Journalist with over 21 years of experience across digital and print mediums covering technology, elections, entertainment, lifestyle, business, sports...
Product Editor
Among the first product managers in Indian digital news media. Currently in a convergent role that covers strategy, editorial and product management roles
Innovator
At the helm of innovation in news and information processing, publishing and distribution. Pioneered a number of new forms and formats
Blogger
One of India's early bloggers active since early 2000s. The weblog cuttingthechai.com has been around for two decades
Archivist
Salvaging, reconstructing and digitally archiving remnants of India's popular culture including advertising, movies and news clips
Researcher
Filling in existing gaps in public knowledge and awareness with indepth research and analysis on important but forgotten topics
Work experience
The places I worked in and what I did there.
(Click on logos for details)
Network18
Group Editor, News Products & Innovation
NDTV
Assistant Editor
Times Group
Chief Copy Editor
Career Launcher
Sr Executive, Editorial
HT Media
Chief Copy Editor
Cutting the Chai
Founder
Timeline
Work, education and life in general
Present (since Feb 2022)
Group Editor, News Products & Innovation, Network18
• At the forefront of Network18 Group's new features, ventures and initiatives for digital audiences
• Have helped steer the convergence of the group's broadcast and digital processes
• Head of Network18's digital election product and data initiative
• Part of the founding team behind Local18, the group's hyperlocal news product
• Represented Network18 at Google APAC Trusted Media Summit 2023 in Singapore
Jan 2020 - Feb 2022
Group Social Media Editor and Editor, Innovation, Network18
• Led Network18's group social media strategy and processes during the critical COVID-19 pandemic • Conceptualised and managed News18's exhaustive COVID-19 analytics centre
• Part of team that strategised and won the Google News Initiative YouTube Sustainability Lab funding for Network18
May 2020
Birth of Kusha
Daughter Kusha Choudhury was born
Oct 2018 - Jan 2020
Senior Editor, Innovation. Data & News Lab, Network18
• Ideated and executed Network18 Digital's record-breaking 2019 Lok Sabha election results coverage
• Guided and launched Network18's brand presence on emerging social platforms such as Telegram
• Launched an innovative WhatsApp distribution platform via WhatsApp status messages
Oct 2016 - Oct 2018
Editor, News Lab & Innovation, Network18
• Expanded News18 Immersives
• Launched News18 podcasts
• Relaunched video category on News18.com
• Launched News18 newsletters
• Represented Network18 at the 1st Google News Lab APAC Summit 2017 in Singapore
Aug 2018
Google News Initiative Certified Fact Checker & Trainer
One of the first journalists in India to be trained and certified as part of Google News Initiative's inaugaural Training Network in India to combat misinformation and fake news
Jun 2018
CNN Digital Leadership Programme
Underwent the CNN Digital Leadership Programme at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta and in New York, USA as part of CNN Journalism Fellowship
• Guided and managed the transition from IBNLive.com to News18.com
• Launched tech and auto sections of IBNLive.com
• Ideated and managed the 2014 Lok Sabha election coverage
• Pioneered immersive 360° video live streams
• Editor, CompareIndia.com
• Introduced immersive storytelling
• Launched News in GIFs
Feb 2016
Speaker, Digital Media India 2016
Was one of the key speakers at the World Association of News Publishers' (WAN-IFRA) 5th edition of Digital Media India held in Delhi on February 22-23, 2016. Addressed the issue of organic growth in social media
Nov 2011
Birth of Advay
Son Advay Choudhury was born
Apr 2010 - Dec 2013
News Editor, IBNLive.com
• Reimagined the website's video strategy
• Managed the website's election coverage
• Introduced live blogging
• Introduced on-ground YouTube live stream of important events
Feb 2010
Married Varsha
Married Varsha Nigam, a journalist. She's from Indore, Madhya Pradesh and educated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Sep 2007 - Apr 2010
Assistant Editor, NDTV Convergence
• Revived and relaunched NDTVGadgets.com (now Gadgets360)
• Helped design, launch and manage NDTVImagine.com
• Part of NoGyaan.com founding team
• Part of Tubaah.com launch team
• Helped manage NDTV Movies section of NDTV.com
• Contributed to NDTVGoodtimes.com
• Part of NDTV.com's election results coverage team for Lok Sabha elections
Dec 2006 - Sep 2007
Chief Copy Editor, Indiatimes
Part of Indiatimes Broadband (Times Group) team, one of the early forays in creating digital multimedia content
June 2006 - Dec 2006
Editor, India Business Yearbook
Researcher, curator and editor of the 2007 edition of the India Business Yearbook published by Career Launcher
Feb 2006 - Dec 2006
Senior Executive - Editorial, Career Launcher
Reporting, photography, research, copy editing, page layout and proof reading for Educare and Management Compass magazines
Apr 2005 - Dec 2005
Chief Copy Editor, HT Media Ltd
• Designed, organised and created training modules • Helped built a new CMS
• Responsible for heading the day and night shifts in rotation • Curated the internal style guide
Dec 2003 - Feb 2004
Copy Editor, HT Media Ltd
• Founding team member of HT Syndication • Designed and built in-house training modules and tools
Nov 2003
Moved to Delhi
My first job brought me to Delhi. While I continue to identify myself as a Shillongite, I have absorbed so much of this ancient city in me that I have now become a pucca Dilliwallah. In Delhi, I first lived in Arjun Nagar, then in Khidki Extension before crossing the Yamuna to Pandav Nagar. I then crossed the inter-state border with Uttar Pradesh to live in Vaishali, Ghaziabad for 5 years and then crossing another river, the Hindon, to be where I am for the last 8 years, Greater Noida West.
2001-2003
MA Mass Communication
Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism, Bhopal.
• University Topper, MA Mass Communication • University Scholarship, for exemplary academic performance • Founding editor, designer and illustrator, The Ink, the student magazine • Founding coordinator, Moving Images, the university film club • Research Investigator, Taleem Research Foundation, Ahmedabad • Intern, Central Chronicle, Bhopal • Editorial Coordinator, Bhopal City Guide, The Times of India, Bhopal • Media Intern, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, New Delhi • Documenting and reporting for UNDP-sponsored event for MGSIRD, Jabalpur
Sep 2001
Moved to Bhopal
The train journey to Bhopal in September 2001 led me to wherever I am today. I spent two memorable and eventful years of my life in the city and this is where I met Varsha, my wife
2000-2001
MA Economics
Dropped out of the MA Economics course at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, after two semesters
Oct 2000
Mind Maze
• Organiser and quizmaster of Mind Maze 2000, the biggest quiz fest in Shillong.
• Co-founder of Inquizitive, a quizzing club
1997 - 2000
BA Economics
St. Edmund's College, Shillong
• Gold Medallist, Economics Honours, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
• Certificate of Excellence, St. Edmund's College, Shillong • Champion, Harisava Open Quiz • Represented the college at regional quiz and debate competitions • Organiser and quizmaster of the St. Edmund's Platinum Jubilee Quiz
1995 - 1997
AISSCE, Humanities
KV Happy Valley, Shillong
• Certificate of Merit for outstanding academic performance, CBSE, Delhi
• Merit Certificate, National Scholarships Scheme, Govt of Delhi • Scripted, directed and acted in The Count of Monte Cristo, a play
1986 - 1995
AISSE
BK Bajoria School, Shillong
• House Captain, Sadhna House
• House Vice-captain, Sadhna House
• Represented the school at inter-school quiz and science competitions
May 1992
Moved from Lower Mawprem to Laban
I was 13 when my family was forced to leave behind the locality I grew up in. The memories and experiences of Lower Mawprem in my formative years have shaped me. We shifted home to Laban, another Shillong locality some 4 kilometres away
Spread between Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Shillong (Meghalaya), we Choudhurys trace our lineage back to the Sylhet district of undivided Bengal (now in Bangladesh).
The family's roots go back the village of Boroikandi (on the banks of the Surma river) on my father's side and to the town of Habiganj on my mother's. My father's family settled in the village of Maizgram (on the banks of the Longai river and now in Karimganj district of Assam) during the partition of India and my mother's family in Agartala, Tripura.
My father, Jashodhir Choudhury, moved to Shillong in 1967, which was then the capital of undivided Assam and has made the hill city his home for the last 57 years. My mother, Rina Choudhury née Dutta Choudhury, moved to Shillong, 52 years ago, following her marriage.
My wife, Varsha Choudhury née Nigam, is from Indore in Madhya Pradesh and her family's roots are in Banda, Uttar Pradesh and Satna, Madhya Pradesh.
I have an elder brother, Subhadip Choudhury, a photographer and a customs officer, who lives in Shillong with his family.
Media coverage
of me, my ideas and my work
Contact me
Email ID: contact@soumyadip.com
Work address: Network18, SkymarkOne, Sector 98, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India 201303
You can also contact me via social media (accounts linked below) or use this form
Network18, India's largest media conglomerate, has been my karmabhoomi for over 14 years.
I joined IBNLive.com (now News18.com) in April 2010 as a News Editor to reimagine the website's video strategy, after which I moved from one role to the other as my career progressed within the company.
At Network18, I have been conceptualising and executing the network's digital election offerings since 2010, positioning that as the best in its class. I have been managing this role in addition to the other roles that I have held during my tenure here.
I was the Technology Editor for IBNLive.com, a role which I continued with when the website transitioned to News18.com. In addition, I was also given the additional responsibility of Product Manager for IBNLive.com, making me one of the first product managers in India's mainstream digital news websites.
I introduced a number of new storytelling formats such as immersives, news in GIFs, highlights, quizzes and was one of the pioneers of news live blogging in India. I conceived the idea of live tweet reviews of movies, which went on to become a popular feature for IBNLive both on social media and the website.
I set up a first-of-its kind YouTube livestream of the momentous 2011 anti-corruption protests at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, which brought uninterrupted visuals of the happenings to audiences 24x7.
I also pioneered an immersive 360° video live stream of the 2016 CNN-News18 Indian of the Year awards, along with 360° panoromic views of the famous Durga Puja pandals across Kolkata.
Meanwhile, I was also given the responsibility to run CompareIndia.com, India's first product comparison website.
In 2016, I was elevated to the network-wide role as Editor, News Labs and Innovation and was promoted as Senior Editor, Innovation, Data & News Lab in 2018.
In 2020, I was made the Group Social Media Editor for Network18 and in that role I led the network's social media strategy and operations during the critical COVID-19 period. I and my team launched an innovative and mass circulated COVID-19 PDF WhatsApp newsletter along with the COVID-19 Analytics Centre, in interactive data dashboard that displayed COVID-19 related data from all Indian states and from around the world. We also introduced the News18 Paper - a made-for-mobile daily PDF newspaper.
I was designated as Group Editor, News Products & Innovation in 2022, a role that I still hold and which is at the cusp of the technology, product, business and editorial functions of the group. My current role spans multiple functions and verticals and is closely involved in the group's product and editorial strategy formulation, incubation of new processes, products and features.
I was a core team member that ideated and incubated the Local18 initiative and also was also part of the team that envisioned and executed Network18's pivotal convergence exercise that integrated the group's extensive broadcast and digital processes and functions.
I am also closely involved in the network's survey (including opnion and exit polls) and commemmorative coffee table book publishing initiatives.
Designation:
Group Editor, News Products & Innovation
Location:
Noida, India
NDTV
NDTV Convergence Ltd
I joined NDTV Convergence Ltd, the digital arm of NDTV, in September 2007 to be a part of the yet-to-be-launched NDTV US Edition team.
In a hectic stint, that lasted for 2 years and 8 months (and involved juggling multiple roles at once), I was part of a number of new product launches including the the following:
NDTVGadgets.com (now Gadgets 360): I revived and relaunched the website in 2008 with a fresh design and content, putting into gear what went on to be one of the largest technology news and information websites in the world.
Tubaah.com: Tubaah, launched in February 2009 was India's first video streaming platform then positioned to be India's answer to Hulu. I was part of the small team that managed the content selection, publishing and pre-launch testing for the website.
In addition, I also contibuted to and helped manage the top-performing NDTV Movies section where I introduced the concept of visual stories and also aided in managing the lifestyle website NDTVGoodtimes.com.
I was also part of the team that managed the innovative and hugely popular live chat with experts during the 2009 Lok Sabha election results day and also pitched in to support the general NDTV.com news desk to important news days such as during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
I joined Times Internet's newly-launched Indiatimes Broadband team in December 2006. This was one of the early forays in Indian news industry in packaging and producing multimedia content for digital audiences.
This pioneering team, operating out of the Times Internet office in Gurgaon, Haryana, created rich-media interactive slideshows and video content exploring and opening up new avenues of story-telling for a pre-4G desktop dominant audience.
Times Internet has been my shortest stint yet lasting only 10 months.
Career Launcher, through its division Media Mates, published two monthly magazines - Educare and Management Compass along with an annual reference book - India Business Yearbook.
I joined Career Launcher in February 2006 and operated out of their Preet Vihar, Delhi office and later shifted to the Sector 18, Noida office.
It was a small team of three journalists and two designers with the shared responsibility of publishing two monthly magazines and managing the website. The role involved all aspects of magazine publishing including reporting, photography, research, copy editing, page layout and proof reading.
I was also made the Editor of the India Business Yearbook and single-handedly researched, curated and edited the 2007 edition.
HT Media Ltd. (that also publishes the newspaper The Hindustan Times) was my first formal job. I joined the company in their fledgling HT Syndication division on December 1, 2003 and was among the first employees who set that up.
I joined as a Consulting Copy Editor and quickly went up the ranks to be promoted to Chief Copy Editor within three months of joining.
In my role there, I structured processes, built training modules and tools (some of them from scratch and running from my shared local drive), fine tuned the style guide and helped design the CMS. My role also included heading a shift of around 25 people and reviewing and publishing content processed by the team.
I was with HT Media for around two years and three months and have very fond memories of that office on the 17th floor of HT House on Kasturba Ghandhi Marg, New Delhi.
Cutting the Chai is a potpurri blog that has been operating since 2005. This weblog serves as a chronicle of my life, interests (and the ocassional opinion) and is an archive of Indian popular culture over the decades.
This is also a sandbox for many of my experiments and learnings in digital publishing, which is not always possible within the constrains of the mainstream news media.
The unofficial Google doodles[on X] I ocassionally create have been widely circulated and commented about on social media and covered by websites such as Huffpost.
In 2013, as my dependence on online shopping gradually increased and online search for online shopping hadn't evolved enough, I put together India Shopping Search, the first custom search engine for India's online shoppers.
In 2012, I launched the Indian Public Domain Movie Project, which intended to bring together at one place the Indian films which had gone into public domain and also created the first 3D version of the first Indian movie - Raja Harishchandra (1913) as part of this initiative.
I was one of the first Indian YouTubers. This video I shot from the New Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani Express crossing the river Brahmaputra is one of the earliest Indian videos on YouTube.
Back in 2009, I launched DOBMW.com which was envisioned as the Directory of Official Bollywood Movie Websites. However, with the spread of social networking producers almost stopped making official movie websites and I also subsequently shut down the site.
Following the early popularily of Twitter and the subsequent proliferation of URL shortening services and Twitter clients, I also put together one of my own cut.tc - Cutting the Chai's own Twitter client and url shortener. As this was a not-for-profit project and the domain name registrar was charging a bomb when it came up for renewal. This along with other issues with the .tc TLD ensured that the URL shortener had a short life.
This blog has been featured extensively in the mainstream news media and other websites.
This website is self-hosted and self-maintained and is my labour of love.
