Danielle Keeton-Olsen is a freelance journalist who explores issues in business, human rights, healthcare, and environmental subjects in Cambodia. She has been stationed in Cambodia since 2017. Her work has been published in Forbes, the BBC, South China Morning Post, VOD English, Al Jazeera, and HuffPost, among others.
In this interview, Keeton-Olsen recalled the ground situation in January 2020 and the COVID impact on local communities and businesses in Cambodia. She reviewed her journey of becoming a foreign correspondent. She commented on the business model of Cambodian media, the media environment, government control of media, media relationship with the general public, challenges, and opportunities as a freelancer in Cambodia. She also commented on the status of women, particularly women journalists in this society. She attributed her success to many role models and predecenters before her time and called for more public attention to and appreciation of reporting undercovered regions in South Asia.