"Foreign journalists see events occurring in America differently than an American would"

Mamen Sala is a U.S. correspondent from Spain and a member of the Association Foreign Press Correspondents USA, with a diverse background of experience that includes television reporting, marketing and communications, and investigative reporting. Mamen has worked for outlets such as Telemadrid, Antena 3 TV, and France24. In her career, she has covered stories ranging from celebrity interviews, terrorist attacks to American elections. Mamen is currently based in New York, producing articles and reports for several international media outlets. 

“You have to start from scratch.”

Sala described the differences she feels between working in Spain and abroad in the U.S. She felt that it was like starting over, not having the same resources available to her in Spain. She had to develop new contacts and learn how the United States worked and where to call to get certain information. She also described the difficulties of working every day in a second language that is not her native language. “There are some delicate subjects that you want to make sure you understand everything very well. So sometimes I have to pay double attention because I don’t want to make a mistake when I inform my audience.”

The differences between the U.S. and Spain

Sala expressed that in her opinion, she felt politics in Spain could use some maturing and that the politics in the U.S. are more mature. On Spanish politics, she said: “it’s like a bunch of kids fighting with each other.” She added that when she reads the political news from Spain, she feels disappointment and shame. Sala also feels that it’s economically more difficult to be a journalist in Spain due to the 2008 economic crisis and the pandemic. “It’s not that you are not going to be rich; it's that maybe you cannot even live just being a journalist.” Sala also talked about the difficulties she’s faced securing interviews in the U.S.

“You need a plan B”

Sala spoke on the difficulty of balancing her multiple projects. She works as a journalist and the president and co-founder of Chef Training U.S., a program that matches chefs with work opportunities around the world. Sala explained that in the world of journalism, it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan. She also talked about the different roles she takes on in her job as a reporter. “I’m producing my things, I’m filming, I’m editing, and I’m delivering everything by myself. At the end of the day, you can survive, but you need a plan B.”

On making it work without interviews

While she does struggle to secure interviews sometimes, Sala does not let that get in the way of getting a story out. Sala described the difficulties of being a foreign correspondent working for a foreign agency. She explained that bigger American news outlets have no problem reaching people for an interview or comment, but it’s a challenge for her working for an outlet with less American name recognition. Despite this, she makes it work by getting creative. “Most of the time, I’m trying to screw my mind to find a way to explain it and to have testimonies and to have interviews because I cannot have the formal and official people.” 

Advice to young journalists

Her advice to young journalists hoping to work abroad: “don’t hear the people that say you cannot make it.” Sala pointed to her own experience as a journalist in the U.S., citing that she also had nothing, no contacts, no experience speaking English, and no money. But she could make it as a journalist because she didn’t believe those who doubted her. Her second piece of advice: learn English. “If you don’t know English, there’s no way to access the information.” Sala’s last word of advice: learn to do everything. “We are going towards a new era in which you have to do everything.” While Sala personally disagrees with the sentiment, she believes it is often asked of journalists to take on many roles besides being in front of a camera. Besides all this, she advises journalists to first and foremost believe in themselves. “This is the country of opportunities, but the first opportunity is starting with yourself.”