Journalism At Work - Toxic Newsrooms

Editor's Note - Journalists in India have been facing a rough time, not just on the streets but in the newsrooms. The Citizen brings you a three part series- Journalists At Work- that spotlight the harassment and the acute pressure under which the journalist is working.

For Anita (name changed on request) remembering the days of journalism are still painful. Even after leaving the profession, the repercussions are still visible.

Anita, who is in her mid-30s suffered from a paralysis attack due to the work pressure and toxic newsroom environment when she was working for a leading news agency in New Delhi a few years back.

After the recent, and sudden, demise of a senior journalist in Mumbai, discussions have been steered towards a toxic newsroom and a need for an environment where journalists can work safely.

Senior Editor at ‘Hindustan Times’, Mumbai, Satish Nandgaonkar, died on February 28. He was 52. Satish, who headed HT Mumbai’s Thane and Navi Mumbai bureau, reported on real estate, and broke several stories for the paper.

Nandgaonkar was a well-loved figure in Mumbai’s journalism world. He had worked at ‘The Telegraph’, ‘The Hindu’ and the ‘Mumbai Mirror’ before he joined HT.

In regard to the death of the journalist, the Mumbai Press Club on Friday, March 1, issued an open letter to editors and media houses urging them to ensure that newsrooms are “safe and supportive” and that journalists can work “without fear of harassment”.

In its letter, the managing committee of the club underlined that “the harassment of journalists in newsrooms, particularly the pressure being brought to generate exclusives or breaking stories” is a deeply concerning trend impacting the news industry. The death of a journalist who was working with a prominent daily was referred to as “a tragic example of this newsroom pressure to be one-up on rivals”.

Journalism is looked upon as a ‘glamorous’ profession with movies showcasing an exciting work environment, interesting assignments and travel. However, in reality, like any other profession, journalism too comes with its own set of challenges.

Newsrooms have often been deemed toxic, mainly due to a difficult job and pressure to bring in exclusive stories. However, with recent political changes, the pressure to break stories, censorship and bringing exclusive stories have put added pressure on journalists.

Speaking to The Citizen about her time, Anita recalled that her interview went exceptionally well, and as the news organisation was one of the prestigious ones in the country, she was excited to work there.

“The organisation functioned like a family-run local grocery shop. Irrespective of their education, the owners had no respect or decency to speak with the employees. The language they used was extremely derogatory.

“Our editor was a horrible person and she would go to any extreme to demean the employees by howling at them in front of the entire office or in the WhatsApp groups,” she said.

Anita said that it is still difficult for her to remember those times and she had buried those memories for good after she left the organisation.

“One of the news editors, a young man who was close to the family because of his personal equation with them, would engage himself in petty politics. I was mentally harassed by him and the others in his circle for calling a spade a spade. Be it calling [us] at odd hours after doing a night shift, find petty reasons, and assign newcomers or inexperienced sub-eds, especially during night shifts,” she said.

India has more than 20,000 newspapers and 300 TV channels, and while it was once applauded for its tremendous values, things have started changing as newsrooms are being reshaped.

A young journalist working with an alternative media said she started her career with a mainstream newspaper and was disappointed with the pressure she faced. “We were forced to sit on our seats without breaks. Going to the washroom was also difficult and if we missed a breaking story, we were howled at,” she said.

While alternative media did give her some respite, she said the pressure to bring exclusive stories remained the same. “But I don’t mind that pressure so much, mostly because we don’t have to face censorship the way the mainstream does,” she said.

However, Anita added that with no support from editors, the situation becomes more difficult. “The news editor would come and ‘sweetly’ talk to me saying how I'm perhaps not meant for such a challenging job. He would indirectly pester me to quit. I would answer him diplomatically but sternly that I know the best for myself. Things said were at a much deeper level than this,” she said.

Anita had her first panic attack within the first month after she was humiliated in an office Whatsapp group that had more than 100 employees.

“The second time I had a panic attack in the office, I thought I was going to have a stroke/heart attack. I thought I was going to die right there on the spot. The working hours, condition, ambience, work culture, the bosses, the meetings, the schedules, the salary... every basic thing there was inhuman,” she said.

The Citizen reached out to many journalists who did not want to be named but said that newsroom pressure, especially in the mainstream media, is extreme, where they are even asked to do unethical things.

“There are times we don’t even consider the feelings of victims. It was so tough to keep going,” another journalist who left the job with a newspaper said.

“A journalist takes up challenging roles, stories to make a difference in someone else's life. Little did I know that as a journalist, irrespective of how good I was at my job, I had little value in this office. Eventually, it became very difficult for me to focus. Even my personal life started getting affected. The number of stories was more important than quality,” she said.

With the mainstream media also being accused of censorship, propaganda and fake stories, and other unethical forms have brought the downfall of Indian journalism, according to experts and journalists that The Citizen spoke to.

“There was a list of names of politicians against whom stories were not filed because of their proximity with the owners. Fabricated videos were made as exclusive stories. A dedicated digital team was recruited to troll people of the countries who were against the ruling government,” Anita claimed. Similar claims were made by many other former employees working at the organisation.

Another journalist, who did not want to be named, said she was made to cry by her reporting head when she joined as a cub reporter. She was pressured to bring exclusive stories.

“I cried on the road one time when my reporting head shouted at me and asked me to tender my resignation if I can’t work. This was my first reporting job and I was given many beats without any mentorship. When I asked for help, this is how I was treated. I used to have regular panic attacks,” she said.

Many journalists also complained of how due to staff shortage, they were pressured to do more work and be on their toes at all times. For those who are working there is a constant stress and fear of getting fired as the political wave changes in India.

In a 2023 report by Lokniti and Centre for the Study of Developing Societies it was stated that over half the journalists said they suffered from various degrees of worry over losing their jobs due to political leanings.

As many as 16 percent of journalists said that people in their organisation were asked to quit due to political leanings.

Over four out of every five independent journalists surveyed (82%)said that the news media today generally favours certain political parties when it comes to coverage. This number was 70% when it came to those who worked for a news organisation, with 74% senior journalists saying only one political party is favoured.

More English journalists (81%) than Hindi ones (64%) believed that the news media was favouring a particular party.

The findings revealed that journalists, particularly those working in English media, are concerned about the lack of press freedom and they perceived a significant decrease in freedom of news channels (88%), newspapers (66%) and online/digital platforms (46%).

“I was forced to constantly change my stories and was even shouted at if they were against a certain party. My editor once threw papers in my face and shouted at me for doing a story that had already been reported. She shouted at me and made me rewrite the story. After that she was constantly on my back and also gave me more work. I had to resign as things got too bad,” said a journalist.

Many of the people The Citizen spoke to left journalism due to the pressure. From health scares like Anita’s, to private lives getting affected journalists said that even the pay was not up to the mark.

A senior reporter working with a daily newspaper said that things were not this bad in earlier times. “We had pressure but not of this kind. Right now, the environment is really disturbed and I see that young or old, no one can save you from a toxic newsroom,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Press Club highlighting how changes in the advertisement model have led to job cuts, layoffs and non-renewal of contracts in the media, said that bureau chiefs and editors are well-placed to understand the changing conditions but they have been found to be insensitive and even complicit in making working conditions worse.

“We urge all media houses and leadership teams to address this issue and to create a better and more professional workplace culture. Free and responsible news media requires an encouraging environment where journalists can bring out their best and perform their duties without fear or favour,” the letter added.

For Anita, life has become much better but the times she had gone through that could have been avoided still haunt her.

“I don't think I ever slept well even for a day after joining the organisation. It took me about over a year after I had quit the job to fix my sleep cycle or get out of the mental trauma,” she said.

A profession deemed as a dream for many becomes a nightmare due to newsrooms made toxic by abuse and harassment..

Cover Photograph by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash