Meet our Impact Media Fellows (2021)

Bharat Nayak is the Founding Editor at The Logical Indian. He heads the fact-check division at The Logical Indian and is also a verification trainer of the Google News Initiative Trainer Network in India. As part of the network, he conducts training at journalism colleges and newsrooms to fight online misinformation and train them on tools to help them do better journalism. As the Founding Editor, Bharat has headed the newsroom for five years, where he strategised and oversaw content execution, and worked towards laying down the editorial policy at The Logical Indian. In addition, Bharat has conceptualised and designed campaign strategies and headed collaborations. The passion to engage the millennials and youth in rational conversation about the pertinent social issues surrounding us drives him to what he does. He believes that social media can help stories that focus on social issues, provoke thinking, and bring behavioural change, travel far.

Caroline Damanik is a journalist with over 12 years’ experience across desks and issues. Currently the Assistant Managing Editor at Kompas.com, Caroline has been instrumental in developing the regional news desk, providing trusted news from all around Indonesia and accelerated pageviews in three-digit percentages within a year.

Chairul Fahmy Hussaini is a media professional with over 20 years’ experience in journalism and communications. Over the years he assisted the Editor in managing the newsroom, handling news line-up, and ensuring copies are written succinctly and headlines are thought provoking and eye-catching. Throughout his career at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Chairul had won numerous awards including Best News Story of the Year; and was given the opportunity to participate in journalism fellowship programmes. In 2019, he was appointed by the National Youth Council as National Leader, leading a group of young Singaporeans on the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme, a goodwill mission organised by the Cabinet Office of Japan. Chairul who has deep interest in current affairs, is also an award- winning poet.

Deborah Wong is a Senior Journalist at CNA. As a senior reporter in Singapore’s national broadcaster, she drives headlines across a range of beats such as politics, security and social. She translates complicated policies into digestible stories for television, radio and at times the digital space. Aside from telling stories with creative production techniques, Deborah is also counted on to deliver breaking news with live reports; often under a compressed and evolving timeline.

Deepsehkar Choudhury is a Staff Writer at Inc42 Media. He writes at the intersections of technology, business, and policy. He has about four years of experience across digital and print media - both as a reporter and a desk hand.

Duwi Setiya Ariyanti is a Content Manager at Bisnis Indonesia. She is an experienced journalist who covers financial issues ranging from insurance, multi-finance, technology financial, pension fund and venture capital. She is fond of learning new things, but renewable energy, sustainable development and circular economy never fail to mesmerize her.

Fabian Mark Peter is a Journalist and Singer-songwriter, based in Malaysia. He has been actively involved in the social movement front since he began working for Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS) as the Freedom Film Festival Assistant Coordinator in 2011. At the end of 2011, he was selected to join the Southeast Asian Effective Communication Workshop organised by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Upon his return to Malaysia, Fabian landed his first writing job with Sports 247, an online sports portal, before joining the New Straits Times in 2014.

Huichun Song is a local news correspondent who works with Singapore Press Holdings Limited, Chinese Media Group. For the past eight years, she has covered a variety of news for Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Zaobao.sg across multiple print and digital platforms. As a reporter focusing on national development, environment and social affairs, Huichun is deeply passionate about issues concerning social inequality, gender inequality, child rights and environmental sustainability. She strongly believes in harnessing the strength of the media to bring out the right messages and in turn, do her small part in creating a fairer and more sustainable future for generations to come.

Michelle Luo Li Ting is a Producer and Host at Guangdong Radio and Television in Guangzhou, China, where she is responsible for the new media development. She has been working in the media industry for 16 years and has produced and host programmes interviewing over 500 guests from over 50 countries. Michelle has also conducted large international interviews overseas.

Nguyen Thuy Mien is a Senior Journalist at Thanh Nien Newspaper, where she has been working for over 17 years. She covers domestic and international issues with a focus on U.S.-Vietnam relations, U.S.-related issues, and also environmental issues, esp. Mekong River (Nine Dragons River in Vietnam). Prior to that that, Thuy Mien was in charge of North East Asia politics, foreign relations, maritime security and territorial disputes in the region. She is interested in a wide range of issues, from economic, politics, science and technology, education to health topics.

Shabana Begum is a Science, Environment and Health Reporter from The Straits Times. She is a journalism graduate from NTU's communications school. As part of her work, she has been assisting The Straits Times' COVID-19 team on pandemic-related stories and projects. She believes that the readership for science stories can be raised if the reporter is able to translate science to the layperson. Some of her areas of interest include alternative food, climate change and the environment, as these are some of the topics that the current decade will focus on. Beyond science journalism, enterprise journalism is a beat that stretches reporters’ capabilities and resilience as it is challenging to find content and newsmakers for those stories. During her 2019 stint, she worked with the enterprise editor to produce reports on topics such as voyeurism and sexual offences. She hopes to do more enterprise journalism to expand her capabilities and uncover truths and insights for readers.

Tanaya Singh is the Deputy Editor at The Better India. She is passionate about the use of stories to create valuable change on the ground, she is always on the lookout for individuals and organisations whose stories deserve to be heard - which, in turn, always leads to amazing conversations with brilliant people. An electronics and communication engineer by training, Tanaya went on to work with organisations like Teach for India and Youth Ki Awaaz and has been inspired to work for and with changemakers since the beginning of her career.

Tommy Kurnia Rony is Global Reporter at Liputan6.com. He is a journalist with experience in covering tech, business-economics, and global issues. His writing style emphasises on highlighting subtle details, data, and ensuring its readability to the wide audiences.