Editor-in-chief: 'A journalist must be not only a professional in his field, but also a good person'

In their pursuit of news, most journalists forget to search interesting stories from the lives of ordinary people, editor-in-chief of the Media.az information portal Jamila Alakbarova said at a meeting with students of the Report Media School.

"During business trips, I always tried to look for interesting interlocutors. Readers are interested in stories from the lives of ordinary people, their problems, experiences," she said.

Alakbarova also shared her experience in the field of journalism.

"I couldn't enter the Faculty of International Relations and got into journalism out of my own free will, but now I don't regret it at all. I am obsessed with my profession. To become a good journalist, you need to love your job, because without love for it you can reach professional 'burnout', because we have to work without weekends and holidays," said the editor-in-chief.

She also emphasized that the principles of journalism should not contradict humanity.

"A journalist must be not only a professional in his field, but also a good person. It is important to be honest with yourself," she emphasized.

Alakbarova also shared her experience and advice in conducting interviews: "You must be able to win your interlocutor's trust. To do this, you need to go to the interview prepared, study the interlocutor and be sure to listen to him, because often questions follow from the answers."

Jamila Alakbarova graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Azerbaijani Philology of the Baku Slavic University with honors in 2012. Until 2018, she worked as a journalist, senior correspondent, and political observer at the Echo newspaper. In 2018, she worked at Media.az as a journalist. From 2022 to the present day, she has held the position of editor-in-chief of the same website.

In 2020, she was awarded the "Honorary Diploma of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan."