Somini Sengupta

Somini Sengupta
Born	India
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	The New York Times

Somini Sengupta has been a New York Times reporter for over 20 years. She has written about conflicts, diplomacy, humanitarian crises and as of 2023 is covering climate. In particular, she has reported on the Iraq War and the Syrian civil war.[1] Her flak jacket is in the Times museum.[2] Since February 2022, she has been the lead writer for the Times Climate Forward newsletter,[3] sharing the National Press Club Journalism Award in 2023 for Newsletter Journalism with fellow reporter Manuela Andreoni.[4]

Born in India, Sengupta was raised in Canada and the United States and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.[5]

Career and awards

In 2003 and 2004, Somini Sengupta covered west and central Africa as the Dakar bureau chief[6] for The New York Times, including the conflict in Darfur.[7] She won the George Polk Award on "foreign reporting for her articles from Congo, Liberia and other war-torn areas of West Africa" in 2003.[8][9]

In 2005, Sengupta became the first Indian American to serve as the New Delhi bureau chief for The New York Times.[10][5]

Her climate reporting[11] has been recognized[12] and has led to several journalism awards. The United Nations Correspondents Association recognized her reporting on West African climate refugees with its 2017 "UNCA Global Prize for coverage of Climate Change".[13] In 2021, she received an award for her environmental reporting from the Newswomen's Club of New York.[14] Also in 2021, the Women's Media Center recognized her with one of their "Exceptional Journalism Awards" in her role as an "International Climate Correspondent" for the Times.[15]

Her coverage of lithium mining in Chile was cited as part of a Times team which shared the Overseas Press Club Whitman Bassow Award in 2021.[16]

Works

Sengupta has written one book, The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India's Young, published by W. W. Norton & Company.[17][18] It was recognized by The Economist as one of their Books of the Year in 2016, and was also reviewed by The Seattle Times[19] and The New Yorker.[20]

References

1. Gross, Terry (15 August 2018). "2018 Revealed Just How Ill-Prepared We Are For Climate Change". National Public Radio. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
2. "New Role for Somini Sengupta". The New York Times Company. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
3. "Event recap: Inequity at Boiling Point with Somini Sengupta, NYT foreign correspondent". The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. 15 Feb 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
4. "Wall Street Journal, ABC News and PBS NewsHour Win National Press Club Awards". National Press Club. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
5. "Somini Sengupta: Liberalization's Children - Stories of Love, Hunger and Destiny in Young India". UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
6. "Somini Sengupta | Existential Threats: Stories from the front lines of climate change in South Asia and beyond". UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
7. Montagne, Renee (19 Feb 2015). "Kidnappings Inspire Photojournalist Lynsey Addario's Memoir". National Public Radio. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
8. "Past Winners | Long Island University". www.liu.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
9. "Journalists Who Braved Iraq and African Wars Are Among 14 Polk Award Winners (Published 2004)". 2004-02-17. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
10. Shapiro, Ari (7 March 2016). "In 'The End Of Karma,' Young Indians Work To Overcome Their Past". NPR. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
11. "Somini Sengupta on Climate Change". Amanpour & Company. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
12. McKibben, Bill (2020-08-12). "The World Has Reached Decision Time on the Climate Crisis". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
13. "2017 UNCA Awards Winners « The United Nations Correspondents Association". Retrieved 2023-07-31.
14. "2021 Front Page Awards". THE NEWSWOMEN'S CLUB OF NEW YORK. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
15. "The Women's Media Center Announces the First WMC Exceptional Journalism Awards Recognizing Outstanding Journalism by Diverse Women Storytellers on December 16 - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
16. "The Whitman Bassow Award 2021". OPC. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
17. "The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India's Young - Harvard Book Store". www.harvard.com. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
18. O'Connor, Joanne (2016-04-24). "'Every month for the next several years, 1 million Indians will turn 18'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
19. "'The End of Karma': rewriting destiny for India's youth". The Seattle Times. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
20. "Briefly Noted Book Reviews". The New Yorker. 2016-04-11. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-07-31.