The main course was done. I had exactly three minutes before the roasted grapes cooled, the lemon cream cheese softened and the sourdough lost its crunch.

The clock was ticking, and the adrenaline felt oddly familiar. It was the rush that once pulled me into the newsroom every morning, except now I was plating dessert in a kitchen instead of chasing breaking news.

It was Not-So-Perfect Supperclub day, when I host a themed dinner for family, friends and sometimes friends of friends. The name began as a joke about my cooking: like a true desi, I cook on instinct. It is messy, it is fast and it is the best distraction from my not-so-perfect day job.

A newsroom under pressure may start by taking one ingredient off the plate. Eventually, the public is left with something that looks like news but no longer resembles reality. - Niha Dagia

A newsroom under pressure may start by taking one ingredient off the plate. Eventually, the public is left with something that looks like news but no longer resembles reality.

I am fortunate to work for a news organization that still holds its editorial ground, even when that comes at a cost. But that security is hard to separate from the wider reality of an industry being pushed into silence.

That silence did not arrive overnight. It crept in as routine coverage became a minefield that reporters, editors and producers learned to navigate. This is how censorship evolves: from........

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