Meet our Impact Media Fellows (2023)

Anitha Pailoor is a News Editor at Deccan Herald with a keen interest in development, human rights, environment and agriculture, and currently leads a team of journalists in Karnataka. She also manages several columns for the publication, such as Insight, The Sunday Story and Spectrum, covering a diverse range of topics including political and policy developments, as well as art, culture, heritage, rural affairs and social initiatives.

Anitha also drives Deccan Herald’s Changemakers initiative — an annual talent hunt that identifies achievers and changemakers from diverse fields for a docu-film series. She has also led the Dharwad-based Centre for Agricultural Media's training programmes in farm and rural journalism for over 10 years and was a core team member of Raita — the first-ever 'Farmers Jury' in the country for contemporary agricultural research. Anitha has travelled across Karnataka studying agriculture, environment, water, rural affairs, and gender issues under various fellowships such as National Media Fellowship and IWMI-TATA Water Fellowship.

Fakhruradzi Ismail has been a journalist with Berita Harian since 2015, covering a wide range of beats including sports, politics, education, health, and business across both print and online mediums. Some notable sports coverage included SEA Games, World Silat Championship, and the Singapore Premier League. He has also managed multimedia content for the publication’s website and social media pages, and spearheaded the newsroom’s studio production team to conceptualise digital content, including for Facebook Live and podcast formats.

Hanh Nguyen is the English Editor at Vietnam News agency, where she translates international news to make them more accessible to local audiences. In addition to providing accurate and timely information, she believes that journalists should contribute to political stability and socio-economic development through their work while reflecting public opinion, protecting freedom of speech, and combatting negative social phenomena.

While having no prior experience writing on social issues, Hanh hopes to take this opportunity to meet fellow journalists in the region and work on articles with social impact.

Miro Lu is currently based in Singapore as the Founder and Managing Director of Perspective Media. There, she leads a team of producers, videographers, and editors in contributing features and short films for international publications including CNN International, BBC Future and Vice Media.

She was previously an International Correspondent for CGTN, covering a wide range of topics from natural disasters to general elections. She has more than 16 years of media experience in newsrooms across Singapore, Shanghai, and New York City. Prior to CGTN, Miro has worked with CNBC Asia and Chinese Business Network (CBN).

During her time as CBN TV’s first New York Correspondent, she broke stories on Chinese companies’ U.S. IPOs at the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. She also covered the first US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in 2009. She returned to Asia as an International Correspondent for CCTV-News (now rebranded as CGTN) and covered a myriad of news including the MH370 incident, the historic Xi-Ma Meeting in 2015 and the Trump-Kim Summit in 2018.

Muhammad Luqman Hakim is a Journalist at the New Straits Times. As a newcomer to the news industry with less than one year of experience, Luqman is eager to learn from other accomplished journalists. He enjoys working on human interests’ stories or topics that readers can relate to, such as healthcare and education. He is a graduate of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Public Administration and he is a firm believer of based on facts and credible sources.

Navene Elangovan is a senior reporter with TODAYonline, covering a range of topics from property to environment and education over the past four years. In her current role covering the property market, she has published articles about the heating property market and the struggles that young Singaporeans face in affording their first homes. Her recent work has also included highlighting the growing concerns of Singaporean youths on climate change.

Nguyen-Hanh Vu is a reporter with Tuoi Tre Newspaper, focusing on international trade and investment topics, including economic cooperation between Vietnam and its partners. Starting out with the International Desk of the newspaper in 2017, she has covered major economic and political events in Vietnam, including interviewing prominent diplomats. She has interviewed diplomats, experts, and businesses at home and abroad including Natalie Black, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific; Mary Tarnowka, former executive director of AmCham Vietnam; and Graham Stuart, UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Nguyen-Hanh is also a Reporting ASEAN Fellow and hopes to foster strong business collaboration within the region.

Ounkham Phimmata is a Senior Journalist at Vientiane Times. Having been with the publication since 2008, he has covered a myriad of topics from education and environment to social and economic issues. Ounkham has also regularly attended workshops and training courses in Vietnam and internationally, which allowed him to expand his networks and aided him in developing stories across both social and government-related spaces.

Renuka Kalpana is a reporter with the Telegana edition of The New Indian Express. She mainly covers Health, Education, Women and Child Development topics.

Meng Seavmey (July) is a journalist with Cambodianess, the English site of Thmey Thmey. She finds foreign affairs fascinating as it helps her understand her country’s position and influence in international forums, particularly on social issues both in Cambodia and around the world and shows her the myriad of global issues.

In addition to foreign affairs, July also covers topics on education, women’s rights, environment, and the economy. As an avid writer, she enjoys leveraging her writing to spread awareness, integrate knowledge, and speak for people whose voices aren’t heard. Being a journalist has also given her opportunities to talk to people about their problems and concerns, exciting news, creations, innovations, and opinions.

July majored in International Relations at the College of Social Sciences, University of Cambodia, and studied Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at the Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh, concurrently as her second degree.

Seoung Nimol is a freelance reporter for CamboJA and a senior student majoring in International Relations at the University of Cambodia. She was previously at Cambonomist and a Thai publication Prachatai.

Seoung’s passion for journalism can be seen in her writing, which focuses on human rights, social issues, and democracy. Her work is characterised by its depth and attention to detail, as well as its dedication to telling the stories of those who are often marginalised. As a reporter, Seoung is known for her commitment to accuracy and her ability to develop strong relationships with her sources, which enable her to dig deep into complex issues and communicate her findings in a clear and compelling way.

Sonali Acharjee is currently the Senior Associate Editor at India Today, focusing on topics around health, social issues, youth trends and education. Prior to India Today, she worked with the Times of India, Open magazine, NGTV, The Hindu, and CNN IBN, since beginning her career as a journalist at the age of 18.

Sonali has also authored two books published by Hay House — Look Up: Social Media and the Addiction No One is Talking About, and Life Behind Masks.

Valy Phommachak is an ecologist with more than eight years’ experience in environmental conservation and community development. With a keen interest in environmental protection, Valy founded Econews Laos in 2021. As the only news platform for environmental issues and conservation in Laos, it aims to educate and raise awareness among Lao people by making related news and information readily available in Laotian.

Valy is also a freelance radio host, online programme interviewer, emcee, and moderator with Lao Youth Radio. There, she started an interview series where changemakers in Laos share their inspiring stories.

Yogi Eka Sahputra is a journalist working with Tempo.co and Mongabay Indonesia. He began his career in regional media and has since progressed to national media for the last three years. He has participated in several established fellowships. He was also awarded the 2022 SOPA Award for his reporting on the social issue of illegal fishing, which was in collaboration with fellow Indonesian journalists. As a college student, Yogi was active in student publications and has always aspired to be a journalist.