Gangadhar Patil runs 101Reporters, a growing network of 1400 odd rural reporters in India that sources original stories from these local reporters for national and international media.

Why you should listen

The four years old media tech startup 101Reporters has produced more than 3,500 ground reported stories which have appeared in national and international media outlets like Nikkei, Asia Times, CNN, Firstpost, Ozy, The Telegraph, Mint, In etc... Gangadhar Patil quit mainstream media to pursue his interest in highlighting local stories that don’t find space in national media. After being trained in journalism at Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media in Bangalore, in 2010, he began his journalism career with The New Indian Express in Chennai. During a one year stint with Express, he also served as Express correspondent in Coimbatore and reported briefly for Bangalore bureau. His last assignment was with India's largest business daily, The Economic Times as Senior Correspondent in New Delhi. A graduate in commerce from Bangalore University, Gangadhar’s worldview is deeply shaped by his life experiences of growing up small towns across India. His experiences in a harsh school environment taught him that an individual’s performance has little to do with fundamental capability, but more to do with their environment. Reflecting on his experiences working as a journalist in Belgaum and in big media companies, he began to connect the dots. He was convinced of the need to set up an independent platform to support local reporters. 

Gangadhar Patil’s TED talk

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