As a journalist, Delnaaz (Del) Irani says one of her ‘coolest’ moments was having the opportunity to interview Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan.
But first she had to work hard to pitch it to her news editor in Australia.
“I had to explain to her who Shahrukh Khan was,” Del says with a laugh.
Highlights:
- Del Irani, a former ABC Australia news anchor, has moved to the US and taken the reins of 'Deeper Look from New York', a current affairs TV show for NHK World-Japan.
- The Indian-born, Australian journalist working in the United States says working for a global show is in her 'comfort zone'.
- Del feels diverse media is important so that young people can take their cues and worldviews from what they see.
“All my Indian friends were like you are so lucky, but the Australian side needed to be convinced. One of the ways we pitched it, besides the Bollywood theme, was the strong cricket connection and the fact that he was one of Forbes 50 richest men in the world,” she explains.
To see that interview work ‘really well’, on both a national and international level, is a great source of pride for Del - as is having the opportunity to dance with Shahrukh on his hit song 'Lungi Dance'.
Del stepped into the field of journalism as a field producer, working on programs for Fox News, CBS and Channel News Asia. Her work took her to many different countries, including Bermuda, Panama and Belgium.
Indian Actor Shahrukh Khan with Del Irani during an interview for ABC talk show '#TalkAboutIt'. Source: Supplied By Del Irani
The former ABC journalist is now the driving force behind the current affairs show 'A Deeper Look from New York' for NHK World-Japan. She has also recently started hosting a new show called 'Real-Time Business' sponsored by EY and produced by Reuters Plus.
From Mumbai to Australia
With her Indian origin, Australian upbringing and current US-based career, Del feels she has a global dimension.
People cannot place me or pin me down sometimes, so working for a global show in a global network is my comfort zone
Born in Mumbai, Del migrated to Australia with her family when she was eight years old. She maintained a ‘strong connection’ to her extended family and initially decided to pursue her career in Mumbai.
“I was just at the right place at the right time,” she says about her journalistic shift from Reuters World Report in Mumbai to her stint as an anchor and foreign correspondent for BBC News, where she hosted the Indian Business Report on a weekly basis.
During her time at the BBC, she covered many breaking stories including the trial of the lone surviving gunman in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
It wasn’t easy for her to get a job in India because of her ‘accent,’ but she persevered.
“If I did not have the experience from Mumbai, where I worked my way up from intern to producer to eventually being an anchor, if I did not have that body of work, I don’t think I would have got those opportunities that I got in Melbourne,” Del says.
In Australia, she worked as an anchor for an international news channel, eventually making her way to the domestic side as a morning news anchor on ABC’s national breakfast show.
She was a regular co-host with Michael Rowland and Virginia Trioli before presenting ABC’s talkshow '#TalkAboutIt'. She was also appointed as a fact-checker anchor for RMIT ABC and hosted the lifestyle reality TV show 'Escape from the City'.
In 2020, amidst the chaos of COVID-19, Del moved to the US for personal reasons and joined NHK World Japan. She spent nearly two years during the pandemic creating content remotely and taking her DIY TV filming skills to the next level.
'Lots of talk, little progress'
As a woman of colour on TV, Del feels that diversity on the screen should 'go beyond tokenism'.
Del says she sees a greater push for diversity and gender parity in the US, and feels that Australia still has a lot of ground to cover.
"Both SBS and ABC do it well, but I would love to see the broader media landscape, the commercial channels like 7, 9 and 10 do it well. I do see a lot more diversity on Channel 10 nowadays on 'The Project', but I think there is still a long way to go,” Del says.
She says this requires internal stakeholders to understand diversity and commit to action.
Inclusiveness occurs when someone internally, like a producer or news director, believes that having a diverse workforce will bring better product and connect to more viewers
Having worked across a range of media, she says every platform wields power when it comes to diversity, inclusiveness and gender parity.
Television is particular strong, she says, because it can show people others who look and sound just like them.
She shares her story as an example. While growing up in an Indian household, she completed a double degree in Science and Commerce and never imagined she would appear on Australian TV.
She later joined the ABC Asia Pacific newsroom when there was a ‘big diversity push’ and she says they were consciously looking for people from multicultural backgrounds.
“I hope there are young Australians out there who can see and hear themselves represented on TV and radio and feel that if they wanted to do this they can, instead of feeling that there is no way they will get that job,” she adds.
Del at her home studio where she has been filming her TV show Deeper Look from New York, which airs on NHK World Japan Source: Supplied by Del Iriani
'Magic' moment in the US
Known for the energetic vibes she brings both to screen and stage, Del's emcee skills found praise in NBA superstar Earvin 'Magic' Johnson's speech at a safety culture summit held in Las Vegas late last year.
"Smart, got her stuff together. If you enjoyed this beautiful lady in red who is asking these great questions, clap 12 times," he said and the audience followed suit.
Del recalls another great moment in her public life in the US.
Del emceeing the Safety Culture Summit 21 in Las Vegas with one of the speakers NBA superstar Magic Johnson. October 2021. Source: Supplied By Del Irani
“The larger-than-life, big-hearted NBA All-Star dove into his strategies on what it takes to build high-performance teams and covered what tools we all need to exceed goals, whether on a basketball court or in a boardroom."
