Arun Chaudhary
{{short description|American journalist (born 1975)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Arun Chaudhary
| image = File:West Wing Week - Arun Chaudhary and Josh Earnest.png
| caption = West Wing Week - Arun Chaudhary and Josh Earnest
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|11|6}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| education = Cornell University (BA)
New York University (MFA)
| spouse = Laura Moser
| years_active =
| website =
}}
Arun Chaudhary (born November 6, 1975) is an American political operative and filmmaker. After serving on President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, he was asked to become the first official videographer of the White House, a position he held from 2009-2011.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/us/12video.html |title=His Job Is to Make Public Obama's Candid Side |work=The New York Times |first=Ashley |last=Parker |date=November 11, 2010 |accessdate=November 26, 2012}} He left in August 2011 to join mobile-messaging startup Revolution Messaging as senior vice president of communications.{{cite web |url=http://techpresident.com/news/21972/white-house-videographer-joins-revolution-messaging |title=White House Videographer Joins Revolution Messaging |work=techPresident |author=Sarah Lai Stirland |date=March 27, 2012 |accessdate=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=August 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812061002/http://techpresident.com/news/21972/white-house-videographer-joins-revolution-messaging |url-status=dead }} He later served as Creative Director for Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/benjamin-wallace-wells/how-the-sanders-campaign-got-a-punk-sensibility|title=How the Sanders Campaign Got a Punk Sensibility|date=August 2016|magazine=The New Yorker}}
Chaudhary is perhaps best known for his ability to bring art into the world of political campaigns. In an interview with Disruption Magazine, David Axelrod, his manager from the 2008 presidential campaign, said, “We hired Chaudhary for his artistic eye... He was able to contribute a compelling and authentic story to voters and that proved invaluable.”{{Cite web|url=http://disruptionmag.com/2016/03/10/arun-chaudhary-bernie-sanders-barack-obama/|title=The Art Behind Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign|date=10 March 2016}}
''First Cameraman''
File:P041811PS-0430 (5716631496).jpg and son Leo in 2011]]
His first book, First Cameraman: Documenting the Obama Presidency in Real Time, was published in August 2012 by Times Books. In The Washington Post, Rutgers University professor David Greenberg said "Its singular, quirky take on Obama's brief career adds a smidgen of useful information to the historical record."{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/first-cameraman-documenting-the-obama-presidency-in-real-time-by-arun-chaudhary/2012/08/23/5669da7c-e610-11e1-8741-940e3f6dbf48_story.html |title='First Cameraman: Documenting the Obama Presidency in Real Time,' by Arun Chaudhary |newspaper=The Washington Post |author=David Greenberg |date=August 24, 2012 |accessdate=November 25, 2012}} The Atlantic's Nancy Scola, in reviewing the book, observed that "Chaudhary writes with the looseness of someone whose political experience consists of being told to tell stories, which means there's plenty of gossipy bits for campaign enthusiasts.{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/08/what-its-like-to-be-filmmaker-to-the-president/261299/ |title=What It's Like to Be Filmmaker to the President |date=August 21, 2012 |author=Nancy Scola |work=The Atlantic |accessdate=November 26, 2012}}"
The book was also reviewed by NPR's Morning Edition,{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/02/160194973/behind-the-lens-with-obamas-first-cameraman |title=Behind The Lens With Obama's 'First Cameraman' |work=Weekend Edition (NPR) |author=NPR Staff |date=September 2, 2012 |accessdate=November 25, 2012}} Kirkus Reviews,{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arun-chaudhary/first-cameraman/ |title=First Cameraman |work=Kirkus Reviews |author=Staff writer |date=July 15, 2012 |accessdate=November 25, 2012}} Booklist,"First Cameraman", Booklist, July 1, 2012. Vol. 108 Issue 21, p2, 1p Publishers Weekly.{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9572-2 |title=First Cameraman: The Improbable Story of How a Disheveled Film Professor Became the First Official White House Videographer |work=Publishers Weekly |author=Staff writer |date=June 4, 2012 |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}
Personal life
Chaudhary was born November 6, 1975. His parents and older sister are both computer scientists; his younger brother, Ajay Singh Chaudhary, founded the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. His father is an Indian immigrant and his mother is Jewish.{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13641_3-9951821-44.html |title=Politics 2.0: Barack Obama's videographer |work=CNET News |author=Tim Leberecht |date=May 24, 2008 |accessdate=November 26, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://forward.com/articles/165026/half-jewish-on-his-president-s-side/?p=all |title=Half-Jewish On His President's Side |work=The Jewish Daily Forward |date=October 30, 2012 |author=Adam Langer |accessdate=November 26, 2012}}
He has a B.A. from Cornell University and an MFA from New York University, and has worked as a writer, director, location sound recordist, post-production sound designer, and film critic.[http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D1442%26Itemid%3D56%26ed%3D31 Ready for His Close Up] by Beth Saulnier, Cornell Alumni Magazine; Sept/Oct 2012 He is a former New York University film professor.{{cite web |url=http://content.usatoday.com/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=citizen-times&sParam=57628738.story |title=N.Y. filmmaker captures public, private Obama |work=The Journal News (via USA Today) |author=Alex Weisler |date=September 6, 2012 |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}
While at Cornell University, he was the bassist and vocalist of punk rock band IFarm.{{cite web |url=https://ifarm.bandcamp.com/ |title=IFarm Band Page |accessdate=April 27, 2015}}
Chaudary is married to Laura Moser, founder of Daily Action, a digital messaging site that caters to liberal causes highlighted during the Trump administration.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/a-capitol-hill-mom-directs-thousands-of-anti-trump-activists-by-sending-texts-from-her-living-room/2017/01/27/cf0538f2-e447-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html |title=Capitol Hill mom directs thousands of anti-Trump activists with texts sent from her living room |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 28, 2017 |accessdate=May 11, 2017}} Laura was a candidate in the Democratic primary for Texas Congressional District 7, held by John Culberson, but lost the nomination to Lizzie Fletcher, who later defeated Culberson in the November 2018 midterm election.
References
{{reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhary, Arun}}
Category:American public relations people
Category:Obama administration personnel
Category:Tisch School of the Arts faculty
Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Journalists from the Bronx
Category:American politicians of Indian descent
Category:21st-century American journalists