Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, has been the focus of Joanna Lillis' reporting for almost 20 years.
Some University of Arizona journalism students heard about the challenges of reporting the news from an international perspective Monday.
They attended a talk by reporter Joanna Lillis, a veteran of news coverage in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. UA student Hasan Almaghaslah is from the Middle East, and was one of the students in the audience for Lillis. Almaghaslah said he sometimes considers the danger of working as a reporter in the region, in light of the silencing of Arab journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
International journalist Joanna Lillis, left, speaks with University of Journalism professor Maggy Zanger at the UA Bookstore Feb. 4."It's about the message you are trying to send, the voice you are trying to focus on, and trying to express," he said. "They are important as well."
Lillis, invited to UA by the School of Journalism, said it's important for students to understand the importance of standing up for truth, at home and overseas, "and how important it is to be a fair and objective journalist and not sell your soul and report for an outlet that peddles fake news," she said.
Lillis has worked for the BBC World Service, and has contributed to coverage of the former Soviet Union by British newspapers The Independent, The Guardian, and The Economist.
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