Conversation with Ruona J. Meyer

1. Tell us about yourself 

My name is Ruona J.Meyer. I am a Multi-media Journalist with 15 years’ experience in print, radio, wire agency and digital outlets across Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK. I have worked as a reporter, writer, editor, researcher, presenter, and producer. I have covered financial markets, business stories, development issues and feature articles as well as investigative journalism. I have had the privilege to be among the pioneer staff who set up the BBC’s groundbreaking Pidgin services. I have also worked for Reuters South Africa, Financial Times of London in London. I was with Battabox TV as their London correspondent. Prior to that, I worked with ThisDay and Next Newspapers in Nigeria. Currently, I live in Germany and work as a freelancer. I have a first degree in Microbiology from the University of Lagos and a post-graduate degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Wits University in South Africa as well as a Masters in broadcast journalism from the University of Westminster in the UK. I have several awards but the two I am most proud of is being the only Nigerian to win the Reuters’ Niall Fitzgerald Prize for Young African Journalists in 2010. The second is the Investigative Journalist award of the year I bagged in 2013 from the Wole Soyinka Centre for investigative journalism.

2. What do you like most about what you do?

I like the way journalism forces change to society. I like the way it changes a human life and makes things better for people. I love the result; the way text leaves that page and causes a change in society makes everything worth it. I like the fact that journalism keeps changing. I am not the journalist I was in terms of skill and outlook five or 10 years ago, it is an ever-changing job and that is what I love about it.

3. How did you become a journalist?

I had this notebook where I used to write what I felt about many events. (I still have it somewhere). My father stumbled on the book and asked that I lend it to him. Apparently, he showed it to all his friends to hear their feedback since he didn’t want to think that he was biased. They all agreed that it was good and suggested that he allow me to become a journalist. A month later, I was told that everything in that book was going to be published as a series of columns in ThisDay every Saturday. That was how I started my first job as a columnist.

4. What are the challenges you have encountered working as a woman in media and how did you handle them?

One of the challenges is sexism where gender is used as a barrier to prevent women from taking on assignments. The second will be gender-inspired unprofessionalism where colleagues of both sexes feel a woman should be undermined no matter her position or what she brings to the table. The third will be ageism where being younger or in my case looking young is automatically seen as inexperience or a character flaw. For sexism, I simply prove my ability, take on stories of any nature and do not use my gender as an excuse to get out of doing my share of the work. Many women use gender as an excuse saying “you know I am a woman, I can’t do that”. This affects them when they are actually ready to do the work because that is what others will use against them. I like to get on with the work. With gender-inspired professionalism, I am very stubborn so if something needs to be done, we are going to do it. Whether you are male or female, we will be professional; we will uphold the high standards of journalism. I don’t give up, I give it my all. It causes some tension from time to time. When people see the result, they tend to understand my method. For ageism, it is a blessing to be considered young. I am a bit more understanding because it is a cultural thing. People do that unknowingly and don’t even think they are doing a bad thing. Some of them say it with their words, body language or tone. Statements like “you small girl” fly around. I understand where it comes from and I don’t let it get to me. Some of them also call me a liar saying it is impossible for me to have 15 years’ experience because of my age. I actually started this work early and I don’t bother myself with the math. The way I handle it is to avoid letting it bother me and I don’t budge.

5. How do you juggle your personal time and your job expectations?

I am still struggling with this; I consider my job everything because it feels personal to me. My stories feel like children to me. I try to slow it down from time to time by taking time off my phone and also ensuring that (as a freelancer) I don’t take on too much at a time but when I am working on a story, there is no juggling as I give it my all until I am done with it. Journalism is like a hobby for me and I enjoy it so I am still struggling to achieve that balance.

6. What are the hidden challenges of investigative journalism and how can a newbie navigate through same?

One of the hidden challenges is gender. For a lot of hard-hitting stories especially the ones that include criminal activity, women may not be able to get access we get scrutinized more and questions like “who is she?” “Where is she from?” will be asked endlessly but it is easier for men because their gender favours them. That is not to say that there are not special stories that require only women to take on. You must be aware that your gender might come in the way so you can switch roles and allow a man do it without getting emotional about it (think about the greater good). Also, law enforcement in this part of the world is not at the stage that it should be because you don’t have that safety net. You must have a backup plan in case the security fails. Ask yourself if you can live with the consequences of things going bad. The third will be that investigative journalism is not given the money it deserves. It takes time and money to check things and edit or present a story professionally. Understandably, some media houses are still struggling to pay staff and cannot afford to sponsor investigations and the external parties who invest or sponsor may have vested interests which can affect the methods and final tone of the story. As a newbie, you must prepare yourself for these challenges and find the best way to fund your investigation and make the process as independent as possible so the story comes out as true to what moved you to report this story in the first place. Another thing is that people pitch stories that are not from the heart. If a story does not make you ask why personally or tug at your heartstrings, then you will not really go all out to ask others questions and try to do something about it. A newbie must look for stories that affect them as it is the native intelligence that will serve one well to find a way out if there are twists and turns (as there are challenges of sources keeping quiet or you getting threats). You must make sure that story part of you and ensure it is a story that you are willing to go all out for.

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