Niko Balkaran is a multimedia journalist based in New York City. He is currently a freelance news writer with Game Rant. He was the editor-in-chief of York College CUNY’s school newspaper, Pandora’s Box, where he oversaw the newspaper’s editorial and fiscal responsibilities. He won the Janice Cline Justice Award 2023, which was given for demonstrating a commitment to using his work for social justice and equality.
Niko has experience writing and producing audio and video broadcast pieces that were reported on air. He writes long and short-form features, reviews, and news. He has always been interested in covering video games and the entertainment industry, having been inspired by Superman and Lois Lane to join the ranks.
Niko is an avid Destiny 2 player, having over 1900 hours. He is drawn to this franchise because he loves Bungie’s worldbuilding and storytelling. He has yet to find another FPS game where shooting guns feels so good.
His other video game franchise of choice is Pokemon. Some of his fondest memories include spending hours training his Pokemon to take on Winona in Pokemon Emerald and hunting for Suicune in Pokemon Crystal.
