Tatum
asked
Tim Butcher:
These questions only give us so many characters, so I apologize for another question! I am an International Development student and my dream is to be a humanitarian journalist/photojournalist. I specifically love East Africa. I am wondering if you have any career advice for someone aspiring to do something similar to you? How did you start out in travel writing?
Tim Butcher
My advice is: be nosey, be curious, be observant, never forget to be respectful, tactful and grateful for the opportunity to gatecrash other lives. Never take no for an answer. And in our shrinking world, there are no new places left to visit but human behaviour being what it so wonderfully is – dynamic, restless – there are new experiences to be had. Enjoy the journey. And finally, as a wise old foreign correspondent told me when I asked a similar question way back when I was starting out; what is the most important advice you can share? The answer, after some moments of reflection, was unexpected but surprisingly good: don’t miss breakfast.
My advice is: be nosey, be curious, be observant, never forget to be respectful, tactful and grateful for the opportunity to gatecrash other lives. Never take no for an answer. And in our shrinking world, there are no new places left to visit but human behaviour being what it so wonderfully is – dynamic, restless – there are new experiences to be had. Enjoy the journey. And finally, as a wise old foreign correspondent told me when I asked a similar question way back when I was starting out; what is the most important advice you can share? The answer, after some moments of reflection, was unexpected but surprisingly good: don’t miss breakfast.
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