It’s news to me

Let’s try and review the basics. Why do we have newspapers? What makes it the first thing we reach for every morning? To get the news. Now what constitutes news? Anything from a murder to a rally. Where do you fit parties into this? And why? Are we any richer in information by knowing these details? What do I learn by reading that so and so partied yesterday? And, as if that wasn’t enough, to read further that their kids partied and had a jolly good time. As if children are not meant to have a jolly good time at parties.

Two years back when I decided to pursue journalism I was very clear in my mind as to why I did so. It seemed like the one job that could be pursued passionately, perhaps the only job on earth that actually pays you for questioning almost anything and everything (one reason why I am writing this!). Simply to ask and wonder and think aloud. Because more than anything else, this for me is the essence of journalism. But then what would you call those reporters and columnists who believe that reporting is the equivalent of high-society gossip?

I have always looked at journalism as a different kind of writing. A journalist is a writer, but of a different kind. One who searches for ideals and truths but in the sharp glare of reality. Where dealing with all the gory details of drug wars and communal riots, you retain your balance and write an account that is as close to the truth as possible, without any kind of personal bias.

So when writing deteriorates into nothing more than a mere list of who’s who, what’s up and who’s wearing what, it is a source of great concern.Perhaps newspapers today are forgetting the distinction between a tabloid and a magazine, between writing and merely punching in sentences.

And then, even though it is no longer fashionable to talk about ethics and morals, let me say a few words on ethics. Journalism is different from any other job because it involves the search for truth and the building of public opinion. What you are doing is to present to the reader a certain view of the world. We don’t think for anyone, but the facts we put together certainly help people think for themselves.

Not that I would try and define journalism for any other journalist. Each of us has to decide for himself or herself, what it is all about.