Deena Zaidi


Data Journalist

Hi!

A data journalist with over 10 years of writing and reporting experience. I’ve had the pleasure of working for a local news paper in Seattle for about 2.5 years, after which I worked as a data visual journalist around two years in a leading broadcast news room in Canada.

I’ve written a wide range of stories— from hidden COVID-19 fatalities and rising Omicron numbers to immigration backlogs to soaring inflation and real estate markets. I am comfortable with mapping tools and have created multimedia interactives through ESRI’s GIS interface. These stories included “50 Years Later: Expulsion from Uganda” and “Canadian Urban Skies Turn Lethal for Migratory Birds“.

Prior to CTVNews, I wrote data-driven stories for, Seattle’s Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ)—one of the 44 markets of American City Business Journals. I also maintained the database for the local market which were published as weekly lists. The role involved fact-checking and in-depth research through surveys and phone calls. These lists ranked regional businesses on different metrics and were eventually compiled into the Annual Book of Lists.

Early in my career, I wrote extensively for various digital publications such as TheStreet.com, VentureBeat, Seeking Alpha, BuzzFeed, and Truthout with bylines in Reuters, Yahoo Finance, and MSN Money. I’ve authored a working paper on “The role of credit rating agencies in the Eurozone debt crisis” for Global Credit Review at the University of Singapore.

As a data journalist, I am always keen to look at the investigative side of stories where data is fundamental. My strength lies in data-driven stories that look beyond the numbers published in public records. I have solid experience in data analytics, with experience in mapping and creating interactive visuals.

I have an MSc. in International Banking and Finance from the University of Durham, England, and an MBA in Finance from ICFAI Business School, India. I hold a certificate in Data Analytics from Northeastern University and have been a part of a data bootcamp hosted by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. (IRE) in Seattle.

Feel free to browse through my portfolio.

stories written

years of experience

words written

Tag: POVERTY

  • Alibaba’s Plan to End Poverty in China

    Alibaba’s Plan to End Poverty in China

    Alibaba is a Chinese multinational tech, e-commerce and artificial intelligence conglomerate that was founded in 1999 and has since become one of the ten largest companies in the world. Alibaba’s plan to end poverty in China stems from corporate social responsibility as an integral part of its business model. In 2008, an earthquake in Sichuan province in China prompted…

  • DEENA’s fundraiser

     Deena’s Fundraiser from Deena on Vimeo. Americans think as much as 25% of the federal budget goes to foreign aid and think it should be “slashed” to only 10%. But in reality, less than 1% of the federal budget goes to foreign aid. Millions of people live without basic necessities like clean water, proper…

  • The Journey Of Transition – India & China in comparison to USA

    The Journey Of Transition – India & China in comparison to USA

    This article focuses on three economies that have been discussed a lot lately : India, China & USA. India and China are considered as emerging economies but have issues like population and poverty. We compare India & China to USA using IMF reports released in April, 2014 and information provided in Index of Economic Freedom,…