The Chennai Emailer — a local journalism newsletter delivered to your email every weekend.
💌 Bringing you original and curated stories of residents, entrepreneurs & businesses who inspire, connect, and uplift Chennai.
🫱🏻🫲🏼TCE showcases residents who tackle everyday challenges and deliver smart solutions. Your go-to guide to making Chennai better, together!
By subscribing to this newsletter, you will get:
🗓️Every Saturday, a crisper ‘News of the Week’ edition. It includes 📰essential news articles, 🌦️Weather reports, 🚌transport bulletins and official updates sourced straight from government websites/social media accounts. 🌐🎫 Also includes recommendations for the best online and offline events taking place across the city.
Check out previous editions: Here and here.
👫🏽On Sundays, you will get an original human-interest story. 👥Featured here are profiles of Chennai citizens who are offering solutions to common problems and running businesses or initiatives that make a difference.
A few features published so far:
🌊How Chennai’s Global Ambitions Collide with the Annual Flood Spectacle
🎥How this Chennai-based writer went on to create a show for SonyLIV
Core Values of The Chennai Emailer
👥 Community:
I love Chennai—it’s my home, and there’s something incredibly inspiring about the people here. Through The Chennai Emailer, I want to highlight fellow residents who are making a real difference—whether through their businesses or social initiatives that tackle everyday challenges. At the heart of it, I stand by the values of our Constitution and believe in shining a light on those who live by it too.
🕊️ Empathy:
For me, empathy is the key to understanding people better. Chennai is a diverse city with rich cultural textures, and that’s what makes it such a great place to live. Respecting these differences, and seeing things from new perspectives, is something I hold close.
🖖🏼 Kindness:
I truly believe in the power of kindness, both online and offline. If we approach things with decency and respect, especially on social media, we can create real change. I always strive to keep communication—whether with the people I profile or my readers—courteous and direct.
💰 Sustainable Journalism:
I aim for The Chennai Emailer to be a community-supported platform, earning its revenue through reader subscriptions and sponsorships. But the weekly news summaries? They’ll always be free. For those who want to support my work further, donations are welcome.
📰 Correction Policy:
Accuracy matters. If my team of contributing writers and myself ever get something wrong in our reportage, we promise to fix it as soon as possible. I’m always open to feedback, ideas, and suggestions from you (Email: thechennaiemailer@gmail.com). At the same time, I reserve the right to turn down any submissions that don’t meet our editorial standards. I’m inspired by the work done by Trusting News and its guiding principles which I aim to implement at the Chennai Emailer to build a community of loyal readers.
💡 Inspiration:
There are so many fantastic journalism platforms around the world creating meaningful impact, and I find a lot of inspiration in them. From The Mylapore Times and Citizen Matters to Axios and The Mill—I look to these pioneers as models for what The Chennai Emailer can become; a digital-first product that aims to solve local information problems faced by Chennaiites.
What is the problem that The Chennai Emailer is trying to solve?
In a city as vibrant and diverse as Chennai, information flows in abundance. From English dailies like The Hindu, The New Indian Express, DT Next and Times of India to Tamil newspapers like Dina Thanthi, Dinamani and Dina Malar, residents are spoilt for choice.
New-age digital platforms like The News Minute, Citizen Matters, and South First are adding to the mix, alongside a growing number of local Internet creators flooding our social media feeds with content about politics, food, culture, heritage, and films.
However, the post-Covid world has left us with an overwhelming amount of information—too much, in fact. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate the signal from the noise, to find the stories that truly impact our lives, our neighbourhoods, and our city. What Chennai lacks is a singular, reliable source that curates this information meaningfully, helping residents make informed decisions without wading through endless streams of irrelevant content.
This is where The Chennai Emailer steps in: Our city doesn’t need more content; it needs better content—concise, thoughtful, and impactful. Chennai deserves a newsletter that cuts through the clutter and brings together the best of local journalism and solution-oriented stories. It will focus on the issues that matter, from civic problems to community-driven solutions, all delivered with precision and context. It’s high-quality, curated journalism designed for the digital age. The Chennai Emailer is here to ensure you are informed, engaged, and inspired.
Why Subscribe to The Chennai Emailer:
Curated Content: Filter out the noise and deliver only the most relevant news and stories.
Solutions-Based Journalism: Profiles of local changemakers and their ingenious solutions.
Quality Over Quantity: Thoughtful, context-rich writing that’s designed to foster trust, not chase clicks.
Bilingual Relevance: Highlight the best of English and Tamil journalism, making it accessible to all. I plan to produce original reporting in both English and Tamil very soon.
Minimalist Approach: Slow and deliberate, with a focus on delivering detailed, insightful reportage.
💌The Chennai Emailer was featured on Media Buddhi!
Follow on Instagram
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting The Chennai Emailer. It is run by me—Mohammed Rayaan😊✌🏽. I am a journalist/writer based in Chennai, India.
I won a scholarship from the Facebook Journalism Project to pursue the 100-days online Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (City University of New York).❤️
As part of the course, I started this newsletter as my passion project to bring out the best of local journalism from this city that I call home.
A bit more about me:
I work as the Deputy Manager for Content at AshokaX. I recently graduated from the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. I spent my time here learning from fellow cohorts and upskilling myself in my journey to build a sustainable local journalism platform and a career in media.
I’ve worked as a Sub-Editor for The Hindu BusinessLine. Previously, I have worked as an entertainment and features writer for DT Next, an English daily newspaper. Earlier, I was also associated with News Today, an English evening daily. 📰
My bylines have appeared on LiveWire, Better India, and on The Opinioc, a publication in the Medium. You can also find my writings on ScrollStack. I have worked with start-ups and entrepreneurs and have created content for their businesses. 👨🏽💻
When I am not a journalist, I write stories of my own, read many books or magazines and watch OTT. Visit my personal site www.rayaanwriter.com if you’d like to connect with me. For queries related to this newsletter, you can reach me at thechennaiemailer@gmail.com | Cheers! 😊❤️
