Why “Cuckoo News”?

Because all the other domain names were taken! Also, we know our coverage of topics is likely to be a little cuckoo. With every publication vying to be the “first” to report on things, we’re gearing up to occupy the niche space of being amongst the “last” to cover something. If we cover it at all. We will surely “break” news sometimes, but probably not often at break-neck speeds. In fact, we should confess upfront that we don’t take ourselves all that seriously. But we take the world—I don’t know if “seriously” is the word—with a sense of awe and esteem and love, and with a grain of salt.

However, I admit, there IS another story behind the name. “Cuckoo News” wasn’t just the “available domain”; it was actively sought out. It comes from my father’s nickname for me, Kuhu, which in Bengali means the Cuckoo bird’s call. Though it was likely meant to evoke the mellifluous lilt of the Cuckoo’s springtime song with which it is associated in Bengali, I was convinced, increasingly, that I was living up to the English language connotations of “cuckoo.” And “news” because that’s my line of work.

Friends and family have conspired to find deeper meanings. “Cuckoos are irreverent,” said Sujan, a fellow journalist and Cuckoo team member. “Cuckoos are clever,” said Anuradha, another journalist friend. “Cuckoos are birds. We’ll take a bird’s eye view of things,” said Koli, my sister and co-creator of Cuckoo News. Everyone agreed that the world itself is a little crazy…a little cuckoo…so “Cuckoo News can be our chirpings on a wacky world,” said Koli.

That’s why Cuckoo News.

—Dola Mitra, Editor

Meet The Team

Dola Mitra is the Editor-in-Chief of Cuckoo News. She has worked as a reporter, editor and political analyst covering Indian and international news for over two decades, including formerly with Outlook Magazine and The Telegraph, and currently with The Statesman. Dola’s reporting has included deep crisis areas in Myanmar, North East India, and Maoist strongholds in India. She has also written extensively on the environment, including as an Earth Journalism Network fellow. Dola is the author of two books on Bengal politics and history, and a recipient of the Laadli Media Award for her coverage of issues affecting women and girls.

Koli Mitra is the Global Editor of Cuckoo News. She is an attorney and writer-editor based in New York City, with a background in finance, political theory, and constitutional law. She has previously edited/written for Kindle Magazine and Bloomberg BNA, among others. She recently edited the book Nuclear Weapons and International Law, by Prof. Charles Moxley of Fordham University School of Law.

Sujan Dutta is Chief Correspondent (National/International Affairs) of Cuckoo News, though he prefers being called “A Very Special Correspondent”! A journalist based in Delhi and Kolkata, Sujan has been reporting on some of the most dangerous conflicts and crises from across the Indian subcontinent and West Asia for more than 30 years (including the wars in Kargil, Iraq and Afghanistan).

Sehba Imam is a contributor to Cuckoo News. She is a Delhi-based television writer whose credits include such shows as “Great Indian Tamasha”, “Gustakhi Maaf” and “Galli Galli, Sim Sim.” She is also co-author of “Ocean to Ocean” and a Tedx speaker. 

Darienne Grey is a contributor to Cuckoo News and an attorney based in New York City. She has an academic background in art history and law. 

Kumar Tiku is a contributor to Cuckoo News and a 20-year veteran of the United Nations Development Programme, designing communication strategies for development initiatives in countries around the world. He is the author of Humans on the Run: Of Exiles and Asylums (Oxford U. Press), and is working on his next book, about climate/extreme weather events-induced global migration.

Mark Butterworth is a contributor to Cuckoo News and an entrepreneur with an extensive background in the international travel industry. Originally hailing from the U.K., he has a deep and lasting love for the Himalayan mountains and now makes his home in a secluded farm in Himachal Pradesh. He hikes to remote regions high in the hills and returns with tantalizing tales to tell us.