A venerated editor, a rookie reporter, and the sparks that flew between them, leading to a brilliant expose of Avon

I am about to finish reading a most interesting book, The Fall of the House of Forbes. I have already come across some passages, though, that will fascinate journalists and media students in India.

JIM MICHAELS

In Chapter 17, the author, Stewart Pinkerton, a former managing editor of Forbes, introduces us to Jim Michaels, "the most important editorial architect" of the magazine. Michaels, who graduated from Harvard in 1942, tried to enlist in the army during the Second World War, Pinkerton writes, but his eyesight wasn't good enough so he became an ambulance driver for the American Field Service in Burma.

After the war, and this is where it begins to become engrossing for us, Michaels signed up with a news agency, UPI, to report from India, "a place the founder of Forbes once characterised as a 'filthy country' ".

Working out of the New Delhi bureau, Michaels was the first newsman to write about the war in Kashmir, travelling on horseback to get behind Pakistani lines. In his dispatches, he described Pakistani military units marching up to the border in regimental regalia and changing into civilian clothes before crossing the border.

When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, Michaels's news report was, apparently, the first to reach the outside world. From The Fall of the House of Forbes:

Here in his own words, as described in a private e-mail decades later, is the scoop behind his scoop: 

It's hard to visualise, but in those long-ago days there was little automotive traffic. It took me ten minutes to get to Birla House. I got there before the police had cordoned off the property. There was immense confusion, of course, but I scribbled notes and rushed to file what, I believe, was the first detailed report to reach the outside world.

In those days, pre-Internet, pre-mobile satellite phones, one had to file overseas from Delhi by cable from the CTO (Central Telegraph Office) at Eastern Court near Connaught Place. By the time I got there to file my first dispatch and returned to the scene, Birla House was cordoned off: No entry to anyone. I knew the place fairly well so I climbed a low stone wall in the back only to confront an astonished constable, who let me pass after I flashed a credential he could not read because he was illiterate. My agile trespass gave me a leg up on most other foreign journalists because they couldn't get inside for some time.

Michaels's reporting, Pinkerton writes, showed up the next day on the front pages of newspapers all over the world. The following day, Michaels also reported "for all the world to read the details of Gandhi's funeral on the banks of the Yamuna".

Later, in Chapter 20, titled "Let's Really Stir Up the Animals", Pinkerton serves up a juicy appetiser in the intro:

Cutting stories by at least 15 per cent without shedding any facts was a Michaels trademark — the key to making Forbes readable for busy executives overloaded with information. Said one of his former proteges: "Jim could edit the Lord's Prayer down to six words, and nobody would miss anything."

Nor would Michaels tolerate a story that read like a press release. "THIS ISN'T REPORTING, IT'S STENOGRAPHY! WHY IS THIS PERSON STILL ON STAFF????" he wrote on top of one particularly credulous piece. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SEND THEM A VALENTINE!!!" was another favourite skewer.

An editor after my own heart!

Pinkerton tells us in the same chapter that Michaels, who was editor of Forbes for an unbelievable 37 years, loved to take down big companies riding high on Wall Street and being gushed over by the competition. We then learn about a young reporter, Subrata Chakravarty, a Harvard grad, who wrote a highly critical report on Avon...

...a company with a spectacular growth rate and a high-flying stock. Chakravarty said the growth rate was a sham and that the company had been built by exploiting women. It was counter to what everyone else thought. Passing the draft to other editors, Michaels got nothing but sneers back, and toned the story down, much to Chakravarty's dismay.

Not realising that rewriting Jim Michaels was the equivalent of a death sentence, Chakravarty went back to his typewriter and reedited Michaels's edit. Not a good idea. Less than an hour after resubmitting the draft, Chakravarty's phone rang. A gravelly voice barked, "Subrata, who is the editor of this magazine?"

"You are, sir."

"That's right, and I'll thank you to remember that when I edit a story, it stays edited." Michaels slammed down the phone.

There's more to this story because Chakravarty refuses to roll over and play dead: 

Hurrying to Michaels's office, Chakravarty found him slumped in his chair, glowering darkly. "Don't come in here, I'm too mad to talk to you."

"But Mr. Michaels, I did exactly what you told me."

Michaels shot up in his chair, glaring. "I NEVER told you to rewrite me."

"Yes, you did," Chakravarty insisted, recounting an earlier lunch conversation when Michaels said that if a writer disagreed with something he had done, it could be fixed and then discussed. Michaels relaxed and even managed a tiny smile. "Well, I misspoke. I meant we would talk about what you could change. Now you've added 150 lines to a cover story, and it's already laid out. So get out of here so I can fix it again."

Convinced by Chakravarty's arguments and facts, Michaels cut the story by knifing out many of the caveats he had earlier included. After the story ran, on July 1, 1973, Avon's stock fell to $17 from $130 as its results bore out Chakravarty's analysis. It was an amazing support of a young reporter, in the face of opposition from others. But rewriting Jim Michaels was a mistake, Chakravarty recalls, "a rookie can make only once".

Later, Michaels would cite the Avon piece as a classic Forbesian tale.

SUBRATA CHAKRAVARTY

Is it any wonder that Subrata Chakravarty, the rookie reporter, later went on to become the managing editor of Forbes under Michaels?

***

• Watch a video tribute to Jim Michaels by Forbes staff: "Remembering Jim Michaels". And read "An appreciation of an original".

• Also read: "Notes on Business Journalism", by Subrata Chakravarty, posted on Outlook editor Krishna Prasad's blog. An excerpt: "Business journalism should entertain as well as offer insight. We should write as the 'drama critics of business'. What that means is that we should make it clear who the star is and who the dope. That may not make you popular with management but it’s a lot of fun to read — and it offers your insight to the reader."

• And visit the Forbes India website here. (Commitscion Nilofer D'Souza, Class of 2009, is a features writer for the magazine.)

• Also read: "The amazing books that made me fall in love with journalism all over again".

What it takes to be an IT journalist

Commits alumnus Ayushman Baruah (Class of 2008) is the Principal Correspondent of InformationWeek, reporting out of Bangalore. Here he gives us insights into “technology journalism”:

AYUSHMAN BARUAH AT THE ORACLE OPENWORLD CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO IN OCTOBER. YOU CAN READ HIS ACCOUNT OF THE VISIT HERE.

I have been working as an IT journalist with InformationWeek for close to two years now. Prior to this, I was working with The Financial Express, also covering the IT industry. So, since I graduated from Commits, all my experience in journalism has been in covering technology, or, precisely, the business value of technology — which is also the tagline of InformationWeek.

As the Principal Correspondent of InformationWeek India, I am responsible for covering news in the technology sector across South India. As is well-known, Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India and there is no better place to be an IT journalist. Most of the top companies, Indian as well as MNCs, are headquartered in Bangalore.

My regular work largely comprises the following: 

1. Writing news stories for InformationWeek online. 

2. Writing in-depth cover stories, news analyses, and case studies for the print and online editions. 

3. Interviewing industry decision makers: CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and heads of “verticals”. 

4. Covering press conferences and global (overseas) events. 

5. Building and maintaining excellent working relationships with IT decision-makers, mainly CIOs. 

6. Most important, keeping a close watch on all IT companies and IT trends.

How different or similar is IT journalism from mainstream journalism? The basics of reporting, writing and ethics are the same. I guess the core difference lies in the subject matter. Here, you need to have an interest in technology, and you must also understand and appreciate the business aspects involved. Some of it could be inherent; some of it can be learnt. Also, IT journalism requires less legwork and physical labour. In fact, I often term it as “white-collar” journalism. And I love the term as much as I love the profession.

As an IT journalist, you travel around the world, stay in five-star hotels, and get an opportunity to meet some of your dream corporate honchos. For instance, I have met Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Warren Buffett, Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani… the list goes on. I know many journalists get to meet them and some might also feel it is “no big deal”, but I beg to differ. We are perhaps one of the 0.0000001% of the world’s population getting to meet them. Not everyone gets this opportunity. So I think we should capitalise on this opportunity and try to learn from their ideologies apart from getting the regular news (which everyone gets). I always make it a point to take that extra step and pick up at least one good trait from these great men.

In summary, I feel a business/IT journalist must have or acquire the following skill sets (the basic skills like ability to write and report are a given): 

1. Ability to grasp new technology terms and jargon.

2. Ability to demystify jargon and write in simple English. There is a direct correlation between writing in clear and simple language and a sound understanding of the subject. You can’t explain to your readers what you don’t understand yourself.

3. Ability to analyse numbers (financial statements of listed companies).

 4. Ability to look beyond what is in the press release. Corporate press releases will only provide information the company wants publicised and they will usually hype up the company’s products and services. So one must read between the lines to get more information and ask the tough questions.

5. Be up-to-date with the trends in the market. You must read business papers and technology magazines regularly.

6. Ability to be unbiased when writing about a company that has just taken you on a junket (familiarity trip). 

7. Ability to listen to long lectures about a particular company or product but digest only what is relevant. 

8. Last, I think IT journalists need to develop their own domain expertise and differentiate themselves from the crowd. There are too many people doing too many similar things. You need to be different!

A NOTE ABOUT INFORMATIONWEEK: The magazine, which has been present in the U.S. for about 30 years, is the business technology market’s foremost multimedia brand. Globally, InformationWeek reaches almost 4.5 lakh business technology professionals at more than 2.5 lakh unique locations. Its mission is to help CIOs and IT executives define and frame their business technology objectives. It is published by LSE (London Stock Exchange)-listed United Business Media (UBM) group. The India edition, both print and online, was started in April 2010 and it has gained significant readership already. — AYUSHMAN BARUAH

It's rare to find a business story about Ekta Kapoor in Indian magazines or newspapers

And even more rare to find a well-written one. So it was a treat to read this excellent analysis of the trials and tribulations and, now, the comeback of India's soap queen in Forbes India. The authors, Saumya Roy and Deepak Ajwani, have clearly done their homework and, just as clearly, they have spent time with Ekta getting to know her, her style of functioning, her working relationship with her new CEO, Puneet Kinra.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

Impulsive decisions, once the norm at Balaji, have given way to thought-through processes. Former employees recall how shifts would run late into the night, when a last-minute phone call from her would require them to throw away the portions shot through the day and reshoot. 

Kapoor is no longer that capricious: “We’ve taken very strong calls that no last-minute changes are needed. If the script needs to be rechecked, then the script head, who we have now, rechecks the script after we write. No longer am I that involved with any one show that I’m making these night calls and changing everything.”

And then Puneet Kinra enters the picture:

She can’t do it alone. That’s why she brought in corporate finance professional Puneet Kinra to realign Balaji’s strategies and fix the operational irritants.

At first look, Kinra couldn’t be more different from Kapoor. He is the perfect foil for her creative, passionate self. This 38-year-old ex-PricewaterhouseCoopers hand is all about processes, risk management and cost control. But together, they seem to be evolving a formula to keep Balaji Telefilms a creative-focused but soundly managed entertainment enterprise.

Good writing makes good business sense, doesn't it?

• Thanks to Nilofer D'Souza for the tip-off.
• Photos courtesy: Forbes India