An interview with Luba Kassova and Camilla Byk
By Clara Hammond
Episode 3 of ‘Behind The Headlines’, transports us into the future of journalism, new platforms for independent journalism such as Substack, the growth of AI, and how the industry is changing for the next generation of reporters and writers. We will look at how the voices of everyday people and journalists affect policy in the world around us, and at what changes need to be made, to support younger journalists in this increasingly turbulent time.
Our guests for this episode, Luba Kassova and Camilla Byk, are both navigating fascinating evolutions in their careers. Luba, a researcher and co-founder of the consultancy AKAS, recently saw her Guardian piece on deepfake ethics influence legislation in the California Senate. Yet, her path into journalism was deeply personal; she describes her move into the field as a “choice of expression over depression” during a midlife crisis.
Similarly, Camilla Byk is a master of professional reinvention. As the co-founder of Podium.me, she has spent years amplifying young voices in journalism, but her own journey has seen her move from documentary production into the creative world of audio drama. Whether it’s Luba finding a new home for her reflections on Substack or Camilla exploring new audio landscapes, both women exemplify how career highlights are often born from a willingness to change direction.
New Platforms And Storytelling
With social media at the forefront of most of our lives, it seems that we’re losing our grips with literature and art. With writing and storytelling being perhaps one of our most primal forms of communication and connection, it’s unsettling to witness the brainrot, doomscroll tiktokification of our everyday lives. Human connection is dwindling, and conversation between young people grows less and less about connection and understanding. It has become sparse and tiresome, as if the act of back-and-forth chit chat is now a chore. However, whilst the “anxiety generation” grows increasingly more online, it seems that journalism is perhaps becoming more accessible, with platforms like Substack growing in popularity.
Substack creates a space for people to write and publish work, as well as providing grounds for editors to seek out writers. “I’ve only been on there since June last year,” said Luba, “but I do feel as if it’s rewiring my brain, I feel I’m more eloquent, because I write so much more.” Could platforms like Substack be the answer to Gen Zs stunted socialisation skills? By further engaging ourselves with writing and literature, perhaps we could save ourselves from the crippling anxiety of existing in today’s political climate.
Camilla’s work with young people is fantastically responsive, and is often led by what the young person chooses to do. In the last 6 years, Podium.me has moved into different areas of storytelling, and has produced five audio plays set during COVID, which were then broadcast across 14 regional stations in the UK. Camilla then went on to do an assembly at Global Academy in West London, which is where a student pitched her an idea for a sitcom they had written. Camilla has begun work on the sitcom, with a 14 person crew made up of young people. “It just shows”, she said, “how if you are responsive to people’s ideas, amazing things can happen,” reflecting on how listening to the voices of young people often is the simplest yet most effective action.
As well as this, Camilla also reflects on how she is noticing a change in the stories that young people want to report on at the moment. Many are leaning into academic pitches or social experiments, with one student even asking his friends to give up their phones or social media for a month and write an article about what happens if we disconnect for just a tiny bit. The topics are certainly less frivolous, and this perhaps is another reflection of what the work young people can achieve when their ideas are listened to with respect and given serious consideration. Too often, teenagers and young people’s work is disregarded or trivialised, leaving many fantastic ideas lost.
Challenges Shaping Journalism Today
In today’s political climate, it can become incredibly overwhelming to remain consistently up to date with the news. It can feel at the moment, as if we are on a cascading avalanche of atrocities and devastation, as we jump from one disaster to the next. Luba cautions how imperative it is to be able to step away from that and take time for yourself “especially if you’re a journalist, because otherwise we really risk collapsing”. With journalists playing such an important role in the way that society perceives the world around them, Luba reminds us that it is vital for us to protect our mental health as well as our physical health.
She also shared her fears of the rapid growth of AI. “You no longer know what’s real because it could be AI produced”. As AI becomes increasingly more sophisticated and accessible, Luba reminds us that it is important for journalists to remember why they started writing in the first place.
Camilla shares similar fears of AI, highlighting the fact that human listening remains central to journalism. “The way I teach interview technique is about following the tangent. So the interviewer will have an idea about how they want to start an interview, but it’s not their job to read out their five questions in sequence. It’s their job to follow where the interviewee is going. And those are the kinds of stories we want to tell. […] so AI, as far as I know, in a live interview, can’t do that for you.”
Camilla also shared that the news can become overwhelming for her when she works, and that she equally reminds herself to take a step back from time to time. She spoke about the future for young journalists, and how despite how bleak the world may seem at the moment, the future of journalism is bright. She told a student to “create a narrative for yourself, that doesn’t need to be influenced by statistics, because at the end of the day, statistics only reflect the current situation. They can’t predict into the future. So you can always change that statistic.”
Advice To Young Journalists
When looking at the future of journalism, Camilla noted the confidence issues that seem to be growing within Gen Z journalists. Whilst she said they are often fully equipped with a wide skill set to use in the industry, it seems that they are unsure if they have earnt their place. She said it is important for young journalists to remember that “you have a space at the table”, and that you must be present in real life, not just online.
Similarly, Luba said the most important thing is to focus on “passion, competence, and humanity”, and in a world that feels increasingly cruel by the day, it is important to remember that at the heart of journalism, is people, and we write to share voices that may not be heard otherwise. Luba identifies “passion, competence, and humanity” as the three pillars of impactful journalism. While the work itself is about amplifying the voices of others, she maintains that entering the industry requires a sharp sense of self advocacy. To bridge the gap in an interview, she suggests framing your skills as a solution for the employer: “Write what you can do for the company- not what it can do for you.”
Representation And Gender Inequality
Whilst many may feel we’ve come a long way in terms of representation within news and media, often there are far too many women written out of history completely. Luba cautions that representation is in fact getting far worse, as people become less willing to record data which represents women’s achievements and the increasing gender gap across so many sectors and industries. In order to even begin to reach gender equality in the media, Luba said that we must “advocate, keep on counting;[…] go back to the basics of recording statistics”, to make sure that women do not disappear from history.
What Keeps Journalism Meaningful
Both Camilla and Luba suggest that stories grounded in real human experience is what keeps journalism meaningful to society. It is the voice that we give to people around us that keeps the career of journalists alive. Camilla looks at the importance of longevity when creating stories. “Today’s story is also next year’s story. And it’s also a story in 10 years time. That’s what reminds me that journalism matters, because it always mattered, and it always will matter. And you’re just a little part of it, helping those stories to be told and not forgotten.”
Luba argues that connection and attention are keeping journalism meaningful in this extreme digital age, and as she beautifully put it “Attention is the biggest gift we can give each other.”
Hope, Joy, and Inspiration
Ilaria Biancacci, founder of Wempower concluded the interview with a question “Where do you still find joy, hope, and inspiration in your work” and for both Luba and Camilla, hope can be found in the next generation of journalists, regardless of anything else happening in the world at the moment. Camilla speaks about the young people whom she works so closely with, and how she believes that their work will have a positive impact on the future of journalism.
Similarly, Luba talks about Gen Z’s rejection of digital and belief in collective good. It seems that despite Gen Z’s apparent confidence issues, as a generation, they are fantastically well equipped for what the future may hold for them, and seemingly have the whole world at their disposal. “It’s a big, beautiful world, mostly full of good people,” concludes Luba.
