World Affairs & Global Culture
Hello! I'm Armani Syed — an NCTJ-trained journalist specialising in World Affairs and Global Culture. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of Spotlights, an upcoming annual print magazine platforming timeless culture stories unearthed by music label Habibi Funk.
From October 2022 to August 2024, I served as a World and Culture reporter at TIME magazine. I wrote at the intersection of major events and world news, including the impact of Qatar’s World Cup on migrant workers, protest action in Iran, and how climate change is affecting Hajj. I have covered Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. I also lead TIME’s coverage of global culture, with original features on Bollywood, Hallyu, and Arab funk music.
In February 2021, I joined Insider Inc. as a journalist focusing on Royals and Lifestyle coverage until my appointment at TIME.
In March 2020, I launched MESA Magazine, which aimed to improve the way Middle Eastern and South Asian (MESA) communities are represented in the media. In its lifetime, MESA covered culture, fashion, and politics for readers in over 55 countries.
From September 2020 to May 2021, I coordinated Press and Communications for Modus Arts' oral history project Tape Letters, which looks at the use of cassette tapes as a form of long-distance communication between British-Asian migrants and their families in Pakistan. I also worked on Text-Sound-Art, an Arts Council-funded exhibition exploring the intermedium between poetry and sound.
My full CV is available upon request.
