'This is a very exciting time to be a journalist'

Every fortnight, Tabloid features a local media personality, to better understand their professions, their careers and of course the persons. Today: Laila Al Shaikhli, presenter with Abu Dhabi Television

Even though this interview was done over the telephone it was not at all hard to imagine Laila Al Shaikhli, a well-known presenter with Abu Dhabi Television, gesticulating naturally to her articulate responses.

With a degree in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, Al Shaikhli said she stumbled upon the media as a profession.

"It was purely by chance that I was in DC [Washington] when a private Arabic station wanted to start broadcasting to audiences in North America and Latin America," she said.

Part of a young team of just 13 members, Al Shaikhli said that the few years she spent in the US working at getting the channel on air and subsequently becoming a part of its programming team were enough to get her hooked to television.

The first job

"We're talking about 1991," she said, before she talked of the enormous difficulties the team experienced in order to get the Arab Network of America (ANA) on air.

"Everyone had heard of the powerful Jewish lobby within American media, but I think while trying to get the ANA started, we experienced it first hand and also heard many incidents from other ethnic minorities about difficulties they had experienced," she said.

Once the ANA began transmission, Al Shaikhli said a new set of challenges were brought to the forefront in the form of understanding the medium, news analysis and programming news.

"There was a lot to learn in terms of prioritising news. How does a programmer decide what to mention and when to mention it? The more time I spent working on these aspects it hit me that this profession is such a powerful tool especially towards shaping public opinion," she said.

A career move to the BBC's World Service also saw Al Shaikhli physically relocate to London, which she attributes as a key period in her life.

"The training of the BBC is just incredible," she said, recollecting days when she would have to take on the responsibilities of various aspects of production as part of her orientation.

"It taught me to respect every job within television as an important role and made me realise how much of a team effort it is," she said.

The unfortunate closing down of the department she was associated with prompted a move to MBC in London and then brought her to the UAE capital, where she has been for the last five years.

Political reporting

Throughout Al Shaikhli's television career, she has almost always been closely involved with political reporting and programmes on political analysis.

Though she has presented and worked on a breakfast show along the lines of Good Morning America that featured guests from different walks of life, Al Shaikhli does not hesitate to admit that politics is her passion.

"Especially in today's Arab world, where the media has an exceptional role to play. This is a very exciting time to be a journalist in this region," she said.

Al Shaikhli's area of expertise lies in interviewing politicians and also moderating live call-ins by viewers wishing to pose questions to the guest.

"I remember a decade ago, just getting a politician on such a live talk show was a close to impossible task," she said.

However, increased levels of exposure and the emergence of the media savvy politician have eliminated this obstacle.

"Even the profile of callers has changed. There used to be a time when callers would be enamoured by just hearing their voice live on TV and it would require a lot of prompting and persuasion before they finally asked their question. That's reduced a lot now thanks to awareness and accessibility to information," she said.

A mother

It is this widespread access to facts and figures that allows Al Shaikhli to maintain flexible timings so she can spend time with her 15-month old baby.

"I present on two programmes (Panorama and Al Madar), but there's a lot of research that goes into these shows, so it really is a full-time job," she said.

Al Shaikhli admits that there are times when she has to confront the seasoned diplomat, who pretends that all is well, when everyone around knows the reality.

"Of course it happens, but that's where TV as a medium really helps, as the body language of the guest is a dead giveaway as to what he or she really thinks," she said.

With a range of high-profile individuals as part of her interview portfolio, it is former South African President Nelson Mandela that she respects the most. "His humility and realness was astounding. For Mandela everyone really is equal and he just gives out so much warmth and goodness," she said.

Her half Dutch half Iraqi parentage and American passport might make Laila Al Shaikhli seem a bit of a mixture, but the question of identities does not arise for this Iraqi-American whose only quest is truth.