Citadel Dispatch CD187: ANJAN SUNDARAM - INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
Dec 16, 2025
Anjan Sundaram, an independent journalist and founder of the Stringer Foundation, shares his journey from Yale and Goldman Sachs to war reporting. He discusses how social media has transformed journalism, emphasizing the importance of fact-checking over raw footage. Anjan critiques the low pay for freelancers and explores sustainable funding through philanthropy and innovative models like Bitcoin. He elaborates on launching the Stringer Prize to recognize global journalists and highlights the need for a diverse and sustainable independent media landscape.
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From Goldman To Congo
- Anjan left a quant job at Goldman Sachs and bought a one-way ticket to Kinshasa after reading about mass deaths there.
- He spent 20 years covering wars and dictatorships and later founded the Stringer Foundation to support courageous journalists.
Journalism Beyond Western Norms
- Anjan defines journalism broadly as any public media that holds abuses of power accountable.
- He values diverse cultural forms of journalism beyond traditional Western articles.
Verify Facts And Seek The Other Side
- Stick to verifiable facts and try to reach the other side when criticizing someone.
- Those two practices distinguish journalists from raw footage streamers, Anjan argues.