Lkhagva Erdene

Discussing current issues and proposed legislative bills, Erdene appears on air each week as the host to the program "Nuudel Shiidel" (meaning "Actionable Solutions" in English). The show has invited high-profile guests such as mayors, lawmakers, former and current heads, challenging them within a debate format. The program plays a significant role in influencing the national political debate in Mongolia by making politicians’ and political parties’ agendas accessible to general audiences.

He served as Curator to the World Economic Forum’s Ulaanbaatar Global Shapers Hub between 2015-2016.

Erdene appears in Season 2 of the series Huang’s World interviewing Eddie Huang in 2014. He also appears in an electro music video called “Never Cry Again” by Dash Berlin.

In 2017, Erdene along with a group of reporters from the International Council of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. He had collaborated with the group on the Panama Papers Investigation, exposing hidden offshore tax havens.

In April 2017, Erdene called attention to a censorship bill threatening media activities in the run-up to the presidential election. Working with a group of broadcasters and print media outlets in the country, they staged a ‘blackout’ by refraining from broadcasting the news. The protest called attention and triggered a public outcry regarding the bill.

In May 2017, the 300 reporters who collaborated on the Panama Papers Investigation to expose hidden offshore tax havens were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting at Columbia University.

At a press briefing on the air pollution issue in 2017, controversy arose when social media commentator pointed out that the former President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj had shown favoritism during the briefing towards Erdene by picking on him and calling him out by name repeatedly. Other reporters later pointed to the fact that Erdene had in fact raised his hands first, thus Elbegori was simply picking the reporter in the room who was first to ask questions.

Viewership of Mongol TV's news programs skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the most watched in the last quarter of 2016, with roughly half a million people tuning in and following on social media in a country with a population of three million people. The station has since become one of the most popular news outlets in Mongolia.

He and other journalists founded the Media Council of Mongolia in 2015 as the country's first initiative to promote higher reporting standards, media self-regulation and journalistic ethics. He continues to serve as an Ethics Committee member.

Erdene joined the relatively unknown and new Mongol TV television channel as a journalist upon returning to Ulaanbaatar in 2013, wanting to focus on investigative stories not tackled by mainstream media. He was subsequently promoted to lead the news division as its Executive Producer of News. In addition to this role, at Mongol TV he also produced popular entertainment programs such as Mongolia's Got Talent.

In 2013, Erdene's team led an undercover investigation to reveal that 9 broadcasters, newspapers and digital websites had been influenced by biased, paid sources. The Mongol TV news team planted fictitious stories of the McDonald's fast-food chain opening its first franchise operation in Mongolia among the news outlets, which ran the story as news unquestioningly without verification and fact checking. This exposed the poor journalism standards and ethics prevalent among the media at the time.

Lkhagva Erdene (born 11 March 1987) is a Mongolian TV host, television producer, investigative reporter and activist. He is the television host of Mongol TV’s “Nuudel Shiidel” debate show and the channel's current Executive Producer of News. He has written for The Diplomat and is a regular contributor to Ikon.mn.