Newman graduated from the Moscow State University and moved to the UK in 1990. In 1995 she landed her dream job in the BBC with a brief to inform the former Soviet citizens about market economy and democracy. A turning point in her career came in 2012 when she made a radio documentary which exposed shocking irregularities and contempt for law within the justice system. The documentary won an Amnesty International Radio Award. In 2014 Newman spent a year travelling to Donbass, where she witnessed the unfolding tragedy of a peaceful area turning into a war zone. Currently she makes history programmes for BBC Witness.