M. J. Akbar - Career

Career

Akbar joined The Times of India in 1971 as a trainee. Within a few months moved to the The Illustrated Weekly of India, then India’s largest selling magazine, as sub-editor and feature writer, and contributed a prolific number of stories. In the weekly till 1973, when he was named editor of the news fortnightly, Onlooker, owned by The Free Press Journal Group in Mumbai. In 1976, he moved to Calcutta to join the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group as editor of SUNDAY, a political weekly. Within just three years of its launch, the investigative reporting pioneered by the magazine established its national circulation and number one position. The magazine took an uncompromising stand against the Emergency and fought press censorship and dictatorship. SUNDAY not only established major trends in journalism but also spawned a new generation of journalists in the country.

In 1982, after the success of The Sunday, Akbar launched what is considered by some to be India’s first modern newspaper. He conceived, designed and edited the daily newspaper, The Telegraph, which had a major impact on newspaper journalism in India.

In 1989, he took a brief detour into politics with his election to the Indian Parliament in November 1989 from Kishanganj in Bihar on a Congress(I) ticket. He lost the seat in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. He served as late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's official spokesman.

In 1991, Akbar joined the Government as an advisor in the Ministry of Human Resources, and helped policy planning in key areas of education, the National Literacy Mission and in the protection of heritage. He resigning from the post and quit politics in December 1992 and returned to journalism and full time writing. In 1993, M J Akbar started a new media company with the aim of creating India’s first newspaper that would not only include an international focus within its editorial range, but also be the first Indian daily with an international edition. This newspaper appeared in February 1994. The Asian Age, India’s first global newspaper, was launched with initial editions in Delhi, Bombay, and London, and by 2008 had grown, in collaboration with the Deccan Chronicle, to eight editions, into a major media presence nationally and internationally. In 2004, the group began publishing The International Herald Tribune in India, and became a publishing partner of The New York Times.

In March 2006, Akbar Joined The Brookings Institution, Washington, as a Visiting Fellow in the Brookings Project on U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World. During the late 90s, he diluted his stake in the Asian Age, eventually selling of a major part of it to the Reddys, the owners of the Deccan Chronicle group.

In March 2008, M J Akbar was removed from The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle due to differences with the owners over editorial policy, as some newspapers have reported it.

M J Akbar Launched a Fortnightly Political Magazine named 'Covert' on 13 May 2008 in Delhi with the first issue on Stands on 14 May Simultaneously, the Covert website was launched too with the first two days later. Later this website got discontinued.

M J Akbar launched a new Sunday newspaper from 31 January 2010."The Sunday Guardian" is published from Delhi and simultaneously from London with M J Akbar as the Editor of the Weekly Newspaper.

In September 2010, he joined the Living Media as Editorial Director of the leading weekly English news magazine India Today and the English news channel Headlines Today.