Hadya Al Alawi
Abu Dhabi
Summary
Accomplished news editor and reporter with over 14 years of experience in in editorial leadership, content creation, and strategy development across multiple platforms, including television, digital, social media and print. My background with leading organisations such as BBC News, TRT World, and The National News has sharpened my editing skills in both English and Arabic. Proven expertise in managing the editorial process, mentoring writers to improve their storytelling and editorial skills. Adept at overseeing content creation from concept to publication, ensuring consistency in voice and tone while meeting organisational objectives.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
ASSISTANT FOREIGN EDITOR
The National News
03.2023 - Current
- Editorial Coordination & Management: Oversee the editorial process for news content, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and brand standards. Manage the workflow across teams, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality reports, op-eds, and articles.
- Copy Editing & Proofreading: Lead the editing and proofreading of editorial content, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and consistency across all publications. Review articles, news releases, and feature stories to meet editorial standards.
- Mentorship & Development: Mentor journalists and reporters in storytelling techniques and content development, helping them refine their writing skills and improve their editorial output.
- Content Strategy & Collaboration: Collaborate with different teams, including designers and content producers, to align editorial initiatives with organizational goals and strategies. Participate in planning discussions for high-impact stories and key editorial projects.
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND PRESENTER
TRT World
06.2021 - 03.2023
- Content Creation & Strategy: Contributed to the creation of original content, including articles, scripts, and social media posts, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives. Developed compelling news features that resonated with a global audience.
- Editorial Excellence: Led the editorial process for in-depth reports, ensuring clarity and consistency of messaging while managing tight deadlines.
- Content Production: Developed and managed multimedia content aimed at enhancing audience engagement and driving viewership across digital and broadcast platforms.
- Impactful Storytelling: Produced and scripted news reports and features across Europe and the Middle East, contributing to a notable increase in viewer engagement through high-quality, original journalism.
BILINGUAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT
BBC World News
06.2012 - 06.2021
- Field reporting: Developed and delivered high-impact bilingual news coverage for BBC World News and BBC Arabic, ensuring accuracy and context in complex breaking news events. Wrote and produced compelling and clear reports which focused on current affairs in the Middle East under tight deadlines, which garnered thousands of views, and emphasised the BBC’s credibility in Middle East reporting.
- In-Depth Analysis: Analysed and explained the context of headlines live on primetime news programs on the BBC, informing Arabic and English-speaking audiences on significant global events, and their political, socioeconomic and humanitarian impact.
- News presenting: Wrote and presented impactful and authoritative news segments and special reports on BBC News and BBC Arabic televisions, in English and Arabic. Worked across leading news programmes, including Newsnight, Hard Talk, Focus on Africa, and Global.
- Relationship Building: Obtained and verified exclusive information from officials, journalists and NGOs to create impactful stories and investigations. Built an extensive network of sources and contacts over a decade, collaborating regularly with internal and external partners to broaden the scope of the BBC’s coverage.
PROJECT LEADER
BBC Arabic Documentaries
09.2017 - 09.2018
- Innovative Storytelling: Led a groundbreaking digital project addressing Iraq's energy crisis, producing a first-of-its-kind documentary that garnered over 300K views, effectively communicating complex issues to a broad audience.
- Youth Engagement: Expanded youth engagement through strategic social media campaigns, creating interactive content that significantly boosted audience participation and interest in the subject matter.
- Editorial Judgment: Developed team structure and exercised critical editorial judgment in challenging environments, ensuring high-quality content production.
- Performance Analysis: Analysed audience engagement metrics to adjust project strategies, resulting in measurable increases in viewership and online interaction.
NEWS PLANNER
BBC Newsgathering and Planning
06.2011 - 06.2012
- Daily News Coordination: Planned the daily news agenda, coordinating with correspondents and editors to ensure comprehensive reporting on key events across the Middle East and globally.
- Strategic Coverage: Drove extensive coverage of significant political events, positioning BBC Arabic as a leading source for Middle East news and in-depth analyses on global news and developing stories.
- Trend Monitoring: Followed emerging news trends and stories, ensuring the organization remained at the forefront of important news and critical reporting.
MARKETING AND ENGAGEMENT JOURNALIST
BBC Marketing and Audiences
06.2010 - 06.2011
- Audience Strategy Development: Developed and executed innovative multimedia strategies that significantly boosted audience engagement and expanded global reach, enhancing brand visibility.
- Community Building: Played a key role in launching 'Global Minds,' fostering a thriving community for BBC's global news audience, attracting over 10,000 active members within the first three months.
- Data-Driven Insights: Designed and implemented targeted online campaigns, analyzing performance data to deliver actionable insights and strategies.
Education
GLOBAL DIPLOMACY INITIATIVE CERTIFICATE -
United Nations Institute For Training And Research
New York- USA05.2020
MASTER'S DEGREE (MA) - INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST JOURNALISM
Brunel University
London- UK01.2010
BACHELORS - TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING
Damascus University
Damascus- Syria09.2008
Timeline
ASSISTANT FOREIGN EDITOR
The National News
03.2023 - Current
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND PRESENTER
TRT World
06.2021 - 03.2023
PROJECT LEADER
BBC Arabic Documentaries
09.2017 - 09.2018
BILINGUAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT
BBC World News
06.2012 - 06.2021
NEWS PLANNER
BBC Newsgathering and Planning
06.2011 - 06.2012
MARKETING AND ENGAGEMENT JOURNALIST
BBC Marketing and Audiences
06.2010 - 06.2011
GLOBAL DIPLOMACY INITIATIVE CERTIFICATE -
United Nations Institute For Training And Research
MASTER'S DEGREE (MA) - INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST JOURNALISM
Brunel University
BACHELORS - TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING
Damascus University
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