By June Coxon
When Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan spoke at the November 19, 2019 Media Club meeting about his journalism experiences and contributions to society it prompted a lively discussion among those gathered to hear his talk.
Ali Khan, a retired Ottawa Citizen reporter and editorial board member, who worked as a journalist in a number of countries, discussed some of those experiences as well as how journalism has changed since his retirement in 1990. He suggest that at least in some ways it hasn’t changed much.
We also learned that the medical profession’s loss was journalism’s gain. Instead of following his father’s dream for him to become a doctor Ali Khan followed his heart and became a journalist. He began in the Philippines when he was a student, writing regularly for the Manila Times, Manila Chronicle and the Philippine Herald. While on a scholarship in the United States he interned at three American newspaperd and also worked as a reporter for the University of Michigan News Service. In Pakistan he was assistant news editor for the Morning News. Ali Khan also served as editor of the Christian Science Monitor, Atlanta Journal, Constitution and the Toronto Star.
His talk also touched on some of his many contributions to society, which included serving as an immigration and regugee judge for 10 years, founding the Ali Khan Foundation and the Muslim Co-ordinating Council of the National Capital Region. The former was established to help the needy around the world the other for the needy in the Ottawa area and to develop stronger ties with Canadians of all faiths.
Following Ali Khan’s talk the diverse sectors represented at our meeting prompted some thought provoking questions and discussions.
The meeting was co-hosted by the Ottawa Ethnic Media Forum. Ali Khan was introduced by Jagjeet Sharma and thanked by Iris ten Holder.