Thread by @aninditaghose

There's a mass exodus from Indian media houses. Thread.

Yet another brilliant colleague told me this morning that she's moving on from a former workplace. "Burnt out," she said. Apart from journalists who were laid off during previous rounds of restructuring and covid, I see a voluntary exodus. And this time, it's the best talent.

Most Indian journalists are overworked and underpaid. Of late there's the added stress of being told what you can and cannot write about. And being pulled into poorly strategised digital/multimedia/ event plans with no training or additional resources.

Making the shift to freelance writing is a privilege few can afford. The pay is a joke really, especially when compared to journalism-adjacent professions. The only ones who make the effort to pay fairly are the funded startup kind but there are only a handful of those.

Here's an example of the disparity. And I'm a former editor with former colleagues in mainstream publications who are offering me their "best rate", around Rs18 a word. I'm presenting a best case scenario.

I can get paid 27k for a 1500 artist profile I spend 3 days on. I can get paid upto double the amount for an Instagram post about an art exhibition. So far, I have not accepted money for a social media post but well, these are the "rates". I'm rethinking this.

I cannot wrap my head around how editorial labour over three days is worth less than a social media post. There is something grossly wrong going on here. And until it corrects itself, the best will continue to move out.

They will move to startups as content heads, corporate communication, teaching, publishing... there's an encouraging trend of international media making local hires. For a handful, there's also the option of freelancing for foreign publications.

Journalists potentially write for three reasons: 1. They want/need to tell a story 2. There's a prestige in being published in XYZ place 3.They're going to get paid for it, make a living doing something they want to do. Sadly, 2 and 3 are not applicable for Indian media anymore.

So journalists will continue to write and be exploited for that desire to tell a story. In most cases, because seeing a byline in print is still such a thrill, and because it's the only thing they know how to do.