Reham demanded £35,000 for divorce article: report

In a startling revelation, hours after broadcast journalist Reham Khan’s opinion piece was published in British newspaper the Guardian, Newsweek Pakistan has claimed they had initially commissioned the piece but refused when Reham demanded a staggering £35,000 for the op-ed.

“Reham Khan’s Guardian piece was originally commissioned by Newsweek Pakistan. Once edited, her newly-hired press rep asked for £35K. We politely declined,” Newsweek Pakistan Associate Editor Rimmel Mohydin tweeted.

However, Nosheen Iqbal, features commissioning editor at the Guardian, clarified that no fee was charged to the British newspaper and questions the claim. “Is that definitely true? I edited and ran the Reham Khan piece in the Guardian. No fee whatsoever.”

Newsweek replied to Iqbal saying, “What you edited was our edit of the piece.” To this, Iqbal responded, “I was obviously unaware of this, it was presented as an original piece, will be following up thanks.”

However, Reham refuted the claim saying, “Broad sheets do not pay. I went for highly respected publications.” “I have not been paid for any article or interview,” she added in response to a tweet seeking clarification.

Further, she said the article is “running for free.” The Express Tribune could not independently verify whether a fee was charged or not.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2015.