Deepa Fernandes
Encyclopedia
Deepa Fernandes is currently the host of the WBAI
radio program "Wakeup Call
" and formerly hosted the nationally syndicated Pacifica radio news show "Free Speech Radio News
" on the politically independent, anti-war Pacifica Radio Network. Fernandes has worked as a freelance producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, InterWorld Radio and Pacifica Radio
.
, India
to parents of Goa
n descent, Fernandes began her career in journalism in Sydney, Australia working as a daily news reporter. She then moved to Latin America
, where she worked on a 26-part radio documentary
series on indigenous
communities in Ecuador
. From there she went to Cuba
to work as a daily features producer at Radio Havana Cuba
.
Fernandes next moved to New York City
, where she went to work as a producer for the flag-ship Pacifica Radio
program, Democracy Now!
. At Pacifica's WBAI
she co-produced Our Americas, a weekly radio program on issues affecting Latin America and the Caribbean, and hosted the weekday morning show, Wakeup Call
. She also has been a co-anchor for Pacifica's national daily news program, Free Speech Radio News
.
In January 2007, Fernandes spoke with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman
about her new book, Targeted: National Security and the Business of Immigration, published by Seven Stories Press
. She told Goodman that she "got into secondary inspection rooms around the country, because I had to, because I was coming in the country and I was processed through there."
Fernandes is an alumna of Columbia Journalism School. Her sister, Sujatha, is an assistant professor of sociology at Queens College in New York City.
WBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
radio program "Wakeup Call
Wakeup Call
Wakeup Call is a morning radio program produced in New York City by the WBAI station of the Pacifica Radio Network. The program is hosted by Deepa Fernandes and airs Monday through Friday.-External links:* Official Site* Official Site...
" and formerly hosted the nationally syndicated Pacifica radio news show "Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
" on the politically independent, anti-war Pacifica Radio Network. Fernandes has worked as a freelance producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, InterWorld Radio and Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
.
Biography
Born in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to parents of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
n descent, Fernandes began her career in journalism in Sydney, Australia working as a daily news reporter. She then moved to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, where she worked on a 26-part radio documentary
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
series on indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
communities in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. From there she went to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to work as a daily features producer at Radio Havana Cuba
Radio Havana Cuba
Radio Havana Cuba is the official government-run international broadcasting station of Cuba. It can be heard in many parts of the world including the United States on shortwave at 6000 kHz and other frequencies...
.
Fernandes next moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she went to work as a producer for the flag-ship Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
program, Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
. At Pacifica's WBAI
WBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
she co-produced Our Americas, a weekly radio program on issues affecting Latin America and the Caribbean, and hosted the weekday morning show, Wakeup Call
Wakeup Call
Wakeup Call is a morning radio program produced in New York City by the WBAI station of the Pacifica Radio Network. The program is hosted by Deepa Fernandes and airs Monday through Friday.-External links:* Official Site* Official Site...
. She also has been a co-anchor for Pacifica's national daily news program, Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
.
In January 2007, Fernandes spoke with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
about her new book, Targeted: National Security and the Business of Immigration, published by Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent publishing company. Located in New York City, the company was founded by editor Dan Simon in 1995 after he parted company with Four Walls Eight Windows. The company was named for its seven founding authors: Annie Ernaux, Gary Null, the estate of Nelson Algren,...
. She told Goodman that she "got into secondary inspection rooms around the country, because I had to, because I was coming in the country and I was processed through there."
Fernandes is an alumna of Columbia Journalism School. Her sister, Sujatha, is an assistant professor of sociology at Queens College in New York City.
External links
- Wakeup Call
- Free Speech Radio News
- Deepa Fernandes' biography
- The Iran Project: Biography on Deepa Fernandes
- Targeted: National Security and the Business of Immigration Seven Stories PressSeven Stories PressSeven Stories Press is an independent publishing company. Located in New York City, the company was founded by editor Dan Simon in 1995 after he parted company with Four Walls Eight Windows. The company was named for its seven founding authors: Annie Ernaux, Gary Null, the estate of Nelson Algren,...
- Deepa Fernandes on Democracy Now! January 25th, 2007
- Deepa Fernandes on NPR
- Deepa Fernandes interviewed on F.A.I.R's CounterSpin