Innovator | Traveler | Team Player
My story begins 10,000 miles away from the US East Coast. I grew up in the charming and historic city of Hyderabad, in southern India. My father worked as a civil engineer, my mother taught French in a K-12 school, my brother and I played cricket out on the street, and I loved riding pillion on our family’s Vespa scooter, the dust and wind in my face.
I played competitive tennis throughout school and college, studied Economics, attended journalism school and began work as a sports reporter at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi. From there, I took the scenic route, including a side gig as a civil construction site apprentice. I travelled to London and Scotland on a British Chevening scholarship, worked across print, broadcast, radio and digital newsrooms, and delivered bilingual reportage on breaking news stories from multiple geographies. I pioneered news livestreaming for India’s largest digital news site on a bootstrap budget long before legacy brands such as the BBC, The New York Times and others caught up with the possibilities of livestream technology for the news genre.
My work experience prior to my doctoral studies informs and inspires my research questions, methods, and the allure of audience research. Before my PhD, I earned an MS in Communications from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Madras University.
I bring an exceptional combination of professional and people skills, and proven performance record to teaching, research and collaborative projects. Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to connecting!
Nikhila Natarajan, PhD 