Telling a story is an easy job, but starting a conversation is really hard. As a journalist, it is not enough for me to just write, but actively be part of conversations that happen all around us. Investigating ideas, communities, and people, my blogs, articles, editorials, and pieces are crafted with an orientation to new solutions. Willing to do research and academic work to understand a topic, I can take on complex issues and find what audiences find valuable about it.
Coming from a personal and career background in communities of diverse and enigmatic peoples, my work is at its best looking at novel solutions from around the world, like this piece on coffee cooperatives in a post-genocide environment. Where many see contradiction, I see opportunity, and bringing solutions from one global context into another is the knowledge sharing my work is known for. Set in a political-economic framework, my writing can be academically complex but in a conversational tone.
An expert at communicating with different audiences, I can write for young kids and Ph.D. graduates, sometimes even in the same article. With a conversational tone, I can move from serious topics like mental health, racism, and poverty, and flow to speaking about my favourite beers, top travel destinations, or anything else. Having a tone that can adapt to a topic is important for giving a holistic view of ideas like discrimination or sustainability.
These days, it is not just enough to write. I do believe each message has the best means to tell it. Some stories require video, and others pictures, finding the best media to express a message is part of the journalistic journey and something I love collaborating with different publications on. This piece on Kurds in Turkey is a great example how I got to work with Frame Media on this multimedia project.
As a political economist, I can write about economic, financial, political, and cultural issues. But life is rarely put into nice subject boxes, so when I do talk about mental health I am also talking about culture, same with speaking on finance and sustainability. Our world is fluid, and so our understanding of it should also be adapting and nonrigid. I take great pride in being able to timely deliver projects that are not held down by subject but expand on them.
A cooperative team player and independent-minded creator, I love bouncing ideas off people and coming together for something big. Feel free to drop me an email or DM for any stories or projects you would be interested in working on with me.
Likam Kyanzaire 