An Evening In The Newsroom
Rain has been pounding the city of Bangalore since a few days now, and almost all day, Saturday (Oct 9th). The infamously dusty (eternally dug up) roads of the “world’s back-office” have transformed into large clusters of puddles. Driving is harder during days like this, and finding a space for parking anywhere in the CBD is nearly impossible.
But as they say during cricket matches - on an evening when the clouds chose to hold back the showers - the ‘nip in the air’ allowed for a great walk around MG Road and Museum Road, up to St. Mark’s Circle (they should’ve named it Square!).
The much awaited rendezvous with a young media house was now inching closer to its 5PM start. As the packed weekend traffic began to choke the area for space, just a few steps into a typically quiet neighbourhood lane with trees, the din of blaring horns and growling engines got softer; one could distinctly hear the sound of children playing, or a senior resident checking on the security staff and his wellbeing - that little neighbourhood talk. Turning right at the end of the lane, further at the corner sits an unassuming old and humble (heritage) building in white.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the burgeoning metropolis, this cosy little space is where powerful news stories get published on the internet. A young, vibrant and passionate team of news reporters disrupts the tranquility of the area - tapping computer key boards, checking with ground reporters, or just discussing the next assignment or project.
Invited ‘Members’ of the news portal from different backgrounds have now descended on this lovely street to see, and feel for real, the faces behind the names that show up on the top of reports. It’s time for those profile pictures to come alive, and interact with a set of people wanting to know how it all happens.
This is an evening after a relentless chase behind a gruesomely horrific murder story some 500km away in Belgaum, turned into a sensation with the arrest of one of the accused (at a time when thousands of miles away, the police were yet to question those involved in the mowing down of farmers). All of Twitter went up in united cheer praising the outstanding effort of team ‘The News Minute’, for pursuing the matter and bringing us the true picture. This was their latest such impact-creating story.
With such praise floating in the air, one could expect them to be a bit high on hubris. I was wrong. Heads were firmly on shoulders. Attitudes grounded. And the language so casual it felt like meeting long lost friends, picking up a conversation from where it ended a while back. The ‘hero’ who reported the ground breaking story - from the ground - that received widespread admiration from some of the biggest names in national media, was however, “head and shoulders above” anyone there. And you can’t blame him for that!
As a little crowd began to form, conversations got louder, and tea and coffee arranged by the regular supplier - a young boy, began to flow. Egg puffs (that quintessential Bengalurean snack), stuffed buns, biscuits and bottles of water (no branded bottles) were also on offer outside on a table, resembling a typical British garden party (especially with clouds hanging low, threatening to burst open). There was no celebrity chef (for cynics on Twitter who wasted no time in asking what the ‘budget’ of the evening was :-/), but just their usual supplier of tea and coffee to the office - a great gesture (coffee was hot, strong and good too!).
Inside the office, the simplicity of everything elegantly stood out. From walls used for well-wisher comments and great frames, to minimalistic workstations. Welcoming ‘Members’ to explore a little more of the office, was the Editor-In-Chief herself, floating around like a butterfly in the garden like the others in her team. All of them easily moved from one group of ‘Members’ to another, answering questions and sharing experiences - simply put: just conversing.
One couldn’t help notice the ‘studio room’ with paper pulp egg trays on the walls acting as sound absorbers. As earthy as things could get. We discovered later, this love for all things simple and plain (but rich in thought), was a passion. At the end of the evening, for instance, everyone was gifted a cute cushion cover designed by a queer artiste from Telangana, themed after popular art forms of southern India. (It brought back memories of many such things that were done during my days doing Karnataka Tourism’s marketing - where many unheard of art/folk forms and crafts were presented to the world - like the Navalgund carpets, Kinnala art, Chittara art etc.).
Soon, the entire group of ‘Members’ and Staff got together for introductions and a little chat. Members belonged to diverse sections of society, but converged with a common interest - hunger for good quality, truthful and responsible news.
Members of staff too, came from different backgrounds, but converged with a common commitment - produce an elevated standard of news and issues worthy of our attention. Plenty of examples in the recent past had already displayed the group’s penchant for stories focussed on southern India supported by ground reportage, analysis, opinions and the like.
Take the set of digital divide stories focusing on rural children who missed online schooling due to poor network coverage. Look at the excellent capsules on history of Tamil Nadu’s electoral politics during the group’s coverage of the elections in 2021. The latest project on Co-operative Federalism is yet another example.
The way the staff pulled each other’s legs while doing the introductions was just cute and lovely. Surely when deadlines stare, tones will be different, but to display a spirit of openness to an entirely strange set of people, at first sight - too good!
Many years ago, an associate who built tourism and travel exhibition stands at some of the world’s leading tourism trade fairs asked me for an advise on a pitch to the national tourism board for a series of events. Having done almost all themes centred around northern India like the Taj Mahal, Jantar Mantar etc. he wanted to do something not done before. I recommended the Mysore Palace and he quickly got to work, bringing out an absolute gem of a design. Finished with all kinds of royal elements, colours, arches and the like - imagine it coming up on 400 Sqm. of rectangle space. Confident of bagging the project, the design was submitted.
On the day of the presentation however, it was bad news. Apparently, senior bureaucrats didn’t like the theme from south India, and ferociously opined that there were better palaces in the north! (What was then built that year eventually was a very average-looking, theme-less structure that was perhaps the most confusing stand ever to be built for India Tourism). This exhibition designer’s biggest learning: “never go with south Indian themes… it will not work!”
An emotional person, from that time about 8 years ago, this statement never left me (never again a theme from the south). Why, must an entire nation always be represented by the north? Isn’t the south as good, or even a part of the country?
News… from the time I remember watching from childhood, always emanated from, and represented the north. Most stories used come either from Delhi or Bombay. Visuals would be from the north irrespective of where and what the subject was. I remember, the day the Poonthura riots took place in Kerala; or the day the ill-fated Island Express’s plunged into a river near Kollam killing 108 people; those days it was reasonably sure, DD (National) News would mention the state of Kerala (and at least show a map). If a devastating tragedy occurred (or an achievement), a southern state would be mentioned. During election reports, priority was always for results from the north (yes, they are number-wise much more significant - UP/Bihar/MP/Maha etc.). Kerala’s results would be mentioned, almost in passing.
When The News Minute started to get my attention, one thing was clear - the south would have its voice heard. Already, on a number of occasions it has been proven, that the voice of the unknown, unheard of regions of southern India, and a number of issues like ‘Arbaaz Aftab’ have indeed found itself catching the attention of the nation. And it’s not just about news - check some of the tweets during the Election Coverage in March/April - there are plenty of near-vlogs on rural cuisines. It’s a happy mix.
So, many congratulations to The News Minute, not just for sustaining itself for the years they’ve been in business. And much love, for treating its ‘Members’ as how they’d treat close friends.
For all the media houses that cry foul over its audiences (and their likes!) for poor, communal and ridiculous reporting, here’s an example - even in the face of a number of court injunctions, The News Minute simply keep bringing us insightful stories from the south. Behind the laughter, the warmth, the openness and the grace, when they were asked to bend, they did not crawl - they chinned up! The team took pride in the fact that despite injunctions, “we continue as normal”. It takes nerve of steel to do that.
Big media, learn from your smaller challengers!
News consumers, lend your hand of support to https://www.thenewsminute.com/ It’s worth it.
There are many others like The News Minute - small players, but big minds, who work hard to bring us objective stories, but get hounded.
https://mojostory.com ; https://www.newslaundry.com ; Newsworthy/AnubhaBhosle ; https://caravanmagazine.in/media , and many others.
We may not always agree with their point of view, but in our polluted political, social and media environment, these are little green patches like parks in a crowded city (We live in times when some media houses have turned to selling merchandise - unashamedly showing whose line they toe!).