Maneeza Iqbal

Background

About Maneeza Iqbal

My experience working on websites can be best explained by what I learned about cooking. Once you tried some sort of a recipe, you're good to add your own flavor. That's what I do in the newsroom. I try something new, see what works and then tweak. Don't forget to repeat. I have worked in online news for more than a decade and have been part of the changing news landscape as online storytelling took on different forms and social media became a bigger part in storytelling and reaching audiences. I learned the key to growth in online news is to be ready to throw everything you know out the window and start over. I’m always ready to rethink tactics and develop strategies to keep the audience engaged and excited. I won the 2018 regional Edward R. Murrow award in innovation for my 360 video project. In February 2019, I was honored to be part of the Women in Digital Media Leadership Academy at Poynter, where I learned skills to further my leadership style. I have spoken on several panels about social media and strategies to grow audiences. My passion is media diversity. I became interested in news while in high school when I realized the lack of representation led to Islamophobic storytelling and directly impacted the way others treated people in my community. During my career, I saw how lack of newsroom diversity not only hurt the audience but the newsroom as well. I make it a point to educate the newsroom about better ways to cover historically magrinalized groups, lend an ear and shoulder to journalists of color I work with and take hard stances, even with management, when coverage mistakes are made and how we can be better in the future. I'm skilled in cross training. I love teaching others in the newsroom news skills, tools and strategies so they can not only grow their brand, but also the newsroom's brand. See examples of my work at maneezaiqbal.com