About somanii
Indira S. Somani, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications with Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. She began her tenure-track position in the fall of 2008 bringing 10 years of broadcast journalism experience as a television producer to the classroom. Somani teaches online and broadcast producing and broadcast reporting and has introduced two new courses called "Media, Race and Gender" and "Cross-Cultural Documentary Filmmaking." Somani studies effects of satellite television on the Indian diaspora, specifically the generation of the Asian Indians who migrated to the U.S. between 1960 and 1972, and their media habits. She has been published in the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, and the Asian Journal of Communication. For the fall of 2011, Somani has been awarded a Fulbright research award to study the Western influence of Indian programming in India. Somani is also an award winning independent producer and director of documentaries about how Asian Indians maintain and preserve their cultural identity. Her most recent production is “Crossing Lines” (www.crossinglinesthefilm.com), a personal essay documentary about her struggle to stay connected to India after the loss of her father. The film has won numerous awards, screened in film festivals nationally and internationally, screened on PBS affiliates, and has also been distributed to more than 50 university libraries in the U.S. through New Day films. Prior to W & L, Somani taught for five years at American University and the University of Maryland. Prior to transitioning to academia, Somani was a television producer most notably with CNBC and WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C. She has been a leader of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), where she has also won several "Outstanding" awards on her coverage of South Asians in North America. Somani earned her Master's in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University in 1993, and her Ph.D. from the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park in May, 2008.
Nanded, Maharshtra, India
Nanded, Maharshtra, India
On Monday, I went to Tirupati to see the Sri Venkateswara Temple. I’ve always wanted to come here, but I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t realize it was this beautiful drive up the Tirumala Hill to get to … Continue reading →
One of the places that I have remembered the most from a childhood visit to India was Brindavan Gardens. We visited India for five weeks during Christmas break (Dec. 1977 to Jan. 1978), and at the end of the trip … Continue reading →
We did something called the “Dailies” the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 2. It was basically a daily operation of SoftCopy (the multimedia site), The Observer (the newspaper), Bangalore @ 8 (the newscast) and CityCast (the broadcast website). The … Continue reading →
These are my nieces, nephews and cousins in Pune celebrating “Bhai Dooj.” This is the final day of Diwali celebrations. On this day, sisters apply tika on the forehead of their brothers and brothers in return bless their sisters and … Continue reading →
Posted in Life in India
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Tagged Bhai Dooj
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Dev Deepavali was celebrated on Nov. 10th. This is the 15th day after Diwali, a full moon day, also known as Kartik Purnima. I came to Varanasi to experience this festival, where the people of Varanasi pay tribute to the … Continue reading →
This gallery contains 33 photos.
I had the pleasure of filming Karwa Chauth this Saturday (Oct. 15) in Palm Meadows. This is the exclusive neighborhood of Whitefield (a suburb of Bangalore) where much of the ex-pat community lives or Indians, who have lived abroad and … Continue reading →
