There is less than a minute to go before Afghanistan’s most-watched news broadcast goes live. A digital clock in the gloomy control room of Tolo News’ Kabul headquarters counts down the seconds as a team of young journalists go about their final tasks. Just-finished news packages are loaded on to a running order controlled by Soraya Amiri, the twentysomething producer of the six o’clock news. Colleagues sit or stand around her, looking at the banks of monitors. It is August 2 2021. Wry jokes are being cracked. In the studio, Shuja Zaki, a well-known anchorman with a haircut as sharp as his suit, looks straight down to camera and waits for his moment to greet the nation.
