Learning by Doing - An interview with Xan Rice

Written by: Nathalie Devillers

During my time in ILYMUN 2025, I had the great pleasure to interview Xan Rice, a freelance journalist who previously worked for many known newspapers, like the New Yorker, and as the Guardian’s East African correspondent. He presented a small speech to the security council, and gave a crisis scenario for the delegates to debate on.

Xan Rice giving a presentation in the Security Council Committee - Credits: ILYMUN Press

Nathalie Devillers - So to start off, can you tell us a little bit about what initially drew you to journalism?

Xan Rice - That's a good question, so when I was very young, younger than you guys, I started reading the newspapers. We used to get the newspaper delivered every day and I started reading the sports, to get the results because we didn't have the Internet in those days. You'd get their results the day later and you'd find out what was happening in the world and then I moved on to reading about the international news. I just loved reading about what was going on in the world. I didn't study journalism, I actually studied commerce, and I worked as an accountant for several years and only in my late 20s did I make the shift to journalism when I started thinking, what I'm doing is not really what I want to do with my life, so let me try and find something that I'm interested in. I thought about what I'm interested in and at that stage I liked reading the newspapers and following the news.

Nathalie Devillers - Journalism can be a hard field to get into, how did you get your start in the journalism field?

Xan Rice - It can be hard to get into. So when I was in my late 20s, I enrolled in a course, not at a university, just at a small college in England where they taught the basics of journalism. You got a sort of diploma where you learn to do shorthand to take notes very quickly. You learn the basics of law, and you did a few local stories. Most other people on the course were school levers that were straight out of school. And then from there, I applied for work experience at dozens of small newspapers, regional newspapers and even national newspapers. And eventually I got one. After many no’s I finally got one yes. They said to come in for a day's work experience at a national newspaper and I was just very lucky. One day turned into two days, which turned into two paid days , which turned into a week and into a job. So it is hard to get into and I'd say it's probably even harder today, but yeah, I was lucky, but it's perseverance. You gotta try as many as you can and I would say don't be too picky about where you get your experience, just go and do it, if that's what you wanna do. 

Nathalie Devillers - That being said, what are some of the characteristics and traits which help make a good foreign correspondent?

Xan Rice - Curiosity, I think, is probably the biggest one. If you're gonna go out and report on countries, you've got to want to learn about those countries and learn what is going on and understand what is going on, be interested in all sorts of different things, because otherwise you're going to be following what everyone else is doing.To be a correspondent, you want to break news,  you want to be telling people interesting stories, and someone has to discover those stories. If you are the person discovering those stories and bringing it to a wider audience, you've got to have curiosity. I guess a whole broad section of good human traits, as well. Empathy, you've got to be willing to talk to anyone. You've got to try and put yourself in people's shoes. You've got to be intrepid as well. You've got to go places that other people maybe don't want to go. Just because somewhere is hard to get to, it doesn't mean it's impossible to get to. 

Nathalie Devillers - I’ve read that you have covered a wide range of stories, so is there a particular type of journalism that you enjoy writing the most?

Xan Rice - I would say news features rather than hard news. So, talking about a story about a particular person, doing something, that's my favorite kind of story. Somebody normal, an ordinary person  doing something different. I remember in Kenya, I don't know why the story sticks with me, but I did a story about a guy that wasn't wealthy, but he managed to build a plane in his backyard, that would fly. He built it from scrap metal and other things,I just thought that was very cool. People probably couldn’t relate to this but maybe get kind of inspired by this, and think, wow, that's interesting. It's not something you expect in a developing country where there's not the wealth, there's not the resources and access to things.

Nathalie Devillers - During your time specifically in Africa, how did you ensure that your perspective was accurate rather than an outsider's point of view?

Xan Rice - You're always bringing an outside point of view, as a journalist. I think it's good to bring that point of view. I think that one of the benefits is still employing foreign correspondence. But you get a different perspective coming from outside than from being inside. For example,  I see Lyon in a different way to somebody who's lived here all their life. They might understand it much better than me, but I will see things, and be able to compare it to other places. So, I think that having an outside perspective is good, but to make sure to not have any preconceived ideas about what is right and wrong. I try to stay open to understanding why things are the way they are and keep that willingness to learn. You've got to try and talk to people and understand their thought processes, and why things are the way they are rather than to assume. 

Nathalie Devillers - What are some stories or events that you think should be more recognized? 

Xan Rice - I think unfortunately at the moment, anything related to the US and Trump swallows and is kind of eating the media at the moment. The top stories are always about America,Trump and Elon Musk and what they're up to. I think that's a shame because other issues are being pushed into the background. Like the Israel Gaza conflict, a huge issue,which is now not really being heard about. The Russian Ukraine war, as well, to a similar extent. But in comparison, those two conflicts have already managed to get huge amounts of media coverage. There's all sorts of other stuff going on, good and bad. People judge what’s newsworthy enough to get to the top. So take Africa as an example, who knows what's going on in Africa at the moment, good and bad. Almost none of that's coming out, because it's being dominated by news from another region. I think that's a shame. So, I think generally for the news, it would be great if there was more of a balance.

Nathalie Devillers - Do you have any habits which help you craft an interesting yet compelling story?

Xan Rice - Faced with a white page, you think, what am I going to do? So you always start off with a bit of fear. So at first, I try to get something down on paper that you think is terrible. From then you just got to refine, each time whittling it down a little bit more. When I was working for newspapers on the other hand, you might get a call and they might say, something's happened, we need 500 words and you've got an hour. Then you haven't got time to craft, you just can't think too much about it. 

Nathalie Devillers - How do you see the role or foreign correspondents changing in the times to come?

Xan Rice - I think there are fewer and fewer of them, because of economic pressures on the media outlets. There's also not as much money in journalism as they used to be. So, I think you're getting less and less news from, perhaps the less developed parts of the world. Will this change? I don't know, things change with technology. There's more videos nowadays, there's more podcasts and things like that. Foreign correspondences are out there observing and telling stories and the way it’s published might change slightly, but the basic elements are still the same, so I think that'll continue.

Nathalie Devillers - I’ve read that you are now a freelance writer, what are some of the factors which you prefer while being self-employed?

Xan Rice - Well, I don't have to dress up, I don't have to put on a suit, I don't have any editors breathing down my neck. So those are some of the positives. But you really have to decide what stories you're gonna do. So you're a total latitude there, to choose what you wanna do and the projects you wanna take on. The reality is that though,  it can be quite precarious financially to be a freelance journalist nowadays. I am very fortunate that I have a wife with a good job, and I would say that it's somewhat of a luxury to be in the position that I'm in. So, there are many positives and negatives. I guess I sometimes miss the camaraderie of being in a team, and working with other people and to bounce ideas, and to share the passion and the thrill of chasing a story with other people.

Nathalie Devillers - Journalism can sometimes change the way you see the world completely, has that been the case for you?

Xan Rice - Yes, I think so. As we started this conversation, I said that I got interested in world affairs when I was very young from reading stories in the newspapers, and I think if I didn't have that, I wouldn't be who I am today. I think it's made me more curious and interested in other cultures, and other people, as well as being willing to go to places. My family and I have been able to  live in many different places, and I think that's one of the examples of being interested and open to the world.

Nathalie Devillers - So, if you wouldn’t be a journalist what other profession do you think you would have pursued?

Xan Rice - I mean, I might have been a teacher, and maybe still one day, who knows? I think we all have more than one career, I mean I'm already on my second and third career. Maybe there'll be another one. So yeah, maybe teaching. 

Nathalie Devillers - And to finish off, What are some tips or advice which you would like to say to the younger generation of journalists ahead?

Xan Rice - It's a tough world out there in terms of jobs, being a journalist, it's a wonderful career and you can see why lots of people are attracted to it. It can be an adventure, it's talking to people, it’s learning things. It is a bit precarious economically at the moment, but journalism will always be there. It’s the desire for people to know, to understand. So if that's your passion, go for it. But you have to realize you're going to have to knock some doors down. It's a job that you don't necessarily have to study. Like I said previously, I didn't study journalism. I went to do a little college course for a few months. You could go straight out of school and you could be a journalist, it's really the case of learning by doing. Doing means writing, so you have to go and do it. So you know, whether it’s a small job or not, if you're being paid or not, go and do it. That is how you start. I would say, especially nowadays for self- starters, you can't be waiting for somebody to come to you and tell you how great you are, give you a job and say please can you write this article for us. You got to go out and do it. You really learn by doing and that's the way in. It’s a good career to pursue because there aren't those barriers.