Vivian Salama oversees a team of reporters, photographers, video journalists and support staff covering the continuing conflict in Iraq
Vivian Salama, Class of '99, is overseeing coverage of the escalating tensions and renewed U.S. airstrikes in Iraq as the new Baghdad bureau chief for The Associated Press. Salama, who holds a degree in journalism and media studies from the School of Communication and Information, has covered the Middle East for more than a decade. She has written for several national publications including Newsweek, Time, Rolling Stone, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, USA Today and Bloomberg News.
"With Iraq again front and center in the news, Salama is a serious student of the region and her expertise will inform AP's reporting as the drama continues," Ian Phillips, AP's Middle East news director said in an article in June announcing her appointment. "She is an accomplished journalist who will write with authority about the challenges facing Iraq and who understands the power of visual storytelling.''
Salama recently talked with Rutgers Today about her career and the role of the media covering the ongoing conflict, and offered some advice for future journalists.
Rutgers Today: What sparked your interest in a journalism career?
Salama: I always had an interest in the news. Princess Diana died while I was a student at Rutgers and I found myself really drawn to all the developments. But really, my interest developed by accident. I was a biology major when I started college. Then in my sophomore year, I took a communications course as an elective and a light bulb went on. After my first week of class, I rearranged my schedule to take journalism classes instead, and the rest is history. I also did three semesters of internships at WNBC during college which made me even more convinced this was the right path.
Rutgers Today: Why did you choose to become a foreign correspondent reporting on such a volatile region as the Middle East?
Salama: I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a foreign correspondent, but I thought about working in cities like London or Paris. That surprises a lot of people since I am of Middle East origin, but really, the Middle East was never on my radar. I was a production assistant at WNBC during the 9/11 attacks and was intrigued by what could drive a few individuals to commit such a heinous act of terrorism. But the Iraq war was the stimulus. I remember sitting at work one day and watching a piece by Christiane Amanpour from Iraq that really rocked my world. I won’t go into the details of the piece, but I often point to that as the moment I knew that I needed to move to the Middle East.
Rutgers Today: What advice do you have for students interested in pursuing a career in journalism?
Salama: A few basics:
- Be curious. If you’re not curious by nature then it may not be the right career for you.
- Be aggressive and persistent (but not annoying).
- Learn a language (this is not mandatory, but it helps – even for journalists who decide to stay local. Language gives you insight into a totally different community and a different world).
Most important: talk to people. Find out about them, their interests, their stories. It goes back to the first point about being curious. Journalists are students of life.
Rutgers Today: With the conflict in Iraq stretching on for more than a decade what role do you think the AP and other news outlets can play in shedding more light on the region, and informing the American public why the volatility matters to them at home?
Salama: After years of conflict, the general public was inclined to tune out the developments in Iraq because the voices of average people were being drowned out by war and mass casualties. What we are doing now is making a concerted effort to give the average Iraqi a voice – to share their stories, their struggles and their dreams with us and, in turn, with readers and viewers around the world. With the launch of AP Middle East Extra, the new video service for the Middle East, we are trying to stress that there is much, much more to the Iraq and the Middle East than bombs and bullets, and we are trying to introduce those stories in all media formats to maximize their circulation.
Rutgers Today: I was wondering if you had any thoughts about the importance of journalism as the industry is going through a period of major change for students considering it as a career choice?
Salama: Journalism has never been more important, but it has also never been more challenging. Citizen journalism is challenging spot reporting. Blogging is challenging analysis/op-ed reporting. And the major publications and news agencies are challenged by Twitter and the overall nature of the internet, which give new meaning to “old news.” But we are witnesses to history; we are trained to relay news and information with total objectivity. That is a dying art, which is why it is more important now than ever. I am fortunate enough to work for an organization that wouldn’t have it any other way.
For more information contact Andrea Alexander at 848-932-0556 or aalexander@ucm.rutgers.edu