[MUSIC] Have you ever wondered what life is like for a foreign correspondent? We asked that question to Navbahor Imamova. She's an international broadcaster for Voice of America. She's based in Washington and covers the United States for an audience halfway around the world in Central Asia. >> VOA, sharing America's voice with the world. [MUSIC] Hi, my name is Navbahor Imamova, and I'm an international broadcaster here at the Voice of America. It's a pleasure and honor to be talking to you students of journalism about my work and passion. Information is power and that is why I always say that we, journalists, have powerful roles in any society. Our job is to inform people, educate and enlighten them, make them think and, thus, empower them. I grew up in Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country which gained its independence in 1991. Until then it was a part of the Soviet Union, which also disintegrated in 1991. Uzbekistan was a country with no experience in freedom and democracy. There were no professional journalism schools when I graduated high school in 1995. So I pursued to study abroad and got myself a full scholarship at the University of Mysore in India. Later, I got a graduate fellowship to study here in the United States. However, my journalism career started in Uzbekistan where, as a teenager, I was offered an opportunity to do children's and, later, youth programs on state television and radio. I fell in love with broadcasting, and by the time I finished high school I knew this was what I wanted to do. Interestingly, growing up I always felt sure that I wanted to be one of three things, a journalist, lawyer or a diplomat. My undergraduate and graduate studies ended up focusing on all these fields, and I'm grateful everyday that my education was so interdisciplinary. As my journalism professors in India used to say, in this profession you need to know something about everything and everything about something. I joined the Voice of America in 2001, right after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I got a phone call one day from Washington with a job offer. They were expanding their Uzbek language broadcasts and they wanted me to join their team. Since I was a graduate student at Ball State University in Indiana at that time, I could only work half-time from there. So I ended up freelancing for them. My assignment was to tell the story of ordinary Americans, how the society worked, what were their major concerns and issues. And how did Americans discuss and solve their problems? How did Americans live? I filed stories from churches to garage sales, from mosques to supermarkets, from corn fields to the streets of Chicago, covering the real lives of real Americans. We call these kinds of stories Americanas. Now, at the time I just did these stories for radio because that's what the Voice of America mainly offered. Now, if you don't know what the Voice of America is, I suggest you find us online at voanews.com and check out or content and definitely our amazing history. We're an international broadcaster based in Washington, offering multimedia content in 45 different languages. Our mission is to deliver critical news and information to the information- deprived parts of the world. Now, you may wonder about that. With the way we use Internet today and how much time we spend online, it is hard to imagine that someone in this day and age could be deprived of access to news. Believe me, there are millions of people around the world who have no access to credible and reliable information, not just about the world, but about their own society, community, and government. For example, Uzbekistan, my native land, and the neighboring countries have no independent media, and freedom of expression and information are very restricted. The governments are not accountable, they don't communicate with the public. There is no practice or tradition of explaining policies and having a public debate. And people in general are not used to sharing their opinion or information that they may have on important issues. The situation is relatively better in Kyrgyzstan, but even there there is constant pressure on local media and journalists who try to cover sensitive issues. All this makes my job from here even more critical and challenging every day. I have been a full-time Uzbek broadcaster since 2003. I moved to Washington right after I earned my Masters degree. My daily job has been to reach Uzbek-speaking people, not just in Central Asia, but around the world, and inform them about the most important international developments, major news in the region, and cover the most pressing issues that are relevant to their lives. I cover all the relevant stories in Washington, which means I keep a close eye on anything that has to do with the region. US policy toward Central Asia, all the factors behind the current relations, political, economic and cultural, partnerships, agreements, disagreements, what's happening in Congress, at the State Department, at the Pentagon, at the White House, that my audience needs to know about. This means I have to maintain a wide network of sources who are constantly willing to share information with me, who trust me and respect me. There are no simple or stupid questions when it comes to our work. You have to be willing to ask anything from anyone in a way that'll make them give you something informative, something that is a fact and not just an opinion. Why and how? I have to keep in mind that the people to whom I'm delivering this information do not know much about the process in Washington. I need to explain to my audience how the system works, who's accountable to whom, and what happens as a result. You need to know and understand the best of both worlds. What is the message to that audience from here? What should governments give from this, and why should they or the public care? And how to give the best possible content within a matter of a few minutes. You cannot take any second for granted. You have to capture people's interest and, as you already know, people, in general, are not that interested in hard news and politics. Especially, if it's coming from a country that is oceans away. I do daily radio shows that are informative and analytical. I also have a weekly TV program that I launched 12 years ago, which covers US foreign policy, global issues, American politics and economy, science and technology, education, health, and life in general. It is one of the longest running, award-winning TV shows at the Voice of America. I have just hosted its 665th edition. It is called Amerika Manzaralari, we translate that as exploring America because it explores everything from politics to culture. I'm also a web editor. Our site offers multimedia content 24/7. So I'm an anchor, reporter, producer, writer, and editor and I also manage our social media content. Basically, I'm always at work. In fact, I don't know of any journalist today who's passionate about her or his work, who doesn't work around the clock. If you want to do real journalism, you cannot stop at eight hours a day. No weekends, no holidays, no happy hours, no real time off because you need to be updating the stories, hosting and moderating on social media because your audience lives several hours ahead of you. You need to constantly be up-to-date about what's happening there to. Social media has been a blessing in many parts of the world where the flow of information is blocked. Social networks and platforms are breaking the barriers and offering unique opportunities for people to express themselves, debate and share. So for us at The Voice of America, social media is a great tool to reach more people and to harness information. The joy and challenge of being a foreign journalist correspondent here in Washington is that you need to be on and active all the time. Uzbekistan is ten hours ahead of Washington. If I'm not flexible, I miss my sources. I have to be ready to interview people at any time in Washington or elsewhere. People who focus on the region are always on the move. They travel, they have tight schedules. I need to find the ideal time for them and for me. Once I have gathered enough material, it needs to be produced and aired as soon as possible. This means late hours in the editing suites transcribing, translating, cutting, and editing audio, video, and text. It is meticulous work, it requires clear attention, precision, and multitasking. I produce for four platforms at the same time, television, radio, web, and social media. Different formats, preferably different headlines, length, and promotion. I also work with a huge pool of reporters, producers, and editors who share material with me. Voice of America has a central newsroom which offers multimedia content, and my task on a given day, as a language broadcaster, is to pick the most relevant materials that are coming from around the world and adapt them for my audience. I work with my colleagues and other language services, too, who may have relevant for me, and who may need my material for their programs. So we need to reach out as soon as we have stuff to share, and offer it in the most accessible way. In my job, I have to constantly improve my skills, especially technical ones. You need to master digital editing, and have a grasp of technology and applications that are advancing every day. The time for one unique skill in journalism is over. It has been so for a long time. You cannot just be a good writer, or an editor or a reporter. You also need to be able to shoot, edit, produce short and long multimedia content, and promote and share it on various platforms, and discuss it on social media as well as on your webpage. Of course, you cannot do this alone. I rely on my talented and hard-working colleagues every day. What makes the process easier and more enjoyable is the way we communicate with each other. Communication is everything. As I often joke here, it's not the work that makes us tired, it is the way we deal with each other. Voice of America's just like the United Nations, people from around the world working with each other. Different languages, mentalities, approaches and knowledge base, it's very challenging sometimes. The art is to find a common ground, push our cultural baggage aside and focus on what is most important, our programs and our audience. In this job you have to learn how every day is a new day. It's a never ending cycle of gathering information, processing, producing, airing, and publishing. And then you start all over again. It can be very draining at times. We digest so much information, and get to witness so much, that we become cynical, judgmental and depressed about what is going on in the world. For me, I get my inspiration from people, especially when I travel to my target areas, spend time among the people who watch me, listen to me, read me, and follow me. The feedback is always, thank you, give us more. And, yes, people in general, and I mean everywhere, can upset you, make you angry, and sometimes easily make you feel hopeless. But at the end of the day, as a journalist, what you walk away with is that good people surpass bad people. Good decisions are made every day. And you, in your capacity as a journalist have a lot to do with it. And, perhaps, you have helped a few people today to know this world better, to understand the complex issues a bit closer, and made them aware and, thus, empowered them to step into the right direction. I wish you good luck with your studies, career and every day that you work as a journalist. Thank you again for listening to my story and watching me. It is a small world and, who knows, perhaps we will meet someday. >> If you'd like to learn more about the life and work of foreign correspondents, here are four books that we would recommend that are memoirs by foreign correspondents who've worked in Africa, the former Soviet Union, Iraq, the Balkans and the Caucasus. [MUSIC]
