WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian Weekly is pleased to announce the newest addition to its staff. Leeza Arakelian is a seasoned journalist, who has written and produced for local and network television news including Boston 25 and Al Jazeera America in Washington, D.C. A Los Angeles native and a graduate of UCLA, Arakelian moved to New England in 2010 to pursue a master’s in broadcast journalism at Emerson College. She has covered topics ranging from genocide recognition to autism.
Arakelian will be joining the Weekly as assistant editor, replacing Karine Vann, who assumed the role of editor in the months following the departure of Rupen Janbazian.
“As a journalist, I am incredibly humbled and grateful to join this long-standing, trusted institution in the Armenian community,” said Arakelian, who will be taking her sixth sense for glaring typos and transitioning from bustling camera-filled newsrooms to the storied archives of the Hairenik building. “I’m in a special place. I feel it every morning when I greet my colleagues with pari luys.”
Arakelian will be working with the editorial team to elevate the Weekly’s digital platforms with her multimedia background. In particular, she will focus on restarting the The Armenian Weekly Podcast, a new series launched in May that features interviews and insightful commentary from some of the community’s most influential voices.
Editors and assistant editors come to the paper with different experiences and approaches, which tap into the different needs of
the community at different times. It’s something amazingly organic,
which makes this paper truly unique.
“My hope is that I can serve as a compelling storyteller for the Weekly’s engaged readership and perpetuate its mission in delivering high-quality news coverage for the Diaspora.” Arakelian also wants to innovate. “Back in grad school, we learned how to execute a story as a one-man band. I’d love to hit the ground running in that capacity again. Every Armenian has something to say. I want to capture these stories on-camera from our schools, our churches, our homes, our kitchens, and our welcoming events.”
“The beauty of working in a newsroom like the Weekly’s is its scale,” said Vann, commenting on both her and Arakelian’s recent appointments, “As a small, community operation, the presence of just one additional team member is strongly felt. Editors and assistant editors come to the paper with different experiences and approaches, which tap into the different needs of the community at different times. It’s something amazingly organic, which makes this paper truly unique. I’m looking forward to building on Leeza’s strong foundations in the multimedia realm, and am very eager to see how the paper continues to develop as a trusted journalistic resource.”
George Aghjayan, chairman of the Central Committee for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s Eastern Region, who also serves on the editorial board at the Weekly, commented that he is looking forward to “keeping the quality high and moving the newspapers forward in this new millennium. We’re slowly, but surely building a sustainable future for the paper, all the while continuing to look for additional contributors and staff that will bring innovation, professionalism, and fresh, progressive perspectives.”
Though the Weekly has a strong track record of staffing women in leadership positions, this will be the first time in the newspaper’s history that the editorial team is made up solely of women.
Leeza lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts with her husband Sebouh, their son Alik, and dog Penny. If you have a story idea, please email her at leeza@armenianweekly.com. You can also follow her reporting on Twitter (@LeezaYeretzian).
The post Meet the Weekly’s New Editorial Line-Up appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Meet the Weekly’s New Editorial Line-Up
