Aunshuman A.

About

Aunshuman Apte New York, NY Email: x Tel: x MEDIA PRODUCER & BROADCAST JOURNALIST Media professional with more than 18 years of experience as TV News producer and Broadcast Journalist. Individually led several TV News and Multimedia productions for an International News outlet in Washington DC. As a member of the Washington Bureau, covered domestic and international current affairs. Recent work includes conceptualizing and coordinating social media strategies. Core strengths are, creativity and an astute aesthetic sense for TV and New Media programming. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Freelance TV News Reporter-Producer, New York, NY, Voice Of America (VOA) (August 2017 - Present) As a Reporter-Video Producer, producing current events based video reports from the New York City area for VOA’s South and Central Asia division. Key coverages include- Russian Invasion of Ukraine and its impact Afghan Refugees in New York and New Haven and their concerns Situation in Afghanistan and its impact over Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in New York Impact of COVID 19 on Immigrants and their businesses Black Lives Matter Movement and Police Reforms COVID-19 and Its impact on New York's Immigrant Communities United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tribeca Film Festival New York COMIC CON Key Accomplishments: Produced original short documentary “Storm Damage: Rafael’s Nightmare” for VOA. My Documentary pitch was one of the winners of VOA Pitch Contest 2021. The competition was organized by VOA Director's office. It invited short documentary pitches from all domestic and international reporters, stringers and other personnel from over 40 Language services, divisions and sections. The documentary is available on VOA’s website and VOA+ OTT Platform. Independent Producer/Video Journalist, New York, NY (July 2014 - August 2017) Worked as an Independent TV Producer/Video Journalist in New York City. The clients included VOA and Arise TV. Verizon Fios 1 News, NY Produced daytime News bulletins for the Long Island region for Verizon Fios 1 News. The tasks included editorial selection, writing and line production of the live to tape News bulletins throughout the day. The bulletins aired at 12.00PM, 1.00 PM, 2.00PM, 3.00PM, 3.30PM and 4.00PM. Arise News, New York City, NY Produced News packages, VO SOTS, and other video elements for the News show: Arise News Now (ANN). ANN covered and presented top US and international News to its viewers, and aired at 7.00 PM, 9.00 PM and 10.00 PM everyday on Arise TV. Voice Of America (VOA), New York City, NY Covered the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York for the Afghan service of VOA. The coverage focused on Afghan delegation’s UNGA activities. Produced Vox-Pops, original reports and live shots. Voice Of America (VOA), Washington, DC (August 2005-July 2014) The official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. It broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational and cultural programs every week in over 38 languages. It has a professional staff of more than 1,100 personnel that provides services to over 115 million people worldwide. TV Producer/Video Journalist, (VOA) Afghanistan Service (March 2010–July 2014) Produced News programming and features in English for TV Ashna, VOA’s live newscast which airs in Afghanistan six days a week in Dari and Pashto languages. As a Video Journalist and TV producer, pitched original story ideas, wrote, filmed, edited and produced English News reports. Productions included daily News packages, Features, Sit-Down Guest Interviews as well as live shots from outdoor locations. Top News coverage includes: The first democratic presidential election process in Afghanistan (2014), US State Department’s New Silk Road Vision for South and Central Asia, evolving US strategy in Afghanistan, US military’s cultural training for soldiers, Developments and risks in the reconciliation process with the Taliban, Women’s rights and judicial reforms, Civil society and Afghan elections, Post-2014 security issues, Readiness of the Afghan security forces, and Security implications for South Asia. Led the launch of social media based audience engagement initiative that invited Eid Greetings from viewers. These audio and video greetings were aired during TV Ashna’s Eid Special programming. The initiative created a strong audience response and helped cross promote Afghanistan service’s TV and Social media programs. Pitched and developed creative ways of utilizing user-generated content acquired through social media for daily News programming. As a senior member of the team, mentored colleagues and interns on various production and editorial elements of News gathering. Booked high profile American and International guests on deadline, for the daily News show that airs in Afghanistan. The guests were from a wide variety of fields: from Foreign Policy to Business, including Arts and Culture. Conducted research on their expertise and formulated questions for the studio interviews. Conceptualized and produced TV Promos for VOA’s Afghanistan service, South Asia Division, and for Deewa Radio which broadcasts to the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Key Accomplishments: 1) Successful intercultural communication: Delivered compelling media content to culturally diverse audience in Afghanistan and elsewhere while accomplishing agency’s goals. 2) Was assigned by the VOA Afghan service to cover the United Nations General Assembly consecutively in 2012, 2013 and 2014. TV Producer/Reporter/Anchor/Shift Editor/Radio Producer (VOA) India Service (Aug 2005-March 2010) Produced News reports and features for television and radio, and co-hosted the TV newscast that aired 5 days a week in India. Total Hindi programming reached over 25 million viewers on Indian affiliate networks Zee News, Aaj Tak, and Headlines Today. Produced and hosted the TV News show “America Live” which aired on Zee TV, VOA’s former affiliate in India. As a part of the team reported live on the Election Night, and covered Presidential Inauguration as well as Democratic and Republican conventions during 2008-2009 US presidential election cycle. Reported for and produced daily radio newscast and call-in shows for VOA Hindi Radio which aired in India. Covered and reported on issues and events pertaining to the South Asian diaspora (From India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) in the United States. Top News coverage included President Obama’s historic win, US economic downturn, and 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Continuous reporting on the war on terrorism, US-India relations, India-Pakistan relations, Indian diaspora in the US, as well as Cultural features. Conducted numerous interviews with the US and Indian Government officials. Key Accomplishments: Through extensive coverage of Socio-Economic, Cultural and Political issues, facilitated a better understanding of US-India relations as well as life in the United States among the Indian audience. Production Coordinator at Ad-Dict Advertising Agency, Mumbai, India (Aug 1998-Jan 2002) Coordinated production of Commercials, TV ‘soaps’ and Corporate videos for this full service television production house. Responsibilities included location scouting, shoot logistics, talent search, and supervising the editing and digital mastering processes. Clients included Proctor & Gamble, the Tata group of companies, and other national and state level entities. Also, acted in several TV serials and other stage productions. EDUCATION Masters in Mass Communication and Media Arts (2005) Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL: Professional Media Practices Concentration. Masters in Political Science (2000) University of Mumbai, India: Global Order Studies Major Bachelor of Economics (1998) University of Mumbai, India. Courses in Digital Media Management (2012-2013) Georgetown University. ACADEMIC RECOGNITION Produced documentary “In Quest of the Spectacular” as final thesis. The film focuses on young actors trying to reach fame and fortune in Bollywood. The film was shot in India and was selected for screening at film festivals in Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles. Paper presentation on ‘Digital Conversion of the Local TV Stations’ at a symposium organized by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The paper qualitatively analyzed digital conversion processes for the public (PBS affiliated) and private (ABC Affiliated) TV stations in the Southern Illinois region. Served as a Researcher for the documentary ‘Hidden Kerala’ which aired on PBS. PROFICIENCIES Newsroom Computer Systems/Editorial Management: ENPS, iNews Social Media Platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Social Mention, Klout, Pinterest, Google+, Google Statistics, WordPress Blogs, YouTube. Editing Applications: Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier, Dalet Plus, Dalet 5.1, Avid Xpress Pro, Vegas, Pro Tools and Motion Cameras: Canon DSLRs, Panasonic P2 HD, Sony HDV, Sony DSR-570, DSR-250, DSR PD-150;DSR PD-170; Canon XL-1, Sony HDW-F900 Languages: Bi-lingual (spoken and written) in English, Hindi, and Marathi; Spoken Urdu; Beginner Russian

Top Services

Reporter / Journalist

News Shooter / Video Journalist

TV News Producer