Tamar Uriel-Beeri: The Jerusalem Post's multi-talented, multi-tasking virtuoso
Behind the Bylines: Nobody at The Jerusalem Post has done more than Tamar Uriel-Beeri, who excels at everything she touches. Also, she can moonwalk in high heels.
- Don’t mess with the Style Guide.
- A little before 8 p.m., you immediately turn on the TV for the news.
- No one has done more than Tamar Uriel-Beeri.
An incredible resumé – and that’s without mentioning Uriel-Beeri’s position as a main conference organizer, head of the Post’s business desk, and main host of The Jerusalem Post Podcast – all of which she does while also helming the Report.
That is no less than 10 jobs she has been doing over the course of about six years at the Post, many done concurrently. Perhaps the only job she hasn’t done is being in charge of the Style Guide – a job reserved for a certain unnamed but allegedly handsome writer of Behind the Bylines.
But in her time with the Post, Uriel-Beeri has gone from strength to strength, and her talents go far beyond journalism. She is a gifted writer with a knack for poetry; a trained dancer who can moonwalk while wearing high heels; a skilled performer and public speaker; and the Post’s resident makeup and skincare expert.
This week, In Jerusalem sat down with her to hear more about her multifaceted career.
What brought you to Israel?
I was actually born here and moved to America with my parents for their work, so when we moved back, it was more of a return home than it was aliyah. I was 15, and I was more than happy to come back after spending every summer here seeing family and traveling around the country. I even went to summer camp here!How did you get into journalism?
I was always into journalism. I remember when I was 12 and I started researching colleges, one of the programs I was interested in was journalism. People around me, however, told me that it's a really aggressive industry, and that frightened me to no end; so I dropped it and leaned instead toward literature, as my love for reading was almost monstrous in its hunger, and my desire to write even more so.It was only at the end of the first year of my literature degree at Hebrew University that I opened up again toward journalism and applied for a student job at The Jerusalem Post. Luckily enough, that worked out and launched me into my still-young career of journalism.
I am a person greatly motivated by my passions, so the concrete need to deliver information clearly and concisely, and carrying that responsibility, felt like a calling. I became addicted to the research aspect.
What was it like managing the website, being deputy editor-in-chief, and then heading the ‘Report’?
All the jobs I had before working at the Post were in customer service such as waitressing, and in all of those positions I reached some level of managerial role – so taking on such a role in the news felt like the natural next step. It was a wonderful three years of overseeing content management and strategy with our website, and it came to an end with a wonderful event in my personal life: the birth of my son. I did come back to the role for a brief period after my maternity leave, but soon after that I was given the privilege of the deputy editor-in-chief role, where I got to oversee policy and lead a special project promoting the focus on our digital content.Then, when the marvelous Steve Linde announced he was leaving the Report, I was given the privilege of assuming his role as editor-in-chief. Since then, I have tried to add my own flourish to our bi-weekly glossy magazine, creating themed content issues on key topics – and some fun ones, too. It's been a fantastic challenge, especially alongside leading Jerusalem Post Conference content.
What's it like being the regular host of the podcast?
The JPost podcast has been a pleasure to work on. It was always something I enjoyed listening to under previous hosts, and it taught me a lot about presenting analyses of the news in a more nuanced fashion. I like to think I brought that along with me when I joined as co-host and later became the main host.What's something about working in the news that most people probably wouldn't know?
There's no such thing as completely objective journalism. It is and should be our goal to present the news as objectively as possible, but there's no such thing as it being 100% objective. A lot of people call our publication left-wing or right-wing, but in reality a lot of it is based on your own perspective coming into it.What's your favorite anecdote of your career?
It changes from day to day, to be honest. My favorite at the moment is from just the other day, when I was at our Women Leaders Summit. An older woman approached me and said that she has been reading my articles for years and asked me how I could feel comfortable criticizing the government at a time like this.I was so surprised that I didn't even think before the words slipped from my mouth: "Because it is my responsibility. Who else holds leaders accountable in the public eye? If a teacher hits a child and then the class is shut down for repairs, you wouldn't tell the school to stop investigating the teacher because the class has enough to deal with as is. When the class is in chaos and disarray, this is the time for leadership that will not harm the students but protect them." I think that was a pretty good response on my part.
What advice do you have for aspiring journalists?
My family was right. This is an aggressive industry, but it's so worthwhile. My advice would be: Don't be afraid to start small, even starting as a junior editor. Learning about the industry from within is such a wonderful tool later on down the line.
