I was a journalist for 10 years when I first walked into the Gulf News office in 2015. With a reputation of being the country’s pre-eminent English daily, landing a job here was nothing short of a personal achievement. As someone familiar with the din of newspaper offices — from India to the UAE — I found both the newsroom and the ethos of Gulf News refreshing.
Everyone sat within shouting distance. Notwithstanding the high stress of meeting the evening deadline — day after day after day — amid ringing phones, clattering computer keys, and colleagues hollering over their shoulders, I noticed people laughed a lot. Some of my work mates have clocked more than two decades in Gulf News, which makes me constantly aware of my responsibility.
Five years of newsroom rush, more than six months of a deadly pandemic, and a world outside literally transformed in a million different ways, things have undergone a huge change. But one thing hasn’t changed — even as we gingerly walked back to our good old newsroom after months of remote working: our quest to get the news right and get it out as quickly as possible. We still laugh with merry abandon. The legacy of Gulf News continues.
As if on cue, everyone in the newsroom bands together to produce the next day’s edition. This is especially so when a major event unfolds — from Trump’s surprise win in 2016 to Hazzaa Al Mansoori’s foray into space in 2019. Be it foreign, national or local news, space devoted to sports, the arts, features, business or the best opinion from across the world, our coverage of key issues never wavers. Authenticity remains the catchword. The breadth of intellectual vigour at Gulf News is outstanding.
I was around to see the paper’s seamless transition into a digital newsroom, where we grew — in a relatively short span of time — to become the online paper of choice in the UAE and the region.
Five years of newsroom rush, more than six months of a deadly pandemic, and a world outside literally transformed in a million different ways, things have undergone a huge change. But one thing hasn’t changed — even as we gingerly walked back to our good old newsroom after months of remote working: our quest to get the news right and get it out as quickly as possible. We still laugh with merry abandon. The legacy of Gulf News continues.
