DW Volos in India: News from New Delhi

Shubhangi Derhgawen 

What are your main tasks in DW's studio in New Delhi? 

I have been working closely with correspondents on both digital and television stories. My main tasks include helping convert long-form reports into vertical formats, shooting vox pops, and compiling my own reports for TV and digital platforms.  

I'm essentially bridging field reporting with platform-specific storytelling — making sure strong journalism travels well across formats.  

What has surprised you the most when starting your practical training in India? 

What surprised me most was the pace and the negotiation that journalism here constantly demands. Reporting in India is something I am used to but after spending time some brief time in Germany, where institutional responses are structured and relatively predictable, returning to India reminded me how opaque systems can feel. Getting answers often requires persistence, follow-ups, and sometimes simply showing up in person. It's intense, but it sharpens you. 

What has been your most intense moment so far? 

Chasing state government authorities for an official statement. I'm used to tough follow-ups, but this time it felt particularly layered as if you were operating from the outside of a closed system. That tension between public accountability and administrative silence is something you feel very physically as a reporter. It was frustrating but also grounding. 

Which hands-on skills have you learned? 

This stint has strengthened my confidence end-to-end. Conceptualizing, scripting, shooting, editing — I feel far more autonomous now. While I had shooting assistance, New Delhi gave me invaluable practice with camerawork. I now genuinely feel confident as a video journalist who can offer complete storytelling services from idea to final cut. 

Which projects will you be working on over the next few weeks? 

I'm currently compiling a report on acid attack survivors and how many are effectively excluded from disability protections under Indian law. Parallelly, I am working on a story examining the contrast between denied water pipelines in local communities and the rapid infrastructure being extended to AI data centers. Both stories explore systemic gaps, one legal, one infrastructural  but both deeply human. 

What is on your bucket list before leaving? 

I want to do full camerawork for a story, either my own or for someone else. I've reported, written, edited. Now I want to fully own the visual language of a piece. That would feel like closing the loop.