loudspeaker for beauty, but also for justice. We believe art is not only about contemplation—it can also be a form of resistance, of protest, of embrace. Our mission is to shine a light on stories that matter, on artists who give voice to the unspoken. If we can get someone to look at the world with a little more empathy after reading or watching us… then we’re already transforming something.
Is bilingual journalism for you merely a method of communication, or is it also a matter of identity and representation?
Bilingual journalism is deeply tied to my identity. As an Ecuadorian video journalist living in New York, being bilingual allows me to tell stories that often go unheard—stories of people who navigate two languages and two cultures. It’s not just about translating words; it’s about representing lived experiences and ensuring that our communities are accurately portrayed, while also highlighting narratives that are often overlooked.
What role does language play in visual storytelling? How do you develop methods to transcend linguistic boundaries?
Language is essential when connecting with the people you’re interviewing—it helps you understand them better and even relate to their story. But visual storytelling allows us to go beyond words; it becomes a universal language. The power of video lies in showing a story in a way that allows viewers to connect with characters, even if they don’t speak the same language.
What kind of connection do you draw between bilingual journalism and documentary filmmaking?
For me, the two are inseparable and work hand in hand. Documentary gives me the space to explore stories in depth, while bilingual journalism lets me represent my community. Both require trust, empathy, and immersion in the context of the story, as well as connecting with the people involved.
Creating multilingual content requires more than just a technical skill. What kind of ethical or cultural responsibility do you believe it entails?
Regardless of language, I believe it’s essential to stay true to what your sources are saying and to their lived realities. When translating, writing, or editing, I always ask myself: Am I keeping the context intact? Could this harm the person or community involved? Am I portraying them fairly? That ethical responsibility is always present.
When telling stories in different languages, is it more important to remain faithful to the spirit of the language or to universal narrative structures?
I don’t believe there’s a single universal narrative structure. There are many ways to tell a story, and as a storyteller, you need to understand your subject to determine how best to tell it. Every story, character, and context is different. So rather than forcing a formula, I prioritize preserving the spirit and authenticity of the story.
How do you manage the processes of translation and subtitling in your multilingual projects?
If the project is in Spanish, I usually do the translation and subtitling myself. I try to maintain the richness of the language, knowing that some expressions may not directly translate. When working in other languages, it’s important to collaborate with someone who understands the language and can provide an accurate, culturally aware translation.
How does this linguistic diversity affect the global circulation of your stories?
Being bilingual is definitely an advantage—it allows me to collaborate with a wider range of publications and outlets and to shape stories for different audiences. It’s also helped me understand how to tailor storytelling styles based on whom the viewer is.
For you, is documentary filmmaking a transmission of reality or a form of creative reconstruction?
I think it’s both. It’s a transmission of reality, but with your vision as the filmmaker. Documentaries allow for creativity and deeper emotional connection while staying rooted in truth. As long as you’re honest with the facts and the people involved, you can bring in creative elements to strengthen the story—otherwise, it becomes fiction.
When choosing your subjects, do you look for a personal connection, or are you more guided by societal needs?
You need to feel connected to a story to tell it well—not necessarily on a personal level, but emotionally and intellectually. That connection helps you invest the time and care the story deserves. At the same time, I also ask myself: Why this story? Why now? What impact can it have? That’s where societal relevance comes in.
What are some of the most difficult ethical dilemmas you’ve faced during fieldwork?
One challenge is deciding whether to include moments of vulnerability—moments that might make a story more powerful but could leave someone feeling exposed. I ask myself: Is this adding something meaningful, or is it just emotional drama? Another dilemma is knowing when to protect someone’s identity and making sure they understand what it means to be on camera or have their name shared.
Compared to classical cinematic language, how would you define the unique expressive power of documentary?
Documentary is cinema—there’s no doubt about it. It might be less polished sometimes, but the goal is the same: to tell a compelling story that connects with audiences. The difference is that documentary is grounded in real life. There’s room for imperfection, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful or cinematic.
Among your projects so far, which story has impacted you the most, and why?
Two projects stand out. One is a short documentary I made about migrant families from Ecuador who journeyed to New York. It opened my eyes to the reality so many face—not just the struggle to arrive, but the continuous challenges they face even after getting here.
The second is a school documentary I did about a local drag artist in Astoria. It explored themes of family, grief, and chosen community. It helped me discover a world full of resilience and passion, and I learned so much from this artist and their journey.
What themes tend to stand out in your documentaries—such as migration, identity, or social struggles?
I’m drawn to stories about identity, gender, and migration—especially within the Latin community. I find power in stories of people who are finding or rebuilding themselves. Those narratives are deeply human and universally resonant.
What is your process of developing a project—from the moment you first conceive the idea to the final edit?
It varies depending on the project. For short stories, I usually start with a question or something I’m curious about. I research, identify potential sources, and start interviewing. After filming, editing is my favorite part—it’s where everything comes together, like solving a puzzle. For me, it’s the moment where the heart of the story really takes shape.
How has your experience at CNN en Español contributed to your independent projects?
It was my first real experience in journalism, and I see it as my school. It taught me how to structure a story, how to shape it in a way that connects with people. I covered stories from many different communities, which made me even more passionate about storytelling. That experience definitely pushed me toward pursuing documentary filmmaking more seriously.
Columnist, Storyteller and Culture and Art Dırector of Pr Carnet World Magazine Arielle Gonzales
In an era where words travel faster than ever, digital platforms have redefined the way we write, read, and connect. We sat down with digital writer Arielle Gonzales to talk about her creative journey in the world of online storytelling. From inspiration to audience engagement, from navigating social media to building a writer’s voice in the digital age—this is a candid conversation about writing beyond the page.
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING AND THE DIGITAL SHIFT
When and how did you first start writing?
I started writing when I was in middle school because I was different from others. I was very creative and loved watching others in different aspects. My mind would create ideas for short stories that I would share with my family. For years, I stopped until college, when I started to figure out why I loved creating and writing. Now, I’m writing more but waiting for my big break to do it full-time forever. Writing speaks to my soul, especially since I’m not the best at speaker.
Someone told me, “ Why don’t you write about what you think?”
What led you to shift towards digital platforms? What influenced this transition the most?
Growing up I wanted to write for magazines like Sex in the City, Ugly Betty, and Living Single, however, newspapers are not really there anymore. So in college, I switched to digital platforms such as Medium, freelancing and Substack. The switch wasn’t hard to do because the digital world is better for getting the stories across.
CREATIVE PROCESS AND INSPIRATION
What themes do you enjoy exploring the most in your writing?
Where do you draw inspiration from? What digital sources or environments nurture your creativity?
The themes I enjoy exploring is the ones that make the audience think, feel, and be open-ended. Everyone can have a different opinion, but sometimes the story is the same. Stories can be the same yet in different fonts. People want to feel related to something that feels. The soul understands.
My inspiration comes from people and the things around me. Most of the time, its like a light blub that went off like “people would want to know about this”. I just go with my gut then research if needed too. Most of my writings come from the soul, meeting people in passing. Writing is a space where pictures and seeing sometimes don’t express what it is. Words can run deep and can make you change that thought as you try to understand what it is. I would say for digital platforms, TikTok, Facebook and Medium.
THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA
In your opinion, how does digital writing differ from traditional writing?
Digital writing differs from traditional writing in format, tone, and interaction. While traditional writing is linear, formal, and mostly text-based, digital writing is dynamic, conversational, and often includes multimedia elements like images or links. It encourages reader interaction through comments and shares, and it’s usually produced and consumed much faster than traditional writing. I love both but digital has this way of speaking to the audience due to being more personal.
What are the most challenging and empowering aspects of writing on platforms like social media or blogs?
I prefer blogs to social media. The reason for this is that there is more freedom than on social media. It’s very empowering to be in spaces that are very much similar and open like Medium and Substack communities. Social Media can be overwhelming since I only use it for updates or reposting for my blog (a marketing tool for networking)
READER INTERACTION
How does engaging directly with your audience affect your writing?
When I engage with the audience, It’s usually in the process. I like to ask questions and learn. So I pretty much write off that. I want my writings to make a person feel, whether it’s an opinion, essay, story, poetry, or article. I want to have the audience think and come back to ask me questions, such as the recent blog story on The Lover Era due to months of seeing, hearing, and learning from others.
Do feedback or comments from readers influence your writing style or topics?
Of course, but not so much that I will change my whole writing for them. I enjoy feedback and comments so I can become a more advanced writer. I still have growing to do and learn as well.
FUTURE PROJECTS AND ADVICE
What upcoming projects are you currently working on or excited about?
I am working on putting out another Lover Era one and Unmasking Yourself: Why We Hide What We Love (And How to Stop)”. I have a couple of freelancing things coming up. I’m just trying to be a full-time writer since I went to school for that, as well as digital media. So, if you know anyone who needs a writer, I can be that!
What advice would you give to those who want to start a digital writing career?
Don’t stop writing. I know the world is crazy and bittersweet. Do what you enjoy always. I’m glad I came back to it even though it was always there. I still have my middle writings, my family wants me to publish one day. Even if you think it’s not going to be interesting, write it. I recently put out an article that was raw, love, and emotional called “Soft, But Not Stupid: The Lover Era (But Not Too Much Tho).” It’s about being a lovergirl (or guy) who has done the work, yet it’s complicated to be vulnerable. Parts of the emotional viewpoint is The Photograph, Sade song “Is it a crime” interwined with my mom’s story as a woman who told me how she was a lovergirl yet let fear take over to the point she let her work be her love. That broke her up as she grew older.
Starting Your Journalism Career and Sources of Inspiration
What experiences or events in your life had the greatest impact on your decision to start a career in journalism? What motivated you the most when you decided to pursue this field?
I loved writing and I wanted to have a job that allowed me to write as much as I could. But also at that time I was in high school and my History professor asked us to start being aware of the news because Colombia was living a historic moment: the State was going to sign the peace agreement with one of the oldest guerrillas of our country.
I wanted to be a reporter of peace and that somehow encouraged me to pursue my career in journalism.
During your time at Javeriana University studying Social Communication and Literature, what were the most important academic or personal lessons that shaped your journalism career?
Well in the university I started to actually feel disappointed about journalism. I felt journalism in Colombia was struggling, most outlets were financed by large corporations with a lot of political interests. And I saw little to no space to do journalism in a creative way.
So I started to see myself writing fiction and poetry. But I knew I wouldn’t make a living with just my creative writing because I wasn’t still prepared to publish my literary work. However, literature for sure opened my horizons and made me ask myself questions about the form and how the aesthetic part of writing can also be challenged in journalism.
Work on Social Issues and Its Impact
How did your personal passion for critical societal issues such as climate change, health, and gender inequality develop? How did working on these issues affect your career as a journalist?
I think it developed at a very early stage and it was because of two things: my older sister and my high school. My sister was studying Environmental Engineering and wanted to focus her studies in the social part of the environment. She planted a seed of multiple questions in my brain and since that moment I started to care a lot about climate change and the environment. It is also because I come from a country that is mega-biodiverse and I have always loved the nature that surrounded me.
My high school had a class of gender and literature where I started to be more aware about gender inequality and social justice. So when I started my studies in the university, I already had in me an objective of contributing to social justice in whatever I chose to work on in my life. Then, I guess that my studies also guided me through that path, I read a lot of gender, reception, literary and communications theory, as well as philosophy.
What methods have you used to make an impact with your stories on these topics? Particularly in gender equality, what were the biggest challenges you faced when covering such sensitive issues?
I started covering gender as a freelance in a small digital outlet and I tried to talk about topics that I did not see anywhere else at the moment: life feminist motherhood or menstrual disorders. But later, when I worked at Mutante I learn about the power of engagement journalism and how this method can actually amplify the impact of journalistic stories, because they are being useful and interpellating a particular type of person who was seeking for that information.
Now, if we talk about challenges, I would say that finding sources and accessing information. A lot of people experienced the topics I was covering, but they did not want to talk and it is because of social stigmas. Then large corporations, like fertility clinics, like to stay on the safe side, so they rather answer in a polite but incomplete way than respond to your questions.
International Experience and Your Journalism Perspective
How did your experience with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Colombian Consulate in New York transform your approach to journalism? What kind of global perspective did these international platforms offer you?
These experiences changed my approach in journalism significantly. The Consulate helped me connect with the Colombian immigrant community and the needs they had. I was not very aware of the way the community is living and the geopolitical relations behind massive immigration.
Then, UNEP was a place to understand international treaties, public hearings and the international environmental agenda. It helped me to see climate change in a global way, meaning that it showed me the relations of power behind greenhouse gas emissions, food waste and renewable energies. It wasn’t only UNEP as an institution, but the people who were there. Most people were from the Global North and had that kind of approach to the climate emergency, but the Global South has a knowledge that has not been appreciated but is essential for the survival of humanity.
While studying in New York, how did interacting with different cultures shape your understanding of journalism? How do you compare your experiences with the media landscape in Colombia to the global perspective you gained?
In NYC I’ve been covering particularly Latinx communities, and that means I am very exposed to multiple cultures, because Latinxs are not a monolith. So I’ve connected with Peruvians, Mexicans, Hondurans, Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, and of course Colombians. This has showed me that we are very similar, but our national histories are different and that crafts our paths heterogeneously. I see how Latinx people are all classified in the same box, but our culture and life experiences are utterly different. However, there is for sure something that unites us: our region has suffered oppression and colonialism even later than we started being “free nations”.
This approach contrasted with the media landscape in Colombia because in Colombia we mostly cover the national context, and when we cover the international it usually is from the same few countries that call our attention.
Cortazar once said that for him, living in France wasn’t a way to be apart from Argentina, it was actually a tool allowing him to see his country as a whole with perspective and distance. And I feel very much like that.
Digital Media and the Future of Journalism
How do the innovative approaches brought by working in digital media shape the evolution of journalism? What do you think about the impact of digital transformation on media content and audience engagement?
The innovative approaches brought by digital media have fundamentally reshaped journalism, not just in how stories are told, but in how communities are included in the storytelling process. Jeff Jarvis, in A Journalism of Belief and Belonging, argues that journalism’s role isn’t just to inform, but to “build bridges among communities” and “make strangers less strange.” That belief has been central to my work as a journalist who constantly thinks in engagement as an essential part of this craft.
Digital transformation has also allowed journalism to build trust in new ways. When we treat engagement not as a strategy to reach more people, but as a practice to foster community, we deepen the public’s relationship with journalism.
Did your experience at Mutante contribute to establishing your expertise in digital media? What are your thoughts on the impact of digital platforms on the future of journalism?
Digital transformation has opened up new ways to move beyond one-way communication and instead create dynamic, participatory spaces for dialogue. At Mutante I experienced firsthand how digital tools can be used not only to distribute content, but to actively listen to communities and co-create journalism with them. We built our editorial agenda around the real informational needs of our audience, using digital platforms to host conversation communities—safe spaces where people affected by issues like fatphobia or gender inequality could connect, share experiences, and help shape coverage.
This shift has had a profound impact on media content and audience engagement. Stories are no longer just produced for people—they’re created with them. Content becomes more relevant, empathetic, and actionable when it emerges from the lived experiences of the communities it aims to serve. For example, through engagement strategies like newsletters with high open rates, explainer content, and social media conversations, we were able to make complex topics like climate displacement or mental health more accessible and urgent.
Challenges and Opportunities as a Female Journalist
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a female journalist? How have you overcome these challenges, and how have they influenced your journalism practice?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as a female journalist is navigating the intersection of economic precarity, immigration status, and gendered expectations—especially as a Latina, immigrant woman working in the U.S.
Feminist journalism isn’t just about telling stories—it’s about interrogating the systems that shape people’s lives. At La Papaya, a feminist publication I co-founded, and later at Mutante, I embraced a kind of reporting rooted in radical care, tenderness, and community.
These challenges didn’t just shape what I report on—they shaped how I report. I learned to approach journalism as a tool for both inquiry and empowerment, one that must offer not only critique but pathways for action. At Mutante, this meant pairing investigative stories with community dialogues and support networks. In New York, it’s meant spotlighting immigrant communities through stories that resist reduction to labor or struggle—showing instead how they build joy, resilience, and systems of mutual support.
Ultimately, the challenges I’ve faced have taught me that journalism must make space for both vulnerability and resistance. They’ve pushed me to tell stories that go beyond exposing injustice to also enable hope, healing, and transformation.
What are your thoughts on how women are represented in the media? What steps should be taken within the industry to make more women visible in journalism?
Women are often represented in the media through narrow, stereotypical lenses—either as victims or as exceptional figures who’ve “overcome” adversity, rarely with the full complexity of their identities, contributions, and struggles. This lack of nuance not only flattens our stories, but reinforces systems that make women—especially immigrants, and working-class women—invisible unless their pain is deemed newsworthy.
As a feminist journalist, I believe the problem isn’t just who tells the story, but who gets to be seen as a source of knowledge and power. At outlets like La Papaya and Mutante, I worked to challenge those dynamics by co-creating journalism with women who are usually excluded from traditional narratives—whether they were survivors of obstetric violence, informal workers, or community leaders.
To make more women visible in journalism, the industry needs to go beyond diversifying newsrooms. It needs to value and invest in alternative storytelling methods that center care, collaboration, and community engagement. That includes hiring more women—especially women from marginalized backgrounds—not just as reporters, but as editors, decision-makers, and strategists. It also means rethinking what we consider “newsworthy,” and creating space for stories rooted in lived experience, emotion, and collective knowledge.
Vision for the Future and Career Goals
How do you plan to shape your journalism career in the future? Are there specific projects you’d like to be involved in, and what kind of societal changes do you hope to contribute to through these projects?
I plan to shape my journalism career around the core belief that information is a tool for dignity and transformation—especially for those who have historically been excluded from mainstream narratives. My goal is to create journalism that starts by asking communities what they need, and that turns information into a pathway toward action and justice.
One project I hope to develop is a bilingual, hyperlocal resource hub for Latinx and immigrant communities in New York. Resources exist in the U.S.—like free clinics, subsidized food markets, and language classes— but information about them is fragmented, inaccessible, or simply not reaching the people who need it most.
More broadly, I want to be part of initiatives that challenge dominant narratives about Latinx and immigrant communities—stories that move beyond deficit framing and instead highlight resilience, contributions, and systems of mutual aid. Through community engagement, investigative reporting, and narrative storytelling, I hope to contribute to a media landscape that empowers rather than marginalizes, and that pushes for policies rooted in equity and care.
How do you think the experiences you’ve gained in journalism have transformed into a service to society? What is your personal mission in journalism in both the short and long term?
My experiences in journalism have taught me that storytelling is not just a profession—it’s a public service. From reporting on reproductive justice in Colombia to covering immigrant canners and nostalgia-driven plays in Queens, my work has always aimed to dignify lives often ignored by mainstream media. These stories are not just content—they are windows into systems, tools for empowerment, and sometimes, lifelines.
Living in New York as a Latina immigrant radically reshaped my understanding of identity, visibility, and structural inequality. For the first time, I saw myself racialized—as just another “Hispanic” or “Latina”—in a system that often treats our communities as statistics rather than individuals. This shift fueled a deeper commitment to what Eduardo Galeano called los nadie—the nobodies who don’t appear in history books, who are denied voice, name, and presence. My journalism now strives to rewrite that narrative.
In the short term, my mission is to continue building journalism that centers community needs, provides practical resources, and opens space for dialogue and participation. In the long term, I want to contribute to transforming newsrooms—structurally and culturally—so that they truly reflect the diversity of the people they serve. That includes advocating for more Latinx journalists in leadership roles, creating mentorship pipelines, and championing forms of storytelling that embrace care, complexity, and co-creation.
Filmmaker, Cinematographer and Journalist Deana Mitchell
1. How did you become interested in visual journalism and how did you decide to pursue a career in this field?
Even as a child, I always really loved going to movies, sitting in a dark theater and getting lost in another world for a few hours. It was a respite in a chaotic childhood, but I also specifically loved the visual storytelling. As a teenager, I started falling in love with directors who had a unique visual style like Spike Lee. At the same time, I found the photojournalism essays in magazines like LIFE to be very compelling. I loved how single images in a series could come together to tell a powerful story. I grew up in suburban Kansas City, so my artistic outlet was going to bookstores and grabbing a pile of photography books and pouring over them for hours. I started at the University of Missouri as a freshman planning to transfer to a film school. I got a work study job in the photojournalism department my first year, though, and fell in love. I liked the creativity of telling stories visually but also the independence of working as a photojournalist. After working as a still photographer and photo editor for ABC News for several years, I felt compelled to get back to my first love–filmmaking, so I went back to school to get my Masters in Journalism (documentary film) at UC-Berkeley. I’ve been doing video journalism and documentaries ever since.
2. What were the biggest challenges you faced in creating documentaries about various cultures and communities?
I think the biggest challenge in making documentaries is funding. There are a lot of talented people fighting for the same grants. So many passionate documentarians are willing to work for free up to a certain point, but in the end, you want to be able to pay people and to get paid. The work we do as documentary filmmakers is meaningful and we deserve to earn a living.
Getting to spend time with people from different cultures and communities is the silver living. It’s a gift to be allowed into someone’s life in such an intimate way. I do my best to document what I see and hear in an honest way that gives respect to the subject and their lived experience. It’s such an honor to be allowed to film or photograph someone. They are trusting me, and it’s a balance of remaining respectful and sensing their boundaries. It’s important to be able to sense when to back off and give them space. It takes time to build rapport with people.
3. You won the Northgate Award for your documentary “Before Dawn/After Don” What did this experience contribute to you?
I was in class with so many talented filmmakers and getting some recognition for my film was an honor.
4. As someone who has lived in different countries, how have your cultural experiences influenced your journalistic practice?
I didn’t come from a wealthy family. I took every opportunity I could, though, to travel. I took out student loans to study abroad in Mexico and Spain, and then I taught English in Japan after university to try to pay some of those loans back. While in Japan, I took opportunities to travel around different parts of Asia. I love hitting the streets, eating street food and going to local dance clubs, talking to locals. Even simple things are harder–like taking a cab, but it’s also truly living in the present moment. All of the senses are heightened—we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch new things. And, the understanding and empathy gained by talking with people with different perspectives is life changing. Our cultures help define us, but ultimately, we are all human.
5. How did you integrate drone technology into your journalism work and what are your experiences in this field?
During covid when everything was shut down, my employer at the time, Voice of America, had us doing Zoom interviews. I felt frustrated not being able to get out and shoot stories. I decided to get my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Drone license, out of frustration. It was actually super interesting to learn so much about aviation and flight rules. Drone footage really helps elevate stories by adding bird’s eye views. They are also super fun to fly. I have gone to a few drone conferences, actually, and there are a shocking number of industries that employ drone pilots.
6. While working at Voice of America, how have you observed the impacts of AI and technology on journalism?
The Trump Administration is dismantling “Voice of America.” I was recently laid-off from my position there. While working there, I covered a lot of technology stories including many about AI. I think it will be interesting to see how technology like Open AI’s video generation model, Sora, changes the film industry. It is already mind blowing what you can already ask Sora to create–selecting the era, subject matter, camera, and visual style in a seconds.
7. What projects do you plan to work on in the future and what are the goals you want to achieve in your journalism career?
I love telling stories that focus on social justice, really I just love connecting with others and getting to spend time with them, and help tell their life story. I am open to doing this again for another news outlet, but I am also excited to direct and film more of my own documentaries. I am looking for a passionate editor to team up with. I have a few film ideas in the research stage and am excited to have a bit more time to focus on that.
I am also creating my own video business helping other businesses get exposure through sharing personal stories of why and how they got started. Honest storytelling is very powerful and, in my opinion, the best way to connect with other people. I am excited for this new stage.
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