Faces that bring India the News: Top Indian TV Journalists

Rajdeep Sardesai

The man who quit as the Managing Editor of NDTV to launch his own start-up venture in Broadcast News along with TV18's promoter Raghav Bahl, the man behind one of the most popular English news channels in India CNN IBN is none other than Rajdeep Sardesi. He is arguably the most well-known broadcast journalist in the country today. At 43, he’s a 24/7 journalist, the Editor-in-Chief of a national news channel, a husband and a father of two children.

Rajdeep graduated from St. Xaviers College in Mumbai and later studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Prior to television, he worked with the Times Group at various levels. He has been awarded time and again for excellence in media journalism.

His stint as a journalist began in the late 80’s when he joined The Times Group, and after that he joined NDTV in1994 as their Political Editor, which marked his entry into television journalism. He has hosted some of the most appreciated and popular shows on television, like The Big Fight on NDTV, and he has received accolades for his reportage on the Gujarat Riots.

Rajdeep has won several awards including the ATA (Asian Television Awards) in 2003 and 2004, Best News Anchor Award at the Indian Television Awards (ITA) 2003 and 2004, Impact Person of the Year Award (2006), among others.

Barkha Dutt

Probably the most recognized woman journalist in India today Barkha Dutt has over 10 years on TV news under her belt and is a veteran of the medium. The daughter of one of Delhi’s first women reporters, Prabha Dutt, Barkha has been around, breaking and covering major news stories almost since the very advent of broadcast journalism in India.

Speak of NDTV and you cannot forget to mention her name. Having done her Bachelors in English Literature from St. Stephens in New Delhi and Masters in Mass Communication from Jamia Milia Islamiya University, Barkha Dutt went on to obtain a Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Her excellence in journalism was proven when she was the youngest journalist in India to be awarded the Padma Shri, among the country's highest civilian honours. She has also been received several awards and felicitations because of her work, some of which include, The Inlaks Scholarship in 1997, Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2005-2006), The Chameli Devi Award for the Best Woman Journalist, The Kostas Kyriazis – Greece’s most prestigious journalism award among others.

Quiz any wannabe journalist about whom they consider to be their ‘idol’ and perhaps this is the name that you will hear the most. Professionally, Barkha boasts of a career full of milestones.From on-site news coverage to in-studio shows, this lady has been there and done it all. Her excellent coverage of the Kargil War in 1999 won her appreciation and love from the entire nation. Another milestone was the coverage of the Tsunami Disaster in South India and the Mumbai terror attacks.

Vikram Chandra

Yet another rather good-looking NDTV product, Vikram Chandra has over a decade’s experience in television journalism. He did his Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and went on to study at Oxford on an Inlaks Scholarship. He honed his media skills at Stanford University where he did a course in Mass Media.

Vikram Chandra’s simple and lucid style of delivering news immediately struck a chord with the Indian audiences. Today, he heads the editorial team at NDTV and is also the CEO of NDTV.com. He has currently taken over as the host of ‘The Big Fight’ to fill in for former colleague Rajdeep Sardesai. One also spots him often on NDTV Profit’s ‘Gadget Guru’. His exemplary work has won him laurels not just in India but all over the world. This was significantly proven, when, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, he was named ‘Global Leader for Tomorrow’.

From covering war zones to uncovering the latest gizmos, this man has done it all! He is currently the Senior Editor of NDTV and serves as the CEO of NDTV Networks. Apart from playing the CEO and Managing Director of NDTV Networks PLC, he also anchors News and famous TV series The Big Fight on the same channel.

Shereen Bhan

This young lady graduated from St.Stephen’s College and went on to obtain a Master’s in Film and Television from Pune. Prior to CNBC TV18, Shereen was an associate producer with UTV. She joined CNBC TV18 over five years ago and practically redefined the term ‘anchoring’. She is frequently seen on shows such as India Business Hour, Power Turks, Young Turks and The Good Life Show.

She was recently named ‘FICCI Woman of the Year 2005’. Her effortless deliverance of news and features alike as well as her cheerful disposition has made her a favorite in thousands of Indian homes. Often described as one of the few TV journalists to add a touch of glamour to the field Shereen is one of the Top News Anchors and Journalists of India today.

Karan Thapar

Not known for putting his guests at ease, Karan Thapar is nevertheless one of the most widely recognised and popular faces of Indian television. There is no one like him when it comes to asking grueling questions and bowling over the guests who come to his shows. He graduated with a degree in Economics and Political Philosophy from the Cambridge University, and then attained a Doctorate from Oxford University. Having worked in the medium not in India but in the United Kingdom too, Thapar is perhaps the only Indian journalist to have worked for ten years in television outside India.

He started his career as a journalist by joining The Times in Nigeria, and later joined London Weekend Television in 1982, where he worked for the next 11 years. Soon after he moved to India and worked with a host of media organizations like The Hindustan Times Group, United Television group, etc. and in August 2001, he set up his own production house, Infotainment Television. His shows, like Face-to-Face series on BBC, Eyewitness on Doordarshan, In Focus with Karan, In the Line of Fire and the recent Devil’s Advocate on CNN IBN have always managed to be very gripping because of Karan’s confronting and incisive style of questioning the guests.

He is the first person to win both the awards in the Current Affairs category, The Best Current Affairs Program (Court Martial) and The Best Current Affairs Presenter (Face to Face) at the Asian Television Awards, 2003. In fact he has won the award for being the Best Current Affairs Presenter three times, in 1999, 2003 and 2005 for the series HARDtalk on BBC.

Sagarika Ghose-Sardesai

Daughter of erstwhile director of Doordarshan Bhasker Ghose and wife of one of India's leading television journalists Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika is not to be overlooked as her journalistic oeuvre has now placed her as senior editor and prime time anchor on CNN-IBN and rightfully so.

The Rhodes Scholar became the first woman to anchor BBC's 'Question Time India' in 2004. Ghose received her bachelor's degree in history from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and an M.Phil from St Antony's College at Oxford. She has been a journalist in India since 1991 and has worked at the The Times Of India, Outlook magazine and The Indian Express before working at CNN-IBN.

Nidhi Razdan

Nidhi Razdan, considered second only to Managing Editor Barkha Dutt on NDTV 24x7, is a trusted face throughout the nation. A former recipient of the Asian Television Award for Highly Recommended Journalism, Nidhi is an expert in foreign Affairs and Kashmiri Politics as well as an Indian Institute of Mass Communication graduate combines good looks and great journalism.

Nidhi anchors the primetime shows for the channel. She covers politics with special emphasis on Kashmir and her USP is her ability to stay calm even during Breaking News. According to an online poll, she is the best looking female newsreader in Indian Television!