10/10 for a newspaper story written by an intern from Commits

Commitscion Natasha Rego (Class of 2014) lived up to my expectations (and perhaps exceeded hers) when she filed this brilliant story for Mumbai's Afternoon Despatch & Courier, the newspaper I helped to launch in March 1985.

Natasha, who is a co-editor of the college newspaper, worked as an intern with the Afternoon for six weeks over April-May and earned her first byline with this story about the "bottle bulbs" that are lighting up the lives of the city's slum-dwellers.

When I first read the article after she had sent me the link, I wrote back:

What a FAN-TAS-TIC story, Natasha! From idea to execution to presentation, I give it 10/10.

NATASHA REGO

And then I asked her a few questions to understand better how she got the idea for the story in the first place and how she went about getting the facts and putting them together:

• How did you get the idea?

Facebook, of course. Although many ideas have come to me when I take extensive walks around this city, I chose to work on this one because I related to the girls about whom I wrote, and it was a slum story (I've been wanting to enter a slum since I arrived and this seemed like a perfect opportunity).

• How did you go about working on it?

I read everything on the girls' website and Facebook page, especially the press coverage that they've received in the past. I found that it told a one-sided story — that of the girls. I wanted to try and tell one that included the people who benefited from the work of the organisation.

• What were the obstacles and how did you overcome them?

Language — my biggest drawback in Mumbai. But the girls that I went to the slum with translated for me, and a surprisingly large number of people spoke English.

• What was the contribution of your bosses and colleagues?

Sub-editor and colleague Prasad Madhukar Patil pushed me to submit my photos and write stories after he saw my editing work.

When I asked Deputy News Editor Robin Shukla what I should keep in mind when I went out to cover this story, considering it was going to be my first, he gave me some good advice. He said not to be influenced by anything in the reports that I had read, and to give it my own "new" perspective, because I'm so new to the city.
 
Editor-in-Chief Carol Andrade had the final say, of course. I think she liked it.

• What has the feedback been — from colleagues, from readers, from those featured in the story?

One of my bosses said that this is the kind of stories the newspaper should be doing.

• What was your reaction to seeing your story in print?

I did not go to work the day they processed this issue, so I didn't know it was going to get a full page. Walking to work the next day, I picked up an issue to find that it was spread over page 5 and had a border to make it stand out...like it was a special story. My sub-editor boss later told me that he told the page designers to put the border in.

Natasha, who is a discerning and savvy photographer, too, later published another interesting feature in the Afternoon. This one concerns an unsung organisation that teaches art to slum children. Read it here: "Everyone is an artist. No conditions apply!" (The photographs that accompany this piece, as well as the article on the "bottle bulbs", were shot by Natasha.)

• Commitscions, our brand ambassadors, have done well for themselves in the media industry and they have done us proud, too. Here are just a few of the many stories written by those who have become, or will become, journalists:

1. An excellent example of an interview-based local feature (Dipankar Paul, Class of 2009)

2. Gutsy Commits student's story in Bangalore Mirror — an inspiration to women everywhere (Ankita Sengupta, Class of 2013)

3. "My mum has my FB password. Big deal" (Sonakshi Nandy, Class of 2014)

4. Asha Bhosle: The Eternal Indian Idol — scroll down to "An interview with Asha Bhosle in Kuwait" (Priyanka Saligram, Class of 2009)

5. Reading Made Easy — Why Just Books Libraries Work (Nilofer D'Souza, Class of 2009)

6. Jet lag is for amateurs (Ayesha Tabassum, Class of 2007)

...and, finally, a Page 1 story in yesterday's Bangalore Mirror by Tapasya Mitra Mazumder (Class of 2013), who only joined the newspaper five days ago:

You can read Tapasya's report here. Well done, all!

• ALSO READ: "The many lessons I learnt as an intern with a leading Bangalore newspaper. Plus: Professionalism, the Commits way".

UPDATE (August 11, 2013): Natasha Rego and some of the photographs she made when she was in Mumbai were the subject of a "Diary" item in The Afternoon yesterday:

Read the item here: "Picture Perfect!" (go to Page 3)

An inspiration for young journalists and media aspirants everywhere

At two weeks short of 30, Amol Rajan (pictured) has been appointed editor of a leading British newspaper, The Independent.

And look at his pedigree, as outlined in a Guardian profile by the newspaper's media correspondent:

Described by colleagues as politically astute and progressive-minded, Rajan possesses a number of traits favoured by [proprietor Evgeny] Lebedev in his youthful senior editorial team....

A keen cricket fan, Rajan is the author of a 2011 book on the sport called Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers. He is also a devoted foodie, writing a restaurant column for the Independent on Sunday and appearing as a judge on BBC1's MasterChef in April.

After graduating from Cambridge, Rajan worked briefly for the London Evening Standard before moving to Channel 5. Two years later, he joined the Independent as a news reporter, later moving on to stints as sports news correspondent, assistant comment editor and deputy comment editor.

What a terrific track record that is! Surely, Amol Rajan is an inspiration for young journalists and media aspirants everywhere.

• Read the Guardian profile here: New Independent editor makes Fleet Street history

But, as the Guardian's assistant comment editor writes, Rajan will have his work cut out for him. Read the article here: "It's great to see an ethnic minority editor of a British newspaper. I hope his appointment sends a message to the rest of the media".

• Since we are talking about editors, it will be interesting to get some insights into how the top honcho at one of the world's great newspapers goes about his job: "Editor Bill Keller on how The New York Times chooses Page 1 stories".

When I want friendly and learned voices to give me advice...

...on which book to read and why I should read it, I turn to my two prized possessions:

and

• CLIFTON FADIMAN (May 15, 1904 – June 20, 1999), co-author of, and the motivating force behind, The New Lifetime Reading Plan, was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio, and television personality. Here is an excerpt from his obituary in the New York Times:

He lost most of his sight as a result of acute retinal necrosis in his late 80s. But according to his daughter, Anne, also a writer, he continued to vet manuscripts for the Book-of-the-Month Club, as he had since 1944, by listening to unabridged tapes of the volumes in question especially recorded for him by his son Kim. He dictated his assessments to a secretary. He continued to participate, by way of conference calls, in the club's editorial board meetings until March.

While blind he brought out a new edition of The Lifetime Reading Plan, a guide done with John S. Major that was intended to introduce Americans to the classics of civilization, and he was the general editor of World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse From Antiquity to Our Time.

Late in his life the book world honoured him for his love of the printed word by awarding him the 1993 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

• MICHAEL DIRDA, author of Classics for Pleasure, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post Book World. For more details, visit his home page on the Washington Post website. And here you can access the Goodreads synopsis of Classics for Pleasure.

• Coincidentally, a book written by Clifton Fadiman's daughter, Anne, At Large and At Small, is another cherished possession in my library. 

• ALSO READ: "Lusting after books? Let this librarian help".

• ADDITIONAL READING: "Why you must read".

When you have two hours to shoot ace director James Cameron...

...for a National Geographic magazine cover, how do you do it?

This is how Marco Grob did it:

Read up on the fascinating details here: "Behind the Cover: June 2013".

• MORE FROM THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:

A tribute to an amazing photo editor

Photography buffs will go nuts when they read these tips on the NatGeo website

How to get people to read — and appreciate — your Facebook posts

PLUS: Check out the National Geographic style guide, which comes highly recommended by  Mark Nichol, editor of the Daily Writing Tips blog: "This free online resource from the National Geographic Society doesn’t show up high in search rankings, but it’s an excellent resource. (And, seriously, have you ever seen a clumsy sentence, a grammatical error, or even a typo in National Geographic?) Unusually terse but clear entries are organised alphabetically, and the site includes a directory of new and altered entries and, especially helpful, one of terms and rules that contradict other authoritative resources or are exceptions to the norm."

"If you need me to motivate you, I probably don't want to hire you"

A few months ago, my good friend Monica Chauhan gave me a wonderful book as a gift. Drive, by Daniel H. Pink, offers the most cogent explanation of motivation I have read in a long, long time.

Here's an important excerpt from the book:

As organisations flatten [in terms of hierarchy], companies need people who are self-motivated. That forces many organisations to become more like open source projects. Nobody "manages" the open source contributors. Nobody sits around trying to figure out how to "motivate" them. That's why Linux and Wikipedia and Firefox work. ... One business leader, who didn't want to be identified, said it plainly: "If you need me to motivate you, I probably don't want to hire you."

Watch Daniel Pink expound on his theories at TED:

And, afterwards, think about buying the book. You can also visit Daniel Pink's website and sign up to receive his free e-mail newsletter (which is what I have done).

• ALSO READ: "How's this for INITIATIVE?"

What a great intro!

Only a journalist well-acquainted with the tools of her trade could have come up with this opening paragraph for a feature on rock 'n' roll's new rule book:

Roll over William Strunk, and tell E.B. White the news. The music business now has its own grammar guide that might have had the "Elements of Style" authors singing the blues.

Combine that intro with a headline to match and you have a winning combination. Who will not want to dive in?

Check out Hannah Karp's brilliant piece in the Wall Street Journal here: "Grammar Rocks: These New Punctuation Rules Are fo' Realz".

• Who are Strunk and White? Learn more about the style gurus here: "If you're serious about improving your writing skills...".

How does a cartoonist get an idea that will strike a chord with people everywhere?

Here is the cartoon by New Yorker cartoonist Liam Walsh that quickly went viral:

And here's Walsh discussing, in a New Yorker video, how he came up with the idea:

CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPH TO ACCESS THE VIDEO LINK.

Also read:

• When furniture get nightmares

• Telling it like it is... with cartoons

• One of India's most famous cartoonists, Hemant Morparia, bemoans the decline (and possible early death) of the political cartoon in India. (Scroll down to read the item on Morparia.)

• A Commits alumna's long-drawn affair with illustrations

If great stories bring people together, then Wattpad helps people bring great stories together

Wattpad, the app I discovered on Amazon and installed on my Kindle Fire last week, gives writers (well-known and unknown) a ready-made platform to publish their stories.

Canada's most famous author, Margaret Atwood, is a Wattpad fan. Not surprising considering Wattpad is based in Toronto, Canada. But it is surprising considering Atwood is a writer with considerable gravitas and an unlikely champion of an online story-sharing site that is, as she put it herself in a piece she wrote for the Guardian, "heavy on romance, vampires and werewolves".

Let Atwood explain why she is all for Wattpad:

On Wattpad — using your computer, tablet or phone — you can post your own writing. No one need know how old you are, what your social background is, or where you live. Your readers can be anywhere.... You'll have readers who leave encouraging comments on your message board, thus boosting your morale.

Atwood then tells us what it was like for young writers of her pre-internet, pre-Wattpad generation:

We put together little booklets with our writing in them — our handwriting — for a readership of two: our parents. We went on to place an ill-advised poem or story in the school yearbook, to the secret derision of our classmates. We had to use our real names, which meant that many of us hid our most heartfelt writing in our sock drawers.

Atwood also dispels the notion that young people aren't reading but playing video games instead:

You don't get that impression from Wattpad, possibly because the site emulates features of video games: participation. Like Dickens during his serial publication of Pickwick, Wattpad writers get feedback from readers, and may shape their stories accordingly.

Read Margaret Atwood's article in its entirety here and then head on over to Wattpad to discover the kind of stories that you love to read. And if you're a writer or harbour hopes of becoming one (as do a few of our students), let Wattpad help the world discover your talent.

• ADDITIONAL READING: Wattpad in the Washington Post: "Wattpad gives writers a place online to tell their stories".

• UPDATE (June 13, 2013): Commitscion Ashwin Shanker (Class of 2015), an avid storyteller who read my post on Wattpad, has drawn my attention to another story-sharing site: "I checked out Wattpad and I have created an account," Ashwin wrote in an e-mail. "I felt it's more like Readwave, which I'm a member of. I have published all my work on Readwave and keep getting good response from the international community. My Readwave profile can be accessed here. All my short stories and a few poems have been published on this site."

• UPDATE (June 21, 2013): Here are two other short-story websites I discovered recently: East of the Web and Five Chapters.
  

How to spot lazy a.k.a. mediocre travel writing

Travel writing seems easy: Go there, do that, write about it (and don't forget to sprinkle the superlatives among the facts and figures).

But there is good travel writing. And there is lazy travel writing.

Now Peter Greenberg, travel editor of American broadcaster CBS News, has helpfully provided 10 top tips on how to spot — and avoid — lazy travel writing. Here they are in bullet-point form:

1. Most Travel Writers Are Not Journalists

2. Most of Them Aren't Good Writers

3. They Are More Focused on the Fact They Got to Travel Than Why They Are Traveling

4. They Are More Focused on the Destination Than the Experience

5. Most of the Pieces Written Are Based on Price, Not Value — or Cost, Not Worth

6. So Much of Travel Writing Reads Like Bad Brochures

7. Most Travel Writing is Obsessed with Product, Not Process

8. Tell Me Something I Don't Know

9. Introduce Me to Someone I Don't Know, But Should

10. Stop with the Lists!

Read Greenberg's trenchant post in its entirety here: "The 10 Problems I Have with Lazy Travel Writing".

• For what it's worth, here's the link to one of my travel pieces, which was published in the Khaleej Times after my return from a visit to Malaysia: "Blast from the past: Travels in Malaysia". I shudder to think what Peter Greenberg would have made of it.

• And, again, for what it is worth, the two most absorbing travel books I own and have read are Travels with Herodotus, by the great Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, who began his life as a foreign correspondent in India, and Paul Theroux's The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, the only travel book I have read twice.

"If there’s any degree employers should value when hiring for a writing or editing job, it’s one in journalism, or mass communication"

Mark Nichol, editor of the Daily Writing Tips blog, has expressed surprise, in a recent post, over a job listing that "[perpetuates] the absurd notion that a degree in English — or literature, for God’s sake — is the ideal preparation for work as a writer or editor".

There can be some merit, Nichol writes, in having earned an English degree, but English majors do not necessarily master composition, much less the finer points of grammar, syntax, usage, punctuation, style, and the other components of writing, and revision of assigned papers is of little use in acquiring editing skills.

Nichol then asks an important question:

What academic preparation, then, should students — and employers — value?

Read Nichol's post in its entirety here to know the answer.

• ALSO READ: "Media education: From course structure to quality of students, the challenges are immense".