Inside India’s growing independent news ecosystem

As trust in Big Media wanes, a new ecosystem of journalism is taking shape, driven by people outside the mainstream. But how are they building a new approach to journalism and storytelling? How can new ideas help the media stay relevant without renouncing credibility? And what’s it like to connect with audiences in the age of disruption? 

These were the themes of the session ‘Creating a new news ecosystem’’ at The Media Rumble 2025, which took place in Bengaluru on October 3 and 4. The discussion, moderated by Himal managing editor Leena Reghunath, featured independent journalists Josy Joseph, Shahina KK and Thulasi Chandu. 

Asked about why he left the mainstream media, Josy said, “I felt like I was writing more for censorship than for publication. That’s when I decided to part ways with mainstream legacy media…one needs to do away with journalism that is dependent on advertising especially in a country like India where the government is the leading advertiser.”

Shahina KK recounted that in her 28 years of working in legacy newsrooms, she learnt what newsrooms “should not be, rather than what it should be”.

Speaking of what she has learnt from her journey, Leena said, “In my personal experience I just wanted to be in a quiet corner left to dig my own story, as a long form journalist, to go out on the ground. To write the story rather than be the story. I was built in the old school reporting format…what I learnt is that you have to constantly reinvent yourself.”

Thulasi said she started her own channel as she wanted to do “people-centric videos”. “Today, people in the Telugu space reach out to us directly whenever they want a problem reported.”

Shahina says she always advises youngsters in journalism to “make sure your editor-in-chief is also in trouble” when they face trouble. “Otherwise, you are not going to come out of that.”

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