In Conversation With Usmaan Lone, An internationally acclaimed journalist now working in Pakistan

Usmaan Lone is no stranger in the international media community. With over ten years’ worth of experience of reporting and presenting news as well as working in international development as a third sector aid worker & reporter, Usmaan recently moved to Pakistan, June 2019 to be exact, to work for Indus News as a new anchor where he currently presents the daily news bulletin at 9pm Pakistan time. Most recently Usmaan worked for TRT World in Istanbul as a Senior Producer and then Presenter.

There’s so much to learn from Usmaan and we recently got in touch to find out more about this dynamic media personality.

How different is the work environment in Pakistan compared to the other countries you’ve worked in?

Every newsroom is chaotic whether it’s in Pakistan, Istanbul or London. There’s no difference. The work environment is fast paced, stressful and intense. Except in Pakistan someone will make the coffee for you!

In your opinion what sets journalism in Pakistan apart from the rest of the world?

An international media advocacy group known as Reporters without Borders, ranked Pakistan as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Hamid Mir is testament to that carrying two bullets in his body for his journalism in Pakistan. I personally believe Pakistan has more press freedom than many other countries, but there will always be external factors and lines that you may have to cross that could offend people or certain groups. But you can’t please everybody and if you want to please everybody then give up journalism.

Walk us through how you organize, plan and prioritize work.

I will scan the wires, and search news agencies such as Reuters and the Associated Press. This helps me keep an eye on world events and I can then prioritize and plan my work. For example, if a famous person suddenly passes away then everything else stops and we take the story as the lead. World events create the news, we just organize it.

What is the biggest challenge you face as an anchor in Pakistan?

The biggest challenge I face being a news anchor is Pakistan’s geo-strategic location. There’s so much going on as it shares borders with Afghanistan where there’s an 18-year-old war going on. It also shares a border with Iran which is currently at loggerheads with the US and Saudi Arabia. And of course Pakistan shares a border with India and the disputed region of Kashmir. Where there’s a chance of a serious altercation after the removal of Kashmir’s special status. So being at the forefront of the news in such a critical location as Pakistan makes it very challenging for me as a news anchor but it keeps me on my toes and helps me hone my skills as a journalist. After all that’s why I chose to be here.

You did a story on the Rohingya Muslims; share your experience and challenges.

It was one of my first stories for TRT World and the Rohingya were facing unprecedented levels of violence in Rakhine state that lead to an exodus of around 300,000 Rohingya. I’m a former aid worker and I really wanted to highlight their plight. It’s one of the reasons why I chose to shift from being an aid worker to a journalist. So I reported the story and titled it “The shameful silence of Aung San Suu Kyi” as she was under increasing international pressure over her silence and there were calls for her to be stripped of her Nobel Laureate. At the time it was one of TRT Worlds highest viewed stories on Facebook with over 600k views. I don’t write stories for views but I write to advocate for people who have no voice.

How difficult was it for you to get acclimatized to the style of journalism in Pakistan?

I still am, it’s fast paced when it comes to local news but International television news is still in its infancy in Pakistan. I would like to see more English news channels open up here as the level of Journalism is strong and I would love the opportunity to run one myself someday.

The field you are in is evolving rapidly, what is your strategy to keep up with change?

You have to keep an eye out on your competition, see what other news channels are doing. Embrace digital news as its evolving at a fast rate. People mostly gather their news online from social media platforms but they will still turn on the television if something serious was to happen.

In your opinion what is the key to being a good journalist?

You have to live and breathe news, you need a passion for current affairs and world events. Your writing skills have to be perfect and if they are not (perfect) keep trying until they are! A good journalist is not one that causes an upset but one that gives you the news in a clear factually correct way that the truck driver can understand without insulting the teacher.

How do you define success in your field?

It’s hard to do define success, some say its winning a Pulitzer Prize, some measure success with their twitter followers, I do not have millions of Twitter followers @UsmaanILone or a Pulitzer so maybe I’m not the best person to ask.