Journalism Connect
Rewiring Trust in Media

Aatreyee Dhar is an independent journalist, based in Guwahati. She has reported on environment, gender and health from Northeast India.

Aditya Tiwari is a journalist, writer, and poet with an MA in Broadcast & Digital Journalism from the University of East Anglia. His work has appeared in outlets like The Telegraph, BBC, Vice, and The Wire. His reporting spans queer histories, trans rights in India, and South Asian-Ugandan stories. He has authored April is Lush (2019), Over the Rainbow: India’s Queer Heroes (2023), and the upcoming All That’s Left Behind. A former BBC producer, he also hosted the podcast Voices on men’s mental health and lived experiences.

Ankita Kishor Deshkar is a fact-checker and deputy copy editor with The Indian Express. Deshkar is a certified trainer at the Google News Initiative “India Training Network” for online verification and fact-checking. She holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, with an MA in Mass Communication, both from RTM and Nagpur University. Deshkar also has a PGTD (Post Graduate Teaching Diploma) in Cyber Law and Information Technology, and Intellectual Property Rights. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Mass Communications and Journalism. She has over 9 years of experience in Journalism.

Athithya Balamuraley is a freelance journalist and author for audio and online journalism at outlets such as WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) and Zeit Online. Focusing perspectives in order to understand greater contexts of issues is vital to Balamuraley and her work as a journalist of colour in the global north. International broadcasting about the vast region of South Asia and investigative journalism are her long-term goals. Her objective for Journalism Connect is to network and connect with fellow peers on transnational journalism.

Azeefa Fathima is a senior reporter with The News Minute. She focuses on doing in-depth reports on LGBTQIA+ issues, human rights, health and law. She is also an aspiring translator. She is a Ramnath Goenka awardee and a recipient of Project SIREN Award 2024. She was a fellow with the Health Systems Transformation Platform, and is currently a fellow of the Ground Truth Project's Report for the World programme covering the caste system in India.

Bo Hyun Kim is a journalist, presenter, and writer focusing on economics, real-life reporting, and digital storytelling. She works with WDR, producing content for ARD and funk across TikTok, podcasts, and documentaries. Her work ranges from economic explainers to street interviews and powerful life stories. She aims to create journalism that’s fast, direct, and free of clichés, blending sharp insights with compelling storytelling. Whether explaining inflation on TikTok or covering night shifts in low-wage jobs, Bo is committed to making real-life issues visible and accessible.

Eliana Berger studied politics, sociology, and psychology before completing a traineeship at the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and working as a business editor. She was named one of the top 30 under 30 by Wirtschaftsjournalist and received the NRW Business Media Prize. In 2023, she left her job to focus on long-form journalism, which she sees as essential in today’s polarized world. She returned to journalism school in 2024 and will begin working as a freelance journalist and author in July 2025. Her work has been published in Die Zeit, taz, and Stern.

Esra Lale is a journalist and author who has published at various media outlets, including ZEIT Online. She trained at Deutsche-Presse Agentur (dpa) and previously worked at Tagesspiegel. Currently, Lale is Digital Editor and Head of Format Development at COSMO WDR.

Friedrich Steffes-Iay is an editor and reporter at Welt, covering politics and society with a focus on defence, geopolitics, and social media. Previously Head of Social, he shaped strategies to grow the newsroom’s reach and subscriptions. In 2024, he served as editor-in-chief on duty in Los Angeles. He studied Popular Music and Media in Paderborn and brings experience from both editorial and business sides of journalism. Driven by the challenge of engaging audiences in a crowded media landscape, his standout stories include reports from Skid Row, Vilnius, and his hometown near U.S. nuclear weapons sites.

Janardan Pandey is the Resident Editor Digital at PK Digital (Prabhat Khabar), driving the company’s digital transformation. With over 14 years in digital journalism, he has led key innovations across major Indian media houses. At Amar Ujala, he advanced print-to-digital convergence; at News18, he aligned digital with local TV; and at Dainik Bhaskar, he pioneered mobile app journalism. A strong advocate for building direct, loyal audiences over referral traffic, Janardan is a leading voice in India’s media evolution. His impact was recognized by Exchange4Media’s “40 Under 40” list.

Kritika Goel is an award-winning fact-checker, editor, and writer who has worked with leading news organisations. As India's Head of Editorial Operations at Logically Facts, she led efforts to counter disinformation. At The Quint, she headed the fact-checking initiative WebQoof, scaling it through partnerships with platforms like Meta. Goel has worked on media and digital literacy projects and created the award-winning series Verify Kiya Kya?. Her investigation into the #BoycottPathaan trend won multiple awards. She focuses on the intersection of technology, gender, and misinformation to help create a safer digital world.

Luisa von Richthofen is a Berlin-based freelance reporter with over seven years at Deutsche Welle. She covers human rights, migration, and environmental issues, with a focus on Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Fluent in English, German, and French, she blends field reporting with documentary storytelling and is expanding into photojournalism. Luisa has reported on everything from irregular migration to climate justice, working closely with local communities and experts. Through the Indo-German Fellowship, she aims to explore how journalism can build and maintain audience trust in an era of disinformation and information overload.