Rashell Habib has been with 10 ViacomCBS since 2018. Starting in the 10 Daily department as Deputy News Editor before taking maternity leave, Rashell is now Social and Digital Editor for 10 News First.
Rashell’s return to the office after having her baby, Frankie, has been challenging thanks to COVID. She is in the Sydney office two days a week and works from home juggling a 24-hour news cycle, lockdowns, a toddler and a needy pooch!
What is it like being in the office through a lockdown?
It’s a strange time to be working in the office and given the nature of news, a lot needs to be done in the office.
While it is quieter than usual and there are face masks as far as the eye can see, along with many foggy glasses, there is still an ever-buzzing news room with dedicated journalists, producers and crew out there continuing to report the news.
What has been the biggest challenge for you in this lockdown?
I would say this lockdown has had a very different vibe.
The first lockdown was a novelty with Zooms and wine. But this lockdown, with the figures climbing and the death toll increasing, there was/is a hopeless nature to it, and it has mentally exhausted many people in the lockdown states.
I think anyone with a child during lockdown will tell you that has been the biggest challenge to home-school or just entertain a child, or in my case a toddler, while working full time. It’s hard and exhausting.
After noticing the desperation from people on the 10 News First social pages, you decided to help by approaching Headspace. What can you tell us about the partnership you’ve started with Headspace and 10 News First social pages?
Due to the nature of news, and the constant COVID content we were posting, we noticed through comments that there was a mentally frail and exhausted audience in lockdown states who were struggling.
So, we approached Headspace on a partnered mental health series that will live on our social media platforms (where all the doom scrolling happens).
We are filling our platforms with free and tangible mental health advice and practices, focusing on the most commented issues during COVID.
If you hadn’t gone into a 24-hours news cycle job role, what career would you be doing?
I wish I had an interesting answer to this but I have no idea what I would be doing if I wasn’t in news/content. It forms such a big part of who I am.
I do know that without a child, I would take up sleeping as a hobby. I would be great at it.
