Around the Table with Diana Roy

Around the Table is a three-question interview series from the Make Room email newsletter. Each edition features a conversation with a peer in the national security community to learn about their expertise and experience in the sector.

Diana Roy is a senior writer and editor covering Latin America and immigration at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her writing has also been featured in Foreign Policy, the Inter-American Dialogue, and Global Americans.

As a senior writer at CFR, you frequently use the explainer format to break down complex foreign policy topics. What strategies do you use to make these sensitive subjects accessible and understandable?

First and foremost, all of the content I produce is written with intent to be objective and nonpartisan, meaning I don’t write anything with an agenda in mind. My goal is not to tell readers how to feel about a particular subject; rather, it is to provide the facts, background, and relevant context so they can form their own opinion (and, ideally, gain a basis from which to learn more on the topic).

I also always labor to keep in mind my target audience. As a writer in the newsroom of a foreign affairs think tank, my target audience is exceptionally broad. Despite a focus on objective reporting, having such a diverse audience impose unique challenges. Foreign affairs issues by nature often require much greater context and knowledge than the average reader possesses. For any given piece, acclimating the reader is a balancing act between providing too much detail and not enough. Are there certain assumptions I should have about how much the average reader already knows? I try to constantly put myself in their position—what information would be most useful for them to know, and how in-depth should I address the topic?

Finally, I try to use accessible language. This includes avoiding the use of jargon-heavy language that might appear to some readers as nothing more than complex technobabble. Good writing is good writing; it doesn’t necessarily need to be full of complex terminology to effectively communicate information and tell a story.

Your expertise is in Latin America, but your work demonstrates considerable adaptability across topics. How do you effectively stay informed across multiple issue areas while maintaining depth in your specialization?

I read—a lot! Although I have a primary regional focus, I have found it difficult to work in the field of international relations without also assimilating information about a variety of topics unrelated to my primary area of coverage. For example, I’ve written about the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as African migration to Europe. Much of that writing was derived from good, solid research and interviews with experts.

When it comes to maintaining depth in my specialization, I try to immerse myself in all things Latin America when I can. I am subscribed to countless newsletters that focus on just Latin America-related content, I maintain a growing list of experts in the field whose work I regularly read, and I try to read local Spanish-language news (for example, Argentina’s Clarín or Chile’s El Mercurio). It also helps to have friends and colleagues who are interested in the same topics as myself; often we send each other articles to share what we found insightful or thought-provoking.

If you could go back to the beginning of your career, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?

The biggest piece of advice I would give my younger self would be to remember that writing is a craft and the more you do it, the more you’ll improve—so just write and write often.

I used to spend a lot of time agonizing over the content I wrote, whether it was a school paper or an article for work, because I didn’t think it was “good enough.” But a piece doesn’t have to be perfect to be valuable. The best writing is the kind that is clear, easy to understand, and does what it says it will do—whether that is inform, analyze, or argue. Also, experiment with different mediums—short-form content, long-form content, analytical, argumentative—you name it! Knowing how to adapt a story into different mediums is a valuable skill.