masuma ahuja
Hi, I'm Masuma.
I’m a global product, strategy, and content leader with a track record of building industry-defining platforms and teams across media, tech, and startups.I'm also a Pulitzer Prize and Webby winning journalist and author.My career spans three continents, I work at the intersection of innovation, narrative, and strategic growth — translating bold vision into results. I’ve led high-performing teams, launched industry-leading products, and built global communities across 20+ countries.I started my career at the Washington Post and CNN, covering politics and breaking news and leading the organisations on emerging platforms, digital innovation, & audience-building. I've interviewed presidential candidates, posted the first Instagram Story from a media organisation, and written a book about young women's lives across 27 countries (published by Hachette).I was Head of Content at Freeda, the biggest social community of women globally, reaching 550 million people a year.I’ve also hosted a podcast featured by Apple, Amazon, and Spotify; partnered with brands and organisations like TikTok, Google News Initiative, and the UN; advise one of the UK’s leading cultural institutions & museums; I've chaired conversations conversations with political leaders, culture-makers, and Olympians on air and on global stages.I am associate of the Imperial War Museum, and an advisor to More to Her Story.I have a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from The University of Oxford.Want to chat? Email me: [email protected]
select journalism
Girlhood around the world: A series about the lives of teenage girls (The Washington Post)
This is a ten-part series I wrote for The Washington Post, which was a special mini-series in The Lily newsletter. This was featured on Apple News and Snapchat, and became the basis for my book.Series: Afghanistan | Nigeria | United States | Brazil | Refugee camp in Jordan | Sweden | Philippines | India | Democratic Republic of Congo | Cambodia
A safe world for girls starts with taking them seriously - Elle
A portrait of motherhood around the world - CNN
From disposable cameras to digital platforms: I conceived, edited and produced this project, where I sent disposable cameras to women in 20 countries to create an intimate portrait of motherhood, beyond headlines.
Voicemails from America: 10,000 American voters told us how they feel in the aftermath of the 2016 election - CNN
This piece was a Webby Honoree
Love story: Voicemails about love and life across the world - CNN
This project won an EPPY award for best social media/crowdsourcing. I put flyers up around New York City and other parts of the United States asking people to leave a voicemail. These voicemails were then edited and uploaded onto a CNN Love Story Twitter account, aired on TV and featured online and on CNN’s social platforms.
Not my Mother's World: How the world of women in the workplace has changed - The Washington Post
I conceived, commissioned, and edited this digital and video series -- featuring interviews with women including Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, DC police chief Cathy Lanier, a startup CEO and a congresswoman about how the opportunities within the workplace have changed for women across generations.
This Year I Learned - The Washington Post
Starting in 2014, I asked people to leave us voicemail stories about the biggest lessons they’ve learned, the biggest fears they’ve conquered, the biggest plans they’ve hatched and more. We posted the voicemails on Tumblr, and the resulting project became a viral sensation — featured by Tumblr and followed massive audiences.
Scared and planning for the worst: Immigrants brace for deportation - CNN
Inside an open prison in India - BBC
‘Here, No Man Decides’: Meet India’s First Female Sharia Court Judges - Vice
‘The Horror of Being the Target of a Witch Hunt in India - Vice
Little Revolutions
The interview podcast and social video series that I hosted for Freeda. This was featured by Apple, Spotify, and Amazon as a hot podcast.
Joy - Anthems Podcast, Broccoli Productions
Inside a training camp for migrant workers in Sri Lanka - BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service
Inside an open prison in India - BBC Radio 4 / BBC World Service
An interview at the Olympics with Ibtihaj Muhammad - CNN
The award-winning Olympian who made history as the first US Olympian to compete and win a medal in a hijab
Voicemails from America - CNN
Discussing my reporting about how American voters were feeling in the aftermath of Election Day
Interview with American jumper Will Claye and Queen Harrison at the Olympics - CNN
Interview with Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards Ross - CNN
press, speaking, advisory roles, and awards
speaking
I have chaired panels on women's rights around the world, Gaza, beauty standards, and more at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in recent years. My co-panelists have included a Member of Parliament (UK), leading human rights lawyers who have represented Amber Heard, Booker Prize nominated authors, Penguin's Merky Book winners, and more.I have also guest lectured occassionally on innovation, leadership, and journalism, including at Oxford, Columbia, Goldsmiths, ONA-Poynter Women's Leadership Academy and more.I regularly speak on panels and at industry events on innovation and the future of media.
advisory roles
I am an associate, advising the Imperial War Museum in the UK. I also sit on the board of advisors for More to Her Story.
awards
I share in a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the Washington Post's coverage of Edward Snowden and the NSA (2014).I also share in a Webby and and a Murrow Award for CNN's coverage of the 2016 elections on social media.I'm also a Webby honoree and an EPPY award winner for my digital audio projects at CNN.I was awarded a Howard Buffett grant by the International Women's Media Foundation.
interviews
- More to Her Story Podcast interview
- Leading Millennials: Masuma Ahuja, CNN - The Splice Newsroom
- The old, new, and unexpected mediums for human stories - Journalism.co.uk podcast
- Making decisions when you're in a cone of uncertainty - Poynter
- CNN and Washington Post are using voicemail to connect with audiences - Journalism.co.uk
- Leave a message after the tone - Journalism.co.uk podcast
- The magic of ‘experiment-land’ in legacy newsrooms - Poynter
- Futures Lab: Ideas for using Vine and Snapchat - Reynolds Journalism Institute
select press about my book
- In ‘Girlhood,’ Teens Across the Globe Write About their Everyday Lives - NPR
- Hopes, dreams, and fears: the world of teenage girls through their diaries - The Guardian
- ’Girlhood’ and 6 other stories about being young and female - CNN
- 30 girls in 27 countries weigh in on Girlhood today - Women’s Media Center
select press about my work
- How CNN is recreating the #Rio2016 experience on social media - Journalism.co.uk
- How CNN juggles different mobile chat apps to cover the Olympics - DigiDay
- Developed with young readers in mind, CNN’s new Kik bot gives you the basics on big news stories - NiemanLab
- Why CNN, of all places, is asking for love stories - DigiDay
- Messaging apps, voicemail, and other platforms CNN’s Masuma Ahuja is exploring next - Poynter
- How news organizations are trying to get people to talk, and listen, to each other after the election - Poynter
some writing about journalism & my career
- What to do when your career path is uncharted territory - Poynter
- Journalism starts working for, and with, communities - Prediction for journalism in 2023 for Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab
- Slower, quieter, more measured and thoughtful - Prediction for journalism in 2020 for Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab
- Making foreign coverage less foreign - Prediction for journalism in 2019 for Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab