Romina Mella: Investigative Journalism is My Passion, My Life
Romina Mella is a Peruvian investigative reporter. She started her journey while she was studying investigative journalism at university. “I told myself I am going to be this,” she said. Now Mella is very famous in her country and is one of more than 100 journalists from 107 media organizations in 80 countries who worked on the Panama Papers. But it’s not her whole life. She is also a practitioner of yoga. “ Everyday in the morning I do yoga. It gives you a peace and makes you more productive.”
Could you tell us something about yourself?
I love to take photos. I like theatre. I am also a practitioner of yoga.
Why yoga and not a Workout?
As a journalist I think it is a necessary to find a balance between a lot of things in my life. The journalism is very intensive, so everyday in the morning I do yoga. It gives you peace and makes you more productive.
Name one thing that people don’t know about you.
All these things that I just talked about.
No, I mean one thing.
I’m very reserved, I’m not a person who shows everything. I always publish about other people, not about myself.
Can you share something funny about yourself?
I’m very clumsy, I have a lot of accidents, silly accidents. I always forget things but not in my work. Sometimes I walk alone in a street and unconsciously crash into things (Laughing).
What makes you laugh?
The intelligent joke! Simple things. I always try to look at the funny aspects of incidents.
How did you start your journey as an investigative reporter?
At my university, I studied investigative journalism and told myself that I am going to be this [an investigative reporter] and that’s what I did. Here I am!
Do you like your job?
Yes, a lot, but I think that, because I am a founding member of a non-profit media outlet, it’s very important to know how to make our work sustainable so I am here to know that.
Did you face threats as you specialized in organized crime terrorism, and political and corporate corruption?
No, in our countries the journalists face a lot of dangers, so we spend time training self-defense.
