Azita Ghahramani is the senior editor for politics and voter engagement at GBH News. In her role, she leads the politics team and guides multiplatform political journalism, exploring the connection between politics, society and policy impact in Massachusetts. Previously, Azita served as executive producer of local television and worked closely with Jim Braude as executive producer of Greater Boston.

What are you reading or listening to now?
I am currently reading the novel Death Watch, one of the New York Times Summer Books 2023 recommendations. It’s by Concord, Mass.-based author Stona Fitch. I’m not done with it yet, but so far, it’s a thriller with an undercurrent of commentary on consumerism and group-think. I’m enjoying it, though I must confess, I’m a slow reader because I spend so much of my spare time watching television and listening to podcasts.

I just finished the podcast Scamanda, which is about a woman who pretended to have cancer and used the empathy she had built as a local celebrity to bilk her community of money and trust. I can’t wait for this to become a streaming television mini-series. I also am trying to go through the Nobel Prize for Literature list of winners, but like I said, I’m a slow reader, so haven’t made much headway there.

Who is your role model or inspiration?
There are so many wonderful people in the journalism sphere who serve as role models, so it’s hard for me to pick one. I worked for years with Jim Braude and am in awe of his ability to process and retain information, but more importantly, his ability to get to the heart of the issue during interviews. He doesn’t waste people’s time with needless questions. Meetings with him never lasted more than 10 minutes, which forced me to become a concise communicator.

I worked with one news director who had to lay off dozens of people, but did it in such a thoughtful way, she remains friends with many of them. I try to always center humanity and empathy in what I do and remember that a place of work is more than a place where you measure headcount and productivity.

Why did you become a public media journalist?
I jumped at the opportunity to work in public media because I believe in the mission. I also relish being able to focus on stories without being restricted by ratings considerations. We have the leeway to focus on stories that impact communities that don’t always get the spotlight.

What is one word to describe your job?
Dynamic

Describe an impact that a story that you produced made.
I helped produce some great conversations during my time on Greater Boston. Among the more inspiring ones: Clementina Chery, whose 15-year-old son Louis was shot while on his way to a Teens Against Gang Violence meeting, sat on our set with the man convicted of murdering her son. I’ll never forget the grace and forgiveness I witnessed from her. I still remember the conversation actress Marianne Leone had about her only child, Jesse, who died at age 17 from cerebral palsy, or the conversations we had with DJ Henry’s parents and siblings after DJ was killed by police in upstate New York. These families have done such a tremendous job of honoring their children’s memories. No grief is stronger than the one of a parent losing a child – and seeing this kind of resilience is profoundly touching.

See more of Azita Ghahramani’s work here.