News reporting in India can take its toll. The macabre violence of riots, the gory deaths in natural disasters, the gnawing hunger of poverty can eat into the soul until there is little emotion - the only tangible reason to file a story is a conscience. But that can die, too, when a source is shot dead a few metres away, as you walk to the car to go back to work, not looking over your shoulder even once, fearing for your own life. It’s just another day.
But conscience resurrects. Enough for you to know it is time to move on. If human trials and misery don’t move you enough to care and report, then you are not true to the vocation of journalism. Perhaps, a change of scene for two years would heal the mental wounds. It was 1999. Y2K had the century on edge. The day passed quietly.
2020. COVID-19 has the world in its thrall.
Where did 20 years go?
Gulf News. That’s where. Two years did soothe the soul. But it was captured by Dubai and Gulf News. It was a new world that opened up in the year 2000: New cultures, new languages and much more – a culture in a newsroom that is a treasure. That treasure is intangible. It is called trust – from the organisation and colleagues. There is camaraderie and banter, two essential ingredients when during the pressure of news breaks, the strongest can wilt. But not in our newsroom in Gulf News. We have each other’s backs. We watch over each other.
The news business has changed in 20 years. We are in the digital age as we celebrate the 42nd anniversary of Gulf News. We have gone from strength to strength – from vibrant print editions until this day to a website and social media channels that deliver content you can trust in a world of fake news. We get it right. In the race to break first, we do not compromise on facts. For us, news has to be credible. Not click bait. We keep your trust 24 hours, seven days a week. We care for the community we live and work in.
For us trust is the key – be it in the newsroom or the community. But you may ask, 20 years? It’s inexplicable, the sense of belonging. It is an emotional connect. Gulf News is home.
