Hena Doba is a Pakistani journalist. After discovering her love for storytelling during her college years, Doba has risen to the ranks from working at small TV stations to those more renowned, including CBS and Cheddar.Â
Hayat Life Editor-in-Chief Fira Gasimova talked with Doba about her journalism career.Â
Doba discovered her passion for journalism in her youth, and the rest is history.
Gasimova: You had originally wanted to study psychology but changed your mind after writing for your school newspaper. What about that experience changed your mind? Was it the writing aspect of it or maybe the subject matter that you covered?
Doba: I just loved English literature, even in elementary school and in junior high. But I’m Pakistani, and my parents told me that I was going to be a doctor, so I just accepted that. That expectation is what pushed me into psychology, though I still minored in English. At one point I was walking down my college campus and I saw a flier to write for the school paper and I made the decision to do it. Little did I know that that one decision would change my life. I love being a storyteller, that’s why I do this. Becoming a journalist has allowed me to not only tell stories but also experience things from the eyes of other people that I would have never expected or thought to be possible. As a journalist, there are certain stories that you cover or people that you meet that you would have never been able to outside of this profession. I love the excitement of every day.
Doba revels in the journey and the fulfillment of her career, even its rough terrain.
Gasimova: What are some of the most valuable experiences and things that you learned during your time anchoring on CBS? And how did you get the opportunity to anchor at the National Desk?
Doba: When I got hired at a small TV station in upstate New York, I got hired as a producer, off-camera. Quite frankly, I never thought to go on air because nobody looked like me; I never planned to be on air. I graduated from college in May of 2001, but then I went to visit my family in New York City in September, and September 11th happened. I was eight hours away from my tiny TV station, so I started going live on TV for my station. When I got back my news director decided to take a chance on me, though he didn’t have to. He got a few racist emails because of this due to the amount of fear that had arisen and me being openly Pakistani. He could have easily pulled me off the air, but he supported me instead, which got me my on-air start.
My next TV job was in a bigger market and my news director then told me that I was not going to be on TV and he liked to remind me that I was hired as a producer, not a reporter. I was fine with this at the time because I didn’t even know if I wanted to be on TV. But three months later, I went to him and told him that I would be willing to go out on weekends and report my own stories and that I didn’t care whether they were aired or not or if I even got paid for them. But he put my stories on air and made me a reporter, and that’s how I got my next anchoring job. I was lucky enough to get one in Connecticut, closer to my family. I rose to the ranks and became one of the first Pakistani anchors in the country, moved closer to New York, and got a job at CBS. It all worked out in the end.
Gasimova: Given the event of 9/11 and the lack of representation when you first started, did you ever feel scared or that you wouldn’t be able to do this?
Doba: I was twenty-four or twenty-five back then, and I had blinders on. I was only focused on trying to do my job. I look back and ask myself how I did it. But all you need is a few people around who support you, and luckily I had that.
Gasimova: What is something about being a journalist that not a lot of people know?
Doba: It’s not very glamorous at all. There are amazing aspects of it. Yes, you’re on TV, but you’re standing in a blizzard, in a tornado. You’re interviewing people on the worst day of their lives, and you have to hold a microphone in their faces and ask them to tell you about this horrible ordeal that they have just been through. You have to know how to approach these types of situations. To be a good journalist, you have to be able to tell stories in an empathetic way.
Gasimova: Do you ever experience burnout and how do you deal with it?
Doba: One of the first memories I have of burnout within journalism was when I was reporting on the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. I’ve covered 9/11 and other horrific stories, but standing there and seeing parents who had just lost their children was tough. It’s important to surround yourself with good people and take a break from work. I love what I do, but when I go on vacation I don’t think about work or use my phone. I have to be conscious of my work-life balance.
Doba speaks on the benefits and cautions of social media.
Gasimova: Despite the downsides of things such as misinformation and lack of fact-checking, do you think social media is going to become our main source of news?
Doba: One hundred percent, and I wish I had access to it when I started. That being said, I am aware of the dangers of echo chambers and people only getting information from outfits that align with their political leanings, as that’s dangerous. But I can instantly find out about anything: What’s going on in Hawaii? Or Morocco? I can go onto social media pages and look at what these local reporters on the ground are saying, and I think that’s incredible. But the danger is that we keep hearing what we want to hear. But I also think it’s the reader’s job to do the research and see both sides before making an opinion. As people consume the news, it’s our responsibility to know fact from fiction.
Gasimova: What made you go with Cheddar News?
Doba: It was the biggest risk I ever took in my career. I had been at CBS for 20 years. I don’t want to say that it was starting to feel redundant by any means, but very formulaic. Cheddar was a breath of fresh air; it was one of the first OTT networks and not everyone is following suit. When you’re in traditional news, there’s very much an anchor look and an anchor face, and the way you talk. But OTT gives you a little bit more freedom; I had to be comfortable with myself and not just being a news anchor. I grew not only as a person, but as a journalist and it was truly one of the best decisions, yet biggest risks, that I’ve made in my career.
Gasimova: Looking at your experiences and all your achievements, what advice would you give to your younger self and young people pursuing journalism?
Doba: I hate saying this because it sounds so cliche, but be patient. It’ll work out, and I say this all the time. It falls into place. As far as advice, keep that journalistic integrity. Don’t try to be too tabloid-y, you know? Do what you’re comfortable with. Be responsible as a journalist, that’s all you can ask for.
Gasimova: I know you’re from Pakistan, do you ever visit or go back?Â
Doba: I haven’t gone in a few years, but I went every summer for 17–18 years. Growing up in New York City in Queens, as a kid, I hated it cause all my friends were going to Disney World or Hawai’i, and I was going to Pakistan. But now, I’ll say it again, best experience ever. Not only to become more global and see what another country is like, one so different from America which I’m so grateful for, but I learned more about my culture and other people. I became more fluent in my language, I can speak Urdu. Just to see the clothes and the culture and realize how beautiful my culture and religion is. Now I’m back in New York City, I go back to work, and that’s it. It’s kind of like a double life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
