Amol Rajan

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Amol Rajan
Born
V. Amol

(1983-07-04) 4 July 1983 (age 38)[1]
Calcutta, India
NationalityBritish, Indian
EducationGraveney School
Alma materDowning College, Cambridge
OccupationJournalist
EmployerBBC
Channel 5 (formerly)
The Independent (formerly)
TitleMedia Editor of BBC News (2016–present)
Spouse(s)
Charlotte Faircloth
​
(m. 2013)​
Children2

Amol Rajan (formerly V. Amol and Amol Varadarajan;[1] born 4 July 1983) is an Indian-born British journalist and broadcaster who has been the BBC's Media Editor since December 2016.[2] He is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.[3]

Rajan was editor of The Independent newspaper from June 2013.[4] When The Independent announced it was dropping the print edition in February 2016, and continuing as only an online operation, Rajan was retained for a period as "editor-at-large".

Early life[]

Rajan was born in Calcutta, India, to a mother from Pune and a Tamil father from Kumbakonam.[1] Due to Tamil naming customs, Rajan was born V. Amol, with the V. for his father's given name of Varadarajan.[1] This name was modified to Amol Varadarajan when he came to England, and the family later changed their surname to Rajan.[1]

Rajan was three when his family moved to England,[4] and was raised in Tooting, South West London.[5] The son of Hindu parents, he has not believed in any god since the age of 15.[6][7] He was state school educated at Graveney School[8][4] and read English at Downing College, Cambridge,[9] where he contributed to Varsity.[10] He was editor of the student newspaper for a term in 2005.[11] At the age of 18, Rajan worked in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for one year during his gap year.[12]

Career[]

Rajan was the secondary presenter on The Wright Stuff, the daytime talk show on the Five network,[13] during its 2006–2007 series. He was also a researcher on the programme.

He joined The Independent newspaper in August 2007, where he was over the next few years a news reporter, sports correspondent, columnist, comment editor,[14] and editor of Independent Voices.[15] He has also written a Monday column for the London Evening Standard and restaurant criticism for The Independent on Sunday,[15] and has contributed to The Salisbury Review. The latter publication, according to Rajan, "still publishes writing on politics, history and culture that is among the finest produced in English today. It is frequently offensive, and I cannot say I often agree with its editorial position, but that is all the more reason to read it."[16]

In 2013, aged 29, Rajan became the first non-white editor of a national newspaper when his Independent appointment was announced,[4][8] although that claim has also been made on behalf of Rachel Beer.[17] His predecessor as editor of The Independent, Chris Blackhurst, became Group Content Director.[18] When The Independent proprietor Evgeny Lebedev announced a move to digital-only in February 2016, with the imminent closure of the print edition, it emerged that Rajan would remain with the company to help facilitate the change in direction.[19] For about eighteen months before becoming editor of The Independent, Rajan was the media advisor to Lebedev, the son of Alexander Lebedev,[4][20] a former KGB economic attaché.[21] During an October 2019 broadcast Rajan presented for BBC Radio 2 in 2019, journalist Peter Oborne accused Rajan of engaging in "client" and "crony" journalism.[22][23]

Rajan's role as editor-at-large for The Independent website ended after he was appointed the BBC's first Media Editor in November 2016, and he assumed his new post on 12 December.[2][24] He has also hosted The Big Debate on the BBC Asian Network.[25]

Since 2017, Rajan has provided holiday cover for several presenters on BBC Radio 2, including Simon Mayo,[26] Jeremy Vine[27][28] and Zoe Ball.[29] Rajan has occasionally presented The One Show.[30] From May 2017, he has presented The Media Show on BBC Radio 4 in succession to Steve Hewlett.[31] Now since 17 May 2021, he is the fifth presenter of Today, and he has stopped presenting The Media Show.[3][32]

Personal life[]

Rajan is a cricket enthusiast,[33] and plays for the Authors XI.[34] His first book, Twirlymen, the Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers, was published by Random House in 2011.[35] In September 2013, he married the academic Charlotte Faircloth, in Cambridge.[36][37][38] They live in London and have two children.[36][39]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Rajan, Amol (17 March 2018). "Two words, nine letters and the endless, infinite trauma of my name". New Statesman. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Amol Rajan appointed as BBC's first media editor". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Amol Rajan joins Radio 4's Today programme line-up". BBC News. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Halliday, Josh (17 June 2013). "Amol Rajan appointed as Independent editor". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  5. ^ Rajan, Amol (13 November 2012). "From Tooting to Islington, our high streets are bereft of buzz and variety". The Independent.
  6. ^ Rajan, Amol (6 January 2012). "Belief without a faith to follow". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  7. ^ Rajan, Amol (27 December 2011). "Religious lessons of Christmas for a non-believer". The Independent.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Independent's Amol Rajan Becomes UK's First Non-White National Editor". The Huffington Post. 17 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Asian Network;s Big Debate: Amol Rajan". BBC Asian Network. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  10. ^ Sweney, Mark; Johnston, Chris (12 February 2016). "Independent aims to keep stars and boost quality in digital shift". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. ^ Boycott, Rosie (17 April 2005). "What I learnt from a night with Daisy". The Observer.
  12. ^ Rajan, Amol (14 August 2014). "Weakening the Foreign Office puts us all in peril". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  13. ^ Rajan, Amol (16 September 2010). "Still top of the morning: Channel Five's The Wright Stuff turns 10". The Independent. London.
  14. ^ "Amol Rajan". David Higham, Literary, Film & TV agents. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "Amol Rajan". The Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. ^ Rajan, Amol (15 March 2012). "Sooner or later, every voice is heard and heeded". The Independent.
  17. ^ Macintyre, Nina (19 June 2013). "The First Lady of Fleet Street". Prospect.
  18. ^ Turvill, William (17 June 2013). "Amol Rajan is made editor of The Independent as Chris Blackhurst becomes group content director". Press Gazette. London.
  19. ^ Armstrong, Ashley (12 February 2016). "The Independent newspaper confirms an end to print production". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 February 2016.(subscription required)
  20. ^ Turvill, first (16 September 2014). "Independent editor Amol Rajan: 'There's nothing unclear about it, the future's digital'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  21. ^ Rajan, Amol (29 July 2017). "Is the Independent still independent?". BBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  22. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (25 October 2019). "Peter Oborne weekly Daily Mail political column ends as he rounds on political press". Press Gazette. London. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  23. ^ Scott, Callum Alexander (13 December 2019). "Establishment journalists have betrayed the ideals of the Fourth Estate". OpenDemocracy. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Former Independent editor Amol Rajan named BBC's new media editor". The Independent. London. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  25. ^ Ponsford, Dominic (21 November 2016). "Amol Rajan appointed as the BBC's first media editor". Press Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  26. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Simon Mayo Drivetime, Amol Rajan sits in". BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  27. ^ "Airport Drinking and Mental Stability, Jeremy Vine - BBC Radio 2". BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Amol Rajan sits in". BBC Radio 2.
  29. ^ "Amol Rajan sits in...joined by Peter Crouch". BBC. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  30. ^ Harp, Justin (24 September 2020). "The One Show suprises [sic] Mercury Prize 2020 winner on air in live TV reveal". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Amol Rajan announced as presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Media Show" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  32. ^ @bbcr4today (17 May 2021). "BBC Radio 4 Today" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Hasan Suroor. "Amol Rajan makes Fleet Street history". The Hindu.
  34. ^ "My Education Blog". theauthorsxi.com.
  35. ^ Andy Bull "Rejoicing in the Twirlymen and the forgotten art of medium-paced spin", guardian.co.uk (blog), 17 May 2011
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b Wilkins, Bridie (30 November 2020). "Amol Rajan's home is guaranteed to put a smile on your face – see inside". Hello!. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  37. ^ Rajan, Amol (9 September 2013). "Five good reasons why I am ready to be wed". London Evening Standard.
  38. ^ "Dr Charlotte Faircloth". UCL IRIS. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  39. ^ Rajan, Amol (21 December 2020). "The winners: The 2020 Russell Prize for best writing". BBC News. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

External links[]

Media offices
Preceded by
Chris Blackhurst 		Editor of The Independent
2013–2016 		Succeeded by
Christian Broughton
Preceded by
Position established 		Media Editor: BBC News
2016–present 		Incumbent
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