Performer (Interviewee)
Ankita Mukhopadhyay
Interviewer
Dr. You Li
Geographic Location
India
Biography
Ankita Mukhopadhyay is a journalist, analyst, and product manager. During COVID, she covered several high-profile investigative stories on the pandemic in India for Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster. In 2020, she received a grant from the National Geographic Society's COVID-19 emergency fund to complete a written report on equal access to health care for women in the current Gurugram's urban slums. Ankita was relocated to the United States in 2021, and graduated with a master's degree from Northwestern University, specializing in media innovation and content strategy.
Mukhopadhyay published several investigative stories that focused on underrepresented groups during the pandemic, including women in Gurugram's slums, cremation urns workers, migrant workers, and diamond polishers. In this interview, she revealed the unique challenges from family, community, and sources she endured to practice journalism as a woman in India. A journalist and a social worker, Ankita advised spending time building a trustworthy relationship with sources and maintaining objectivity in one's journalistic pursuit. She reviewed the difficulties of covering COVID at its peak while enduring the loss of a family member to the virus. The personal loss put her in a unique position to tell other people's suffering with compassion and empathy. She left future generations with lessons of loss and gains.
Interview Date
7-10-2023
Subject
Eastern Michigan University Archives, Journalism, Women in journalism, India, mental health, investigative journalism, COVID-19, social work, support networks, underrepresented communities, migrant workers, National Geographic Society, freelance journalist
Publisher
Eastern Michigan University Archives
Digital Object File Type
mp3
Run Time
1:02:19
Rights
Copyright to the audio resource and its transcript, headshot, and stories is held by the content creator, author, artist, or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any other format without written permission of the copyright owner, Eastern Michigan University Archives (lib_archives@emich.edu).
Recommended Citation
Li, You, "Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Oral History Interview, 2023" (2023). Collective Memory of Women Journalists in COVID-19. 5.
https://commons.emich.edu/cmwj/5
Author Page
https://www.ankitamukhopadhyay.com/