The ``guerrilla reporter'' has taken another right turn. After three years as the CNN Bureau Chief for South Asia, she has decided to quit the American news channel and strike out on her own. Dismissing rumours that her contract with CNN was not renewed, Anita Pratap says she had been planning this move for a while now. ``For 20 years I have worked against deadlines and enjoyed every moment,'' she says. ``In any case, it is better to quit at the peak of your glory.''Pratap believes she has done everything. ``I have stood on the Siachen glacier, not just the base camp, and reported on the war. I have covered the bomb how much bigger can things get? Probably the only thing left would be a nuclear war and I definitely don't want to cover that.''So, having set her priorities, Pratap has now decided to travel, pay attention to the real issues and do some development reporting. She is out to explore the ``human face of journalism'' and claims she will do it in an innovative manner, without spelling out how. Her ambitions kick off with two television assignments and a book.``Stay tuned to find out more about them,'' she says, like a true-blooded news anchor.Rewind. Pratap says that having worked in all major publications and with a happening news channel, she has covered the ``entire gambit''. Describing herself as a ``professional journalist with a social concern'' Pratap says that she plans to use her standing as a credible newsperson to get news that matters on the front page of newspapers and into prime slots of television news.Her belief? ``I am confident that if the story is done in an interesting manner the mainstream media will publish it. Development stories done in a documentary or academic style are not the right way of doing things. I intend to use my breaking-news technique and insight to cover these stories,'' she reveals, ``And it will make a difference.''The issues that will now interest her include environment, women, illiteracy and poverty, among other things. ``I will be addressing the lay reader or viewer,'' she explains. I am going to use the experience and skills I have acquired over the last 20 years to make developmental issues interesting.'' How exactly? She will say no more because the rest is a ``trade secret''.``I am a curious person and the curiosity keeps my adrenaline pumping,'' she adds. ``I work very hard and can take a lot of hardship, at times even more than what my fellow male colleagues can. I am also physically a very brave person,'' she boasts.Covering 50 years of freedom in India and Pakistan, Pratap saw the ``cutting edge of reality''. She realised that people were blind to the harsh reality and by the end of the capsule, her determination to do something about had grown stronger.Before taking the plunge, Pratap wants a while to herself. ``I want to spend some time with my son who is on vacation,'' she says. ``I haven't had a moment's rest after I announced my decision on January 1. In fact, the telephone in my office and residence have never rung so much. It's amazing''.
