Stefania D'Ignoti from Catania, Italy, is a freelance journalist who covers migration, conflict, women’s rights, and organized crimes in the broader Mediterranean region. She has reported from Sicily, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, the Syrian border, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, The Economist, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, the BBC, the Guardian, and more.
D'Ignoti was forced to shift the reporting focus from the Middle East to Coronavirus in Italy overnight after her flight to Iraq was canceled due to a border lockdown. She mostly covered the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and asylum seekers. In this interview, she commented on the challenges of being a woman journalist in Italy, the gender disparity in newsrooms and leadership, the contributions of women journalists, and concerns about job security and safety as a freelance journalist. Despite the challenges, Stefania considered the pandemic a booster of her career.