PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Sept 2012- Present                          Freelance Journalist based in the United Kingdom

• Reporting for a national radio in Mexico, MVS Radio, with live broadcasts, recorded features, interviews and press conferences.

• Writing features for media outlets such as yourmiddleeast.com and media4change, with a special focus on human rights, conflicts, and Middle East and North African (MENA) stories, and writing in a clear, concise and engaging way for the target audience.

• Building and developing new contacts and media relations with editors from scratch to a good level to get my articles published, adapting to each media’s style, criteria and design.

• Proofreading, editing and translating articles from English to Spanish for the content service company Quill, following briefs to meet client expectations such as Arsenal.

Feb 2013- Feb 2014              Communications Assistant at Media Diversity Institute (MDI)

• Researching material and writing articles on media reporting on diversity, inclusion and human rights for MDI website. For example: An analysis of the media coverage in the UK of Romanians and Bulgarians possible ‘influx’, Refugee Day: How to report on refugees and migration.

• Researching material and producing studies on media coverage of diversity. For example: ‘Study of diversity and inclusive media approaches in South East Europe during the Yugoslavian wars’.

• Updating MDI website with media news, training courses and conferences on diversity and media such as sexism in the mainstream media or British media lack to include ethnic minority groups in their stories. 

• Maintaining and updating MDI social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Channel) with articles to increase the number of followers and visits.

• Producing a monthly newsletter with the most important MDI stories and activities to be sent to our list of contacts (over 2000) from the media, to past and present partners, NGOS, civil organisations and governmental and international institutions around the world.

• Producing pieces of information for proposals, evaluations and final reports for international donors.

April 2010- Sep 2012                 Editor- Radio journalist  MERNET (Mediterranean Resources Network)

•Writing special features on issues from the MENA such as the situation of freedom of press in Egypt after the Egyptian uprising.

•Planning the contents of a monthly Newsletter and a 2 hours radio programme with a multinational team. Organising social events such as festivals, fairs and film screenings.

•Researching, producing, presenting, interviewing and recording for the weekly radio show, Radio Mernet, including exclusive airtime on the MENA.  For example, UNESCO celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2013. The radio programme can be listened to here (in Spanish).

Jan 2010- Feb 2010                         Internship at BBC MUNDO (World Wide Service)

• Obtained a deep knowledge of the needs and priorities of a newsroom.

• Developed writing skills producing original features and providing different angles to add value and refresh the contents of the website.

June 2008- Sep 2008                     EFE Press News (main news agency in Spain)

• Improved analytical skills- produced news bulletins every hour selecting the most important news to be broadcasted with an accurate and precise use of words.

• Prepared features with audio and assessed the most important points in a short amount of time to be broadcasted.

June 2007- Sep 2007                      COPE Radio (national radio in Spain)

• Entrusted with the hosting of the radio show “La Mañana”, a 2-hour programme dedicated to providing political and cultural news.

Jan 2007- May 2007                        GLOBOFM (local radio in Madrid)

• Working mainly in the street, covering local news and under pressure to produce reports every hour.

• Covered the local elections with live reports from several towns and evaluated the political results.

June 2006- Sep 2006                      Crónica del Sureste (local newspaper)

• Learnt the fundamentals of journalism at a local newspaper with daily coverage of what had happened in the county, attending press conferences, cultural events and producing vox pop.

• Had the opportunity to be creative finding a different topic for the front page of the newspaper and producing lightly and entertaining articles.

EDUCATION

2010-2012 MA in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King’s College London

Modules include: A history of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and State Builders, Revolutionaries, and Reactionaries: Makers of the Contemporary Middle East.

Dissertation: ‘New Egypt, Old Peace: Egyptian-Israeli Peace and the Revolution’

• Developed research skills to access primary sources (archives, memoirs, newspapers), database, and academic articles on the subject.

• Interviewed members of the Muslim Brotherhood, 6 April Movement and human rights organisations in Egypt.

• In-depth analysis of the history and politics in the region, specially looking particularly at the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the role of Egypt from the 19th century to the present day.

2004-2008 BA in Journalism, Carlos III University, Madrid (Spain)

• Writing skills for different media (press, radio, TV) with detail to accuracy and originality.

• Teamwork- part of a 4-8 person team to create a 1 hour radio programme, 16 pages of a newspaper, 30 minutes of a TV show and design an art magazine.

OTHER SKILLS

• Languages: Native Spanish, Fluent English, and Basic Arabic.

• IT: MS Office (Advance), Internet (Advance), social media and blogs (Advance).

• Editing programs: Design and Publish: Quark Xpress (Advance), Audio: Audacity (Advance), Video: Pinacle and Structure (Intermediate), Image: PhotoShop (Basic).

• Courses: Hate Speech and Human Rights, funded by European Commission, Lithuania; Interpretation and Dubbing, Complutense University, Madrid, 100 hours; AVID News Cutter, Ondas Escolares, Madrid, 80 hours. Course on Interpretation and Dubbing. Complutense University.