JRMC 2202 Audio assignment
Interview transcript
Interviewer: Rawan Ibrahim
Interviewee: Marwa Al-Mut’afy
Place: Interviewee’s office
Room 1068
Department Of Journalism And Mass Communication
Abdul Latif Jameel Hall (JAMEEL)
The American University In Cairo (AUC), New Cairo Campus.
Cairo, Egypt.
Professor: Kim Fox
Date conducted the Interview: 16/10/2014
Date completed: 19/10/2014
Rawan Ibrahim
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Persons present: Rawan Ibrahim (Interviewer)
Marwa Al-Mut’afy (Interviewee)
Ibrahim: Hi this Rawan Ibrahim I will be conducting an interview with Doctor
Marwa Al-Mut'afy uh h she is... her age is between 30 and 40 range. And she’s she
use to be a student here at AUC. She graduated from AUC, and she now works as
professor at AUC in the uh h the JRMC department. So, hello doctor.
Al-Mut’afy: Hello Rawan how are you?
Ibrahim: I'm fine, how are you?
Al-Mut’afy: I'm fine, thank you.
Ibrahim: okay, doctor umm… before being a professor here at AUC you were a
student.
Al-Mut’afy: uh mm…
Ibrahim: And you graduated here from here. umm… how was it for you? Like your
experience?
Al-Mut’afy: I use to live outside of Egypt all my life. So moving to back to Cairo and
going Enrolling at AUC was life-changing experience all together for me. I had no
friends, I didn't know anybody in my classes, I had to start from zero. So, AUC was
more of social and academic experience for me both in the same time.
Ibrahim: umm…
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Al-Mut’afy: And I managed to declare Journalism Mass Communication, I was
specialized in IMC, and I graduated with honors from my class in 1999.
Ibrahim: So, when you graduated it was easy for you to umm... work in Egypt as
well?
Al-Mut’afy: I didn't start working right away I enrolled in the masters program. I
started my masters at the Television Journalism Sequence in the Adham Center Mass
Com. department. I graduated top of my class I was the executive producer of my
class; I finished my academic my theoretical thesis as well. So, I did a dual program
umm… with a thesis in Mass Communication titled: War Media And Public Opinion.
Ibrahim: uhmm…
Al-Mut’afy: umm… And Then I started working
Ibrahim: Okay, So where is your first umm…
Al-Mut’afy: (interfering) my first job experience was at Nile news at the Egyptian
radio and television one of the thematic channels. I was a freelance reporter.
Ibrahim: uh mm…
Al-Mut’afy: umm… for the Morning Show, for umm... another show called umm…
The World of diplomacy ‫ ال دب لوما س ية عال م‬, and for the Midnight Newscast.
Ibrahim: Can I ask you why did you leave it?
Al-Mut’afy: I left because umm... I was moving into the academic arena more. I got a
job opportunity at one of the private universities, and I was starting my academic
career. So, I had to make a choice.
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Ibrahim: okay, umm… Can I ask you did you have any opportunities to go abroad,
and travel abroad for work?
Al-Mut’afy: I did actually; umm… sadly I let it down. Years later I look at it and
maybe would’ve been a life changing experience. I was offered actually a… the
position of the middle east umm... producer for CNBC. Which was starting in Dubai,
and I had to make a choice to finish my masters’ degree my, academic, my theoretical
masters degree or travel to Dubai. And I had to finish my masters
Ibrahim: So, basically if you had the opportunity again your gonna go?
Al-Mut’afy: umm… possibly yes.
Ibrahim: Yes, okay umm… can tell me the difference between being a reporter, and
being a professor? Here at AUC?
Al-Mut’afy: Well there is a lot of differences working on the field is
very different because you are there, your are in the middle of the excitement, your at
on… on the move all the time, your working 24 hour a day sometimes, and in other
day your just sitting lazily at home. umm... it's… it's different, it's different kind of
rush. You see you results once your report goes on air, and you see if you did a good
job or bad job. [Ibrahim Interfering with: umm...] But with academic work you
interact with your students, you umm… you… you interact with different
ideas, different ways of dealing with issues. Umm… but there reward is way at the
end of the semester you know because even with midterms, and quizzes, and
assignments you still don't get the final result. So it's a final result for me as well as
for my students as well.
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Ibrahim: uh h… so, which one is more stressful being a professor or a reporter?
Al-Mut’afy: It's different kind of stress for both, I mean for the for the field work
you, wanna make, you wanna get the interviews right, you wanna everything go
according to plan. umm… working in the field is different than doing the masters of
the Adham center because your not in control of the… the video [Ibrahim
interfering: yeah] there is a cameraman who is doing this job, and you might tell
them or give them… you know because you see the finale picture, and you want a
Close up of this or you wanna ,big shot… Wide shot of this or you want to amplify
something. Umm… but the end of the video… the cameraman is dealing with the
video. Umm… so it's different kind of stress. Umm... in class you plan, you organize,
you prepare PowerPoint, videos, you know presentations, wherever it takes. But the
reactions of the students is really what is going to guide you if your giving them the
right load, or more than they appreciate, or less than can handle so it fluctuate. So
it's different kind of stress actually.
Ibrahim: okay, umm… can ask do you like it here at AUC as student or more as
professor?
Al-Mut’afy: oh let me tell you something! This is what I tell me students; I never
really enjoyed my 4 years at AUC to the max. Because umm… moving from… from
culture I mean I was living in Dubai… And Dubai back at the 90's is not the Dubai
you know right now. [Ibrahim Interfering: uh] Very conservative very close culture
I was in girls’ school. umm… So mingling with the crowds, and starting from scratch
you know building a new social network, and all of that umm… was very
different experience for me, and I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have loved
to. But, working at AUC is different kind of pleasure as well because umm… you still
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in the same environment only from different perspective [Ibrahim interfering:
Yeah] Yeah.
Ibrahim: (cutting off doctor Al-Mut’afy) So, If you had the opportunity to go back in
time...
Al-Mut’afy: (cutting Ibrahim): I would.
Ibrahim: you would?
Al-Mut’afy: definitely, I would live really in different way [Ibrahim: giggling]
Ibrahim: okay would do like to give to the AUC students a word of advice or even a
quote to help them in the future in their future?
Al-Mut’afy: (cutting Ibrahim) not just for AUC students ‫( ب س‬but) for everyone I
mean umm… we live in very difficult time umm… where things are changing all the
time, and things are rapidly you know evolving especially if we are talking about
media. But in general you have to remain you know honest with yourself, you have to
umm… enjoy every moment as it is, umm... try to see your future, I know nobody can
tell exactly what is going to happen in the future, but you try to you know build your
way. Work on your skills, umm... understand your strength, and work on
your weakens. (Ibrahim interfering: uh) You know try to develop as person more
than and a student, or, academic, or whatever, or I mean work on inner self.
Ibrahim: So basically, you want all the students not only in AUC but, all over
Egypt...
Al-Mut’afy: (cutting Ibrahim) Everywhere! I love the quote that says: "be the change
you want in the world." If you don't start in with yourself, and you keep complaining,
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and whining about everyone else, while you yourself are part of the problem doesn't
solve it. So, you have to really start with yourself.
Ibrahim: (breathing) okay, thank you very much
Al-Mut’afy: You're most welcome, good luck
Ibrahim: Thank you