The nine-fold path for a scribe

Here are some tips to become a great journalist:1. If you are in television keep watching the eyeballs. What do people want? Not what you ha...

Here are some tips to become a great journalist:

1. If you are in television keep watching the eyeballs. What do people want? Not what you have on offer. If you are in print and you don8217;t have a story, invent one. Ideally, to be a good journalist these days experience in writing fiction helps. You need to be extremely creative.

For instance, the TV anchor asks: 8216;8216;What must be going on in the Prime Minister8217;s mind right now?8217;8217;

As a reporter, if you don8217;t have an answer to that, you could be sacked.

2. Be objective. A TV channel reported details of the PM8217;s report card on every minister, even while carrying the contradiction from the PMO that such a report card never existed.

3. Since good fiction writers make good journalists, it is important to sketch your characters. By and large, going by media coverage over the past decade, the larger plot has already been scripted. Read how our great editors describe the Prime Minister as always the good man, surrounded by incompetent advisors and ambitious ministers. Of course, there is always a parallel power centre 8212; also surrounded by incompetent advisers.

4. The creative reporter must have his characters fleshed out. He just has to ask himself what genre of writing interests him. For instance, for romance he could look at the Sudarshan-Vajpayee tango, the Jaitley-Mahajan affair, the Left8217;s flirtation with the UPA 8212; are they together, when were they seen together last, are they meeting secretly?

Story continues below this ad

5. If it8217;s a thriller, there is the Bihar Government formation, the electioneering, the name-calling. Jharkhand too is a thriller when it comes to government formation.

6. For high drama, there is the Speaker of the House, the most emotional person. He is usually a nice old man, with high blood pressure. He keeps appealing in the name of God, telling parliamentarians to behave.

7. Investigative journalism: Unfortunately, in India investigative journalism does not get the attention it deserves. Take the Justice Phukan controversy about getting a free ride in a defence ministry aircraft. No one highlighted what the poor man was saying 8212; it just couldn8217;t be a VIP aircraft because the toilet was not working. The entire family had to rush to the airport the moment it landed. Bingo. It was not a VIP aircraft because the toilets just refused to flush. I think everyone missed the real story.

8. Hallowed be thy name institutions: After Saptarishi8217;s attack on two members of the Election Commission, we are told, by the BJP, that this is a hallowed institution. So is the office of the Prime Minister 8212; and some Cabinet ministers whom we like. Remember, when you attack an individual attached to an institution, you are attacking the institution. And you better not run down any institution any way. Most of them are hallowed. If they are not, they better be before the Right to Information Bill is passed.

Story continues below this ad

9. Please help politicians in distress. The other day, Laloo Prasad Yadav was speaking about the casteist Election Commission controversy. Suddenly he said, 8216;8216;water8230; water8230;8217;8217; No one rescued him. No, he didn8217;t want to drink water. And no, he was not referring to the water pouches thrown at him recently. He was comparing the EC controversy with Watergate. Since reporters knew nothing about Watergate, Laloo explained that this was about bugging 8212; 8216;8216;Something very big in the US.8217;8217;

And the connection between Watergate and the EC controversy? That8217;s another story. Just let your creative juices flow. Otherwise 8216;8216;reporters8217;8217; like Laloo will beat you to it.