The Probe is an independent news media platform committed to impactful, investigative and ad-free journalism. We are a part of the global Slow Journalism movement and strongly identify with the idea of slowing down the way news is covered. We firmly believe in informing and empowering our audience by providing them news which adds value to their everyday life.

Our core values:

  • Investigations
  • Solutions
  • Impact
  • Development

It is our endeavour to be a distinct news media organisation and not just a different media outlet. We design and develop solutions to bring in impact on social issues. We are of the strong view that our rigour in research and investigative reporting following a solution-centric approach that is focused on impact will lead to a positive development on stories that we report on.

With an outstanding track record, Prema Sridevi was part of some of the biggest news breaks of the country in a career spanning 20 years. She was a member of the core team of two of India’s leading television news brands.

Over the years, as an investigative journalist, she has reported on several subjects related to accountability, transparency, corruption, misuse of public office, terrorism, internal security to name a few. Many of her stories were taken cognisance by India’s investigation agencies and government bodies.

Prema Sridevi started off her journalism career by publishing a weekly neighbourhood newspaper in Bangalore in early 2000. She was associated with The Times Group for 12 years until 2016, becoming News Editor of its English news channel Times Now. She joined Republic TV in 2017 as an Editor and Special Investigation Team head. Disillusioned by the one-sided coverage of news by mainstream television channels, she took a principled stand and quit television journalism just days before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She floated her company Fourth Estate Newscorp Private Limited in 2019 and in 2021 she finally launched her independent digital news media company The Probe. Read more

Prema Sridevi

Founder | Editor in Chief

Our Funding

The amount of space dedicated to news both in print, television and the digital media is dwindling by the day. While many media outlets focus on events and advertisements, the space for news is only being used as a filler. Grabbing eyeballs of the audience to sell ads has become the norm for many media outlets. Therefore, at The Probe, we have taken a principled position on this. We don’t accept ads. This definitely has an adverse impact on our revenues but we believe that if we give value to the audience, the audience will add value to us by becoming paid members of our community.

Our membership model of news coupled with the social impact projects that we have undertaken helps us survive. In August 2021, within four months from our launch, YouTube selected our Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Prema Sridevi, as part of its worldwide partner program for independent journalists. Two months later, in November 2021, The Probe was selected by Google News Initiative Startups Lab to be part of their first ever cohort of news startups in India. In the same month, the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) entered into a contract with The Probe to fund our public interest journalism.



The Probe’s public interest journalism is being supported by Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF)

“Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation has engaged The Probe / Fourth Estate Newscorp Private Limited 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 The Probe / Fourth Estate Newscorp Private Limited on their website or on any of its other platforms.”

In November, The Probe was selected by Google as part of their first ever cohort of Google News Initiative Startups Lab in India. The Probe is engaging with google to work towards high quality reporting and to report on stories related to under-served communities through our independent journalism.


“In August, YouTube selected our Founder and Editor in Chief Prema Sridevi as one of the 49 partners around the world who are currently working closely with YouTube as part of their content creator program for independent journalists.



We are headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. You can follow The Probe’s social media handles here:

 

For more details, click on the links below

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If you want to write for us, here’s the place 

To communicate with The Probe’s Editor in Chief, click here

Click here for a career with us

If you want to support our Journalism, then click here to become a member of our growing community

For further queries, contact us

OUR CORE VALUES


We are part of the Slow Journalism revolution

We will not go after breaking news stories. We are about unbreaking news. We believe that getting it right is more important than getting it first. We will not get caught in the everyday din and bustle of news and lose the moon for the stars. We don’t want to do rushed Journalism; we will instead focus on quality, accuracy, depth and context. We are of the firm belief that good Journalism takes time.


Impact Journalism is at the heart of our mission

Journalism is a process not a product. We see Journalism as a force that can drive social impact. What good is Journalism if it cannot impact people’s lives? We believe that stories should drive reforms, change policies, spark public debates, call for action and bring about impact. Our vision is to do stories that encourage action and spur reforms.


Our Journalism is Independent. Our news platform is Ad Free.

We do not align with or submit to any external ideologies or groups whether political, corporate or cultural. As an editorial policy, we have decided to keep our Journalism free from the pressures of advertisement based revenues. Our Ad Free policy is a default offering and not a reserved privilege to paying members. While we remain open to sponsorships on social impact projects, we will exercise complete editorial control on the execution of the social impact initiatives.



We will focus on deep-dive stories and Investigative Journalism

We believe that Journalism must give voice to the voiceless and hold people and institutions in power to account. This kind of Watchdog Journalism requires immense efforts, time, resources and freedom. We are fiercely independent and our independence enables us to seek truth and speak truth to power. While we hold others to account, we will also hold ourselves accountable.



We will bring you fact based stories from credible sources

News cannot be aligned to the left or to the right, it is based on facts that are either right or wrong. We are often surrounded by news that either misinforms us or misleads us with opinions disguised as facts. The question is, in such a scenario, who can we trust to tell us the truth as it is. We want to be the answer. We will only focus on stories that matter and bring you fact based stories from credible sources that will help you make informed choices.



We will cut through the noise and be the voice of the silent majority

In the pursuit of truth, we don’t want to be blinded by bias. We understand that no single entity is the custodian of truth. We believe that Journalism must lend a voice to all communities. We wish to ensure that those who wield power and influence do not stifle the voice of the common citizen. Our Journalism is inclusive and we will focus on being the voice of the masses that often get left out in the coverage of news.



We see Journalism as a participatory exercise. We will actively engage with you.

Journalism cannot be a lecture or a monologue anymore. It is a conversation and the best conversations involve collaboration. We see you as the driving force behind our stories and we hope to get enriched by your constructive criticism, insights and support. This way we will make you the largest stakeholder in our Journalism by breaking away from the traditional format of news that is dictated by a few Editors and some large lobbies.



Our focus is on solutions. We don’t want to be part of the problem.

Today, news tends to sensationalise issues. We believe there is an urgent need to bring in far more sensibility while delivering news. Journalists tend to focus on problems as it is easier to highlight problems than provide solutions. We want to focus on a constructive discourse that facilitates appropriate solutions to issues. Journalism should serve a greater purpose. That is why our focus is on Solutions Journalism (SOJO). We believe that solutions create impact and impact leads to development.


Grievance Redressal at The Probe:

The Grievance Officer

Himanshu Kala

The Probe

Fourth Estate Newscorp Private Limited

1st Floor, C-56/11, C Block,

Industrial Area, Sector 62,

Noida 201301, UP

Ph: 0120 4542975

email id – grievance@theprobe.tech