Emmy nominee dedicates honour to M’sian journos
PETALING JAYA: A Penang-born video journalist based in the United States, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on terrorism, dedicates the honour to Malaysian journalists.
“I dedicate it to them for their work in telling important stories and the strength of our identity as Malaysians,” said Poh Si Teng.
Her documentary, Flirting with the Islamic State, was nominated under the Outstanding Interview category at the 37th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
The documentary, which was produced last year when she was with The New York Times, is about the conversations between a young woman in rural Washington State and a British man with ties to radical Islam that aims to provide clues about how the Islamic State recruits new members around the world.
“For the interview with Alex (the interviewee’s pseudonym), it was just me and my camera, plus some amazing video editing by my former colleague Ben Laffin. But that was it. And so I really didn’t think it would go that far.
“It (the nomination) came as a huge surprise,” she told The Star in an e-mail interview.
The award went to Dateline NBC’s documentary The Cosby Accusers Speak.
Better known as Poh Si, the Malaysian had proudly put on a striking red kebaya top for the award ceremony at the Lincoln Center, New York.
“I was proud to wear it as it is part of my identity and it represents where I come from,” said the 31-year-old.
A journalist with over a decade’s experience, Poh Si started her career in Malaysia at The Cicak, a magazine she founded, before moving on to the Associated Press, NYT and Vice Media.
She lives in New York and works at Al Jazeera Media Network as a senior producer.