Anjana Sankar
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A senior journalist based in the UAE with more than 15 years of experience, I have led reporting teams in their transition to digital story telling. A skilled multimedia reporter, I have covered - for both print and broadcast - some of the biggest global stories of conflict and migration from the frontlines in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Israel, India and Nepal. With extensive contacts in the UAE, Middle East and South Asia, I can deliver exclusive print and video stories, report live on camera, shoot and edit multimedia content under tight deadlines.
Work Experience
September 2022 - Today
The National
I am a senior journalist covering breaking stories and in depth local stories on foreign relations and expat welfare. Additionally, I am responsible for the coverage of the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis for the newspaper. I also file breaking stories and other in-depth features from the Asia region. I am also a trained multi-media journalist who is part of weekly news shows and podcasts produced by the newspaper.
January 2017 - August 2022
Khaleej Times
I head a15-member reporting team of Khaleej Times and am responsible for setting the daily news agenda. In addition to assigning and editing stories news stories for print and web, I liaise between the news and multimedia team to ensure digital content is updated real time to drive web and multimedia traffic. Previously, I headed KT's Abu Dhabi Bureau for three years. Currently, I head the Expo coverage for the newspaper.
October 2012 - December 2016
Senior Reporter - Gulf News (Xpress)
I was responsible for launching the Abu Dhabi edition of Xpress - a community newspaper under the Gulf News brand. Was responsible for writing and editing stories for the weekly edition of Xpress with a strong focus on community and human interest stories in Abu Dhabi.
December 2010 - February 2012
Manager PR & Comms - Gems Education
I was responsible for managing media and public relations for Gems, which is the UAE's biggest private education provider. In my role, I planned media and marketing campaigns, imparted media training for senior staff and liaised with local and international media outlets to maximize brand visibility.
January 2003 - January 2012
Senior Reporter - Gulf News
News Reporter - Emirates Today
News Reporter - Khaleej Times
Freelance Journalist
Awards&
Accomplishments
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Guest on CNN’s ‘Connect the World' with Becky Anderson show to discuss the May 2019 Indian election results
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Guest on DW to discuss the impact of Abraham Accords
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First UAE journalist to report from Israel after the signing of the peace deal with the UAE
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Have hosted live in conversation sessions with world-acclaimed authors like Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Shashi Tharoor
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Won the Excellence in Journalism award in 2017 by Indiwood - Ramoji Film City, India
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Won the Chiranthana Media award for socially responsible journalism in 2018
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Honoured by India Social Centre and Kerala Social Centre in the UAE as best Indian journalist in 2018 and 2019
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Regular speaker at social, cultural and women’s organisations in UAE
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Manage a personal Facebook page with more than 53,000 followers; videos have garnered more than a million views
Skills, Education, Visa status
Excellent writing and editing
Proven leadership skills
Broadcast reporting
Linear story telling
Video Editing
Social Media savvy
Excellent contacts in UAE, ME and South Asia
Multi-lingual : fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam
Arabic classes in progress
1997-1999
Post Graduation in Mass Communication
PSG College of Arts and ScienceAnnamalai University - Tamil Nadu
1993-1997
Bachelor of English Literature
St. Joseph's CollegeCalicut University - Kerala
Golden Visa holder
Empower
Growth
Articles & Vidoes
New misery crashing in on Rohingya refugees
As hundreds of Rohingya refugees are taking risky boat journeys across the Andaman to escape from the hellish life inside Bangladesh's refugee camps, I tracked down Rohingya who flee Bangladesh to understand their plight. I interviewed family members of victims who died in the sea.
Articles & Vidoes
Face to Face
with Isis militants
I interviewed Daesh militant Abdellah Nouamane who is among the thousands languishing in a squalid, over-crowded prison in Northeast Syria. In this exclusive interview that was published in three parts by Khaleej Times, he spoke about how he left Belgium as a 18-year old to fight for the Islamic state
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, I spent eight hours inside a Covid ward at a Dubai hospital and reported on how healthcare workers are putting their life on the line to treat infected patients.
In September, 2018, I embedded with the Coalition forces in Yemen and reported on the human cost of the ongoing war with Houthi rebels and the threat from
Al Qaeda.
Yemen's starving babies
Mohammed is one among the 500,000 starving babies in Yemen - a country that is in the throes of a ruinous civil war that has lasted for more than three years now. A ground report on Yemen’s hunger crisis.
What will it take to make India breathe?
An in-depth report on India's oxygen crisis that claimed hundreds of lives during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Contact me
Anjana Sankar
Dubai Marina
Dubai - UAE
Mob: +971501769537
