Samira Ahmed (left) presented this year’s George Viner awards to four of the five students receiving grants, from left, Osama Baig, Julie Bailey, Natalie Reeve and Samantha Wong, with NUJ President Michelle Stanistreet and Lionel Morrison, chair of the Black Members Council. The fifth winner, Sandra Johnson, could not be present. Picture Guy Smallman
Change the world by example, says Channel 4’s Samira Ahmed
IT IS NOT the job of black journalists to “go out there and re-educate the overwhelmingly white, middle aged elite running the news”, Channel 4 News presenter and reporter Samira Ahmed told the union’s annual George Viner Fund ceremony in February.
Giving advice to the ethnic minority journalism students receiving this year’s bursaries to help them through their studies, she said they should not just see “an uphill struggle in the fiercely competitive world of news journalism.
“Just by doing the stories you choose to tackle and being true to yourself, you will be changing newsrooms for the better.”
The young journalists should see their background and experiences as a great asset – but “they are not a substitute for working hard, pitching good stories, and writing well”.
Samira Ahmed added: “Most of all enjoy yourselves. Journalism has been for me fascinating, thrilling and never boring.”