Profile

I am a journalist and writer with nine years of experience in print journalism and a two-year stint in media studies. Having edited and rewritten news stories; managed news desks; conceptualised, designed and produced feature supplements; written features on social changes, culture and the Arts in two mainstream English language dailies, Indian Express and Deccan Herald between 2000 and 2009, I applied for and won a European Commission scholarship to pursue the Erasmus Mundus Masters in media and globalisation. The two-year programme, which concluded in June 2011, is uniquely designed to give working journalists global exposure, a critical understanding of media and socio-political theories and training to conduct original empirical research.

Of its four semesters, the first was held at Aarhus University, Denmark, and it gave students an introduction to reporting and understanding global change. The second, held at the University of Amsterdam, focused on political communication. The third and the fourth semesters offered specialisations in three other European Universities — Swansea in Wales, Hamburg University and City University, London.

I specialised in conflicts, both international and social, at Swansea University. In my final dissertation, I conducted an original empirical study on the coverage of the 2010 Kashmir protests on Indian commercial television. The Masters’ programme exposed me to the European model of teaching and learning and gave me the extraordinary cultural experience of studying in a class of 47 students from 25 countries.

Before I embarked on this educational sabbatical, I looked after Living, the four-page weekend lifestyle supplement of Deccan Herald, a mainstream Indian English-language daily. Living covers lifestyle trends, fashion, food, beauty and grooming, health advice and fitness, not to mention, an entire page on women.

Currently, I am freelancing for various publications and daydreaming about writing that great South-Indian novel which the world will lap up the minute I stop pounding on the keyboard. So, the sun continues to shine on the nothing new.

Awards and achievements

* Awarded the British Print Chevening Scholarship by the U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Successfully completed the scholarship at the University of Westminster, London, between November 2006 and February 2007. Did a month-long internship at News International, London, as part of the programme

* Was selected as one of the key speakers on the ethics of media communication at the EMA thematic conference ‘Communication: Let’s redefine the terms’ organised by the University of Bordeaux, France, on March 29-30, 2010

* Was selected as a delegate for ‘Education without Borders’, a biennial international student conference held at Abu Dhabi on March 28-31, 2011

* Was the only Indian selected for the Reuters Foundation course on ‘Climate Change Reporting’ held in London from June 9 to June 18, 2007

* Completed BBC’s ‘Basic and Advanced Journalism Training Programmes for Journalists from South-East Asia’ with distinction in 2004-2005

Employment History

May 2008 to July 2009: Chief Sub-editor/Reporter in charge of Living, Deccan Herald, Bangalore
May 2005 to April 2008: Senior Sub-editor/Reporter in charge of Living, Deccan Herald, Bangalore
November 2000 to April 2005: Sub-editor/Reporter, News Desk, Deccan Herald, Bangalore
May-October 2000: Sub-editor, City Desk, The New Indian Express, Bangalore