Indian-American Swati Sharma Named Editor-in-Chief at Vox

Sharma, 34, was managing editor at The Atlantic prior to joining Vox.

Swati Sharma has been appointed the Editor-in-Chief of Vox, the US-based digital news company said in a statement on 16 February, Tuesday.

“From its inception, Vox has worked to provide a deep understanding of an ever complex and often confusing world. With a still-raging pandemic, an overdue and ongoing racial reckoning, and a new presidential administration, the work is more vital than ever," said Sharma, 34, who will commence her role in March.

Sharma had joined The Atlantic in January 2018 and oversaw its digital coverage across all sections. Under her leadership, the magazine and its website added more than 400,000 paid subscribers since September 2019, as it opted for a paywall on expanding coverage of the presidential race, social unrest, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to that, she worked at Washington Post as deputy general assignment editor and as foreign and national security digital editor for over four years. Sharma has also worked at the Boston Globe, coordinated the live blog coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that was cited in the Globe’s Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Political Science from Northeastern University.

Sharma grew up in northern California and is proficient in Hindi and French. According to the Washington Post, Sharma has travelled widely, has a penchant for Indian cinema and is a voracious consumer of international news.

“I’m so excited to have Swati working with Vox during this incredible moment of change for both us and our audiences. She brings an appreciation of Vox’s distinctive journalistic mission and proven experience leading teams to consistently produce their best work," said Melissa Bell, Co-Founder of Vox and Publisher of Vox Media.

Vox was earlier led by Lauren Williams, who stepped down in November last year to launch a nonprofit news organisation – Capital B. At the same time, the co-founder and editor-at-large Ezra Klein also left to join the New York Times’ opinion department as a columnist.