 Mitra started in journalism as Assistant Editor with "The Statesman" in Kolkata before he moved to the "Times of India" in Delhi and then "The Sunday Observer"; he went on to become Editor of the paper, and later moved to the "Hindustan Times" as Executive Editor.Mitra left to join "The Pioneer" as Editor, and eventually bought control of the newspaper from the Thapar family in 1998 when industrialist L. M. Thapar decided to cut his losses.In July 2013 he made a controversial remark at the renowned economist Amartya Sen, but soon regretted it.