Chidanand Rajghatta, journalist and author of the book “Kamala Harris, Phenomenal Woman,” recently published by Harper Collins, which chronicles the life and career of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, wrote: “Journalists, particularly foreign correspondents and daily reporters, are expected to be adept at meeting deadlines. But an 800-word story is an entirely different enterprise from the 80,000-word beast that is a full-length book. This beast would never have been tamed but for the sterling work of Nikhila Natarajan and Maya McManus, whose support in research, editing, and gee-ing me up made this book possible.”
Meet SC&I Ph.D. student Nikhila Natarajan. She is a journalist and contributing editor (U.S.) at Indo Asian News Service, India's premier news wire, part of the founding team at Observer Research Foundation America, based in Washington, D.C., and a tennis instructor to middle and high school children.
When SC&I asked her, “How do you balance your career obligations, work deadlines, and your studies?” she answered, “A hard stop on weekends! It works.”
Read our Q&A below with Natarajan to discover her research focus, the person who most inspires her (spoiler alert: it’s Kamala Harris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan), the ways she is involved in CyFy and Raisina Dialogue, ORF’s flagship conferences, and what she enjoys the most about the Ph.D. Program.
SC&I: Your research focus as a Ph.D. student lies at the intersection of technology use and young audiences. How did you become interested in this research and why are you passionate about it?
NN: I am from a family of engineers - civil, electrical, structural, mechanical, and artificial intelligence, you name it. Through my career in print, broadcast, and digital media, I leaned instinctively into the technological (and algorithmic) foundations of the media. Much of my recent output therefore has been at the intersection of tech, media, and audiences. Also, I try to spend a lot of time with young people in the daily rhythms of life and work. (Check out my podcast #NewsForKids, here) Why? Think about it. My country, India, is home to the world’s largest Gen Z population. The median age of Indians is ~26-28 years - one of the youngest among large economies. Indian Americans are among the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States. It seems, therefore, the right time to wade into a Ph.D. program at the confluence of media, communication, information, and regulation.
SC&I: What types of stories do you cover as a journalist and as contributing editor to the Indo Asian News Service (US)?
NN: It started a few years before IANS. I relaunched with Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Network 18 (its digital paper called FirstPost). I took to studying the 2016 U.S. elections and morphed into the planet’s first #StudioInASuitcase media “researcher” blending a mobile phone, a fuzzy mike, notes on-the-go, juggling live audiences and multiple languages – mainly Hindi and English - in multiple time zones. When the dust settled, I grooved into elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh (the world’s fifth most populous if it were a country!) over live discussions, the first-ever with multiple chat windows commonplace today. I never forgot basic rewrite jobs but continued to refine my skills on Final Cut Pro, Tableau visualizations, data segmentation and quantitative research methods. After migrating to IANS in 2019, the largest private newswire in India, I track the White House and the U.N. with increasing emphasis on the conversation between Big Tech, media platforms, and regulation. In the realm of journalism/ news writing, my style has been to minimize comment but, perhaps, the story selection per se reflects my research questions.
SC&I: Please explain how you became involved with helping Chidanand Rajghatta conduct research for the book “Kamala Harris Phenomenal Woman.”
NN: A phone call on a summer afternoon in 2020 when I was out teaching tennis to two Korean middle schoolers. Chidu (Chidanand Rajghatta - my journalism senior) was getting started on “Phenomenal Woman” and reached out to ask if I could jump in. I was covering the run up to the U.S. 2020 elections anyway, it seemed a natural extension - and an opportunity to regroup with an ace communicator like Chidu, besides layering my own work in a historic year for politics and immigrant identity.
SC&I: What did you enjoy the most about the experience, and does your work on the book complement your doctoral work?
NN: Without doubt, plumbing the depths of the Shyamala Gopalan story. For me, she is the “Phenomenal Woman” and original glass ceiling breaker in Kamala Harris’ historic rise. Gopalan’s story lights up the idea of Indian-American aspiration and this cohort’s achievement in U.S. society through the lens of girl power. When VP Harris tells the doubters, “Nobody will be ready for you, it’s not your turn, it’s not your time, nobody like you has done this before, it will be too hard...but I didn’t listen,” I see Gopalan’s audacity sparkling through - and lifting us all up. I was applying to doctoral programs while working on this book. A life in research was Gopalan’s moonshot in 1959, just as it is mine, 62 years later. As a relauncher, I hold her story close and draw strength from her tenacity.
SC&I: What is the ORF CyFy 2021 conference? Will you be presenting at any other conferences this year, and if so, what research are you working on that you will present?
NN: Thanks for that question. First, for those interested, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is Asia’s leading think tank on potentially viable inputs for policy and decision-makers in the Indian government and to the political and business communities of India. ORF America is our newest endeavour, based in D.C., where I am currently senior community manager and part of the founding team. CyFy and Raisina Dialogue are ORF’s flagship conferences. Some of my own writings and conversations are updated here. I’ve pitched a panel proposal for AEJMC 2022 and am just starting out on a Research Assistantship as we speak. Co-dependent on institutional objectives, I suspect Big Tech and the urgent need for creating “frictions” on social platforms might be the centerpiece of my research in 2022.
[Editor’s note: Natarajan was involved in multiple engagements at the conference, including publications and panel discussions:
SC&I: What are your career goals once you have obtained your Ph.D.?
NN: Continuing research, global think tank and teaching at an R1.
SC&I: Why did you choose to pursue your doctorate at SC&I?
NN: SC&I folks are the best. [Am not being diplomatic. Had another admission with full scholarship].
SC&I: What have you enjoyed the most about the Ph.D. program so far?
NN: Every. Single. Moment. SC&I diversity is for real. You can see it and feel the energy. Our faculty is outstanding, truly invested in helping early-stage “scholars” like me navigate this terrain. I treasure the mentorship.
Discover more about the Ph.D. Program at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.
Photo: Courtesy of Nikhila Natarajan
