Instead of the traditional models of family-owned, corporate-funded and controlled or advertising-driven newspapers, websites and TV channels, can we reimagine the media as a joint venture in the public sphere between journalists, readers and a concerned citizenry? One in which decisions over what to cover and how, who to hire and where to send a correspondent or photographer, are taken by editors on the basis of professional judgment, without worrying about what a proprietor or politician, official or advertiser might think or want.
In a democracy, this is the least that readers or viewers expect. And yet, the business model that underpins most Indian news media seldom allows editors the freedom they need. Worse, it has slowly eroded professional standards of reporting and contaminated the media ecosystem with toxic practices like rampant editorialising, paid news and ‘private treaties’. Increasingly, media houses are reluctant to spend money on news-gathering; and as they develop secondary business interests and ‘no go areas’ proliferate, their newsrooms suffer further collateral damage – especially as these interests often depend on proximity to politicians and bureaucrats. Is it any wonder that readers have begun to notice the erosion of professional standards, ethical breaches and fall in quality? They now feel shortchanged.
The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism.
As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values. Apart from providing authoritative analysis and commentary, the aim, as our resources grow, is to build ourselves as a platform driven by good old-fashioned reporting on issues of national and international importance and interest. Being on the web also means using new media technologies to change the way stories are told. With data and interactive charts, video and audio as integral parts of the narrative structure when warranted.
We start today on a modest note, constrained not by our vision but by our resources. In the meantime, we make a simple appeal: read us, share and tweet our content, and send us your feedback.
Siddharth Varadarajan
Sidharth Bhatia
MK Venu
Founding Editors of The Wire
May 11, 2015
How The Wire is Funded
From 2016 to 2020, the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation provided substantial financial support to the Foundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ) for the purpose of reporting and publishing stories of public interest. IPSMF does not take any legal or moral responsibility whatsoever for the content published by FIJ on their website thewire.in or on any of its other platforms.
Here is a breakdown of The Wire’s funding sources since 2015:
Pie chart of The Wire’s funding, 2015-2021.
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How to Contact The Wire
The Wire is published in English, Hindi, Urdu and Marathi. In addition, The Wire publishes The Wire Science and LiveWire as standalone digital publications.
The Wire (English)
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Twitter: @thewire_in
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Email: editorial@cms.thewire.in
(For all enquiries, clarifications, questions or complaints about published content, story pitches and submissions, business- and employment- related queries at The Wire)
The Wire Hindi
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Twitter: @TheWireHindi
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Email: hindi@cms.thewire.in
The Wire Urdu
URL: http://thewireurdu.com/
Twitter: @thewireurdu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/
Email: urdu@cms.thewire.in
The Wire Marathi
URL: https://marathi.thewire.in/
Twitter: @thewiremarathi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWireMarathi/
Email: sujayshastri@gmail.com
The Wire Science
URL: https://science.thewire.in/
Twitter: @TheWireScience
Email: science@cms.thewire.in
LiveWire
URL: https://livewire.thewire.in/
Twitter: @livewire
Instagram: @livewirein
Email: livewire@cms.thewire.in
Ombudsman/Public Editor
Pamela Philipose is The Wire’s ombudsman (also known as pubic editor or reader’s editor), a position we created in July 2016 to add a new layer of transparency and accountability to our editorial functioning.
Philipose is a senior and highly regarded journalist with decades of experience as a reporter and editor at various newspapers, including, most recently, the Indian Express. She is not an employee of The Wire and will function independently of its editorial structure. Her mandate will be to examine and, where appropriate, investigate complaints and concerns that readers may have about its coverage.
The Wire undertakes to publish her views on its coverage without editorial interference.
Email for ombudsman: publiceditor@cms.thewire.in
DigiPub News India Foundation
The Wire is a founding member of Digipub News India Foundation, established in 2020 by a number of digital media organisations “with the intent to help ensure the creation of a healthy and robust news ecosystem for the digital age. The aim is to build a platform that represents digital news media.”
DIGIPUB has set up an internal committee to provide members with an industry-wide level of self-regulation. The committee consists of individuals with an unimpeachable public service record and accomplishments:
1. Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur
2. Mr Jawhar Sircar, Retired Indian Civil Servant.
3. Ms. Swarna Rajagopalan, founder and director for the Prajnya Trust
4. Bezwada Wilson, activist and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan
The Wire’s Team
Siddharth Varadarajan is a Founding Editor of The Wire. He was earlier the Editor of The Hindu and is a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Award for Journalist of the Year. He has taught Economics at New York University and Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, besides working at the Times of India and the Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University. On Twitter, he’s @svaradarajan.
Sidharth Bhatia is a Founding Editor of The Wire. He is a journalist and writer based in Mumbai. He was among the editors who launched DNA in 2005 and managed its editorial and opinion section. He writes on politics, society and culture. An Associate Press Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge University, Bhatia’s last book was India Psychedelic, the story of a Rocking Generation. He’s on Twitter @bombaywallah.
M.K. Venu is a Founding Editor of The Wire. As an active economic and political writer, he has held leadership roles in newspapers such as The Economic Times, The Financial Express and The Hindu. He has written extensively on economic policy matters for over a quarter century after India opened up its economy in 1991. He also wrote regular political economy columns on the edit pages of The Economic Times, Financial Express and Indian Express over the past two decades. He hosts a regular political-economy discussion called ‘State of the Economy’ on the national public broadcast channel RSTV. He has also been invited by Parliamentary Committees to give his views on public policy matters. He is on Twitter @mkvenu1.
Vasudevan Mukunth is Science Editor at The Wire and Editor of The Wire Science. He has written for The Hindu, Scroll and Quartz, and has also been running a physics blog since 2009. He holds degrees in mechanical engineering and journalism. Write to him at mukunth@cms.thewire.in or on Twitter @1amnerd.
Raghu Karnad is Editor-at-Large at The Wire. He has been a magazine editor, a reporter, and is the author of Farthest Field, an account of India’s Second World War. He is @rkarnad on Twitter.
Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar is a Deputy Editor at The Wire. He was earlier Deputy Editor at The Hindu, where he served as city editor in Delhi and Chief of Bureau, Haryana and Punjab, at Chandigarh. He has also covered Congress, BJP and defence in the National Bureau. He began his career at the desk in The Statesman in 1994. On Twitter, he is @gaurav5173.
Ankit Dubey is Technology Lead at The Wire. He previously worked at CNN-News18. He holds a B.Tech degree in computer science and can be reached at ankit@cms.thewire.in, ankit4an on Facebook and haath_wala_thakur on Instagram. Besides having a strong passion for tech, Ankit is an avid motorcyclist and has a flare for classical singing.
Pawanjot Kaur is a multimedia producer and correspondent at The Wire. She was earlier a producer with BloombergQuint. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University and a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the Asian College of Journalism. You can write to her at pawanjot@cms.thewire.in. On Twitter, she’s @paawan6994
Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta is Political Editor at The Wire, where he writes on the realpolitik and its influences. At his previous workplace, Frontline, he reported on politics, conflicts, farmers’ issues, history and art. He tweets at @AjoyAshirwad and can be reached at ajoy@cms.thewire.in.
Devirupa Mitra is Diplomatic Editor at The Wire. A journalist with over 15 years of experience, she has covered nearly all beats, from transport to the civic beat at city desks. For the past seven-odd years, she has been focused in tracking developments in Indian foreign policy, with special interest in India’s neighbourhood – from the big picture trends to the minutiae of policy-making within the Ministry of External Affairs. Her twitter handle is @devirupam.
Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty is National Affairs Editor at The Wire, where she writes on politics, culture and the North-East. She earlier worked at The Hindu. She tweets at @sangbarooahpish.
Jahnavi Sen is Deputy Editor at The Wire. She has a BA in Philosophy from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and an MA in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, Geneva. She can be found on Twitter at @jahnavi_sen.
Sujay Shastri is Managing Editor, The Wire Marathi.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani is Senior Editor, The Wire and head of its Multimedia team. She is @khanumarfa.
Brijesh Singh is Executive Editor, The Wire Hindi. He tweets at @brijesh_kodai
Anuj Srivas is Business Editor and Tech Editor at The Wire, where he writes and analyses issues at the intersection of technology and business. He can be reached at anuj@cms.thewire.in and on Twitter at @AnujSrivas.
Faiyaz Wajeeh is Assistant Editor, The Wire Urdu. He tweets at @faiyazwajeeh