Esperance Ghanem on why she writes
Al-Monitor contributor Esperance Ghanem shares her thoughts on journalism.
Esperance Ghanem, a news anchor on Lebanese channel OTV, has been writing for Al-Monitor since August 2014. She previously worked as a newspaper and TV reporter, a correspondent in the Lebanese presidential palace and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as editor for the UN section of Al-Balad newspaper.
Al-Monitor: Why did you decide to become a journalist?
Ghanem: When I was 15 years old and started thinking of the career I want to pursue — and though my father was encouraging me to become an architect like him and my mother a lawyer like her — all I knew was that I don’t want an “office job” that makes me sit at a desk all day long, and that I like the kind of job that keeps me away from routine and requires continuous dealings and relationships with people. Besides, I had a tiny experience of journalism when I worked on my school magazine, which made me more convinced that this is the job that I want.
Al-Monitor: Did you have female role models to look up to when you were first starting out? Who?
