Award-winning international journalist Lyse Doucet took a break from reporting to share tips and take questions from aspiring journalists at the University of Arizona Thursday evening.

Doucet, the British Broadcast Corporation's chief international correspondent, was honored for her work Friday night at the school of journalism’s Zenger Award for Press Freedom banquet.

The UA announced Doucet’s award last fall, but she was unable to accept the honor, as she was called to report on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Before Friday night’s award ceremony, Doucet met with a small group of students at the school of journalism, telling them about easy and hard parts of reporting on the conflict.

She said one of the easier parts is that there are English-speaking spokespeople for every ministry who are available around the clock.

But the suffering she has witnessed during her career weighs heavily on her heart. 

“It is the hardest conflict to cover because of the scrutiny,” she said of the current conflict in the MIddle East. “The social media war was the most painful I’ve ever gone through. The pain, of course,is nothing compared to the people who are directly affected by it. ut as a journalist you feel that you are under a microscope. ”

Doucet said people often see bias in the reporting on both sides of the conflict, adding that while she and her colleagues work hard to uphold journalistic integrity and remain unbiased, the “trolls” on social media often fail to see these efforts. 

“They don't even listen or watch (our) reports.” she said.

She spoke about her travels to Northern Iraq to talk to the Yazidi community, people she describes as very insular.

The Islamic Army had invaded their homes, inflicting violent crimes, dispersing families and subjecting women to rape and enslavement.

Many of these women were forced to marry Islamic state fighters, which is a violation of the Yazidi community’s strict customs against marrying outside of their faith.

Doucet told her producer that she would not talk to these women unless they were absolutely sure they would use their stories, because she didn’t want them to relive their trauma.

She believes that her mission as a journalist is not to give a voice to the voiceless, because everyone has a voice, but instead to amplify their voices. 

“The Yazidi community believed in telling their story to the community that the world would come and help to resolve their story,” she said. “They talked about the rape, they talked about the kidnapping, and they talked about the disappeared. And I would just sit there and let them tell their story.” 

Doucet offered mental health tips to the students, stressing the importance of knowing when to take a step back.

She said that to maintain her own mental well being, she travels with essential oils, a tea kettle, and her favorite tea. When she returns home she stays away from the news and listens to classical music.

When people ask if she feels guilty about her good fortune in being able to safely return to London, she confidently replies that she does not. 

“We live with so many gifts and I know it might sound a bit cheesy, but I live with such gratitude all the time,” Doucet said.

McKenna Manzo is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at mckennamanzo@arizona.edu.

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