Hot Shots 2022: Zahra Warsame

Zahra Warsame is driven by a desire to tell the stories of regular people challenged by the system – and those fighting back. Born in Somalia and raised in a diverse community in Slough, she has built and cultivated a wide range of community contacts, empowering them to share the challenges they are facing. Pitching her own features to Channel 4 News, she uses her skills as an editor, producer and reporter to bring their stories to life.

Her notable reports include a look at the case of Richard Black, part of the Windrush generation, who has only just won the right to return to the UK after a 40-year battle; a series of pieces on the murders of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in Fryent Country Park in Brent; and her investigation, with correspondent Symeon Brown, into potentially unsafe convictions based on CCTV used in evidence.

She was also part of the Bafta-nominated team marking the channel’s Black to Front day, with a special bulletin in which she covered tennis player Emma Raducanu’s historic win in the US Open.

Warsame is currently using her position as a producer in the US to shine a light on gun violence.

Channel 4 News head of home news Becky Emmett says Warsame’s “thoughtful” journalism has helped the programme “reflect the thoughts and issues of minority groups so often forgotten by the mainstream”. She adds: “Zahra is a tenacious journalist and a genuine role model.”