Monita Rajpal | |
|---|---|
 Rajpal at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in 2016 | |
| Born | (1974-02-20)20 February 1974 (age 51) |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Website | http://monitarajpal.com/ |
Monita Rajpal (born 20 February 1974) is a Canadian journalist. She is a formernews presenter forCitytv andCNN International.
At CNN, she anchoredCNN Today,World One, the art programmesArt of Life andIcon,CNN NewsCenter, andTalkAsia. She worked for CNN between 2001 and 2014, first in Atlanta at theCNN Center, next in London, and finally in Hong Kong. Since leaving CNN, she blogs on her news and lifestyle blog, The Citrine Room.
In her second year of college, Rajpal wished to work at apart-time job, so she did a two-month contract as aswitchboard operator at theCHUM-City Building.[1] After she graduated fromRyerson Polytechnic University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) with a degree in radio and television arts in 1996,[2] Rajpal started a six-month contract to be areceptionist at ChumCity.[1] She responded to phone calls and led visitors on building tours.[3] On the final day of her contract, Stephen Hurlbut, the vice president of programming, requested that she continue working for several weeks to conduct research.[1] Rajpal became Hurlbut's assistant atCP24 as the channel was being launched in 1997.[1] She then became a reporter and anchor for CP24[1] andCitytv, where she reported on stories for the "primetime nightly news" such asfederal elections, teacher strikes, and homelessness in Toronto.[4]
While situated in his Toronto hotel room in February 2001, aCNN executive was browsing through the television channels and saw Rajpal.[1] He extended an Atlanta-basedCNN International anchor position to Rajpal, who accepted[1] and started working at CNN in 2001.[5] She worked about 12 hours daily at theCNN Center, reading news publications likeThe Economist andThe New Yorker.[4] While based in Atlanta, she had interviewedEhud Barak, a formerPrime Minister of Israel;Andrés Pastrana Arango, the then-President of Colombia; andMoses Blah, who had just taken office asPresident of Liberia.[4] She covered news stories about thewar on terror,Catholic Church sexual abuse cases, Liberian strife, former American presidentJimmy Carter's visit to Cuba, andpresidential elections in France.[2][6]
Rajpal moved to London in late 2004 where she anchored the European edition ofCNN Today and the art programmeArt of Life.[2][7] In 2010, Rajpal hosted the CNN art culture programmeIcon.[5] The show's first three episodes discussed Paris fashion and art, guitaristLes Paul's legacy, and advertising.[5] In 2011, she co-anchoredWorld One, a daily CNN International news programme while based in London.[8][9]
In late 2012, Rajpal moved from London to Hong Kong.[9][10] She hosted two shows that had their first broadcasts at the beginning of 2013:CNN NewsCenter andTalkAsia.[9]CNN NewsCenter is a news programme that discusses international headlines, whileTalkAsia is a weekly programme that interviews an internationally known person for 30 minutes.[9] Notable people she has interviewed for CNN includeMikhail Gorbachev,[3]Vicente Fox,[2]Al Gore,[3]Tom Ford,[5] andI. M. Pei.[5] Rajpal left CNN on 4 July 2014.[11]
Rajpal was born on 20 February 1974[1][12][13][14] in Hong Kong to "a Chinese mother of Indian origin and an Indian father".[2] Her maternal grandfather moved fromPunjab toShanghai at 16 years old. Her mother was raised in Shanghai and became an electronics company executive.[9] Rajpal isSikh[15] and has a brother.[2] Rajpal grew up in Hong Kong and at age 14 immigrated with her family toNorth York inToronto, Canada.[3] She attendedA. Y. Jackson Secondary School where she took part in itsAmnesty International club.[3] Upon seeing Rajpal present to a crowded assembly hall, the vice principal requested that she deliver the school's morning broadcasts.[3] Her guidance counsellor, who knew about her broadcasting work, recommended that she submit a college application to the radio and television arts program at Ryerson Polytechnic University, which she attended.[3]
Her parents had wanted her to be a physician.[1] Her uncle worked atRTHK. Her mother listened to radio news broadcasts on the radio all day which introduced Rajpal to the news business.[9] She is fluent inCantonese,English,French, andPunjabi.[4][9] Rajpal said herpop icons are the bandU2, the architectFrank Gehry, the artistDamien Hirst, andOprah Winfrey.[5]
Rajpal resides inWiltshire inSouth West England with her husband and their son.[16] She blogs on her news and lifestyle blog, The Citrine Room.[16]
