CNN’s Maria Ebrahimji Talks Media and More

March 23, 2010

Imagine that you were assigned one day in your life, where your task is to gather up all of the world’s greatest minds in one giant room. Artists, experts, thought leaders, writers, business leaders and celebrities, are all at your disposal to talk about the events happening in the world and discuss their insights. In one corner – Posh Spice. In the other – say, Colin Powell.

Now, imagine that room is CNN, and you’re doing this not one day, but every day. This is the life of Maria Ebrahmiji.

As CNN’s Director and Executive Editorial Producer for Network Booking, Maria spends her days producing guest coverage, newsgathering, and story planning for CNN’s special events, breaking news, and multi-platform programming. A true journalist by training, Ebrahimji is a driving force behind making sure CNN stays true to its “most trusted name in news” moniker.

As a Muslim-American woman, Maria is also working on a book on the Muslim-American experience. We chatted with her recently about her work and plans.

elan: How did you begin your career in journalism?

I wanted to be a journalist since I was in middle school. I didn’t watch CNN too much when I was growing up, but there was a news anchor, Andrea Arceneaux, at the local NBC affiliate that I looked up to. She was one of the most smart, beautiful and articulate people on TV. My goal was to become like her – a TV news anchor, and a great journalist.

e: How did you get your start at CNN?

I was first riveted with CNN during the coverage when Princess Diana passed away. I knew that a real editorial voice was as a producer, and I didn’t want to be concerned with the aesthetics of broadcasting. I have been at CNN going on 12 years. I began my career here and haven’t really known anything else.

e: What advice do you have for aspiring journalists?

Journalism is built on a foundation of natural curiosity. Journalism school teachers would cringe if they heard this, but you don’t need to go to school. It’s more advantageous to be naturally curious. Cultivating contacts is also one of the most important aspects. In my role, we are constantly looking for sources who can comment on the news and inform about on-air newsgathering. This is one of the most crucial parts of becoming a journalist, regardless of where you work.

e: What challenges do Muslims face, particularly with media representations?

I have worked on many stories with Muslim-Americans. I serve as an in-house expert, among many other people. One of the biggest challenges that I have seen when I am interacting with the Muslim-American community on the media and professional level is they are just now finding their voice. It hasn’t necessarily been tradition to pursue careers that are beyond the fields of science or law in these communities. Pre 9-11 you can never pursue those careers. But post 9-11 these generations realized they do have their own voice. Our parents’ generations were more interested in building the American dream, and they were not concerned with how they are perceived. They were building mosques, etc. Now we feel more in tune with our American identity and Muslim identity, and the challenge continues to be brave enough and courageous enough to share those experiences with others.

e: How do you feel about the way that Muslims are represented in the media?

I covered the Muslim-American reaction to 9-11. There was a lot of fear at the time. Because I am the head of the interview department, I know that we only reach out to Muslims when there are terrorism stories. I feel that we in the media also have a responsibility to be a little bit more global and fluid in terms of our reporting holistically.

But, I think the mainstream media is moving more in that direction because there are more people from the Muslim community who are integrating with the mainstream media. The advent of social media and blogging has made people more accessible to the media. It’s easier for the media to become more close to those people – examples include One Nation and Unity Productions. When you have people like Dalia Mogahaed and Eboo Patel sitting on the President’s faith council shows, you know we’ve come a long way.

e: That leads me to my next question. What effect do you see of online and social media for the future of journalism?

Social media has empowered all communities, not just Muslims. Even just ethnic media in very small places, and towns around the country are really succeeding and growing. What’s really interesting is that social media is taking a water-cooler conversation and elevating it to something that the mainstream media is tapping into.

e: As members of the Muslim media, we hear a lot about how this community needs to find its voice and create its own stories, and not necessarily always rely on the mainstream to tell us about our communities. What are your thoughts on that?

I am going to push back on you a little on that one. I truly recognize [the importance of] the Muslim media, but one of the ways to normalize someone and to get rid of the stigmas is to become a part of the mainstream. For example, if I were to book Dr. Muhammad on CNN to talk about pediatric AIDS, think about the number of stereotypes that would be gone just by that person’s name being on the screen. There is obviously a need for niche media and niche communicating, and presentation is everything. What we can all do as Muslims or any community, especially when dealing with American media, is to talk about how our community relates to the larger community

e: What’s the best part about working at a media organization as large and internationally renowned as CNN?

The best part, from the interview perspective, is that our brand speaks for itself. It’s a lot easier to say you are calling from CNN than say a local station. The brand itself is advantageous, but we have a huge burden of responsibility to uphold the brand well and make sure we are adhering to that.

e: What has been the biggest challenge for you in your role?

The biggest challenge is that often times we are expected to cover everything. There is so much that we would like to cover, and sometimes I get discouraged that we are often covering the same story and the same people. The challenge is to make sure we have a variety of points of views represented on the air.

e: I read that you are working on a book about Muslim American women. Tell us about that.

I have been working to edit a collection of essays written by American-born Muslim women under the age of 40. It represents a wide variety of voices, women from all different walks of life and backgrounds, who are all born and raised Muslim.

e: Who is one of the best people you’ve booked or worked with during your time at CNN?

I know you were going to ask that! It is so hard for me to answer that. I have literally booked thousands of people. I can’t really say that I’ve had favorites. I’ve been to Davos and literally hung out with Colonel Gaddafi’s son. This is just one example of the depth and breadth of experiences that CNN has enabled me to have.

e: Who is your dream interview with?

I have been dying to interview the President of Egypt for 5 or 6 years now. I would also love for CNN to interview Nelson Mandela again. I am fascinated with international news, and I am fascinated with people doing interesting things here in the United States. I really respect people like Indra who’s the head of Pepsi, yet also demonstrates social responsibility. I would love to have a panel with her. I also believe it’s not about one interview, it’s about the conversation on air.

Some of the most interesting people that we meet are the real people. I can’t tell you how inspired I was when we covered the story in Haiti. Everyday I was talking with people who had lost relatives and hearing those stories made me aware of the responsibility I had as a journalist. I don’t have a single picture in my office of anyone I have met or interviewed. I log all that in my brain and I view every person I meet as an important opportunity.

e: Who or what inspires you?

9-11 inspired me in so many ways. It invigorated me as a person, and made me want to learn more about my faith, and also be a better journalist. I was very young in my career at CNN when 9-11 happened. What I am humbled by is that I do have a bit more of a leadership role here and I feel respect and acknowledgement amongst my colleagues. I speak to a lot of groups about coverage of Islam and media, in 2001 I was one of maybe several dozen if not less in that American Muslim women working in mainstream media. I am really proud of that. I think of 9-11inspired a lot of people to find their voice.

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