Vidya Krishnan is a health-focused Indian investigative journalist and author, based in Montreal.[1]

Vidya Krishnan
NationalityIndian
Alma materHarvard University
Oxford University
SOAS, University of London
Occupation(s)Investigative Journalist, author
Known forCOVID-19 reporting
Notable workPhantom Plague (2022 book)

Krishnan reported that she was the survivor of sexual harassment at India Today in 2018 and received online abuse and death threats due to her reporting about the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.[2][3]

She comes from a tamil brahmin family[4] and is known for her book about Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped our History.[5]

Career

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Krishnan started her career in 2003 at The Pioneer newspaper. As a freelance journalist, she regularly writes for Foreign Policy,[6] The Caravan,[7] and The Atlantic,[8][9] and was previously the health editor for The Hindu.[10]

She has reported on issues including the Rohingya genocide, tuberculosis, the right to health movement, and ethical standards in Indian clinical trials of pharmaceutical drugs.[11][12]

In 2020, after years of health reporting, Krishnan spoke about navigating high levels of online harassment while reporting on COVID-19[10] including receiving death and rape threats.[13]

Throughout 2021, Krishnan was critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[14][15] She spoke about how the pandemic is disproportionately affecting poor people, and that the response is not led by scientists.[16][17][18][19]

Krishnan delivered the Dr C.V.S. Sarma Memorial Lecture at the University of Hyderabad in November 2021, titled Science Denialism & Democracy.[20]

Selected publications

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Awards

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Krishnan won a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University to study the impact of behavioral economics on antibiotic use, with a specific focus on self-medication and antibiotic resistance.[12]

In 2017, she received the International Health Media Fellowships award.[23] She has won the Oxford University's global health journalism fellowship, a National Press Foundation fellowship, and McGill University's global health media scholarship.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Indian journalist Vidya Krishnan on navigating harassment and government obstruction while covering COVID-19". Committee to Protect Journalists. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ "#MeToo: India Today's Gaurav Sawant accused of sexual assault; he threatens legal action". National Herald. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ Danner, Chas (2 May 2021). "India Sees 400,000 New Cases in a Day: COVID-Crisis Updates". Intelligencer. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ^ @VidyaKrishnan (23 February 2022). "I'm come from a Tamil-Brahmin family like this lady's & have privilege blind elder family members who say unacceptable stuff like this w/o being challenged by younger family members. Caste supremacy is an abominable doctrine. Brahmins need to be called out every.single.time" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ PHANTOM PLAGUE | Kirkus Reviews.
  6. ^ Krishnan, Vidya. "Vidya Krishnan". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Vidya Krishnan | The Caravan". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  8. ^ "A devastating COVID surge takes a fresh toll on Indian journalism". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ "India cracks down on journalism, again". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Indian journalist Vidya Krishnan on navigating harassment and government obstruction while covering COVID-19". Committee to Protect Journalists. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ^ Mishra, Veerendra. Combating Human Trafficking: Gaps in Policy and Law. India: SAGE Publications, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Class of 2021". Nieman Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ^ "India: PEN Delhi on the Importance of Press Freedom During Coronavirus – PEN Canada". pencanada.ca. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. ^ Danner, Chas (2 May 2021). "India Sees 400,000 New Cases in a Day: COVID-Crisis Updates". Intelligencer. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Analysis | The world finally woke up to India's virus nightmare". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Journalist Vidya Krishnan Details the Pandemic's Devastating Impact on India | KCM". Katie Couric Media. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  17. ^ "In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt: A Sobering Reality in India (with Vidya Krishnan) on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ^ Gopalan, Aparna (19 June 2021). "India's Vaccine Makers Are Pandemic Profiteers, Not Humanitarians". The Intercept. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  19. ^ Pal, Alasdair (29 April 2021). "As COVID-19 floods India's hospitals, the better-off also scramble for care". Reuters. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Dr CVS Sarma Memorial Lecture - Science Denialism & Democracy - Vidya Krishnan". School and College Listings. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  21. ^ PHANTOM PLAGUE | Kirkus Reviews.
  22. ^ Mandavilli, Apoorva (5 February 2022). "Battling an Ancient Scourge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  23. ^ "3 Indian journalists to get International Health Media Fellowship". Hindustan Times. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Vidya Krishnan". Asia Literary Agency. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2021.