Female Journalists in India

Women journalists in our country have contributed a great deal to shaping the media industry. Learn about some impactful female journalists in India here.

Female Journalists in India

Female Journalists in India - India is a large and diverse country, and so is the media covering its activities in the political, social, and entertainment spheres. Over the years, there have been many female journalists who have helped shape the media scene in our country. Through their work, they have covered events that would someday make history and uncovered harsh realities of society and people in power. In addition to that, they have and continue to offer representation for women in the field of Journalism. In this article, we will list some notable female journalists in India and take a brief look at their work, their achievements and more. Let’s get started. 

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Rana Ayyub 

Rana Ayyub’s time at Tehelka (a Delhi-based investigative and political news magazine) as an investigative journalist brought about some of her most notable works. During her time there, she worked on her Gujarat Sting Operation and later wrote her book ‘The Gujarat Files’. She has been a Contributing Global Opinions Writer with the Washington Post since 2019. 

Ayyub is also quite active on Instagram. As an independent journalist, she posts her work frequently on this medium. Every now and then, she also highlights the unprecedented hate female creators get on social media, especially when they have strong opinions like hers. 

Faye D’Souza 

Starting her journalism career at the ALL India Radio when she was only a student, Faye D’Souza now has numerous achievements under her belt. She rose to fame as a TV news anchor. She had 3 weekly shows running on ET Now - Investor's Guide, All About Stocks and The Property Guide. Her career took off with Mirror Now and The Urban Debate. According to her, the show let her shine an uncomfortable spotlight on apathy, inefficiency and corruption, which is the root cause of most problems that we face as Indians today. She became the Managing Editor for Mirror Now. Today, she continues to work independently and is quite active on social media. 

Meera Devi 

Meera Devi’s name is an important mention on the list. She stands out for her journalistic work in the rural, media-scarce parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Started as a reporter, she is now the Bureau Chief of Khabar Lahariya. Khabar Lahariya is the country’s only women-run brand of ethical and independent rural news. She has over 14 years of experience in reporting. She also runs a fortnightly show on politics called ‘Rajneeti, Ras, Raay’. 

Barkha Dutt 

Former reporter and news anchor for NDTV and Tiranga TV, Barkha Dutt has now become a household name. She is now an independent journalist and runs her own digital news channel called MoJo Story. She has authored The Unquiet Land: Stories from India’s Fault Lines, which is based on her experience as the frontline reporter from the Kargil War in 1999 and To Hell and Back: Humans of Covid, which is a vivid account of the struggles of the people of our country during the pandemic. Among the many national and international awards that she has won for her work, the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, might be her most significant achievement. 

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Shaili Chopra 

Founder of SheThePeople.TV and GolfingIndian.com, Shaili Chopra is an Indian business journalist, author and entrepreneur. SheThePeople.TV is dedicated to covering stories of interest about women in news and entertainment through videos. She has authored several books that have been published by some very prominent publications like Penguin and Random House. Her books include Birdies in Business, Feminist Rani, When I was 25, and Big Connect - Social Media and Indian Politics. Earlier, she had worked with ET Now, NDTV 24x7 as Markets & Corporate Affairs Editor and NDTV Profit as the Senior News Editor-Corporate. 

She has won the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Business Journalism. Some of her most impactful works include live coverage of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks alongside husband Shivnath Thukral. 

Palki Sharma Upadhyay

Palki Sharma Upadhyay started her career as a reporter and news anchor with Doordarshan. She is now the Managing Editor at Network 18 and the face of the news show ‘Vantage’ on Firstpost. She has won numerous awards for English Journalism. Before her time at Network 18, she had also worked with Hindustan Times, CNN-News 18 and WION. Palki Sharma's reporting and take on matters of importance have been consistently objective, crisp and compelling. She has also proven her wit time and again. Firstpost's coverage of the recent India-Pakistan conflict and Operation Sindoor makes great examples of the same. 

Anupama Chopra 

Anupama Chopra is another familiar face for those who follow news and entertainment in any capacity. She is an author, journalist and film critic. She has written several books on Indian Cinema and the Indian Film Industry. In addition to being a film critic for NDTV, India Today, Star World and Hindustan Times, she founded and acted as editor to the digital platform Film Companion, which is now defunct after several successful years. She now does celebrity actor and filmmaker interviews for The Hollywood Reporter, India, where she collects interesting points of view and insights of the craft for her viewers. 

Her book, Sholay: The Making of a Classic, won the National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema in the year 2001. Her other notable written works include King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and The Seductive World of Indian Cinema.

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Mini Menon 

Mini Menon started her journalism and media career with platforms like TVi and Start TV Network. In 2004, she was the news anchor for Goodlife on CNBC TV 18. The show that got her the most recognition was ‘Inside India’s Best Known Companies’ on Bloomberg TV India. In 2013, she published her book, Riding the Wave, which documents how seven leading Indian businessmen built their businesses and shaped the business industry by taking advantage of the opening up of the Indian Economy. She is now the co-founder of Peepul Tree World, an e-commerce company that sells artisanal, handcrafted home decor pieces. She has been named the Best Business News Anchor by the Indian Broadcast Federation in the year 2008-09. In addition to that, she has received the Zee Astitva Award for Journalism and the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence as a Young Achiever. She was also the Miss India Asia Pacific in 1996,

Gauri Lankesh 

One of the most fearless journalists that our country has ever witnessed, Gauri Lankesh, started her journalism journey with The Times of India in Bangalore. After working with a magazine and a television channel, she took over her father’s publication Lankesh Patrike, which she ran alongside her brother. After the fallout with her brother, she started her own publication called Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She was an advocate for the freedom of the press and had left-leaning political views. Known for her social activism, her strong stance and criticism on social evils like casteism, religious extremism, and systemic patriarchy earned her many powerful enemies, which eventually led to her murder in 2017. 

Madhu Trehan 

Madhu Trehan was the founding editor of India Today. The magazine was started by her father, V.V. Purie. Her brother Aroon Purie and she acted as publisher and editor, respectively. Some highlights of her career include interviewing terrorist Yakub Memon, Tehelka as Metaphor (a book on the 2001 Operation West End, a sting by Tehelka, and its aftermath), etc. Over her long journalism career, she has written for some of the leading news publications in our country, like Outlook India and the Hindustan Times. In 2002, she launched a news website and publication called Wah India and later in 20212, she launched Newslaundry, a crowd-sourced media critique website. 

Anubha Bhonsle

Starting her career with The Indian Express, she has worked with the New Delhi Television. She joined CNN News 18 as a prime-time anchor and senior editor. She is best known for her work in bringing to light the marginalised groups of the North East, Kashmir, UP, etc. She is also known for the show ‘Paisa Power Politics’, which reports on campaign funding and other relevant subjects. She also edited the Citizen Journalist Show and reports from the North East, Kashmir and other conflict-ridden regions quite frequently. In 2016, she wrote her book Mother, Where’s My Country?’, recording her reportage from the North East and Irom Sharmila’s struggle against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. She is a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award and the Chameli Devi for Outstanding Woman Media Person. 

Know any more impactful women in journalism? Comment down below. 

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