In December 2022, INMA and Google News Initiative (GNI) awarded their third annual Elevate Scholarship to 50 news media professionals from 31 countries. This series features these impressive media professionals who are shaping our industry.

Prachi Aryal, outreach and partnership associate for Newslaundry in the U.K., began her career working in rural villages of Nepal on projects related to disaster risk reduction and reconstruction after the devastating earthquake of 2015.

“I ventured into academic writing and communication while pursuing my master’s in conflict studies. I worked closely with the editorial team of Strife Blog and Journal as a staff writer and then as a Web manager,” Aryal said. 

After earning her master’s degree, Aryal started working as a communications intern with King’s College London. There, she gained valuable communication skills, including report writing, partnerships, collaborations, editing, and publishing. She joined Newslaundry’s staff in May 2022.

“As a partnership and outreach associate at Newslaundry, I have worked to strengthen inclusivity and diversity in partnerships and collaborations in the news industry,” Aryal said. “I have been part of  teams that have organised forums that enable conversations around topics of diversity and inclusion in the media field and the challenges faced by newsrooms.”               

The work Aryal is undertaking spans a wide range of skills, from communications to outreach to the business of news. “I am actively involved in curating strategies to retain digital readership. Newslaundry, as a reader-supported ad-free organisation, relies on subscribers and hence most of the skills I have acquired are on how to increase and retain reader engagement, how to support subscription growth, and reader revenue,” Aryal said.

Aryal believes her biggest achievement to date is gathering many skills across various aspects of the media and communications industry — despite the challenges and lack of resources she has faced as someone from an underdeveloped nation.

“As an individual working in the news and communication industry, I aspire to grow in the management aspect of the news industry,” she said. “Current data in the South Asian news space clearly shows a skewed representation in terms of gender, geography, and economic access. As an immigrant, I understand the importance of access to resources and the implications and challenges one faces. I would like to work on making the news media industry more inclusive.” 

The news industry has transformed significantly since the pandemic; existing problems have been exacerbated, and new problems have emerged. “Through the Elevate Scholarship programme, I look forward to gaining skills in newsroom leadership and innovation,” she said. “With the news industry transforming and changing to the digital space, I would like to gain skills on digital subscriptions, reader engagement and retention.”

Acquiring such skills will allow her to become a proactive contributor in the media industry, with essential skills in reader engagement and newsroom development, she said.

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