We caught up with Yara El Murr, winner of the Young Journalist Award 2023, to find out how her life has changed since scooping the main prize for her investigation: Intercepted At Sea', a three-part series examining the human cost of border enforcement in Lebanon.
Following her move from Beirut to Toronto, she explains how she keeps in touch with issues back home, shares her passion for a new role mentoring young local journalists and tells how the Thomson-sponsored trip to London led to an exciting career opportunity.
Q & A You've swapped Beirut for Toronto, why the change?
There are many challenges working as a journalist in Lebanon because you are living all the issues and crises that youre reporting on. It was very hard to take care of myself mentally and physically. I was spending time with many people who were going through really hard times, while at home I also had to struggle wondering do I have electricity today? Do I have running water? We take these things for granted but they really bring down your morale and productivity. Also, a lot of the issues we reported on at The Public Source* brought about safety and security concerns because we were doing uncompromising journalism that was critical of the authorities.
How do you keep in touch with issues back home?
Despite being physically far from Beirut, a lot of my work still focuses on the Middle East and whats happening in Palestine and Im still connected to the region with some of the projects Im doing from here. It was a very tough decision to leave, but I feel that one of the main goals in my career is still to do public service journalism for my community wherever I am.
Is there a Lebanese community in Toronto?
I think there's more Lebanese living abroad than there are in the country because were in the middle of a huge crisis. I have a very nice Lebanese community here, many that also recently immigrated to Toronto. Its really great to have gatherings where you speak Arabic, eat Lebanese food and it just feels like a mini version of home away from home.
You recently started mentoring local young journalists, tell us about that.
I am working at The Green Line Toronto* on a pilot project with 15 to 28-year-olds and were training them in community reporting. I spent a month teaching them the basics of video interviewing, editing and writing skills. And now throughout the summer, I will be mentoring them on producing their own stories about their community - its one in Toronto that receives very little media attention and when it does, its mostly about crime or homelessness. So really, its a project to help the youth drive better media coverage. Its my first-time teaching and I found that its such a beautiful thing to empower other young aspiring journalists.
How has winning the Young Journalist Award impacted your career?
Its really helped me forge a network of connections that have been really helpful. For example, we visited the Guardian newsroom and met editors who Ive been in touch with since. I have written several articles, including one about Palestinian-Canadians trying to get their loved ones out of Gaza (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/13/canada-gaza-outrage-faulty-visa-program). It was the first article coming out of Canada that really pointed out how the (Canadian) government's visa programme was failing. The piece really sparked outrage and I dont want to take all the credit, but I've seen it used by a lot of rights organisations to advocate and push for more to be done.
What was it like meeting the other YJA finalists in London?
We shared the experiences of being women journalists in countries where we have much less support and less resources. We are all writing stories with the hope of driving an impact in countries that lack the mechanisms to hold governments accountable. The three of us talked about the challenges at our newsrooms and in our countries. I think we were each others biggest cheerleaders in that sense, trying to just encourage and cheer on one other for the stories that weve done. Also, we are all young journalists at a different stage of our careers, so we sort of saw ourselves in each other and that was something really beautiful.
Why is it important that the Young Journalist Award champions journalists from countries with a GNI under US$20k?
A lot of the time, stories that go viral are from international outlets coming into these countries and reporting about the crisis that they are going through. We dont hear a lot from the people in their localities with all of the nuances that a journalist living through these conditions can bring. I think the inclusion of young journalists from countries with a GNI under US$20k, is really empowering. Many of us come with a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome but (the award) really proves that our work is as worthy and even though we dont have the same resources, it doesnt mean we aren't able to produce stories that are as impactful, or as important, to the global discourse.
What are your plans for the future?
There are a lot of opportunities to go in so many different directions, whether thats continuing with writing investigations or to pivot a bit more into documentary work. I dont see myself in just one place, and Im really interested in experimenting with different kinds of media. There are so many things I want to write about and make documentaries on. For now, I'm in Canada but Im still attached to Lebanon and Im still following the stories, writing about the region and am involved in projects. However, I am also trying to make space for being here in Toronto and doing journalism for the local community that Im part of now. I think ultimately, its going to be a balance of both.
*The Public Source is a Beirut-based independent media organisation.
Explore our projects across
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
13/03/2026
Spotify has always been built around your taste. More than 80% of listeners say personalization is what they love most about us. Now we're taking that even ...
13/03/2026
The new Spotify Legends Club has opened its doors. Its members: select German-sp...
13/03/2026
Pushing drum sampler technology into new territories
The latest version of Klevgrand's software drum sampler has just arrived, boasting a newly designe...
13/03/2026
Expanded headphone support & engine improvements
IK Multimedia's recently introduced ARC On-Ear system brings the power of their monitoring-correction s...
13/03/2026
Extra sound collections, more presets & new Keys category
UVI's rhythm and pattern instrument has just received a major update that introduces four new ...
13/03/2026
13 Mar 2026
VEON Delivers Record Digital Growth: 4Q25 Digital Revenues Grow 84%...
13/03/2026
Friday 13 March 2026
Sky Adds Blood on Snow to Original Film Slate in Acquisiti...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
09/03/2026
Popular wireless mic head design revived
Sennheiser have revealed that the MD 9235, a cardioid mic head designed to pair up with their handheld wireless sys...
We caught up with Yara El Murr, winner of the Young Journalist Award 2023, to find out how her life has changed since scooping the main prize for her investigation: Intercepted At Sea', a three-part series examining the human cost of border enforcement in Lebanon.
