Monita Rajpal
Encyclopedia
Monita Rajpal is a Canadian CNN International
news anchor, based at the network's London
office, where she anchors World One, along with her co-anchor Zain Verjee
.
and is of Indian origin. She spent most of her childhood in Hong Kong before emigrating to Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. In addition to English, she speaks conversational Cantonese, French and Punjabi.
In 1996, Rajpal obtained a B.A.A. (Bachelor of Applied Arts
) degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic University (now Ryerson University
) in Toronto, before moving into television journalism and anchoring on Toronto's Pulse24 news channel. She joined CNN
in Atlanta in 2001, before moving to their London news centre in 2004. Rajpal's primary position at CNN in London is hosting CNN Today
with Max Foster
. She has hosted other CNN programmes such as Design 360 and Global Challenges and hosted a monthly feature show Art of Life which is now cancelled.
Rajpal has resided in London since the end of 2004. She is a CNN news anchor on ‘World News’, a live, daily half-hour round-up of international news headlines. She also hosted ‘Art of Life’, CNN’s luxury lifestyle feature show.
Since joining CNN in 2001, Rajpal has anchored many leading global and breaking news stories. In 2007, Rajpal interviewed former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, former Vice President Al Gore and the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benzir Bhutto, along with reporting on Tony Blair’s departure from government. In 2008 and 2009, Rajpal hosted and reported on CNN's "Luxury Week", a series of reports on the luxury industry and the economic downturn where she interviewed CEOs of top brands such as Buglari, Chopard, and Cartier. Rajpal has also reported live on numerous occasions, including live transmissions from Delhi, India for CNN Today and hosted a CNN special "CNN Connects", an hour long programme on India’s Generation Next. She also reported live from the Live Earth concert held at Wembley Stadium.
For her work on the "Art of Life" program, Rajpal has reported from Havana, Cuba; Rajasthan, India; Beijing and Shanghai, China; Champagne, France, the Moncao Grand Prix, and the Venice Carnivale. She also hosted a half hour special on the fashion designer Tom Ford in which she was granted exclusive access to him and his home. She has also interviewed designers Alberta Ferretti at her headquarters in Cattolica, Italy as well as Donatella Versace as part of a half hour special Rajpal hosted on the 2006 Academy Awards. Also for Art of Life, Rajpal interviewed tennis great Boris Becker, cosmetics giant Aerin Lauder (of Estee Lauder), Olivier Krug (of Krug Champagne) and the LVMH chief, Bernard Arnault.
In 2005 Rajpal reported on the London Bombings and Live 8, the huge charity concert held in London’s Hyde Park, interviewing among others, Bob Geldof, Peter Gabriel and Dido. She also covered the British General Election, the Death of Pope John Paul II and the first Iraqi elections. In 2004 she covered the Asian Tsunami and the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Additionally, Rajpal has interviewed many top international leaders including: Mexican President Vicente Fox, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Colombian President Andres Pastrana and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
She has also hosted CNN's technology and environment programme ‘Global Challenges’ as well as contributing to other CNN feature shows ‘Inside the Middle East’ and ‘Design 360’ where she interviewed Italian designers Dolce and Gabbana.
In 2004 Rajpal presented CNN’s ‘Staying Alive’, a special documentary on HIV/AIDS awareness produced in conjunction with MTV. She followed this in 2005 by working with MTV on a fund-raising programme for victims of the South-East Asian Tsunami, presented from Bangkok.
Rajpal joined CNN from Citytv
in Toronto
, where she was a general assignment reporter and anchor. As a Citytv reporter, Rajpal covered various stories for the channel's prime-time nightly news including: federal elections, education strikes, municipal politics and the city's homeless population. In addition to her work at Citytv, Rajpal anchored the prime-time news show at Cable Pulse 24, Citytv's 24-hour news channel.
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
news anchor, based at the network's London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
office, where she anchors World One, along with her co-anchor Zain Verjee
Zain Verjee
Zain Verjee is a Canadian journalist, who was born and raised in Kenya prior to immigrating to Canada. Verjee is co-anchor of CNN International's European daytime program World One. She also serves as the international correspondent for American Morning, the daily morning news program on CNN US...
.
Career
Monita Rajpal was born in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and is of Indian origin. She spent most of her childhood in Hong Kong before emigrating to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In addition to English, she speaks conversational Cantonese, French and Punjabi.
In 1996, Rajpal obtained a B.A.A. (Bachelor of Applied Arts
Bachelor of Applied Arts
The Bachelor of Applied Arts, often abbreviated as BAA or B.A.A. is an undergraduate degree. The term 'Applied' means that the degree is vocational in nature, and not research-oriented.-Usage:...
) degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic University (now Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
) in Toronto, before moving into television journalism and anchoring on Toronto's Pulse24 news channel. She joined CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in Atlanta in 2001, before moving to their London news centre in 2004. Rajpal's primary position at CNN in London is hosting CNN Today
CNN Today
World Report is a rolling news programme by CNN International airing weekdays, from Atlanta, London and Hong Kong. The weekend editions also air from the CNN Center in Atlanta.-Previous incarnations:...
with Max Foster
Max Foster
Max Foster is a senior Anchor/Correspondent on CNN International, based in London.-Education:Foster spent most of his childhood in Wiltshire, England where he attended Ridgeway School, Swindon and Dauntsey's School, Devizes...
. She has hosted other CNN programmes such as Design 360 and Global Challenges and hosted a monthly feature show Art of Life which is now cancelled.
Rajpal has resided in London since the end of 2004. She is a CNN news anchor on ‘World News’, a live, daily half-hour round-up of international news headlines. She also hosted ‘Art of Life’, CNN’s luxury lifestyle feature show.
Since joining CNN in 2001, Rajpal has anchored many leading global and breaking news stories. In 2007, Rajpal interviewed former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, former Vice President Al Gore and the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benzir Bhutto, along with reporting on Tony Blair’s departure from government. In 2008 and 2009, Rajpal hosted and reported on CNN's "Luxury Week", a series of reports on the luxury industry and the economic downturn where she interviewed CEOs of top brands such as Buglari, Chopard, and Cartier. Rajpal has also reported live on numerous occasions, including live transmissions from Delhi, India for CNN Today and hosted a CNN special "CNN Connects", an hour long programme on India’s Generation Next. She also reported live from the Live Earth concert held at Wembley Stadium.
For her work on the "Art of Life" program, Rajpal has reported from Havana, Cuba; Rajasthan, India; Beijing and Shanghai, China; Champagne, France, the Moncao Grand Prix, and the Venice Carnivale. She also hosted a half hour special on the fashion designer Tom Ford in which she was granted exclusive access to him and his home. She has also interviewed designers Alberta Ferretti at her headquarters in Cattolica, Italy as well as Donatella Versace as part of a half hour special Rajpal hosted on the 2006 Academy Awards. Also for Art of Life, Rajpal interviewed tennis great Boris Becker, cosmetics giant Aerin Lauder (of Estee Lauder), Olivier Krug (of Krug Champagne) and the LVMH chief, Bernard Arnault.
In 2005 Rajpal reported on the London Bombings and Live 8, the huge charity concert held in London’s Hyde Park, interviewing among others, Bob Geldof, Peter Gabriel and Dido. She also covered the British General Election, the Death of Pope John Paul II and the first Iraqi elections. In 2004 she covered the Asian Tsunami and the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Additionally, Rajpal has interviewed many top international leaders including: Mexican President Vicente Fox, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Colombian President Andres Pastrana and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
She has also hosted CNN's technology and environment programme ‘Global Challenges’ as well as contributing to other CNN feature shows ‘Inside the Middle East’ and ‘Design 360’ where she interviewed Italian designers Dolce and Gabbana.
In 2004 Rajpal presented CNN’s ‘Staying Alive’, a special documentary on HIV/AIDS awareness produced in conjunction with MTV. She followed this in 2005 by working with MTV on a fund-raising programme for victims of the South-East Asian Tsunami, presented from Bangkok.
Rajpal joined CNN from Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where she was a general assignment reporter and anchor. As a Citytv reporter, Rajpal covered various stories for the channel's prime-time nightly news including: federal elections, education strikes, municipal politics and the city's homeless population. In addition to her work at Citytv, Rajpal anchored the prime-time news show at Cable Pulse 24, Citytv's 24-hour news channel.
External links
- Monita Rajpal's blog
- Art of Life with Monita Rajpal
- Monita Rajpal profile at CNN.com
- Monita Rajpal fan blog
- http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/rajpal.monita.html
- http://www.popjournalism.ca/pop/features/2003-2004/00087monitarajpal.shtml
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12368717.cms
- http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/03/30/stories/2007033001530400.htm
- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040829/spectrum/tv.htm