Barry has been the South Asia Bureau Chief of NYT in New Delhi
Ellen Barry, a journalist at the New York Times (NYT), won the 2017 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia. The 46-year-old scribe won the accolade for her series of stories examining the role of women in India’s economy and society, and the barriers to their entry into the workforce despite a prolonged economic expansion.
Barry has been the South Asia Bureau Chief of NYT in New Delhi, since August 2013. Her stories mainly portray the stories of Indian woman and their influence in Indian culture and economy. She very appropriately depicts the narratives about the struggles of Indian women – day laborers and factory workers – to earn for themselves and gaining influence within a patriarchal system.
Barry will be honored at a luncheon event at Asia Society in New York on May 23, along with John Micklethwait, Bloomberg News’ Editor-in-Chief. The event will give a special tribute to Seymour Topping, the reputed foreign correspondent at the Associated Press, former managing editor of The New York Times, and former administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes.
“Ellen Barry’s subtle, beautifully descriptive narratives of the lives of working Indian women explore the conflict between deep-set traditions and the propulsive changes of a modernizing economy,” said Marcus Brauchli, the chairperson of the independent jury that made the selection. “Her vivid depictions of the gap between dreams and reality, between the past and the hurtling present, will bring understanding to all who read them”
The “Oz Prize”, established in 2003, glorifies the late Osborn Elliott, legendary journalist, author and former editor-in-chief of the Newsweek. Elliott was an inspiration in the field of journalism who became one of the pioneers of “civic journalism”—the deliberate focusing of the journalistic enterprise on urgent issues of public policy. The $10,000 cash award is presented annually to the best example of journalism about Asia during the previous calendar year.
The Oz Prize Jury incorporates Chair Marcus Brauchli, managing partner of North Base Media and former editor of The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal; Dorinda Elliott, editorial and communications director, Paulson Institute; Mei Fong, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author; Bobby Ghosh, editor-in-chief, Hindustan Times; Alec McCabe, executive producer, Bloomberg Podcasts; and Somini Sengupta, UN bureau chief, The New York Times.
Barry’s prize winning stories include:-
“In India, a Small Band of Women Risk It All for a Chance to Work,” January 31, 2016
“Young Rural Women in India Chase Big-City Dreams,” September 24, 2016
“Two Children, One Rich, One Poor, Gasping for Air in Delhi’s Smog,” November 23, 2016
Barry served as a correspondent for the Times in Moscow beginning in 2008, and became bureau chief there in March 2011. In April 2011, she won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for her work with Clifford J. Levy, former Moscow bureau chief, on Russia’s faltering justice system.
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.