Bodhisattawa M.

About

Bodhisattwa Maity Address: M 190, Jal Vayu Vihar, Sector 25, Noida Date of Birth: 31-08-1974 Mobile: +91-9958913232 Email: x, x PROFILE: News Editor with 18 years experience in the Indian media; Media educator Besides editing and writing for various prestigious Indian newspapers and magazines, I have an eclectic academic background that I fruitfully utilise on occasion to offer lectures and seminars on media and journalism as a profession. I have so far delivered such lectures to two Bangalore-based schools, via Zoom — Global Indian International School and Greenwood High School — instructing students about the profession as it stands today, and interacting with them afterward. EXPERIENCE: Currently: Senior Associate Editor, The Indian Express, New Delhi (October 2022-present) Profile: As a senior editor on the Political Pulse desk -- which identifies important daily political trends across India and tries to give a national perspective to it, over and above the news report that is published earlier -- I regularly interact with around 50 reporters spread across India, identify political news that could possibly have national importance, discuss these with the Editor in Chief and the Managing Editor, then sanction the stories that have been cleared to reporters along with the angle they need to explore beyond the headline, distribute stories when they arrive among other desk members, edit important ones (often rewrite with added inputs and in a fashion that makes it attractive to the reader), and finally, liaise with political leaders across the spectrum for new stories. I also occasionally write stories and op-ed articles. Political Pulse stories mainly get uploaded to the web, except for 4-5 that find space in the print edition daily. During state or national elections -- which keep happening every 3-4 months in India -- Pulse gets assigned a dedicated page in the print edition, when we also overlook its production -- including getting graphics made and gathering interesting, exclusive photographs to go with the stories. My Previous Assignments: Associate Editor, Outlook magazine, New Delhi (May 2021-present) Profile: As the head of desk, I was the final gatekeeper of everything that got printed in the magazine or published online. I also occasionally wrote stories, besides ideating, editing, rewriting and planning layouts for the magazine. Assistant Editor, News Desk, Times of India, BCCL, New Delhi (July 2014-April 2021) Profile: I coordinated with bureaus (West UP & Uttarakhand editions, earlier: NCR edition), ideated on new stories, planned page layouts, oversaw production, rewrote stories and gave catchy headlines. This involved on average selecting between 15-35 stories out of 40-50 submitted stories (numbers varied, based on allocation of pages, it could be 1 page or up to 3 on a day), developed from around 60 story ideas submitted daily. These stories needed to be allocated to sub-editors, vetted before going to page, placed in page layout. On top, I edited between 5-8 stories every day. Some of the notable (serialised) stories I have anchored and edited over the years include —Gang wars in Gurgaon (2016); Sugarcane farming in West UP, including conflicts over pricing/MSP, sales & arrears (2019-2021); Ecological impact of development in Uttarakhand hills (2019-2021); Real estate across NCR (2014-2019), from best practices & troubles due to economic downturn, to NGT & RERA interventions, and Unfinished, delayed or fraudulent practices in projects (2014-2019). Copy Editor, India Today magazine, Living Media Group, New Delhi (July 2012-July 2014) Profile: I subbed/rewrote stories, gave catchy headlines, made pages, coordinated with bureaus, and ideated new stories. Deputy Copy Editor, Sunday Standard, The New Indian Express (TNIE), New Delhi Bureau (Mar' 2011-July 2012) Profile: I helped launch the newspaper, and subbed/rewrote stories, gave catchy headlines, made pages, coordinated with bureaus, ideated on cover and other story ideas (I had the highest rate of original ideas that were accepted among all members of the desk), would decide (with the editor) which stories to carry and/or ask our bureau to pursue, and also wrote feature stories, book and restaurant reviews, and opinion. National News Coordinator, Financial World (Aug' 2010-Feb'2011) Profile: Again, involved with the launch of the newspaper from Delhi, my job was to coordinate with the bureau, galvanize the reports and get at least three interesting, exclusive stories from the reporters every week. Also, in coordination with the Managing Editor and Editor (News) of the daily (it eventually did not launch), I chased deadlines and supervised production of corporate pages, occasionally helping the Front Page Editor with copy placement. I was also listed as an edit page writer. Deputy Copy Editor, Tehelka (Jan 2010-Aug' 2010) Profile: Responsible for all pages in the magazine. I extensively rewrote copies and worked with the designers for layouts. I also penned some feature articles, links to which are listed below. Feature Writer and Senior Sub Editor, The Telegraph, Kolkata (Jan' 2000-Sept' 2001) Profile: Commissioned feature articles, wrote on subjects as varied as feminism to football, and routinely designed pages. Sub Editor, Business Today, New Delhi (July 1999-Dec' 1999) Profile: Edited copy, designed pages. SABBATICAL Between my stint at The Telegraph and Tehelka, I took a break to fulfill a personal ambition. I won a UN fellowship to pursue a year-long diploma course (2001-2002) in filmmaking at the European Film College (EFC), Ebeltoft, Denmark, and served as an instructor on Documentary Techniques, History of World Cinema, and librarian there for another year (2002-2003). Subsequently, I won a graduate university fellowship to pursue Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies (2003-2007), and served as a teaching assistant for courses on History of World Cinema and Advanced Film Theory at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA. I completed my MA there. EDUCATION I did my MA in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (1999), and MA in Comparative Literature & Cinema Studies from UIUC, Illinois, USA (2006). Before that, I graduated (BA) in Economics from Jadavpur University in Kolkata (1997). Earlier, I studied at the St Xavier’s School, Durgapur (Class KG to X, up to ICSE, 1991) and Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur (Class XI-XII, up to WBHSE, 1993). TECHNICAL SKILLS: Operating System: Windows 95/NT/XP Software: Office and DTP: MS Word, MS Excel, Power Point, Illustrator, Photoshop & Image Ready, PageMaker, Freehand, Quark Express, InDesign. Web Design: Dreamweaver Video Editing: Avid Pro, Pro Tools (Sound Studio), Pinnacle, Final Cut Pro. SELECT ARTICLES: Links to some articles published in The Indian Express: On the politics behind hosting of FIFA World Cups over the years: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/fifa-world-cup-how-politics-cast-a-shadow-on-the-event-over-the-years-8277660/ Links to some articles published in Outlook: On film director Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary, a celebration of the maestro’s unsung collaborators: https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/entertainment-news-the-household-on-bishop-lefroy-road/304574 Obituary of Buddhadev Dasgupta, one of India's foremost arthouse film directors: https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/entertainment-news-magical-liminal-misunderstood-remembering-buddhadeb-dasgupta/384862 On edible oils, and the political economy behind it: https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-what-oil-is-healthy-and-whats-not-choose-wisely/304962 Links to some articles published in TNIE/SS: On Sachin Tendulkar's hogging of the Test No 4 position, and his place in history (Cover Story): https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/cricket/2011/aug/07/the-truth-about-sachin-tendulkar-279116.html On the invasion of modular kitchens inside Indian homes (Cover Story): https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2011/jul/17/the-new-age-indian-kitchen-272263.html On a new restaurant in Gurgaon (Review): https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/2011/aug/14/the-fifth-element-281513.html Links to some articles published in Tehelka: On books about football, an overview: http://old.tehelka.com/crickets-cassandra/ On the FIFA WC 2010, an opinion (Cover Story): http://old.tehelka.com/the-end-of-the-world-cup-as-we-know-it/ On evolution of strategies during the FIFA WC 2010, an opinion: http://old.tehelka.com/the-flight-of-the-jabulani/ LANGUAGES: Speaking, reading & writing proficiency in English, Bengali & Hindi

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