Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Sighed the seasoned old hack, 8216;8216;The newspaper editor8217;s job is tough.8217;8217;
8216;8216;The readers wants drama and passion to flow out of every story but at the same time they expect the 8216;truth8217;. By truth, of course, the readers mean what they want to believe is the truth, and not necessarily what is the truth. The good editor, therefore, should be able to discern what the reader would like to believe, and then present facts and events in such a way as to satisfy the readers while not compromising on the principle that only the truth should be told. And here8217;s where a skill with words counts.8217;8217;
8216;8216;The intrepid editor,8217;8217; he went on, 8216;8216;would have merged these two stories to read as follows: 8216;Addressing a large gathering at Bhirani in Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi lashed out at the BJP for creating a communal divide in the nation. Significantly, on the very same day authorities in BJP-ruled Gujarat confirmed a sudden outbreak of diarrhoea in several districts bordering Rajasthan.8217;8217;8217;
We guffawed. The image was so vivid 8212; of hordes of BJP cadres racing for their thunder-boxes upon hearing Sonia8217;s fiery words, eyes wide with fear and hands clutched around lotas.
8216;8216;And yet,8217;8217; the hack continued, unperturbed, 8216;8216;there are people 8212; including some of us old-school journos 8212; who frown at this 8216;significant8217; way of linking up unrelated stories, even though no falsehood was implied as such. Indeed, the same laudable purpose, of enhancing readability and arousing readers8217; interest, could be achieved by stressing the fact that the two stories are unrelated!8217;8217;
He thought for a moment. 8216;8216;I myself would have linked the two stories as follows: 8216;Addressing a large gathering at Bhirani in Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi lashed out at the BJP for creating a communal divide in the nation. Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated development, health authorities in BJP-ruled Gujarat reported a sudden outbreak of diarrhoea in several districts bordering Rajasthan.8217;8217;8217;
He waited patiently while we wiped away our tears of mirth. 8216;8216;But the effect is the same,8217;8217; we gasped. 8216;8216;Surely it isn8217;t fair reportage, the two events have no connection8230;8217;8217;
The hack nodded. 8216;8216;Precisely,8217;8217; he murmured. 8216;8216;As stated, the stories are unrelated. It is your fault for reading too much between the lines.8217;8217;
