Journalism is the Fourth Pillar of Democracy. Some Journalists make it a point to keep that pillar firm, by their extraordinary contribution. Ms. Palki Sharma Upadhyay is one of those journalists. As a journalist as well as a news anchor, Ms. Palki Sharma Upadhyay started her career with Doordarshan, India’s largest broadcasting network, in 2002 as a news anchor and reporter.
Palki Sharma Upadhyay has carved a distinctive space for herself in Indian broadcast journalism by reshaping how international news is presented to Indian audiences. With an academic background in law, she brought to journalism a strong sense of logic, structure, and argument—qualities that later defined her on-screen style. Rather than limiting global affairs to distant headlines, she consistently contextualised them within India’s strategic, political, and civilisational interests.
Palki Sharma Upadhyay began her journalism career with Hindustan Times in 2004 before moving to CNN-News18, where she served as an anchor and Senior Editor. In 2019, she joined WION, a multinational English news channel headquartered in New Delhi, and went on to play a key role as its Managing Editor. After three years at the helm, she stepped down from the position in September 2022. She currently anchors a flagship show on Firstpost, continuing her engagement with global affairs and public discourse.
Her work has been widely recognised within the media industry. In 2007, she received the Best News Reader Award, and later earned the Best International News Show (English) award at the Exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA) for her programme Gravitas. Widely regarded as a prominent youth icon in contemporary journalism, Palki Sharma Upadhyay is known for her confident and fearless anchoring style. In acknowledgment of her contributions to journalism in Bharat and her impactful use of mass media, MIT World Peace University, Pune, conferred upon her the Bharat Asmita Jana Jagaran Shreshta Award on 3 February 2023.
Her national and international recognition grew during her tenure as the face of Gravitas, a prime-time show that departed from conventional news formats. The programme focused on global power dynamics, international conflicts, and emerging geopolitical trends, often challenging dominant Western narratives. Palki Sharma’s delivery—controlled, analytical, and opinion-forward—helped the show attract a wide viewership, including audiences beyond India seeking an alternative global perspective.
What made her journalism stand out was not just presentation, but positioning. She represented a confident Indian voice in global discourse at a time when international narratives were largely framed through Euro-American lenses. Admirers viewed her work as articulate and assertive, while critics questioned the sharpness of her editorial framing. Yet, her influence lay precisely in this clarity of stance—she made it clear that neutrality did not require detachment from national interest.
Following her departure from WION, Palki Sharma expanded her presence through digital platforms and later re-entered mainstream television, reinforcing her role as a commentator and analyst rather than a traditional anchor. Her professional journey reflects a larger transformation within Indian media, where audiences increasingly gravitate toward informed interpretation over passive reporting. In today’s highly competitive and polarised news environment, Palki Sharma Upadhyay remains a prominent example of how Indian journalism is evolving to speak confidently on the global stage.
Palki Sharma, Network18’s Managing Editor, was committed to delivering unbiased news. She was a senior journalist with a keen interest in foreign affairs and aims to provide insightful analysis that presents an accurate representation. Her extensive experience as a TV journalist has provided her with a wealth of knowledge and expertise that she brought to her digital persona at Firstpost. This has made Firstpost a more competitive and powerful platform in a highly competitive space.
But, she has resigned from her position as Managing Editor at Firstpost, bringing to a close a phase during which she was instrumental in launching and anchoring the platform’s flagship programme, Vantage, and in shaping its broader editorial vision. An internal communication acknowledged her role in strengthening Firstpost’s global news focus and in building a strong editorial team. She is stepping away to pursue an independent venture. She is likely to turn an entrepreneur.
