Travails of a journalist
After five years of working on the newsdesk of three newspapers I find myself pondering over one question, 'Whither commitment?' Is journalism all about achieving cult status and big bucks today? Not that these virtues are a problem. Prannoy Roy makes a lot of money, Vinod Mehta does too and so do a number of other senior journalists. So why do I respect people like Roy and Mehta while I can't stand some of the other journalists? Commitment, lack of initiative and a lot of times, paucity of grey matter! Yeah, a lot of people tell me, 'What do you know about people like Roy, they do this, they do that...' That's fine, I judge people by the manner in which they speak and conduct themselves. And, of course, what they produce!
Today, quality has been slaughtered at the altar of sensationalism. Yes, there are feature editors who believe that Britney going bald merits a pointer on the front page. Tell them about a pile of children's bones found in the vicinity of an Indian hospital and you'll get a blank look. Yes, all you laypeople, we have buffoons masquerading as journalists in this age and time. Reporters who know zilch beyond their beats and subeditors who know nothing at all. And you know what? They all have a HUGE attitude! Yes, I can't stand Britney's antics and I can't stand page 3 journalism. Par kya kare, log padte hain, ads aate hain, paper bikta hain aur salary milti hain. (That basically means 'Show me the money, honey!') This, people, is what journalism is all about today. Revenue counts. And still it is how one works around these constraints is what separates a good journalist from a rotten one. Salaries have gone through the roof. Justifiably so. Journalists also need booze and fags to survive, don't they? Surely with all these luxuries, readers and listeners could expect some quality? News channels can ensure that news readers speak English the way English is meant to be spoken. That they get their grammar right? Less spelling goofups in the news ticker? Is it all about getting that make-up right? The Hindi news channels are a joke. I am willing to bet the young upstarts who we see everyday have never picked up a newspaper. Very recently, a Zee News reporter was pestering a little girl for a sound byte. The 6-year-old girl in question had supposedly witnessed her father battering her mother to death. The rat race to get that extra bit of information has made animals of TV journalists. Remember the infamous immolation abetted by a couple of TV journalists. They even gave the man a match!
Coming to the print media, for every good subeditor and reporter, you'll have three pieces of shit! It's true, both in big or small newspapers. Fantastic editors have been left frustrated by this tribe who are usually in a position where they can poke their noses into everything. Their mantra for survival, suck up to the powerful, screw the weak, usually freshers. Stay on till the paper's ok, jump off the boat at the first sign of it rocking! Worse, some of them wait till the boat sinks. You see, they are that dumb!
Today, journalism is not about the best man leading the pack. It's about putting together the best team. A unproductive leader leading the team is fine. Trouble starts when the person infiltrates the team with more of his ilk.
In journalism, the higher up the hierarchy one goes, greater the mental contribution. It's all about conceptualising, planning, allocating and decision-making. It's about taking the team with you. The team does the work and does it well only if you can guide it properly. Unfortunately, there are so many power centres in a typical newsroom today that a good leader must also have a ferocious temper and take no shit.
If only I can work with more journalists who put work before self....
Today, quality has been slaughtered at the altar of sensationalism. Yes, there are feature editors who believe that Britney going bald merits a pointer on the front page. Tell them about a pile of children's bones found in the vicinity of an Indian hospital and you'll get a blank look. Yes, all you laypeople, we have buffoons masquerading as journalists in this age and time. Reporters who know zilch beyond their beats and subeditors who know nothing at all. And you know what? They all have a HUGE attitude! Yes, I can't stand Britney's antics and I can't stand page 3 journalism. Par kya kare, log padte hain, ads aate hain, paper bikta hain aur salary milti hain. (That basically means 'Show me the money, honey!') This, people, is what journalism is all about today. Revenue counts. And still it is how one works around these constraints is what separates a good journalist from a rotten one. Salaries have gone through the roof. Justifiably so. Journalists also need booze and fags to survive, don't they? Surely with all these luxuries, readers and listeners could expect some quality? News channels can ensure that news readers speak English the way English is meant to be spoken. That they get their grammar right? Less spelling goofups in the news ticker? Is it all about getting that make-up right? The Hindi news channels are a joke. I am willing to bet the young upstarts who we see everyday have never picked up a newspaper. Very recently, a Zee News reporter was pestering a little girl for a sound byte. The 6-year-old girl in question had supposedly witnessed her father battering her mother to death. The rat race to get that extra bit of information has made animals of TV journalists. Remember the infamous immolation abetted by a couple of TV journalists. They even gave the man a match!
Coming to the print media, for every good subeditor and reporter, you'll have three pieces of shit! It's true, both in big or small newspapers. Fantastic editors have been left frustrated by this tribe who are usually in a position where they can poke their noses into everything. Their mantra for survival, suck up to the powerful, screw the weak, usually freshers. Stay on till the paper's ok, jump off the boat at the first sign of it rocking! Worse, some of them wait till the boat sinks. You see, they are that dumb!
Today, journalism is not about the best man leading the pack. It's about putting together the best team. A unproductive leader leading the team is fine. Trouble starts when the person infiltrates the team with more of his ilk.
In journalism, the higher up the hierarchy one goes, greater the mental contribution. It's all about conceptualising, planning, allocating and decision-making. It's about taking the team with you. The team does the work and does it well only if you can guide it properly. Unfortunately, there are so many power centres in a typical newsroom today that a good leader must also have a ferocious temper and take no shit.
If only I can work with more journalists who put work before self....
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