From Protesters to ‘Anti-Nationals’: The Shocking Politics of Labelling Dissent in India Protesters gather in New Delhi to raise concerns over electoral accountability and the Election Commission's voter-roll revision process. In the age of social media, a political protest rarely remains confined to the streets. It travels through hashtags, short videos, partisan commentary and competing narratives, each offering its own interpretation of what happened. Sometimes, the debate becomes less about what protesters are demanding and more about who they are presumed to be. A single word can change how an entire movement is perceived. A protester becomes an agitator, an agitator becomes an anti-national , and an allegation of terrorism can overshadow the very grievance that brought people onto the streets. But what happens when the label becomes louder than the evidence? The controversy surrounding the 10 October 2026 Jantar Mantar protest raises a critical question:...
Are Your Favorite TV Reporters Making This Embarrassing Mistake Every Single Day?
Do you trust everything you see on the evening news? What if the most basic terms used by top anchors and field reporters are actually completely wrong?
Welcome to one of the biggest, most quietly ignored scandals in the Indian media industry. If you thought Aap Ki Adalat being scripted was shocking, wait until you realize that national television channels don't even know basic English grammar.
For ten years, I have been telling my students at Commits that a "quote" on television is referred to as a "sound bite" or simply a "bite."
But I have noticed a terrifying trend: thousands of journalists — across both print and elite television networks — continuously write it as "byte."
🔥 A Confession from the Top
A few months ago, I sent an email about this "bite vs. byte" epidemic to former CNN-IBN (now News18) Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai. His shocking admission?
"It should be sound bite. But you are right, several of us, myself included, use sound byte. Am not sure why."
The Brutal Truth: Dictionary Verdict
To end this debate once and for all, let's look at the absolute facts.
BITE (noun)
- A brief, striking remark or statement excerpted from an audiotape or videotape for insertion in a broadcast news story.
BYTE (noun - Computers)
- Adjacent bits, usually eight, processed by a computer as a unit.
- The combination of bits used to represent a particular letter, number, or special character.
So how on earth did NDTV air a graphic today with "BYTE of the DAY" leaping out at millions of viewers from the screen?
🧠Craving more deep cultural dives? Read about the fascinating History & Food of the Konkani Language in Kerala or explore the environmental warnings in Jal Sanskriti: Dr. Joshi on the AI Water Crisis.
We Confronted the TV Bureau Chiefs. Their Responses Were Stunning.
I wasn't going to let this go. I wrote directly to the NDTV bureau chief in Bangalore, Darius Taraporvala; the news editor of CNN-IBN in New Delhi, Dipika Kaura; and Imran Qureshi, the Bangalore bureau chief of Aaj Tak and Headlines Today.
I demanded to know their house style rules.
Taraporvala's attempt to defend the usage:
"To me 'byte' is computer terminology, and 'soundbite' refers to the reactions we get in the field."
Dipika Kaura (CNN-IBN) had a much more honest take:
"Should be bite — that’s how the Oxford dictionary defines it. But it's more a matter of nomenclature. We’ve shifted to SOT — Sound on Tape. That at least is clearly defined."
Imran Qureshi definitively shut down the "byte" myth:
"Byte is the language of computers."
Maybe these networks need to take a step back from the frantic news cycle and do a digital detox by reading classical poetry.
The Next Time You Watch the News...
I am glad this has been officially sorted out by the top editors. But has the industry actually learned?
Here is your challenge: Turn on your television today. Watch the news tickers closely. The next time you see a reporter ask for a "BYTE," you will know the dark, embarrassing secret they don't want you to know: They are using the wrong word.
Have you spotted this error recently? Drop a comment below, and don't forget to check out the Harsh Reality of Delhi University if you want more unfiltered truths! For more insights, visit Sahityashala.
This article was originally published on The Reading Room and has been optimized and republished here with permission.
About the Author: Ramesh Prabhu
I have more than 20 years’ experience (1981 to 2003) as a journalist in India and Dubai, specializing in selecting and editing news reports and features. From 2003 to 2019, I taught journalism and writing skills to master’s students at Commits, a media college in Bangalore. In October 2019, I joined Cactus Communications (“Serving Science Worldwide”) as a freelance copyeditor (yes, it’s one word according to the American spelling conventions preferred by the medical journals I am associated with). I work from home — no more commuting in Bangalore. Heaven! I copyedit the papers submitted by researchers from all over the world. It’s fascinating work! From the very beginning, I have enjoyed the challenge of working on a new assignment each day. I like to think of every article as a daily crossword puzzle that I need to solve by examining the clues closely. And, finally, when I submit the article that I have tended, I like to think, with love and care, I feel deeply satisfied.
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