The article examines Navina Sundaram’s experiences as a journalist at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) between the late 1960s and early 1980s. During this period, Sundaram worked, among other roles, as a journalist for Weltspiegel and Panorama, reporting on topics such as independence movements in South Asia and migration policy in the FRG. Drawing on materials from her private archive as well as the archives of Norddeutscher Rundfunk, the study investigates how Sundaram understood her own position in the production of legitimate knowledge and how she distinguished it from other epistemic practices in journalism. Parts of her private archive can be accessed digitally here.

For their analysis, the authors developed a theoretical model that brings together practices of contradiction with practices of journalistic knowledge production. Using this model, they examined how Sundaram’s experiences within the broadcaster manifested themselves, with a particular focus on three practices: challenging editorial routines, challenging through international networks, and negotiating (national) belonging. The findings show that many aspects of today’s debates about diversity in journalism have earlier precedents—even though these connections often remain invisible due to a lack of source material and institutional memory.

The article is freely accessible here.