S. Mitra Kalita (click for high-rez photo), past SAJA president and former columnist and editor at Mint in New Delhi; and former Washington Post, Newsday and Associated Press reporter, has returned to NYC for a big new job at the Wall Street Journal. As per the memo below, she will be deputy bureau chief in the Journal's economics bureau.
Asked why she chose this moment to return to New York, Kalita told SAJAforum:
"It is a truly historic time in the US, on many fronts, and a great and necessary time to commit quality business journalism. After being in India for more than two years, I felt this job offered me an opportunity to connect a few more dots globally as well as apply lessons learned from there to here. On a personal note, our time in New Delhi strangely made us feel -- at once -- more Indian and more American. So we envision a world and upbringing for our daughter where she would feel comfortable going back and forth between both countries and both cultures. We miss so much of India already but we're really thrilled to be back among our closest family and friends, not to mention some great colleagues, new and old."
You can read her final Mint column, "From India to the US" here and see her full archive here.
A note from the WSJ's Bob Davis, acting economics bureau chief, and David Wessel, economics editor:
We are very pleased to welcome Mitra Kalita as deputy bureau
chief in the economics bureau. Mitra most recently has been working
for our colleague Raju Narisetti as an editor and columnist
(http://www.livemint.com/
at Mint in New Delhi. Before that, she was a reporter at the
Washington Post, Newsday and the Associated Press. She has covered a
wide range of general assignment and business stories, including the
impact of 9/11 on New York City's economy, on immigration and on South
Asians and Arabs. She has spent much of her career writing about
immigration, globalization and emerging economies, especially India.
A native of Brooklyn, Mitra grew up in Massapequa, Long
Island; Puerto Rico, and West Windsor, N.J. When she was a senior in
high school, she interned at The Wall Street Journal Classroom
Edition, and when she was a senior in college, she interned on the
Journal's spot news desk in New York. Mitra has a BA in history and
journalism from Rutgers University and a Master's degree from Columbia
University Graduate School of Journalism. She is also the author of
SUBURBAN SAHIBS: THREE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES AND THEIR PASSAGE FROM INDIA
TO AMERICA. Mitra is the recipient of many awards, including being
named Young Journalist of the Year by the New York State Associated
Press Association and was a finalist for the Daniel Pearl Award for
reporting on South Asia. She is a past president of the South Asian
Journalists Association
Mitra is married to Nitin Mukul, an artist. They have a
4-year-old daughter.
Mitra is based in New York and will work closely with Bob
Davis, acting bureau chief, and with David Wessel, economics editor,
when he returns from book leave, and we're sure she'll be talking to
other bureaus as we continue to cover the enormous economy story.
We're thrilled to have her with us. Please join us in welcoming Mitra,
and in thanking Brenda Cronin for filling the deputy's position in the
interim with such enthusiasm.
Happy New Year
Bob Davis & David Wessel
Post your comments below. Kalita's e-mail: smkalita[at]gmail.com
Earlier on SAJAforum: Raju Narisetti to step down as editor of Mint - later: Raju Narisetti named co-managing editor of the Washington Post
