Ep 8: Barbara Woolsey - Canadian Freelance Journalist (Reuters, Guardian, Telegraph, Lonely Planet Guidebooks)
Barbara Woolsey is a Canadian freelance journalist currently based in Berlin, Germany, and our guest for Episode 8 of the So This Is My Why podcast. She was raised on the Canadian prairies in a culturally-vibrant family. She is of Filipino, Scottish and Irish heritage - a unique background that meant that she was quite unlike anyone else she knew while growing up! We explore the question of identity, particularly as a first-generation immigrant in Canada, as well as her first exposure and reconciliation with the Filipino part of her identity while carrying out an internship with Bangkok Post - Thailand’s leading English daily. Prior to becoming a freelance journalist, Barbara worked for the Bangkok Post, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a television and radio reporter, and In Channel (formerly True Visions 92), a former English-language channel in Bangkok. Some of the things we discussed included: working in a country where she was not versed in the local language; and the realities of being on camera and being exposed to harsh criticism concerning her looks on social media. Life as a Freelance Journalist As a freelance journalist, Barbara has covered a wide range of topics, including lifestyle, culture, food, travel, and politics, for a variety of publications: Reuters, The Guardian, The Telegraph, USA Today, AFAR, Condé Nast Traveler, Tasting Table, Thrillist, Time Out, Roads & Kingdoms, Vice, and others. She has also interviewed a wide range of people including politicians, Berlin DJs, hotel maids, Venezuelan gang members, transgender sex workers in the Netherlands & Bernard Trink (who wrote weekly column “Nite Owl” for 40 years in Bangkok World - a publication then known as Bangkok Post) If you have ever wondered what it’s like to become a freelance journalist, then this is the episode for you! Other Topics Discussed: - How Barbara reinvented herself time and again while living in Thailand and therefore, Germany; - How she submerged herself in the local journalism scene; - How she uncovered writing opportunities for herself & established herself as a journalist; - Fees generated as a freelance journalist; - Some of her more “dangerous” writing assignments (hint: hanging out with Venezuelan gang members!); - How she crafted a work/life balance for herself; - How Barbara stands out with her writing; - The impact of COVID-19; and - Whether journalism work is done virtually is as good as when done in person. Fun Fact: Barbara has also emceed the Digital Innovation Awards (DIA) in Bangkok in 2013, and participated in a panel on travel journalism in 2014. And in 2018, she moderated the Digital Science Match, a gathering of over 1,000 science and tech specialists, put on by the German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel in Berlin. Show Notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/8