Name any iconic band and you can spend hours discussing the greatness of its members. This is as true of The Who as it’s of Radiohead. But those artists wouldn’t have been half as great had they not had their group. Some would say that’s hypothetical, but there are enough who would argue that’s not merely the truth but also a truism. I firmly belong in the latter camp.
And I think a newsroom is no different from a band. As a reader, you only see the writer’s name at the top of the story. But no amount of meticulous reporting would suffice if the editor didn’t bang it into shape with some skilful interventions. Or, in The Ken’s case, if the designer didn’t add some visual magic to it with charts and illustrations.
That’s exactly why we celebrate the individual, be it writer, editor, or designer, while also making the whole–the newsroom–greater than the sum of its parts. And I’m quite sure these talented individuals will make our editorial team much stronger on all fronts.
Aishwarya Nair, Editorial Designer
Aishwarya joins us as our third editorial designer. An architect by training, she caught the design bug while working as an illustrator with Under 25 Studios. After a stint in the big world of ad agencies, she turns to her next big challenge: designing for business journalism. Enter The Ken.
Curiosity goes a long way here, and Aishwarya brings trucks full of it with her. Her process has always involved asking plenty of questions and understanding the core of the message.
She enjoys binging reality television, reading movie scripts ,and making small items out of clay. She is currently based in Mumbai and is trying hard to make the city like her back. You can email her at [email protected] to say hello, send cat pictures, or recommend TV shows.
Alifiya Nalwala, Senior Writer
When we put out the job description for an education reporter, we knew it was going to be a hard role to fill. This is how that description read:
Education is one of the most important and complex sectors that The Ken has been covering. Encompassing schools and colleges, students, learning, coaching, pedagogy, regulation, edtechs, curriculums, skills and careers, it is incredibly interconnected and hard to narrow down.
Understanding and writing on education requires someone with a genuine appreciation for the impact of education and learning.
And we are happy to report that we’ve found just the right person for this.
Alifiya Khan spent over eight years at The Indian Express writing some of the most impactful stories on education and health. What struck us about Alifiya right from the first conversation was her penchant for telling stories.
