Thread by @pramit_b

Tomorrow is my last day at Mint, a newspaper I joined as a trainee 11 years ago.
It has been an incredibly rich journey thanks to many many people who provided me with education, feedback, encouragement and support. A #thread in appreciation:

Am grateful to @TamalBandyo for hiring me and putting me in the company of several extraordinary journalists who were all part of Mint's original Mumbai office in Dadar (opp Pritam hotel), and for always reminding us that the 'skaai is the limit' :) (2/n)

@WritesRavi, my first mentor taught me how to write, one copy at a time, and how to read balance-sheets. My early stint as a stock-market reporter would have been a catastrophic failure without him. (3/n)

@CafeEconomics who took me under his wings, after I managed to convince him that I knew a little bit of economics and gave me the best education one could ask for.
Ravi and Niranjan also helped me set up #PlainFacts on which I had tweeted earlier

https://twitter.com/pramit_b/status/1161536705691881472

(4/n)

I have also had the good fortune of working under three successive editor-in-chiefs at Mint who supported me in all my experiments and endeavours: @HT_Ed, @vinaykamat, and @sruthijith (5/n)

@HT_Ed was always open to new ideas, allowed us full freedom to pursue them, and backed them to the hilt, often taking unconventional decisions.
I can't think of any other editor who would have put our explanatory economics column (Economics Express) on the front page. (6/n)

@vinaykamat pushed me and team to expand our data-journalism offering, #PlainFacts into a daily page after he took over.
Despite facing a fair amount of heat, he backed our reporting on the problems with India's official statistics and statistical establishment. (7/n)

@sruthijith has always been a data enthusiast and has been a firm backer of what we do at #PlainFacts. He also pushed us to find newer and innovative ways to present our charts and analysis to our digital audience. I will miss working with him. (8/n)

There's another editor, with whom I have never worked but still benefited from. @raju set up Mint's systems and processes, and ensured that we have a strong code of conduct. It has allowed us to do our job professionally and ethically, long after he left. (9/n)

Manas Chakravarty, who set up @livemint_m2m, was one of those extraordinary journalists with whom even a 15-min conversation could be both illuminating and entertaining at the same time. Will always remain indebted to him for all his support. (10/n)

@mobis_philipose, another former @livemint_m2m boss, was also a big influence, especially during my early years. While covering the messy battles between MCX, NSE, and BSE, it was Mobis I would unfailingly turn to. (11/n)

@iBindisha who sat next to me in those early years, providing me with constant encouragement and delightful meals that she would bring for lunch. A lot of Dadar office folks were envious that she shared her lunch-boxes with me! (12/n)

@kayezad was another 'neighbour', who brought in equally delightful (and exotic) food for lunch! He was also equally generous in sharing contacts and in introducing me to his fund-manager friends, whenever I needed such help. (13/n)

Ashwin and Ravindra, who manned the Bloomberg terminal, ensured we had all the financial data we needed, providing the foundations for many of our stories. (14/n)

@satishjohn provided very valuable career advice during my early years in our informal chats, even though he had no business doing so. I have never seen such a calm and reassuring presence in the newsroom since he left. (15/n)

Many embarrassing bloopers were avoided because of the alert eyes of Mint's rewrite and copy desks, from the Nabeel-Jose era to the Naresh-Penna era to the current era of Saikat-Rajesh, who continue to lead fantastic teams. (16/n)

Much of our visual experiments and innovations would not have been possible without the efforts put in by @abelrobinson67 and his design team, especially, @arkgrafix with whom I have had very fruitful collaboration over many years. (17/n)

@samar11 taught me how to write long reported pieces when I was awarded a joint HT-Mint-Save the Children fellowship to report on malnutrition in my early years. He also gave me the confidence to move beyond market reporting. (18/n)

My photographer friends, @ABhatlekar and Hemant provided live demonstrations of how a picture can really speak a thousand words. They were delightful companions during reporting trips across western India while I was doing long-form stories. (19/n)

Other colleagues in the Bombay newsroom were equally generous with their time and contacts - @GadgilM, @anuproy05, @khushboo_n, @shallysmohile, @talktosanjai, @nandiniramnath, @iArunJ, @G_y_tri, @subramaniharini and many others (you know who you are) (20/n)

Colleagues in Delhi such as @Armilu, @UtpalBhaskar, @sayantanbera, @curbset, @AmritRaj86, Sanjiv Shankaran, and Udit Misra were unfailingly helpful and supportive whenever I or my team-mates reached out to them for any help (even before I moved to Delhi). (21/n)

The past few years have been spent in building and running Mint's #PlainFacts section, and I have been extremely lucky in working with some super-talented colleagues who joined us in this journey, teaching me much more than I could teach them... (22/n)

#PlainFacts alumni such as @taditkundu, @Roshanjnu, @ivishiknew, @HarshaReports, @KwatraNikita, @dipti_jain1912, @Sneha_Alexander, @PoojaDante have all contributed in their own ways in helping us grow and I am lucky to have got the chance to work with them.... (23/n)

#PlainFacts is now well-established with an all-star cast comprising of @TauseefShahidi, @niti_kiran, and @_pragyaa, to-be-led by @TanaySukumar, one of the most meticulous and level-headed colleagues I have ever had. And this felt the right time for me to move on. (24/n)

I intend to take a complete break for a few weeks, and look forward to joining the gig economy after that. Hopefully, I will now have more time to read, reflect, write, and maybe even listen to podcasts! ;)
Thanks for reading!
(n/n)

Addendum: At the end of the day, it is our readers who kept us going, and whose support, encouragement, and criticisms pushed us to try and do better each day. Sorry about not mentioning the important other side earlier:

https://twitter.com/pramit_b/status/1443505790250221576?s=20