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What I’ve Learned: Jessica Washington, journalist
Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington has reported everything from the measles outbreak in Samoa, the 2019 bushfires in Australia, the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia, and the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster.
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Down under: Jessica Washington in Australia, reporting on the bushfires (Courtesy of Jessica Washington) (Archive/Courtesy of Jessica Washington)
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hat I’ve Learned is a new column that presents candid interviews with policymakers, artists, activists and businesspeople on facing challenges and making a difference.
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Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington lives and breathes the news. The Jakarta-based correspondent has reported on the measles outbreak in Samoa, the 2019 bushfires in Australia, the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia, the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster, as well as various natural disasters. She joined Al Jazeera in 2019.
Today we talk with Jes about whether she sees reporting as a form of activism, what it is like to cover a tragedy on the ground in real time, and why she remembers everyone she has ever interviewed.
Journalists see situations and people in some dark times, and they approach us with the mindset that asks what we can contribute to a situation. I don’t know if that is activism so much as an amplification of voices.
We as international media can broadcast those voices. There are already activists out there, trying to make changes in their communities. International media can be a platform for discussing those issues in a nuanced way, and amplifying voices.
When we are covering a tragedy, we are likely meeting people on the worst day of their lives, and I am always aware of that. I like to approach things with this question in mind: “If this were my family, how would I want them to be treated?”
