Canadian journalist
Monita Rajpal
|
---|
Rajpal at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in 2016
|
Born
| (
1974-02-20
)
20 February 1974
(age 50)
|
---|
Occupation
| Television presenter
|
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Website
| http://monitarajpal.com/
|
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Monita Rajpal
(born 20 February 1974) is a Canadian journalist. She is a former
news presenter
for
Citytv
and
CNN International
.
At CNN, she anchored
CNN Today
,
World One
, the art programmes
Art of Life
and
Icon
,
CNN NewsCenter
, and
TalkAsia
. She worked for CNN between 2001 and 2014, first in Atlanta at the
CNN Center
, next in London, and finally in Hong Kong. Since leaving CNN, she blogs on her news and lifestyle blog, The Citrine Room.
Career
[
edit
]
In her second year of college, Rajpal wished to work at a
part-time job
, so she did a two-month contract as a
switchboard operator
at the
CHUM-City Building
.
[1]
After she graduated from
Ryerson Polytechnic University
(now Toronto Metropolitan University) with a degree in radio and television arts in 1996,
[2]
Rajpal started a six-month contract to be a
receptionist
at ChumCity.
[1]
She responded to phone calls and led visitors on building tours.
[3]
On the final day of her contract, Stephen Hurlbut, the vice president of programming, requested that she continue working for several weeks to conduct research.
[1]
Rajpal became Hurlbut's assistant at
CP24
as the channel was being launched in 1997.
[1]
She then became a reporter and anchor for CP24
[1]
and
Citytv
, where she reported on stories for the "primetime nightly news" such as
federal elections
, teacher strikes, and homelessness in Toronto.
[4]
While situated in his Toronto hotel room in February 2001, a
CNN
executive was browsing through the television channels and saw Rajpal.
[1]
He extended an Atlanta-based
CNN International
anchor position to Rajpal, who accepted
[1]
and started working at CNN in 2001.
[5]
She worked about 12 hours daily at the
CNN Center
, reading news publications like
The Economist
and
The New Yorker
.
[4]
While based in Atlanta, she had interviewed
Ehud Barak
, a former
Prime Minister of Israel
;
Andres Pastrana Arango
, the then-
President of Colombia
; and
Moses Blah
, who had just taken office as
President of Liberia
.
[4]
She covered news stories about the
war on terror
,
Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
, Liberian strife, former American president
Jimmy Carter
's visit to Cuba, and
presidential elections in France
.
[2]
[6]
Rajpal moved to London in late 2004 where she anchored the European edition of
CNN Today
and the art programme
Art of Life
.
[2]
[7]
In 2010, Rajpal hosted the CNN art culture programme
Icon
.
[5]
The show's first three episodes discussed Paris fashion and art, guitarist
Les Paul
's legacy, and advertising.
[5]
In 2011, she co-anchored
World One
, a daily CNN International news programme while based in London.
[8]
[9]
In late 2012, Rajpal moved from London to Hong Kong.
[9]
[10]
She hosted two shows that had their first broadcasts at the beginning of 2013:
CNN NewsCenter
and
TalkAsia
.
[9]
CNN NewsCenter
is a news programme that discusses international headlines, while
TalkAsia
is a weekly programme that interviews an internationally known person for 30 minutes.
[9]
Notable people she has interviewed for CNN include
Mikhail Gorbachev
,
[3]
Vicente Fox
,
[2]
Al Gore
,
[3]
Tom Ford
,
[5]
and
I. M. Pei
.
[5]
Rajpal left CNN on 4 July 2014.
[11]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Rajpal was born on 20 February 1974
[1]
[12]
[13]
[14]
in Hong Kong to "a Chinese mother of Indian origin and an Indian father".
[2]
Her maternal grandfather moved from
Punjab
to
Shanghai
at 16 years old. Her mother was raised in Shanghai and became an electronics company executive.
[9]
Rajpal is
Sikh
[15]
and has a brother.
[2]
Rajpal grew up in Hong Kong and at age 14 immigrated with her family to
North York
in
Toronto
, Canada.
[3]
She attended
A. Y. Jackson Secondary School
where she took part in its
Amnesty International
club.
[3]
Upon seeing Rajpal present to a crowded assembly hall, the vice principal requested that she deliver the school's morning broadcasts.
[3]
Her guidance counsellor, who knew about her broadcasting work, recommended that she submit a college application to the radio and television arts program at Ryerson Polytechnic University, which she attended.
[3]
Her parents had wanted her to be a physician.
[1]
Her uncle worked at
RTHK
. Her mother listened to radio news broadcasts on the radio all day which introduced Rajpal to the news business.
[9]
She is fluent in
Cantonese
,
English
,
French
, and
Punjabi
.
[4]
[9]
Rajpal said her
pop icons
are the band
U2
, the architect
Frank Gehry
, the artist
Damien Hirst
, and
Oprah Winfrey
.
[5]
Rajpal resides in
Wiltshire
in
South West England
with her husband and their son.
[16]
She blogs on her news and lifestyle blog, The Citrine Room.
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Eckler, Rebecca (4 April 2001).
"Former 'switchette' bound for CNN: Monita Rajpal lands coveted position with media giant"
.
National Post
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Sarkar, John (14 April 2007).
"Seeking cultures"
.
The Economic Times
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Coutts, Matthew (28 October 2010).
"Monita Rajpal: From a T.O. reception desk to CNN's anchor chair, this cable news icon dishes on landing her dream job and growing up in North York"
.
TRNTO
. Post City Magazines. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Walunjkar, Somashukla Sinha (17 August 2004).
"CNN's Indian link: Life as a TV anchor requires stamina. But then if you want to achieve something, you have to give your job your best, says Monita Rajpal"
.
Hindustan Times
.
Press Trust of India
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Taneja, Nikhil (25 September 2010).
"CNN's new show on art and culture: Icon explores the memorable facets of art and transcends boundaries in terms of culture and influence; Monita Rajapal, news anchor with CNN, will host the show"
.
Hindustan Times
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Gordon, Dave (24 November 2003).
"From Toronto to Atlanta: The former Citytv reporter Monita Rajpal is enjoying her high-profile anchor position at CNN International"
.
Popjournalism
. Archived from
the original
on 18 December 2007
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
Nair, Nandini (30 March 2007).
"CNN anchor Monita Rajpal on the various experiences of anchoring"
.
The Hindu
. Archived from
the original
on 27 May 2007
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Savin, Monique (6 February 2011).
"CNN anchor's challenge: fitting workouts into 17-hour days"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Bohwongprasert, Yvonne (7 May 2013).
"Firmly Anchored: CNN International's Monita Rajpal has the confidence and experience needed to spearhead two flagship shows"
.
Bangkok Post
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Laghate, Gaurav (20 January 2013).
"CNN focuses on Asia, strengthens Hong Kong bureau"
.
Business Standard
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Rajpal, Monita [@MonitaRajpal] (3 July 2014).
"13yrs & 3 countries. Time to recalibrate & risk. July 4th I fly the CNN nest. Your continued support humbles me. Stay tuned for what's next!"
(
Tweet
). Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
Rajpal, Monita [@MonitaRajpal] (20 February 2019).
"Quite proud of the fact that my dearest friends are sending me Golden Girls gifs for my birthday. #goals"
(
Tweet
). Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
Rajpal, Monita [@MonitaRajpal] (20 February 2013).
"Thank you all so much for the lovely birthday wishes! I wish I could reply to each of you. But I'm off to eat cake and celebrate!"
(
Tweet
). Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
Rajpal, Monita [@MonitaRajpal] (19 February 2013).
"
"@cvillanueva18 : @MonitaRajpalCNN Happy Birthday :)" thank you but it's not till tomorrow"
(
Tweet
). Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
Giles, Lee (26 July 2007).
"Sikh names policy must go"
.
Red Deer Advocate
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
Rajpal, Monita (2020).
"Monita Rajpal About"
. Monita Rajpal. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]