As a little girl growing up in rural Rajasthan — a state in northwestern India — Prabhdeep Brar (JAPO ’21; pictured right) remembers watching TV news with her father and imagining herself at the anchor desk.

“I want to do that job,” she told him. But educational options were limited in her village and a broadcast career wasn’t practical. Ultimately Brar studied information technology at a nearby college, then came to Canada on a student visa to further her computer studies at SAIT.

Once on campus, Brar discovered SAIT has a Print and Online Journalism program. Her interest in broadcasting reignited, she switched to journalism studies.

Today Brar produces news and current affairs programs in Punjabi, Hindi and English at My Radio 580, an Edmonton-based multilingual, multi-ethnic broadcaster. She also manages the station’s social media platforms.

“I’ve covered events around Alberta, but a huge opportunity came when I was asked to cover the election in my home country — the biggest parliamentary election in the biggest democracy in the world,” says Brar.

Navigating the campaign trail

Assigned to interview politicians and residents in the state of Punjab (where most of her Indo-Canadian audience is from), she arrived in May in the middle of a 52° C heat wave. Brar knew it would be a gruelling two weeks on the campaign trail, mostly outdoors, so a big challenge was staying hydrated, eating properly and getting enough rest.

“There was really no such thing as a typical day covering the election,” Brar says. “I had to always be ready for an interview. Sometimes, I’d book one and it was cancelled without notice. Other times, they were there on time. You’d never know."

“I’d start around 6:30 in the morning because it was the best time to meet candidates, but then they’d fail to show up and we’d wait for hours. For example, I arranged to interview the former Chief Minister of Punjab at 7:30 in the morning. There were five other reporters there. We were told to follow him from village to village, city to city, all day long. At 5 o’clock we told his staff we were leaving, and he finally gave us some time.

“As for the local residents,” she adds, “it was difficult to convince people to talk about issues such as health care and unemployment. Many were worried about their safety and security. Many don’t trust the media.”

The audience for Brar’s election coverage included Indian residents tuning in via social media. “They listened to my reporting because, unlike national Indian media, our stories aren’t tied to a party line. We are less biased,” she says.

Brar loves her My Radio 580 job and says her long-term goal is to work in media with global reach such as the BBC or CNN.

On India's campaign trail with Prabhdeep Brar

Earlier this year, Brar was assigned to interview campaigning politicians in the state of Punjab. Capturing interviews to share with her Indo-Canadian audience required Brar to be ready for any opportunity — including meeting candidates during car rides.

Here Brar shares key photos from her assignment.