Niharika Acharya
Encyclopedia
Before joining Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
Niharika Acharya was a television news
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...
reporter and anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
for Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
. As a reporter/editor Niharika covered 2004 and 2008 U.S Presidential Elections, UN General Assembly sessions, 9/11 Anniversaries and US-India Relations (including the U.S-India Nuclear Deal.
She was the Managing Editor
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
of Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
's India Service. The VOA India service is now defunct.
Her noteworthy interviews include Former US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, State Dept officials, NASA Astronauts: Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
, Sunny Williams, members of American Congress, Indian Politicians and Hollywood-Bollywood artists.
Early life
Niharika Acharya was born in the small hamlet of SarahanSarahan
Sarahan is small town in Himachal Pradesh of India. It is the site of famous Bhimakali temple, dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, presiding deity of the rulers of the former Bushahr State. The temple is situated about 180 kilometers from Shimla and is one of 51 Shakti Peethas. The town is...
in northern India. She earned a Master of Arts in the prestigious Mass Communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
research centre at Jamia Milia Islamia university in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. She graduated at the top of her class in political science from Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Lady Shri Ram College for Women , is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. It is recognized as one of the premier women's institutions for liberal arts education in India.It isalso known as the Wellesley of the East....
in New Delhi.
She completed her schooling from a New Delhi based school Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute
Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute
Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute , located at Subroto Park, Delhi Cantonment, India, is a public school run by the Indian Air Force Educational and Cultural Society.Established in 1985,it started as a school for mentally disabled children...
Career
Niharika worked with Indian TV news channel NDTVNDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
as reporter and anchor for seven years. Later she left for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and joined Voice of America Hindi TV and Radio service in 2003. She is still working with VoA as correspondent and anchor. As part of VoA collaboration with Aaj Tak TV news channel, she also anchors 'Duniya' (The World) program 'LIVE' on Aaj Tak every Sunday evening. Niharika also contribute to VOA Hindi radio as fill-in host for weekly call-in shows 'Hello India' and 'Hello America' and her television reports are also aired on radio as well.
Niharika has lived and travelled across India, and now travels across the United States in search of stories. Niharika says, 'travel widens one's horizons, provides perspective and gives insight' which she finds helpful as a journalist.
Notable reporting
Niharika Acharya has covered President Bush's inauguration for his second term, the US November 2004 presidential elections, 9/11 anniversaries, Indian prime minister Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
's meeting with President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
at the United Nations General Assembly session, and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
's official visit to U.S. She also travelled to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to cover the India-Pakistan peace dialogue summit meet at Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
between the leaders of the two countries. She also covered the relief efforts mounted by American communities for 26 December 2004 Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
disaster victims and their families.