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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.