The sophisticated anchor talks about what it takes to build a successful journalistic career in an interview by Milena Hristova
Q: How would you describe your normal working day at CNN?
A: It starts bright and early at 3:30am. I read in, checking what stories we're covering and the latest developments on the wires and global papers. I also get some TV make-up on. Then I'm on the air at 5am. I do 6 shows a day, usually half hours.
In between shows I keep monitoring the wires and show scripts. I also think of ways to focus my Q&A with correspondents and analysts on the air. Sometimes I suggest stories to add to our shows or changes to scripts. And I also do some writing when I have a chance.
Q: Which were the qualities that made you stand out among other candidates for CNN anchor?
I developed a relationship with CNN by sending reports in English from Bulgaria for a show called World Report.
During a visit to CNN headquarters in Atlanta for a professional program, I was asked by World Report's producer to help her experiment with a dual anchor look for the show. So I co-anchored the show. (By the way, that was also my debut as an anchor, I'd never done that before in my life!) I had no idea all that would lead to a job with the company. But it did.
A year later, when CNN decided to build a separate channel for its international viewers, it contacted me in Bulgaria with an anchoring offer. It was looking for people with an international background and good English skills to anchor its international news shows.
Q: Which was the most interesting interview that you have done so far?
A: There have been many, but I think the one with Mikhail Gorbachev had a very special meaning to me. It was an opportunity to talk to the man who helped end the Cold War and set forth the reforms that led to the fall of communism, even though his intent was to save the system by reforming it.
Q: Tell us about an event in whose coverage you were put under a lot of stress? How did you handle it?
A: I would point out the attacks on the British Consulate and the HSBC Bank in Istanbul, Turkey in 2004. I did 4 hours of live coverage, no scripts, no idea what I will be faced with next as I interviewed reporters, witnesses, officials, analysts... Every interview and wire report added pieces to the puzzle as the horror of what had happened revealed itself, live on the air.
I feared the death toll could climb, because of how crowded those areas were. I had been to Istanbul years ago and knew firsthand how densely populated it is.
There were many sensitive moments. Like the moment when a British chaplain I was told was a witness to one of the attacks unexpectedly revealed to me in an interview live on air that the British Counselor in Turkey was killed in the attacks.
Q: What helps you move ahead when you feel like you can't take it any more?
A: If the people stricken by a disaster or attack can take it, then I have to try my best to take it too...
Q: You are famous in Bulgaria. Do you feel like a TV star in the United States?
A: No, I don't...CNN International is not widely distributed here in the U.S so I'm rarely recognized. I have the best of two worlds, I'm on TV but not seen where I live. It helps keep me grounded, I hope!
Q: What do you miss the most about Bulgaria? Do you keep in touch with your friends in Bulgaria? Have you ever planned to return home?
A: I miss most my family and friends. I go back every year to visit them and we keep in touch the rest of the time.
Q: Once you said one should be careful because dreams can come true. Do you still believe that?
A: Yes, after experiencing the overwhelming thrill of getting my dream job at CNN, I soon realized I had to live up to it! I'm happy to say that I managed to hold on to it.
It still feels like a dream come true, even when the alarm goes off at 2:30am for work!
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