Reporter's Diary: Press bulletins are no longer exclusive to reporters!

With any news updates including details of road mishaps and updates on Chief Minister’s health from Apollo Hospitals shared instantly on Facebook and Twitter, almost anyone with a smartphone gets updated instantly with the latest buzz and the reporters sometimes get to be the last ones to get one. 

When this reporter was travelling in an autorickshaw recently, she got a priceless update from a particularly witty auto driver. After discovering that this reporter worked for a news daily, the conversation took the now-familiar route of the Chief Minister’s health status. This reporter politely informed the driver that she had no ‘inside scoop’ and only knew as much as he did. 

After a moment’s pause, the driver fished out the latest press communique from the Apollo Hospitals from his smart phone and shared the details with this 

scribe. “We also now depend on the press releases sent by Apollo, which are being circulated on WhatsApp!” he said. 

In the age of WhatsApp and social media, information is no longer ‘exclusive’ and reporters often seem to be left behind in this mad appetite for breaking news! — Tuba Raqshan, Chennai