Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
Anushka Asthana is a British journalist and a former newsreader. She was also The Guardian’s joint Political Editor. Currently, she is the presenter of “Today in Focus,” The Guardian’s daily podcast.
Personal Life : Parents, Family and Education
- Anushka Asthana was born on March 31, 1980, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and raised in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.
- Her parents, Jagdish Asthana (father) and Aruna Asthana (mother), are both doctors by profession. She has an older brother, Anshu Asthana, who is a designer in London.
- Anushka’s parents emigrated from Delhi, India, to the UK in 1975. They first lived in London, then Southampton and Scunthorpe, before finally settling in Manchester in 1981. They first thought that they would eventually move back to India, but good careers, close friends, and their children well-settled in their schools made them rethink their decision, and they continued to stay in the UK.
- Later on, Anushka’s father Jagadish confessed to her that if India would have been like how it was now, then he wouldn’t have ever left. This comment made Anushka write an article for which she and her father travelled to India, and they saw together how much things had changed since her father had left his home country.
- Both Anushka’s parents gained British citizenship in 1989.
- Anushka studied at Manchester High School for Girls, a private school in Manchester and then went on to be accepted to Cambridge University for her Bachelor’s in Economics.
Marriage and Children :
- Anushka got married to Toby Jones, a Communications professional working in rugby.
- She wrote an article titled “A cross-cultural marriage is an adventure I’d recommend” about her marriage to him. The article focused on how Toby, someone who grew up on the outskirts of Oxford with his mum, dad and brother, had to come to terms with meeting Ansuhka’s large family.
- Asthana now lives with her husband and their son Ethan.
Career, Job, Salary and Net Worth :
- Anushka started her career by joining The Observer in 2003 and worked there for eight years and held various roles like an education correspondent, deputy news editor, health reporter and, later, policy editor.
- The talented journalist was also shortlisted for the ‘Young Journalist of the Year’ category at the British Journalism Awards and, in 2006, won the Laurence Stern Fellowship, spending several months working at The Washington Post.
- She moved on to work for The Times Westminster office as a columnist and chief political reporter.
- In 2013, Anushka joined Sky News as their political correspondent.
- In 2015, Anushka joined The Guardian and shared the role of a Political Editor with Heather Stewart. The move made news because The Guardian “broke the mould” by having two accomplished journalists share the role of Political Editor.
- In 2018, she was made the host of The Guardian’s daily global news podcast, “Today in Focus.” The podcast is a 20-minute dive into the biggest stories around the world, ranging from the #MeToo movement to issues of the Middle East & many more. In each episode, Anushka takes a closer look at one of the major news stories and will take listeners behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news.
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