A microphone,a mobile phone, and determination.
Dekode App: a new era of accessible, transparent journalism.'
Casual scrolling through a social media page has never felt so meaningful. Even before I read the post, I saw the picture of an elderly man holding a microphone in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. It was not rocket science for me to recognise the gentleman, Dr Pronoy Roy, a pioneer in Indian television journalism, with his in-depth and impartial news reporting. Dr Roy is widely credited as a transformative figure in the history of Indian broadcast media, having revolutionised the way elections and current affairs were covered on television. I grew up listening to his news reports, election analysis, and, above all, his impartial and unbiased views. It was a decades-long ritual to watch prime-time news on NDTV.
Just the sight of the photograph brought back so many memories lost in the labyrinth of memory lanes. The assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the riots in Delhi, the National Election (Delhi) in December 1984 and my parents were glued to the television to watch the election analysis programme presented by Dr Pronoy Roy on Doordarshan. As a child, I remember my father being very impressed by the analysis, and it was the first time they had ever witnessed such an engaging discussion of election numbers. A few years later, Dr Roy’s face appeared more often on television, in a weekly programme called The World This Week. News had never been so interesting on the state-run broadcasting organisation, Doordarshan. As a teenager, I became interested in national and international news through that programme. Through these shows, I realised how the media could shape our understanding of both national and global developments, and how reliable journalism encouraged us to think critically about what we saw and heard.
In the last decade of the twentieth century, as the country succumbed to pressure for liberalisation, television was privatised, and NDTV (New Delhi Television) emerged as a news channel. Liberalisation marked a turning point for Indian media, breaking the state-run Doordarshan's monopoly and paving the way for independent television channels to flourish. This shift brought more diverse news coverage, more investigative journalism, and healthy competition that raised reporting standards. Since then, the channel has been a staple for adults and young people people alike for decades. This was the channel where the news was well-grounded and authentic. The panel discussions were well moderated, and journalists dismantled the arguments of ace politicians and government officials with thought-through, piercing questions in a calm voice.
One NDTV moment that still stands out for me was during one of their unforgettable live debates about the 2002 Gujarat elections. Barkha Dutt facilitated an honest, heated discussion between political opponents, and for the first time, I saw politicians respond to tough, direct questions about communal tensions. The air was thick with tension, but the way NDTV anchors held the conversation steady, giving equal space to each perspective, left a lasting impression on me of what courage in journalism looks like.
It is important to recognise that journalists who hosted such debates faced significant challenges and risks. In the emotionally charged atmosphere following communal violence, media professionals could easily be accused of bias or insensitivity, and they often received criticism from both political leaders and the public. By asking difficult questions and fostering open debate, NDTV journalists exposed themselves to public scrutiny, personal threats, and even attempts at intimidation. Yet, their willingness to confront contentious issues head-on set a standard for ethical journalism and provided a real-world lesson in balancing integrity and personal safety with the duty to inform.
Those news analyses were transparent media lenses, allowing many of us to view the nation and the world without prejudice. It was one of the few media channels that played a crucial role in shaping the impressionable minds of many millennial teenagers with the true legacy of the country, in-depth thinking, and belief in the country's democratic and multicultural fabric. The Buck Stops Here by Barkha Dutt, Prime Time by Ravish Kumar on NDTV INDIA, News Debate Right, Left, and Centre by Nidhi Razdan, Vinod Dua, Vikram Chandra, and so many other Journalists and their programmes flooded in at once.
I downloaded the Dekode app on my phone in no time, and it is available in many Indian languages. What truly sets Dekode apart is its commitment to accessible, in-depth journalism: the app features a clean, distraction-free interface. It delivers news in regional languages, making it inclusive for audiences across the country. Dekode reflects the classical style of NDTV reporting, which we have been accustomed to for years, emphasising analysis over sensationalism, with well-researched stories, explainer videos, interactive infographics, and background context that make complex issues easy to understand. Viewing the news and analysis on the recent election campaigns in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, and seeing a senior journalist like Mondipa Banerjee from West Bengal, felt like meeting some of the people I had long revered. Consuming news and stories on Dekode is not only intellectually empowering but also inspiring. These senior journalists have not withered in the adverse political waves. They reach out to common people without swanky studios or outside broadcasting vans with the latest technology. Dekode decodes complex, tinted events for the masses and offers authentic, accessible journalism, which is so rare today.
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