The journalists are the eyes and ears of society. The main role of the journalist is to collect and present the information as news and articles to the readers of newspapers and magazines; audiences and viewers of radio and television; Internet or through any other mass communication medium.
These journalists are women who have become an inspiration for aspiring journalists and gone above and beyond their call of duty.
So, here is the list of top 10 inspirational Indian women journalists:
- Homai Vyarawalla
Homai Vyarawalla was India’s first woman photojournalist and best known for documenting the country’s conversion from a British colony to a newly independent nation. The BBC records her life and career through a golden cluster of her work.
She was born on 9 December 1913 in Gujarat. Her family belonged to India’s tiny but influential Parsi community.
But the family soon moved to Mumbai, where she attended the JJ School of Art. Her work also includes candid, close-up photographs of celebrities and dignitaries who visited India in the years following independence, including China’s first prime minister Zhou Enlai, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, and Queen Elizabeth II.
2. Nidhi Razdan
Nidhi Razdan is an award-winning journalist and author, currently Executive Editor with NDTV where she has worked for over 18 years. She reports on foreign policy and national politics and anchors a daily prime time news show called ‘Left Right and Centre’. She has outlined from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, China, POK, Tibet, Africa, and many parts of the world.
In addition, in a post on Twitter on Saturday, Nizdan Razdan declared that she had taken up a teaching job at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts & Sciences as Associate Professor. Her 21 years of career at NDTV has an epilogue.
3. Faye D’Souza
Faye D’Souza is an award-winning journalist who has changed the way news is covered on Indian television by focusing attention on the issues that matter to citizens rather than those that fuel the emotions of partisan debates. D’Souza’s calm researched style of hosting prioritizes information over opinions.
However, her focus on government accountability, responsible taxation, the safety of women and children, education, health, and urban development has resulted in policy changes and shown the impact journalism has on changing the status. She spent the initial years of her career at CNBC TV 18. Faye D’Souza then joined the Time Network in 2008 and was previously the executive editor of Mirror Now.
4. Shaili Chopra
Shaili Chopra is the founder of SheThePeople. SheThePeople is India’s biggest platform for real stories of real women. In April 2017, she secured the Woman of Influence Award by Beyond Diversity Foundation in India. SheThePeople won an award for the best campaign on Feminism.
Formerly one of India’s top television editor-presenters, Shaili has a prolific journalism career, which has now furthered her into entrepreneurship, allowing her to use her news skills to create meaningful content for the web. In her last role, she was the Senior Editor and Lead Anchor at ET NOW, Economic Times Business News Channel, and earlier with India’s largest tv network NDTV.
In March 2016 Shaili was declared one of India’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Media, Marketing, and Advertising by IMPACT Magazine. Shaili received India’s highest honor in journalism, the Ramnath Goenka Award for Best in Business Journalism. She also won the Media Foundation Best Business Anchor Award for 2010 and, in the same year, the Federation of Indian Industry (FICCI) gave her the Young Women’s Achiever Award for her contribution to media. She also achieved the News Television Award for the Best Reporter in India in 2007.
5. Madhu Trehan
Madhu Trehan is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Newslaundry. A veteran journalist and writer, Trehan was also the founding editor of India Today and founded, produced, and anchored Newstrack, India’s first video news magazine.
She has authored the book Prism Me a Lie Tell Me A Truth, Tehelka As Metaphor. Founding editor of news magazine India Today, Madhu Trehan started her career by working in the press department of the United Nations. In 1977, she handed over the stewardship of the company to her brother.
6. Sharda Ugra
To date, sports journalism remains a largely male-dominated field. But Sharda Ugra was one of the first journalists to shatter this particular glass ceiling. Despite the struggles she faced at the start of her career, she continued on.
Today, 23 years later, she is a senior editor with ESPNcricinfo and a leading face of sports journalism. She also called out the prevalent sexual harassment in Indian sports. Sharda Ugra is Deputy Editor, India Today. On good days, it involves travel to various parts of the sphere to observe the sport.
7. Patricia Mukhim
Patricia Mukhim is a top Indian woman journalist. She is a well-known name in Meghalaya. Also, her work has predominantly focused on the socio-political milieu of Meghalaya. She edits the Shillong Times and is a journalist and columnist of repute.
Patrica also received the Padmashri in 2000. She has won several awards, including the Chameli Devi Jain award, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FLO award, Upendra Nath Brahma Soldier of Humanity award, and many more.
8. Shereen Bhan
Shereen Bhan is a news anchor. She is a sociable face of CNBC. Shereen has emerged in the shows like ‘Young Turk’, ‘India Business Hour’, ‘The Nation’s Business’, and ‘Power Turks’. Shereen is also the chief of the Delhi Bureau as well as the head of CNBC-TV18.
In fact, Women’s magazine Femina involved her among the 20 Beautiful Faces of the year in its September 2005 issue. She also figured among the 50 most Beautiful Women in the Vogue October 2008 issue. In 2009, the World Economic Forum entitled her as one of the Young Global Leaders of 2009.
9. Rana Ayyub
Rana Ayyub was formerly an investigative reporter with The Tehelka. She is best known for her work on the Gujarat riots of 2002. She wrote a book called Gujarat Files: Anatomy Of A Cover-Up that questions the role of now Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah in the riots.
In fact, Indian journalist Rana Ayyub was awarded the McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage for the year 2020 on Monday, 24 February. Ayyub is presently associated with The Washington Post as Global Opinions Writer.
10. Sweta Singh
Sweta Singh is a news anchor of AAJ TAK. She began her career while being a first-year graduate student at Patna University. She has many bylines to her name in Times of India, Patna, and Hindustan Times.
Sweta has worked with Zee News and Sahara, before connecting Aaj Tak in 2002. Her talk show Sourav ka Sixer won the award for the best sports program by Sports Journalism Federation of India (SJFI) in the year 2005. She has also made a debut in Bollywood movie Chakravyuh as an Aaj Tak news presenter. She is also the Executive Editor of Special Programming at Aaj Tak.
Read also: Top Indian News Channels And Their Major Breakthroughs
These women broke through gender-barriers and their work allowed more voices to be heard.
