Making Room for Journalism: Cultivating Spaces to Sustain Practices, Camaraderie and Community Amidst Repression

This article examines how journalists respond to restrictions and the dismantling of spaces essential to their professional and social lives by creating alternative work and social interaction environments. It focuses on Kashmir, where, following the revocation of the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019, several journalists and news organisations were forced to vacate their offices and shared spaces central to journalistic life were shut down. These developments not only disrupted daily routines and professional practices but also fractured the connections and associations once sustained through communal settings such as the Press Enclave and former Kashmir Press Club, which was controversially closed in 2021. Drawing on ethnographic interviews and participant observation, the article explores how journalists have responded to these constraints by cultivating independent workspaces and engaging in social and cultural practices that help maintain both their professional commitments and their sense of community. It shows that journalists in Kashmir have adopted adaptive strategies that allow them to continue reporting and remain connected with peers. These include forming informal community workspaces and participating in everyday social rituals that take place in public spaces. The article argues that these spaces and practices, though outside formal news institutions, play a critical role in sustaining journalism under pressure. By focusing on how journalists negotiate their environment, the study contributes to wider discussions on journalism and space, highlighting the ongoing importance of physical proximity, social networks, and collective resilience in maintaining independent journalism in politically repressive conditions.