Asian Dispatch didn’t come at the right time.
For one, a lot was going on. 2024 has been a year of pivotal moments: of landmark elections and intensifying conflicts, to triumph of people’s movements over authoritarian regimes and escalating crackdown on pro-democracy activists and journalists. Domestically across Asian countries, local events of crime, nepotism and corruption of national proportions captured the mood and social media platforms.
At a time when independent news outlets are shutting down across the world and mainstream media channels are tightly bound by the State narrative, what radical acts can one conceive of a tiny new media entity like Asian Dispatch in the thick of it all? Turns out, a lot.
The media landscape today is in crisis. An army of influencers dominates news and storytelling platforms, blurring the lines between credible journalism and disinformation. Audiences are increasingly unequipped to navigate this noisy, chaotic environment. Global news platforms often treat Asia as an afterthought, parachuting in only for sensational headlines, neglecting the region’s depth and complexity. The 13th Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute highlights this grim reality: Trust in news is at an all-time low, selective news avoidance is on the rise, and most publishers prioritise breaking news over offering thoughtful, nuanced analysis. It might seem bleak. But there’s always space for reinvention.
This is where Asian Dispatch steps in — with a bold vision to redefine how news platforms connect with their audiences. This year, we laid the groundwork for a transformative ecosystem that addresses the urgent challenges faced by Asian media. At its heart is a growing network of 18 Asian newsrooms, united in their mission to tell authentic stories. These newsrooms contribute to the Asian Dispatch platform while collaborating on groundbreaking reporting and capacity-building initiatives. Together, we’re creating a model that empowers journalism to rise above the noise.
We started the year with winning a grant by Earth Journalism Network, alongside our member newsroom Macaranga! This is the first funding we’ve received to do some independent reporting while building a global curriculum on biodiversity reporting with the help of some of the best experts in Asia. As part of this project, our cross-border reporting on the illicit trade of the wool of Tibetan Antelope is still in the works (to be published in 2025), so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Our team also mediated a collaboration between our member newsrooms Malaysiakini and Prothom Alo to publish a two-part investigation (Part 1 here and Part 2 here) into a Bangladesh-origin businessman whose controversial migrant worker business fell into troubles in Malaysia. This investigation brought to life data — offered as a tip by OCCRP —into a groundbreaking investigation digging into the wealth and past of an influential businessman, and connected dots from Malaysia to Bangladesh.
In a bid to bring together the best of Asian journalism, we started the ‘Members’ Dispatch’ tab on our website, which is a repository of the best stories and investigations published by Asian Dispatch members. From Tribal News Network’s piece on the smog crisis in Pakistan and Philstar’s investigation into the alleged trafficking of Filipino women in a surrogacy and baby trafficking ring, to looking into medical care for queer disabled folx by queerbeat and the empty promises behind the making of Indonesia’s new capital by Project Multatuli – Asian Dispatch became a space where different voices and editorial styles comes together to make sense of local events across Asia.
Much of behind-the-scenes are managed by Preeksha Malhotra and Kritika Kamthan, who are the byline-less superstars of everything partnerships. Their efforts, among others, led to two webinars. The first, what Sri Lanka’s unpredictable elections mean for the world, which came at the cusp of the country’s first elections since the anti-government protests of 2022 that unseated the unpopular Rajapaksa government. It was moderated by Dilrukshi Handunnetti, the founder of Centre for Investigative Reporting, Sri Lanka, an Asian Dispatch member. The second unpacked dynastic politics in Indonesia, with Project Multatuli’s Evi Mariani as the moderator.
We also organised workshops, including one on digital safety in collaboration with India-based Software Freedom Law Center, and another on digital transformation in collaboration with The Hindu Group’s Pradeep Gairola, Vice President and Business head-Digital. Both were made possible through the support of the Asia Media Program by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
Internally, we’re a small but power-packed (and mostly women-led) team based in New Delhi, Surat, Dehradun, Colombo, Dhaka and Chiang Mai. Unlike a regular newsroom that kicks off their day with “What are your story ideas for the day?” we ask: How can we tell this story differently? We don’t chase news cycles. Instead, we encourage our reporters to report on news stories that matter to Asia.
One of our first reports was by our Colombo-based correspondent Rukshana Rizwie, who wanted to revisit the story of pig-butchering crimes in Southeast Asia to ask why so many of those trafficked into these scams are South Asians. Her approach was innovative: In between interviews, she built a visual novel that brought to life every lived experience of her interviewees. This tech-driven approach to journalism was brought to life by a collaboration with Sharanya Eshwar, our gifted in-house illustrator, and Anoushka Dalmia, our South Asia correspondent and editorial strategist. This effort took months – and it was eventually rewarding. In November, Rukshana was invited by the DW Akademie for their ‘Beyond Borders’ conference in Chiang Mai to talk about how innovation can lead to empathetic storytelling. The piece is also a finalist for the 2024 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration, awarded by the International Labour Organization. It was amazing to see a story by a brand new news platform in the company of legacy newsrooms such as The Guardian and Al Jazeera.
This was also the year of the people’s movement in Bangladesh and, in the thick of police brutality and violence, our colleague Abdullah Al Soad penned a thoughtful first-person account of what it means for a Gen-Z to witness and why – despite stereotypes of Gen-Z not being politically inclined – young people took matters into their own hands and reshaped the narratives of governance after decades of authoritarianism.
In India, Anoushka Dalmia reported on Kashmir’s first election in a decade, and found what the locals truly think of the polling process in the state in the wake of the abrogation of its semi-autonomous rights in 2019.
Asian Dispatch’s desire to focus on new and innovative forms of storytelling led to us starting a bimonthly illustration and social commentary space featuring Sharanya Eshwar. Her scribbles resonate very well with our readers, and are a testament to the growing need of visual storytelling on structural issues. Her pieces have explored issues from across the region such as the lack of intersectional feminism across the world, why we glorify toxic workplaces despite mental health awareness and the inequalities fuelled by air pollution.
Bringing all these stories and our projects together is our social media team. Maitri Modi in Surat and May Sabel Phoo in Chiang Mai have been experimenting with a lot of formats. Their aim is to diversify our storytelling through multimedia formats, including this video on ‘Why Men Harm’, an explainer about gender-based violence that flips the question of why women aren’t safe. Our host, Aliya Zainab, went outdoors in Delhi at night to shoot some segments and did a remarkable job in articulating some of the most shocking facts of femicide. Catch Maitri and May’s occasional explainers on our channels!
READ: The Year That Was: Best of Asian Dispatch in 2024
For our lean and mighty team, achieving all this in less than a year is no small feat. We’ve made the deliberate choice to keep all our stories free for now, while actively seeking support from external partners and media accelerators to sustain our work. In 2025, we’re setting our sights higher by commissioning and publishing powerful stories by independent journalists, researchers, and advocates, and expanding our editorial horizons. Their work will not only elevate our storytelling but also solidify Asian Dispatch as a trusted voice. After all, a news platform is only as strong as the storytellers who bring it to life.
You will see a lot more of us in 2025 to reiterate our motto: Let’s unveil Asia one story at a time.