Meet Omar Mohammed, Globe Rhode Island’s newest reporter – The Boston Globe

Q: Tell us a bit about your background.

Mohammed: I am originally from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I have covered economic and business news for about a decade now, reporting for the likes of Reuters, Bloomberg, and Quartz. Most recently, I was a US economy reporter at Newsweek.

Q: What will you be doing at The Boston Globe’s Rhode Island bureau?

Mohammed: I will be covering all things economy and business in Rhode Island, as well as news from Bristol County in Massachusetts, and I will be based in Providence.

Q: What’s something people should know about you?

Mohammed: I am passionate about reporting on economic issues, but I also love writing about sports. I was lucky to be at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where I covered men’s basketball and track and field. I am also a huge soccer fan and love to play and watch the game. In another metaverse, I am probably a professional soccer player.

Q: Tell us about a story you wrote that you are proud of.

Mohammed: I am really proud of this piece I published with The Guardian about the NBA and its ambition to start a brand new league in Africa. I traveled to Dakar, Senegal, to report the story where the Basketball Africa League is headquartered. The story captured the aspirations of young basketball players on the continent and tried to answer the question of why the NBA chose Africa to establish its first professional league outside of North America. I love that story because I was able to bring together all my different loves — culture, sports, business — while giving insight into how young Africans are going after their dreams.

Q: Since you’re new to Rhode Island, what’s the number one thing you’re looking forward to doing in our quirky little state?

Mohammed: I have been reading my new teammate Alexa Gagosz’s coverage of the food scene here, so I am looking forward to exploring that side of the state.

This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.