ISLAM IN AMERICA
Headlining in Hijab Born and raised in Connecticut, 25-year-old Ayah Galal broadcasts local news into homes across the state. BY HABEEBA HUSAIN
W
hile many Americans would describe their workday as the typical “9 to 5,” local television news reporter Ayah Galal cannot say the same. “I have a pretty unique schedule — my shift starts at 3 a.m.,” the 25-year-old Connecticut native says. That means her alarm is set for 1:30 in the morning to give her enough time to wake up, shower, get ready and look over emails from producers containing her assignments for the morning news live broadcast. By 4:30 a.m., she is in front of the camera filming her first live shot for the show. “Every day is something different,” says the Quinnipiac University alumna. “I could be reporting on weather conditions one day and the next, reporting on the latest on the Coronavirus.” That spontaneity of each day is one of the things Galal loves most about her job. But being a journalist was not always on her radar. Galal entered her college career on the
pre-medicine track, but quickly learned that advanced calculus and biology courses were not for her. “My parents were very adamant about me doing something that I was passionate about and I enjoyed,” she says of her Egyptian immigrant parents. After some soul searching, this lifelong lover of reading and writing decided to pursue journalism and political science. The pairing was quite fitting for a girl who made her high school morning announcements and dutifully watched the NBC Nightly News on television every evening with her family at dinner time. Galal got involved at Q30TV, her university’s television station, trying her hand at both on-screen anchoring and reporting. From there, she landed an internship at News 8, a Connecticut ABC-affiliate, where she shadowed reporters and producers during the summer of 2017. That gig eventually turned into a behind-the-scenes producer job at the channel. At first, Galal thought behind-the-scenes
26 ISLAMIC HORIZONS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
was the only job she could land due to her hijab and the increased anti-Muslim sentiment during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “I’ve seen the way that Muslims are often misrepresented in the media. Things like that were always in the back of my mind as I was starting to apply for jobs,” Galal said. “I started having doubts that any TV station would want to hire someone who wears a hijab … I talked myself out of going after an on-air position.” Although she learned a lot and enjoyed her producer role at News 8, she longed for the on-air life she had experienced during her Q30TV days. Her coworkers were supportive of her endeavors and encouraged her to go after her dream instead of settling. “I ended up going in on my days off, working on putting a reporting reel together and trying to get more experience out in the field in front of the camera,” Galal says. “Al-hamdu lillah (all praises due to God). It wasn’t easy, but I did land a position at Channel 3 where I was able to report and produce.” The CBS-affiliated Channel 3 granted her a hybrid position that involved producing behind the camera, reporting, filming her own stories and conducting her own interviews. After proving herself capable of her craft, which included donning so many hats, she accepted a full-time reporter position at the station about a year ago. “Being able to see things from the behindthe-scenes aspect has made me a stronger reporter because I know what producers are expecting timing-wise, story length-wise, things like that,” she says. “Al-hamdu lillah, I think it ended up really helping me become a better reporter.” Galal reports on local news in Con necticut, and the assignments vary greatly each morning. She never knows what she’s going to get — crime, politics, local businesses, weather, or, of course, the Coronavirus. The pandemic has played a huge role in news coverage so far — from forcing reporters to stay in the newsroom, to conducting socially distanced interviews and to even infecting Galal herself earlier this year. “There is always that risk in the back of your mind. You don’t know what you could be exposed to,” she says, now thankfully recovered. “[But] it also shows the importance of the work that journalists are doing right now — our job in educating the public
