Thread by @tanishka_s2

It's been a year of professional growth and I've gotten to learn so much - on the field and in the newsroom. A thread of some of my reports for @newslaundry in 2021

One of my first reports was on how a combination of inadequate shelters, poor facilities, and an apathetic administration is leading to Maharashtra lagging in implementing the Centre’s Shelter for Urban Homeless Scheme.
newslaundry.com/2021/03/03/no-…

Just before the second wave, my colleague @DikshaMunjal6 and I reported on how entertainment industry workers earning daily wages in Mumbai were suffering the brunt of the first lockdown and would be unable to take another one - though they eventually did.
newslaundry.com/2021/04/07/suf…

A report I did from home when I was down with Covid and watching the world burn through my phone was on how Twitter was turning into a Covid helpline, and what that said about India's healthcare systems.

newslaundry.com/2021/04/20/twi…

@tweets_prateekg @DikshaMunjal6 and I went to rural Maharashtra to cover the impact of the second wave and saw devastation all around. One of our video stories on the same.

@DikshaMunjal6 and I reported on how Covid had pushed seasonal sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra’s Beed to the brink of poverty.

newslaundry.com/2021/06/14/cov…

A social impact of the pandemic was that Covid distress had resulted in child marriages in Maharashtra's largest district quadrupling - incidents were especially high among low-income families who reasoned that weddings were cheaper during the pandemic.
newslaundry.com/2021/06/07/cov…

And then possibly the most interesting piece I've worked on this year - how journos in rural Maharashtra have jobs but no income - please read, especially if you're a journalist in an urban city like me.

newslaundry.com/2021/06/05/jou…

In August, I wrote about how Zomato and Swiggy workers were battling job insecurity, variable pay, low base pay, increasing fuel prices, inconsistency in incentive payments, and speaking up against these unfair practices.

newslaundry.com/2021/08/14/we-…

One of my last ground reports from Mumbai was about a boy in Mumbai who died for a want of toilet - because in this densly populated slum, there is one toilet per 145 people.

newslaundry.com/2021/08/18/for…

@tweets_prateekg and I went to Maharashtra's Konkan region as part of an #NLSena project to map the floods and their devastating impact - here's our report on why this happens.

newslaundry.com/2021/11/15/neg…

Our video report as part of the #NLSena on how, 15 years after a village in Maharashtra was ravaged by landslides, residents are still awaiting compensation.

Sectarian divide in the country has been at a high. I've been reporting on the anti-namaz agitation in Gurugram & trying to write on more than just what unfolds every Friday. Here's a piece on the 3 men who play a big role in the namaz disruptions.
newslaundry.com/2021/12/10/who…

And another report on how cops have been passing the buck when it comes to taking action against provocative speeches.
newslaundry.com/2021/11/13/we-…

Wrote about how the Hindu IT Cell directed a vicious social media campaign against a TV9 Bharatvarsh journalist and sent him a legal notice for supposedly hurting Hindu sentiments in a tweet.
newslaundry.com/2021/09/01/how…

In July, had reported on how Hindu vigilantes have been exploiting the Special Marriage Act clause to target interfaith couples.

newslaundry.com/2021/07/26/how…

Reporting on the media and holding them accountable is a big part of what we do at @newslaundry. My scoop from August on #MeToo accused MJ Akbar returning to the newsroom at Zee Media's Wion.

newslaundry.com/2021/08/18/mj-…

A media piece I really enjoyed exploring was during the second Covid wave on how, and why, journalists were showing grisly visuals of Covid funerals -to ensure the scale and gravity of the horror wasn't hidden through data manipulation and media management
newslaundry.com/2021/04/27/why…

Another was a piece exploring the trend on how Indian papers and magazines disguise ads as news, making the wall between advertising and editorial departments porous and raising serious ethical questions.
newslaundry.com/2021/08/27/foo…

We're able to do such public interest stories because of the susbcription based model we have at @newslaundry , where we are accountable only to the reader. Please subscribe and support independent journalism. 🙂

newslaundry.com/subscription?r…

All in all, it's been a challenging and exciting year - as I'm sure is the case with every journalist. There's a lot I want to do and a lot I want to improve on - hope I get the chance to, next year 🤞🏾 v grateful!