I think, from various things that she supposedly said and the fact that she changed her dress to Muslim dress a few months ago (before she was kidnapped), that she had already converted to Islam.
I know if I was a reporter, or anything other than a soldier in uniform, over there you could bet I'd be as native looking as possible. It'd be a pretty dumb (and worse, ineffective) reporter -stringer or superstar- ho didn't try to blend in.