MUMBAI: In a break from the top-down model of legacy newsrooms, Zee Media Corp has rolled out Pinewz, billed as India’s first hyperlocal, citizen-led news app. Timed with the seventy ninth Independence Day, the platform invites Indians to be both reporter and editor—capturing life as it happens in mohallas, markets, campuses and street corners.
Rooted in the credo You are the reporter. You are the editor, Pinewz lets news flow from the ground up, not the other way round. Stories are geo-tagged to users’ Pin codes, offering highly localised feeds and a sharper barometer of public sentiment.
To keep speed from killing accuracy, each report runs through an AI engine with blockchain-backed verification and editorial checks. “Pinewz is not just an app. It’s a movement that unites the digital citizen and the grassroots reporter,” said Pinewz chief business officer & director Priyadarshan Garg.
The model, already tested in a pilot across several cities, has yielded stories on neglected infrastructure, civic hazards and emergencies—some triggering action before official response. Users can see their verified reports rise from neighbourhood news to state and national coverage.
Zee Media says this is journalism “of the people, by the people, for the people” in the most literal sense. The only agenda: real issues, real voices, and real change.
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