Media Matters-10: What to read, especially if you want to understand the media (Second and final part of a two-part series)

This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times today:

WHAT TO READ, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEDIA-2

This is the second and final part of a two-part series

By Ramesh Prabhu

In “Media Matters” on February 24, I introduced you to Krishna Prasad, the editor in chief of Outlook, and his list of recommended reads. In that column we covered two categories: “Fiction” as well as “Style and Writing Guides”. Today we will cover the remaining five categories.

I have had to trim the original list for reasons of space, as well as to add some books which I have found to be especially useful and some books which became available only recently. My choices are marked by the prefix “RP”. If you would like to go through the list Krishna Prasad gave me, here’s the link: What To Read.

COMPILATIONS
The best way of learning journalism is to think and act like a journalist. And one sure way of doing so is to find time to go through some of the compilations of great journalism. Not only will you get an idea of what was done by journalists before you, but you also get to read and update your knowledge about events, people, and places in history.

1. The Faber Book of Reportage, edited by John Carey
2. The Granta Book of Reportage
3. The New Journalism, edited by Tom Wolfe and E.W. Johnson
4. The Penguin Book of Columnists
5. (RP) Making News, Breaking News, Her Own Way: Stories by Winners of the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons, edited by Lathika Padgaonkar and Shubha Singh
6. (RP) The Paris Review Interviews, Vols I, II, III
7. (RP) Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Journalism from Around the World, edited by Anya Schiffrin
8. (RP) The Best American Magazine Writing 2014, edited by Sid Holt for the American Society of Magazine Editors
9. (RP) Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists, edited by Eleanor Mills and Kira Cochrane
10. (RP) Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns, edited by John Avlon, Jesse Angelo, and Errol Louis
11. (RP) Time: 85 Years of Great Writing, edited by Christopher Porterfield
12. (RP) Telling True Stories, edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call
13. (RP) Writing a Nation: An Anthology of Indian Journalism, edited by Nirmala Lakshman
14. (RP) Breaking the Big Story: Great Moments in Indian Journalism, edited by B.G. Verghese
25. (RP) Foreign Correspondent: Fifty Years of Reporting on South Asia, edited by Simon Denyer, John Elliott, and Bernard Imhasly
  
MEMOIRS
This is a sure-shot way of learning how journalism works and how journalists work. The very best people in the business have put it all down on a platter for young journalists and you would be foolish not to partake of a great feast.

1. A Good Life, by Ben Bradlee, the executive editor who turned The Washington Post around
2. Good Times, Bad Times, by Harold Evans, the pioneering editor of The Sunday Times
3. A Personal History, by Katherine Graham, the publisher who oversaw the Watergate exposé
4. (RP) Lucknow Boy, by Vinod Mehta
5. (RP) Editor Unplugged, by Vinod Mehta
6. (RP) News from No Man’s Land, by John Simpson, the famed BBC TV journalist
7. (RP) Remembering Mr Shawn’s New Yorker: The Invisible Art of Editing, by Ved Mehta
8. (RP) Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival, by Anderson Cooper of CNN

BIOGRAPHIES
Another great way of learning more about our business. There are two you must try to read. The first is Paper Tigers, by Nicholas Coleridge, in which he profiles some of the world’s great publishers, including three from India: Samir Jain of The Times of India, Aveek Sarkar of the Ananda Bazaar Patrika group, and Ramnath Goenka, the feisty founder of The Indian Express. And the second is my all-time favourite: The Years with Ross, by James Thurber, in which he profiles the eccentric founder-editor of The New Yorker, Harold Ross.

COLLECTIONS
Most great journalists have published collections of their stand-out work. And the books by some of the very best are always at my bedside.

1. Essays, by George Orwell, unquestionably the most vibrant columnist of the 20th century
2. The Best of Plimpton, by George Plimpton, the pioneer of participatory journalism
3. (RP) Frank Sinatra Has a Cold and Other Essays, by Gay Talese
4. (RP) Interviews with History and Power, by Oriana Fallaci
5. (RP) Anticipating India, by Shekhar Gupta, former editor of The Indian Express
6. (RP) Journalism, by Joe Sacco, the pioneer of comics journalism

CLASSICS
Some books by journalists have become classics: Hiroshima, by John Hersey, a sterling account of the victims of the nuclear bombing; In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, a reconstruction of a serial killing in Kansas; The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, on the horrific conditions in the American meat packing industry. But my own personal favourite is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson, a drugged-out, tripped-out modern classic by the Father of Gonzo Journalism.

 (RP) My must-reads in this category:
1. All the President’s Men: The Greatest Reporting Story of all Time, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
2. Heat and Light: Advice for the Next Generation of Journalists, by Mike Wallace and Beth Knobel
3. Hard News, by Seth Mnookin
4. Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts, by P. Sainath
5. Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism, edited by David Folkenflik

THINK ABOUT IT: “A reporter's life, by God, it’s an absolutely wonderful life. Somebody’s paying the bill to educate you — to send you around the world, if you prove worthy.” — Legendary American TV news anchor Mike Wallace

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.

·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

ALSO READ:

• There is no job like journalism (Media Matters-1)
• Can anyone become a journalist? (Media Matters-2)
• What you must do to become a journalist (Media Matters-3)
• Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4)
• Why we became journalists: Second part of a three-part series (Media Matters-5)
• Why we became journalists: Final part of a three-part series (Media Matters-6)
• Good readers make good media professionals (Media Matters-7)
• Reading non-fiction pays huge dividends (Media Matters-8) 
• What to read, especially if you want to understand the media: First part of a two-part series (Media Matters-9)

ADDITIONAL READING:

• Outlook's peerless issue on the Indian media crisis

Media Matters-9: What to read, especially if you want to understand the media (First part of a two-part series)

This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times today:

WHAT TO READ, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEDIA-I

By Ramesh Prabhu

I have been fortunate over the years to have met and worked with many enterprising journalists. None, to my mind, is more enterprising than Krishna Prasad.

I was first introduced to Krishna Prasad, or KP as he is universally known, sometime in 2001 in Bengaluru. The media company I was working with at the time had hired him to come up with a template for the technology and business daily that was to be launched later that year. KP not only designed a classy tabloid; he also trained the journalists who had been recruited to produce it.

KP, who has been hailed as one of India’s finest young journalists, is today at the top of his game as editor in chief of Outlook, the weekly newsmagazine founded by his mentor, Vinod Mehta.

I am particularly pleased to have made KP’s acquaintance because, like me, he also believes you are what you read. And he is also clear on the point that reading is a vital factor in the success of a media professional.

Many years ago, KP had come to Commits for an interactive session with our students. (He has also been a speaker at the college’s annual seminar.) Afterwards, for our students’ benefit, he graciously handed over to me his recommended reading list, which, in the interests of serving a wider audience, I have reproduced below (the comments introducing each category are by KP) with his consent.

I have had to trim the original list for reasons of space, as well as to add some books which I have found to be especially useful and some books which became available only recently. My choices are marked by the prefix “RP”. If you would like to go through the list KP gave me, here’s the link: What To Read.

Here then, in a two-part feature, are the books you must read – especially if you want to understand the media.

FICTION
Like the movie Citizen Kane (which is the fictionalised account of the life and times of the publisher William Randolph Hearst), one of the all-time great novels is also built on journalism: Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop. But here are a few other works of fiction centered around journalism:

1. Psmith Journalist, by P.G. Wodehouse
2. Fourth Estate, by Jeffrey Archer (a veiled story of Rupert Murdoch)
3. Pelican Brief, by John Grisham
4. (RP) Towards the End of the Morning, by Michael Frayn
5. (RP) Broken News, Amrita Tripathi
6. (RP) The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman
7. (RP) Bunker 13, by Aniruddha Bahal

WALKING THE TALK: Outlook editor in chief Krishna Prasad, who was a speaker at the annual Commits seminar in February 2010, is a book-lover at heart.

STYLE AND WRITING GUIDES
For those who love words and the use of language,there can be nothing more gripping than reading “style sheets”: these are the in-house guides and manuals that newspapers and magazines use to achieve uniformity and standardisation. The Economist Style Guide is universally regarded as the best and most entertaining, but there are a few others that you might like to read.

(RP) It is impossible to overestimate the importance of learning how to write well by following the tips and advice of those who have been there, done that. And since grammar and punctuation have a vital role to play in good writing, you should read books that will help you on that front, too.

1. The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
2. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
3. On Writing Well, by William Zinsser
4. (RP) How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times, by Roy Peter Clark
5. (RP) The English Language: A User's Guide, by Jack Lynch
6. (RP) Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, by Roy Peter Clark
7. (RP) The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide, by William E. Blundell
8. (RP) 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, by Gary Provost
9. (RP) The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English, by Roy Peter Clark
10. (RP) On Writing, by Stephen King

• In the next installment of “Media Matters”: The second and final part of “The books you must read if you want to understand the media”

THINK ABOUT IT: “Why did you become a journalist?”
“Better than working for a living.”
― Leslie Cockburn, Baghdad Solitaire

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.

·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

ALSO READ:

• There is no job like journalism (Media Matters-1)
• Can anyone become a journalist? (Media Matters-2)
• What you must do to become a journalist (Media Matters-3)
• Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4)
• Why we became journalists: Second part of a three-part series (Media Matters-5)
• Why we became journalists: Final part of a three-part series (Media Matters-6)
• Good readers make good media professionals (Media Matters-7)
• Reading non-fiction pays huge dividends (Media Matters-8)

ADDITIONAL READING:

• Outlook's peerless issue on the Indian media crisis

Media Matters-8: Reading non-fiction pays huge dividends

 This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times today:

READING NON-FICTION PAYS HUGE DIVIDENDS

Journalism professor RAMESH PRABHU explains, in a Q&A with his journalist alter-ego RAMESH PRABHU, why it is important to read non-fiction.

Q: I am told you are fond of telling every batch of new students that they should read Longitudes and Attitudes, by Thomas Friedman, if they want to know what makes the world tick.

A: Yes, and I also tell them they should read India Unbound, by Gurcharan Das, if they want to know what makes the country tick. As a bibliomaniac, as a teacher, as someone who believes in the manifold blessings showered on readers by books, I have made it my life’s mission to encourage, even push, people to read. And I’m happy that I have had some success over the years.

GURCHARAN DAS, AUTHOR OF INDIA UNBOUND.

Q: Most people I know, especially young adults, seem to prefer fiction. So how do you go about extolling the virtues of non-fiction? Perhaps you can explain by elaborating on your reasons for recommending Thomas Friedman and Gurcharan Das.
 
A: Gurcharan Das first. Many of us have only a superficial knowledge of the reforms of the ’90s that have transformed India so dramatically. The impact of those reforms is being felt even today. But what was the country like before 1990? How did India change after liberalisation? And why is it important for all of us to grasp the logic underlying this grand economic revolution? You will get the answers to these questions, and more, in Gurcharan Das’s splendid book.

Das, a former chief executive of Procter & Gamble India, has a unique insight into the country’s history. He also has a way with words, which makes India Unbound incomparable as an introduction to economics. Really, it is the equivalent of Economics 101.

So, knowing how young people shudder at the thought of an economics lesson and knowing how badly they need to understand the subject, I press them to read India Unbound closely.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN, AUTHOR OF LONGITUDES AND ATTITUDES.

Longitudes and Attitudes, on the other hand, offers readers a seat at the international table as Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, serves up his sharp opinions on “the world in the age of terrorism” (the sub-title of his book, which is a collection of the columns he wrote for the Times). Friedman flies around the world to gather material for his twice-weekly articles, so we get reports — and horizon-widening views — from Riyadh and Moscow, Jakarta and Teheran. Who can say no to this choice cuisine? More to the point, who will want to say no?

Q: Going back to my original question, though, isn’t fiction a better choice? After all, novels transport us to a world that exists in the author’s imagination, and that world becomes ours, too, as we read on. What better way to escape from our humdrum lives!
 
A: Everyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about books. I have been reading books since I was five or six years old. And like everyone else, I began with fiction. So I know where you are coming from. I agree that novels offer us a way to experience many vicarious thrills. But non-fiction gives us a new perspective on our world as it exists. Reading non-fiction can help us become better persons. Non-fiction can give a boost to our careers.

Q: That’s a bit far-fetched, surely?

A: You have apparently not heard of How Will You Measure Your Life? Or The Last Lecture. A Complaint-Free World. Letters to Sam. A Fistful of Rice. How Proust Can Change Your Life... I could go on. These are just a few of the many wonderful books that I have read in recent years that have not only made me think about my approach to life but have also been an inspiration. I wish these books had been around when I was growing up; they would have made such a big difference to my mindset at a stage in my life when change would have been more welcome, and easier, than it is today.

I would have been a better journalist and writer, too, if the books available to me now were available when I was beginning my career. The books I am thinking of are, again, just to mention a few, Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker: The Invisible Art Of Editing; The Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight; Breaking the Big Story: Great Moments in Indian Journalism; Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times; Essential English for Journalists, Editors, and Writers... there are so many extraordinary books in this category that I feel bad about not being able to name all of them.

Q: The way I look at it, you seem to be focused on what I think of as self-help books, and books that deal with journalism and writing. What about history, biography, memoir? And business books — they are all the rage today, I understand.

A: I’m glad you’ve brought this up. I am not really a big fan of “self-help” literature; I think of the books I have referred to as “wisdom literature”. I only chose those two sub-genres you mention because, as a teacher, I have found it easier to get young people started on non-fiction when they believe, rightly, that there is a possibility that the books concerned will have a bearing on their future.

But when it comes to non-fiction, I am an omnivore. Want to read a great book dealing with world history? I recommend highly Travels with Herodotus, by legendary Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, who began his career as a foreign correspondent in India. As for biographies, there is Art Spiegelman’s spellbinding Holocaust narrative, Maus (yes, it is a graphic novel, but who says non-fiction has to be wholly text-based?). Recently I also read Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain — how a man can be both an amazing chef and a gifted writer with an eye for detail beats me.

I have read my share of business books, too — not too long ago, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Inside Drucker's Brain, billed as the most accessible guide to the essential ideas of Peter Drucker, the inventor of modern management.

Q: Clearly, there is a wealth of great non-fiction out there to suit all possible tastes.

A: Oh yes. So the sooner you get down to it, the better.

THINK ABOUT IT: “Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.” ― Christopher Morley, American journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet

• Coming up in the next installment of “Media Matters”: What to read (especially if you want to understand the media)

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.

·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

ALSO READ:

• There is no job like journalism (Media Matters-1)
• Can anyone become a journalist? (Media Matters-2)
• What you must do to become a journalist (Media Matters-3)
• Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4)
• Why we became journalists: Second part of a three-part series (Media Matters-5)
• Why we became journalists: Final part of a three-part series (Media Matters-6)
• Good readers make good media professionals (Media Matters-7) 

Media Matters-7: Good readers make good media professionals

This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times today:

GOOD READERS MAKE
GOOD MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

By Ramesh Prabhu

Everyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about books.

I have been reading books since I was five or six years old. And like many of my generation I began with Enid Blyton’s children’s stories and progressed rapidly to the thrillers and crime novels of Alistair Maclean, Arthur Hailey, Desmond Bagley, James Hadley Chase, and Agatha Christie. Along the way I discovered that sublime humorist, P.G. Wodehouse.

I have bought a lot of books in my time. In fact, books call out to me (I think), which is why I have many books at home that I have bought but not yet found time to read.

I also buy books intuitively. To give you an example, five works of non-fiction that occupy the pride of place on my bookshelves — Here At The New Yorker; Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker: The Invisible Art Of Editing; Just Enough Liebling; How About Never — Is Never Good for You?; and The Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight — were purchased because they have a connection to one of my all-time favourite magazines, The New Yorker, and because they are about writing, about journalism.

I often employ a similar approach when buying fiction. Once, after having read and enjoyed Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, I brought home the whole series — nine books featuring the iconic Inspector Kurt Wallander. And when a new Wallander was released recently, I bought that one too.

I believe you are what you read. I also believe you have to be a good reader if you want to be a good writer. So at Commits, I am always trying to get my students to read the wonderful books I have helped to stock in the college library. I also lend books from my collection. And many students seem to like the books I recommend. That is why I was especially pleased to receive this e-mail one day from an ex-student, Sumith Sagar (Class of 2009; pictured below):

I wanted to tell you that I have started reading books earnestly. :) Reading has become a serious activity now. I read all kinds of books — economics, management-related, novels, short stories, and many more — in both English and Kannada.
   
I wanted to thank you for making me read the first book of my life. I still remember the day you gave me that book: The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. Frankly, I did not understand much when I read it. But then you had the patience to sit with me and ask what I liked and did not like about it.
   
And I can never forget Tuesdays with Morrie, one of my favourites. I must thank you for giving me that book because bad books can make one stop reading completely but you kept it going by giving me exactly what I wanted to read.
   
You might be thinking, “Why is Sumith writing about this to me now?” There is a reason. I came across an article which made me remember you (that does not mean I do not remember you otherwise) because it was you who made me read books. I would like to share that article with you and let you know how happy I am to have read that first book given by you.
   
Here is the link: “My Father’s Son”.
   
We will discuss the books I read when I come to college next.
   
Thank you once again, Sir.

“My Father’s Son” is veteran journalist Prem Panicker’s account of how he happened to fall passionately in love with reading. The post is also a Father’s Day tribute by a grateful son. Here’s an excerpt:

“Several times, in course of my twenty-odd years as a journalist, I have had people write in and tell me that they thought a particular article I had just written was well expressed, or passionately written, whatever.

“And, each time, my mind would flash back to my father. To how he taught me to read and, in the process, inculcated in me a love for words and for writing. And in my heart, I would feel an immense gratitude for that moment in time when he locked up all my beloved comics and left Doctor Sally [one of P.G. Wodehouse’s great comic novels] on the living room table.”

“My Father’s Son” is a treat to read. And it is also a pleasing paean to the power of reading.

BIBLIOPHILE: AJAY U. PAI

Sadly, book-lovers, according to my young nephew and fellow bibliophile, Ajay U. Pai, are labelled “nerds” or “bookworms”. He told me once that Generation Next is drifting away from the dreamland created by books. “Nowadays no one wants to read and be termed a nerd and humiliated in class,” he lamented. “Can we ever reverse this trend and live happily ever after in our world of books? Is this possible?”

Yes, it is possible. I know many young people who find reading a strain, or worse, a bore. That is probably because no one encouraged them to read when they were children, and when they were growing up there was little incentive to spend time on books given the distractions of the computer, video-game, smartphone, and television (distractions that did not exist when I was a child).

But I have found that people who are averse to reading even in their twenties get to love books once they realise that reading can make a difference to their lives and careers.

We learn from my student Sumith Sagar’s experience that it is never too late to begin reading books.

MASTER: STEPHEN KING

Clearly, if you want to be a good media professional, your writing skills will be crucial to your success.

Now here is master storyteller Stephen King, in the brilliant On Writing, stressing the importance of reading and the connection between reading and writing:

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

And here’s James Ellroy, the author of L.A. Confidential and other bestselling crime novels, on the same subject in a Q&A published in Time magazine. He was asked how he had acquired the knack for writing such colourful lingo. His answer (in part):

“I spent my early life reading, reading, reading, reading, reading, and reading.”

LIVELY: JAMES ELLROY

Ellroy was also asked if people are born good writers. His answer (in full):

“No. You have to read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, and read. As you read, unconsciously you assimilate the rudiments of style and technique. And when it comes time for a person to begin to seriously write, they either have it, or they don’t.”

I have been saying something in similar vein to my students, but Stephen King and James Ellroy have put it much better than I ever could. While both are referring to the writing of fiction, I believe what they say applies to all forms of writing, and that is what I emphasise in my journalism class.

Which brings me to the question that bothers me big-time: Why do so many young people give short shrift to reading?

Many youngsters today want a career in media. That really makes me happy. However, for the life of me I can’t figure out how someone who doesn’t like reading can become a good journalist.

If you don’t want to be a journalist, I have no quarrel with that. But I also believe that if you can think and write like a journalist, you can succeed in any media field. Which is what I tell every batch at Commits. And if you want to write and think like a journalist, close reading is vital. A devotion to words is essential. A love of books is fundamental. Reading should be like breathing. Then the writing will follow. And it will flow. Unhesitatingly.  Copiously. Gracefully.

If I were a betting man, I would stake my entire library on it.

THINK ABOUT IT: “Reading usually precedes writing. And the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.” ― Susan Sontag, American writer and filmmaker, teacher and political activist

BOOKED FOR LIFE: If you want to be a good media professional, you must make time to read. (Main picture: Shweta Ganesh Kumar, author and former television journalist now based in Manila, photographed by her husband, Sagar Rajgopal, while on vacation in Myanmar.)

• Coming up in the next installment of “Media Matters”: How reading non-fiction pays dividends

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.
·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

ALSO READ:

• There is no job like journalism (Media Matters-1)
• Can anyone become a journalist? (Media Matters-2)
• What you must do to become a journalist (Media Matters-3)
• Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4)
• Why we became journalists: Second part of a three-part series (Media Matters-5)
• Why we became journalists: Final part of a three-part series (Media Matters-6)

Media Matters-6: Why we became journalists (Final part of a three-part series)

This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times today:

WHY WE BECAME JOURNALISTS-3

By Ramesh Prabhu

This is the final part of a three-part series which explored the motivations of a few young women and men who have chosen to become journalists.

• NEETHU REGHUKUMAR (Class of 2008)

Reporter, CNN-IBN, Thiruvananthapuram

Being a journalist has been my passion since my schooldays. I feel that every individual has certain commitments to society and this is the best way to fulfill mine. When I took up journalism as a career, I knew I would not be able to transform things overnight but my thinking was that if I were able to change one person’s life for the better, I would be able to achieve my goal. And I am glad to report I have been successful in helping bring about change in a few people’s lives.

Why television? From the beginning, I have been fascinated with the thought of being on TV. I believe a story can be best told with visuals. I started my career as a print journalist, however, which is when I realised that both mediums have their own advantages and disadvantages. In print, we can write in-depth stories, but that is not the case with television (except for current affairs programmes). And in this era of breaking news, I feel that sometimes TV journalists tend to indulge in sensationalism, so I consider myself lucky to be working with CNN-IBN, which gives more weightage to credibility.

The best thing about being a journalist is that there is no monotony in my job. Every day I meet new people; each day is different. The risks and the uncertainty attached to this profession are what make my life so interesting today.

• FAYE D’SOUZA (Class of 2004)

Editor/Anchor (Personal Finance), ET Now, Mumbai

When I was in college, television journalism became very popular in India, especially during the coverage of the Kargil war. I was also heavily influenced by global journalists like Anderson Cooper and Richard Quest. In addition, honestly, the decision to take up journalism as a major was to battle the impression that medical science and engineering or an MBA were the only options worth considering as a student.

When I completed my post-grad course, I wanted to work with radio. But Indian radio stations are not allowed to do news, and the content tended to be very Bollywood-focused at the time (it still is). So television it was, but I didn’t choose television as much at it chose me. I was extremely fortunate to have received a job opportunity with CNBC TV18 and I have been working with business news channels ever since.

My first assignment with CNBC TV18 was on a show called “Insurance Intelligence”. I was to report on the insurance sector, something other colleagues in my team found dull. But I fell in love with the sector immediately. My work with insurance led me to discover my larger aim, which was personal finance. I have come to realise, over the last 10 years, that helping people navigate and understand money is my true calling.

There are two things I love most about my job. First, I love understanding something complicated and passing the information on to my viewers. In TV parlance we call this “cracking it”. When there is a complicated financial product, or a product that is designed badly so it causes more harm to investors than good, I love being able to explain to my viewers the problem and the corresponding solution. 

Second, I love receiving e-mails from viewers telling me that I helped them make a change. It gives me the purpose I need to go on doing what I do.

• ANJALI MUTHANNA (Class of 2006)

Till recently a reporter/sub-editor with Bangalore Times, now relocated to Sharjah

PHOTO: ALLAN JULIUS FERNANDES

I sort of wandered into journalism. I actually wanted to do English Literature after school, but there were no Honours courses in Bangalore, which is where I wanted to come after I left Kuwait. So I did the Journalism-Psychology-Optional English B.A. course at Christ University. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I was done with undergrad, so I did the M.A. at Commits to figure out what I wanted to do, and that’s when I decided to pursue print journalism professionally.

It was Commits that helped me figure out how to be industry-ready. I knew all the theory from the course I had done at Christ College, but since I hadn’t done any internships ― I always preferred to fly back home during my vacations since the internships were not mandatory ― I knew I wasn’t ready for the real world of journalism. At Commits, I gained the confidence, more than anything else, to go out there and apply the skills I had acquired based on the mandatory internships and the sessions we had with people working in the industry.

At Bangalore Times, I worked as a desk editor. Like at most features publications, we desk editors are required to write stories, edit them, and supervise page layout. This means that you don’t think about a story only in terms of the questions that need to be answered or the information that the reader should get, but how they should get it in terms of design. You think about how the story should look, which is very important these days because, as we are always being reminded, it's about packaging. And, of course, a desk editor is always a better writer.

I’m more of a desk person than a reporter, so I really like the production aspect of journalism. I like taking a story ― whether it’s mine or someone else’s ― and working on it so that it is as complete as it can possibly be. Of course, when I did get out there, I got to meet interesting people and hear all sorts of stories that took me out of myself. But I still preferred retreating to the relative safety of the desk.

• NATASHA REGO (Class of 2014)

Sub-editor/reporter, The Afternoon, Mumbai

PHOTO: SUSHIL KADAM

Journalism was not a childhood dream. I don’t think I ever said, “I want to grow up to be a journalist.” That came much later in life, when I did my master's degree. At some point, while reading the news, it occurred to me, reality is quite bizarre without the fiction. Keeping track of everyday happenings, identifying the people doing exceptional work in society and telling their story, keeping track of our leaders and exposing their true intent in the job they are doing... when I learnt of all of this, I knew that I would like to make a career in journalism. The creative process of laying out the paper, selecting news based on its importance and value, striving to tell two, three, sometimes four sides of a story... the reasons are many.

At this time in our country I find that being a journalist and being exposed first-hand to how a media organisation works, not only in the newsroom, but especially the influence of upper management on the working of the newsroom, is giving me great insight. The background research that goes into adding value to a story is also something I find very interesting. And because the news that comes through my newsroom is solely based on Mumbai and some surrounding districts, it has increased my knowledge of the present city as well as the city it once was.

• ARUNIMA RAJAN (Class of 2009)

Independent journalist, Mumbai

I was 17 when I decided that I would not pursue a traditional career. I was interested in story-telling, but never really thought that writing could be a serious career option. It was a chance meeting with a family friend that changed my perspective about journalism. She was working as a copy editor with a newspaper in Bangalore. I was she who explained how interesting her line of work was and how it could be a rewarding career for a youngster. I had three options in front of me then: journalism, academics, and public relations. I chose a career with words because it was more creative compared with the other two.

Today, even though a lot of the work I do is routine, like visits to the press club and coverage of the same issues (budgets, government policies, school and college admissions), I definitely get my high from learning new things and meeting new people. Creating shareable, emotional, and well-researched stories often forces me to think out of the box. I have also picked up skills like the ability to look for interesting details about a person or an event, rather than merely focusing on the brief given by the editor.

THINK ABOUT IT: “I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.” ― Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent of CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly interview programme “Amanpour”

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.
·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

• ALSO READ: "There is no job like journalism" (Media Matters-1); "Can anyone become a journalist?" (Media Matters-2); "What you must do to become a journalist" (Media Matters-3); Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4); and Why we became journalists: Second part of a three-part series (Media Matters-5)

Media Matters-5: Why we became journalists (Second part of a three-part series)

This was published on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times on December 30, 2014:

WHY WE BECAME JOURNALISTS-2

By Ramesh Prabhu
   
In the previous installment of “Media Matters” (December 16), three young journalists explained why they joined the profession. Today let us listen in as a few more youngsters discuss their reasons for choosing journalism.

• SOHINI GUHAROY (Class of 2013)

Digital Editor, Quintillion Media (till recently a television journalist with CNN-IBN)

I loved to tell stories when I was a kid. When I grew up I realised that when I blend my imagination with a pinch of reality, in the form of words, it gave me a certain kind of bliss. I guess that was the beginning.

Later, when I had to choose a vocation for myself, I started interning at multiple newspapers. I loved what I did, especially when I saw my articles in print. The processing of news in a newsroom fascinated me. So here I am!

Becoming a television journalist happened by chance. I was awe-struck by the CNN-IBN newsroom when I had gone there for my internship, which was arranged by my college. At the news channel, my work as an intern was appreciated and I was inspired and encouraged by many journalists there. I understood that I could learn a lot from working there full-time. So when I got the opportunity to go back there after completing my master’s course, I grabbed it with both hands!

Today I am thrilled to be a journalist. Which other profession gives you so much variation and excitement – and an adrenaline rush – almost every day? No day is the same. A story can change someone's life, and we journalists have that power.

• AYUSHMAN BARUAH (Class of 2008)

Financial journalist, Cogencis (formerly with Financial Express and InformationWeek); winner of the PoleStar award (see photograph) for business/IT journalism

I decided to become a journalist right after Class 12. Though I was in the science stream, my parents, fortunately for me, did not force me to take up engineering just for the sake of a degree. Instead, since I had an inclination towards writing and public speaking, my father decided to enroll me in a graduate programme in media. After that, as I gradually got exposed to the subject, I realised journalism was the best fit for me as it would let me do what I am really interested in.    

Business journalism happened more by chance than by design. I got my first journalism break in The Financial Express, a leading business daily in India, and that’s how it all began. But now I believe this is what I am best suited for, as it is like a white-collar journalism job. You avoid some of the “unnecessary” hassles you may face, say, on the crime beat, yet you are a full-fledged journalist, free to break any news including a corporate scam. It’s a big world of business and the implications of what you write can be bigger.

The most interesting thing about being a journalist is that no two days are the same. Every day is a new day and you are only as good as your last story. You begin afresh every day.

• ANKITA SENGUPTA (Class of 2013)

Reporter/Sub-editor, The Asian Age, Mumbai (formerly with Deccan Herald, Bengaluru)

Journalists are watchdogs. We help to keep people informed. This responsibility combined with the fact that we can present even seemingly mundane things in a way that readers would find interesting is another merit of this profession. Also, I have a healthy curiosity about everything under the sun, so digging for stories, researching, and presenting them to readers is a challenge I enjoy.

I think the opportunity to look at things from different angles is the most interesting thing about being a journalist. After all, something perfectly ordinary, if looked at from a different angle, can become an interesting news story, which means even if several reporters are working on the same topic, many different news stories can be produced for the benefit of readers.

Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez has written that journalism is the world’s best profession. I agree 100%!

• JALAJA RAMANUNNI (Class of 2009)

Independent business/IT journalist

I chose journalism not only as a career, but as an opportunity for personal growth. Most people crave for an interesting conversation, and journalism gives a chance for interesting conversations every week. I learnt to ask any question without being judged.

This job exposed me to a variety of people, broadened my mind, and fed me with energy. While my friends complained about feeling restricted by a cubicle, I was learning something new almost daily. Of course, there are mundane tasks in journalism too, but the door to try something interesting is always open.

I entered the field with barely any knowledge about technology. As I started talking to people, I realised enterprises are at war for recognition, clients, and revenue. It seemed just as alive as politics and I got hooked. Besides, my job included interviewing industry leaders and achievers. Just talking to them is so inspiring that it pushes me to do more.

• SHYLAJA VARMA (Class of 2012)

Reporter, CNN-IBN, Bengaluru

I drifted towards journalism during my undergraduate course in microbiology. A chance to be part of the College Editorial Board of The Times of India’s “Education Times”, in a way, made me realise that this is what I wanted to do.

It was at Commits that working on TV stories and producing news bulletins gave me hands-on experience. The print journalism classes helped me develop an eye for detail. I also got some of the best internship opportunities that ultimately converted to a job.

TV journalism happened by chance. I started liking TV after working on news bulletins at Commits. With TV, a story can be told in a way that creates an immediate connect with the viewer. When I did my TV internship, I hoped that one day I, too, would be part of such a newsroom where the energy is infectious. However pressured you are, the adrenaline rush seconds before going “live” is compelling. It always reminds me of the countdown to a rocket launch. Like the gurus in our industry say, no two days are the same in journalism.

THINK ABOUT IT: “The most powerful teacher on the planet is media... In fact I believe journalism and storytelling are education.” ― Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of The National Geographic Society, writing in this month’s edition of National Geographic magazine

·    COMING UP IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF “MEDIA MATTERS”: Third and final part of the series, “Why we became journalists”

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year M.A. degree course.
·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com. 

• ALSO READ: "There is no job like journalism" (Media Matters-1); "Can anyone become a journalist?" (Media Matters-2); "What you must do to become a journalist" (Media Matters-3); and Why we became journalists: First part of a three-part series (Media Matters-4)

Media Matters-4: Why we became journalists (First part of a three-part series)

This was published today on the Education Page of Dubai's Khaleej Times:

WHY WE BECAME JOURNALISTS-1

By Ramesh Prabhu

Rajdeep Sardesai became a journalist because, as he noted at a media seminar, no two days are the same in journalism.

Sardesai, one of India’s leading television anchors and a role model for many aspiring journalists, was the chief guest (see photograph), at that seminar in Bangalore a few years ago. His talk was so stimulating that many times during his speech and again at the conclusion he received applause befitting a national celebrity. Those of us in the audience that day were privileged to be able to listen to Sardesai and gain many valuable insights into what it means to be a journalist.

Every year now I play a video recording of Sardesai’s talk in my class (Commits had organised the seminar), and I write this after having just wrapped up a screening for my students. Watching Sardesai in action again led me to ruminate on why young people take up journalism today. Is it the glamour factor? Is it the opportunity to be able to take up an unconventional career in which, as Sardesai put it, no two days are the same? Do young people still consider journalism a noble and honourable profession? A profession that gives them the power to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”, in the immortal words of Finley Peter Dunne? Is that why they become journalists?

“I have always liked telling stories... stories about people,” says Priyali Sur, a producer and anchor with CNN-IBN who is in the U.S. at the moment completing a course on gender violence after having won a Fulbright Humphrey scholarship. “What was more important to me,” she says, “was to talk about people who had been marginalised. Making their voices heard was essential and journalism seemed to be the perfect profession for me.”

Priyali, who holds a master’s degree in mass communication, has worked with Times Now, another leading news channel in India, as well as with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the filmmaker and screenwriter best known for writing and directing Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. At CNN-IBN, staying true to her aims, Priyali has produced a documentary on dubious cervical vaccine trials in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2011 as well as a prize-winning investigative programme on minor girls who are trafficked from rural regions of the country and then sold in the cities.

Why did Priyali choose television over print? She believes that pictures can convey a message more powerfully. “For me, going to places, capturing real images of real people, and telling their stories in their voices was crucial,” she says.

While television is a big draw for many young journalists, there are some who prefer print. “I have always loved writing,” says Pinjala Kundu, who works with The Times of India in Mumbai. Pinjala says she had wanted to become a journalist since she was in Class VII, but it was while studying at Commits that she got an opportunity to work as an intern with The Times of India in Kolkata. “I loved working as a reporter,” she says, “and the feeling I got when I received my first byline made me realise that this is what I was meant to do.”

For Pinjala, the most interesting thing about the profession is that journalists are the first to know when an incident occurs. “And it is a privilege to be able to inform the world about it,” she says. “Also, being in the newsroom is so exciting: the hustle-bustle, the hectic discussions. I get to learn something new every day and that is what keeps me going.”

Sherry Jacob-Phillips echoes Pinjala’s comments. She says she became a journalist because she wanted to experience the joy of putting her thoughts into words and seeing her byline in the newspaper the next day. Sherry spent many years with The Times of India in Bangalore before joining Reuters, also in Bangalore.  “The adrenaline rush of news and the satisfaction that comes from knowing we’re making a difference: these are the reasons I go to work every day,” she says.

At The Times, Sherry worked on the general news desk; at Reuters she is a business journalist. She says she may not be making a direct impact on the lives of her investment-focused audience now but she believes she is helping them take life-changing decisions about their investments.

“This profession,” says Sherry, “has taught me one thing for sure: Be true to yourself and your dreams.”

THINK ABOUT IT: “I got addicted. News, particularly daily news, is more addictive than crack cocaine, more addictive than heroin, more addictive than cigarettes. ” ― Dan Rather, American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News

• COMING UP IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF “MEDIA MATTERS”: Why we became journalists-2

·        Ramesh Prabhu is professor of journalism at Commits Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication, Bangalore. Commits offers a full-time two-year MA degree course.
·        “Media Matters” welcomes questions from readers who would like to know more about careers in journalism. Please send in your queries to education@khaleejtimes.com.

* IN THE PHOTOGRAPH: (Clockwise from main picture) Television news icon Rajdeep Sardesai; and Commits alumni Priyali Sur (Class of 2005), Pinjala Kundu (Class of 2011), Sherry Jacob-Phillips (Class of 2007)

• ALSO READ: "There is no job like journalism" (Media Matters-1); "Can anyone become a journalist?" (Media Matters-2); and "What you must do to become a journalist" (Media Matters-3)