mina wahab

I work as a journalist and host in the news industry for a local ABC affiliate that also airs on CBS and Fox, covering Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. I've been in news specifically for 4 years, but I've been doing reporting in general for about 10 years. Before this, I did entertainment reporting and freelance work, including being a TMZ tour guide where I had to memorize a 60-page script and interview celebrities. I also worked at Afterbuzz doing podcasts about TV shows and did red carpet premieres in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. When the pandemic hit, I had to reevaluate everything and realized I wanted to ask the questions that matter and dig deep in interviews, not just light and fluffy questions. I'm really proud that I don't hold back with asking meaningful questions - I remember interviewing Terry Crews about the Me Too movement when everyone else was asking fun questions, and interviewing Gloria Allred at the Daytime Emmy Awards when nobody else was talking to her. Every day is different for me - I wake up, have a conference call, pitch story ideas, and then go out and cover them. I'm really good at making people talk who usually don't want to be on camera, and I use my cell phone on a stabilizer with a wireless microphone instead of heavy camera equipment. I make sure there's diversity in who I interview because that's really important to me. Recently, I won my first Golden Mike Award for Best Light Feature Reporting in Southern California, and I was over the moon excited. It was especially emotional because my dad always wanted me to succeed, and a year after he died, I got this job - it felt like he got me the job. My work extends beyond traditional reporting - I'm frequently invited to speak at schools about journalism. Right now, I'm focused on advancing my career to major markets like LA or New York where I can find opportunities that pay me what I'm worth.