openDemocracy appoints Aman Sethi as editor-in-chief

openDemocracy is delighted to announce the appointment of Aman Sethi as editor-in-chief, following an extensive global search. Aman will be responsible for all editorial output and oversee our team of editors, producers and contributors.

Aman joins us from HuffPost, where he was deputy executive editor. Before that he was the executive editor for strategy at BuzzFeed, editorial director with Coda Media, editor-in-chief of HuffPost India, associate editor with the Hindustan Times, and foreign correspondent (Africa) and Chhattisgarh correspondent with The Hindu. His award-winning reportage both in India and around the world has touched on some of the most pressing issues of our time, such as migration, land grabs, labour rights, public health, nationalism, democracy and insurgency. He is the author of the critically acclaimed non-fiction book ‘A Free Man’.

Satbir Singh, openDemocracy CEO, said: “I first read Aman’s work more than a decade ago when, as Chhattisgarh correspondent for The Hindu, he covered India’s Maoist insurgency and the state’s brutal counter-insurgency, bringing vivid, hard-hitting stories and analysis from the depths of the forest to a global audience. Since then his remarkable career, both as a reporter and an editor, has built on this commitment to seek out the issues and stories that matter, to cover the news inclusively and impactfully and to champion innovation.

“I’m confident that, under Aman’s leadership, our small but mighty team will see its reach, impact and ambition grow. There’s never been a more important time for bold, independent media and I’m thrilled to welcome Aman to the team.”

Aman Sethi said: "I'm very excited and honoured to serve as the editor-in-chief of openDemocracy. I've long been a fan of openDemocracy's global footprint and editorial commitment to rigorous investigations and incisive coverage of the biggest stories of our time. As newsrooms around the world are threatened by censorship, intimidation and economic disruption, the cause of independent media has never been more urgent.”