Keumars Afifi-Sabet

Experience

• 

  QMTV

  Sept 2011 - Jun 2014

  Contributor / Drama Editor

  Keumars worked with a team of over 20 to produce and upload regular programming to the QMTV YouTube channel. He managed post-production for the short superhero drama SICK, and wrote scripts for the weekly news series Bloody Mary, and drama Cracked. He has operated camera, sound equipment, and has experience managing a film set.

• 

  QMessenger

  Feb 2013 - Jun 2014

  Satire Editor

  As a joint section editor, Keumars commissioned and edited articles to meet the newspaper’s fortnightly print schedule. He liaised with a section co-editor and managed a team of 10-12 regular contributors. To increase the newspaper's readership he created and co-ran the @QMSatire Twitter account, building a triple-figure following within eight months. Keumars worked as a contributor from September 2011, writing for a number of sections, including Sport and Culture, also assisting the news team in finding suitable Queen Mary-related stories, and occasionally sub-edited in an emergency.Profile: http://qmessenger.co.uk/author/keumars/ Show less

• 

  The Upcoming

  Apr 2013 - Sept 2013

  News & Current Affairs Writer

  As a news and current affairs writer, Keumars wrote news articles on a range of topics (including sports, society, and politics) within hours of commission, three times per week.Profile: http://www.theupcoming.co.uk/author/keumars-afifi-sabet/

• 

  PayZazz

  Jul 2013 - Sept 2013

  Intern

  Keumars was one of a handful of employees working at financial startup PayZazz. He wrote SEO content for the website, formed its structure, and contributed to design. Keumars also organised social media activities, pitched marketing ideas, and producing regular reports when error-testing the web application.

• 

  London Student

  Aug 2013 - Jun 2014

  Assistant News Editor

  Keumars was part of an investigative team covering student and faculty news from the University of London and its colleges. He covered a range of stories, from trade union disputes to student union politics. The role also involved liaising with contributors and proofing content towards the print deadline.Profile: http://www.londonstudent.coop/author/keumars-afifi-sabet/

• 

  The Observer

  Jun 2014 - Jun 2014

  Intern

  Two weeks. Technology desk. Keumars covered technology-related stories and scoured scientific journals for ideas. In preparing ‘Lab Notes’, he condensed full research papers into 120-word stubs. The work involved summarising press releases, and compiled information for boxes to accompany features for the Tech Monthly.

• 

  Archant

  Jul 2014 - Jul 2014

  Intern

  Two Weeks. Ham&High News Desk.Working on the news desk of a local newspaper, Keumars both pitched and picked up a range of pieces for the Ham & High and the Wood & Vale, including short reports on local events, interviews, and human interest stories. In addition he spent time writing for the features desk. Example: http://www.hamhighbroadway.co.uk/news/london_zoo_vet_ready_to_dive_from_skies_for_rare_tigers_1_3667677

• 

  Huffington Post

  Nov 2014 - Jan 2015

  Intern

  One week, Nov 2014; one week, Dec 2014; one week, Jan 2015.Keumars filed content for the student desk while running the Twitter feed at a rate of 3-4 tweets per hour in order to boost engagement and maintain the section's readership. He would pitch stories in the morning, and work on them over the course of the day, often writing 2-4 stories per day. These pieces included writing up interviews, covering campus news stories, and events such as the Autumn Statement. He also contributed to the news desk.Profile: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/keumars-afifisabet/ Show less

• 

  The Independent

  Feb 2015 - Feb 2015

  Intern

  Two weeks. The Independent and the Independent on Sunday.Working in the London offices, Keumars worked with data, secured interviews and gathered relevant context for news stories featured in both the daily and the Sunday newspaper. Part of the placement involved covering live breaking news - the Copenhagen shootings.

• 

  Artisan People

  Jul 2015 - Feb 2018

  Temp

  Part-time. Work in venues and museums across London including the South Bank Centre and the Science Museum.

• 

  London Student

  Sept 2015 - Jan 2016

  Editorial Manager

  Rejoined the London Student as a member of the core editorial team in September after the title was relaunched as an independent newspaper and workers' co-operative in January.Responsibilities include organising meetings, liaising with a team of section editors, sub-editors and writers, commissioning content from external contributors, editing submissions and writing articles.www.londonstudent.coopEmail: keumars.afifi-sabet@londonstudent.coop

• 

  BBC

  Feb 2018 - Mar 2018

  Intern

  Two weeks. TV Current Affairs.As part of the development team, Keumars contributed to generating ideas for prospective current affairs documentaries for BBC2 and BBC3, and conducted research to develop existing ideas. During this period Keumars also helped to develop an entirely new BBC brand aimed at communicating news to 10-15s.

• 

  IT Pro

  Apr 2018 - Nov 2023

  As Features Editor, I manage the long form pipeline including features, analysis, opinion and tutorials for IT Pro, Cloud Pro and Channel Pro. Responsibilities amount to maintaining a steady and varied flow of features on topics ranging from cyber security to public policy, and networking to IT infrastructure. Among my main duties are commissioning features (internally and externally), editing and giving feedback, managing a small team of staff writers and a pool of external freelancers, developing skills across the team, and line management.Additionally, I manage a content promotion and social media strategy for long form output across the three sites, which translates to managing schedules and keeping abreast of SEO and social media best practice. I also introduced a comprehensive regime for measuring performance of features, which involves gathering metrics and conducting analysis to inform decision-making. Show less Maternity cover for the brand's Features Editor. Picked up responsibilities and for managing the long form content pipeline for IT Pro, Cloud Pro and Channel Pro. Duties involved commissioning, editing, and publishing a regular stream of features each week on a variety of B2B Technology topics. As Acting Features Editor, I oversaw significant improvements in traffic and audience engagement year-on-year, while responding to challenging business needs to expand the volume of SEO-optimised and evergreen content. Meanwhile, I established a new feedback mechanism for staff writers with a view to delivering frequent updates on article performance and quality of writing. Show less Writing news, analysis, features and reviews on various topics across B2B technology including cyber security, AI, networking, hardware, enterprise computing, public policy and innovation. Plenty of experience covering events domestically and abroad including Europe and the US, including enterprise events and conferences with a range of public and private sector speakers.Alongside day-to-day duties, I often mentored interns with the brand, and took on responsibilities for the publication of bylined content on Channel Pro. Also pioneered the use of data on the brand, devising a style guide for data journalism and several prototypes for a new stream of data-driven content. Show less

  • Features Editor

    Nov 2022 - Nov 2023

  • Acting Features Editor

    Sept 2021 - Nov 2022

  • Staff Writer

    Apr 2018 - Sept 2021
• 

  Live Science

  Nov 2023 - now

  Technology Editor