That was indeed a historic day: Bhaskar's Response

There was a technical error. Yesterday's post reached only some of you. But Mr BRP Bhaskar responded to my article as follows (including mine)

Historic Day for India and Me

Thirtieth January 1971 is a historic day for India, and for me. I had joined United News of India barely a fortnight earlier as its trainee sub-editor in Delhi. It was early in the day and only our news editor BRP Bhaskar and I were in the office. My job was to collect the papers Bhaskar would type on his baby typewriter, read, edit, write a serial number and pass them on to the teleprinter operator. Computers and internet for word processing and dissemination were unheard of then.

He signalled me to collect a piece of paper. Without reading and editing the text, I marked a serial number and passed the paper to the operator. In an instant, the operator typed a three-word message. All the teleprinters in the office had begun transmitting a clutter that indicated that it was a ‘flash.’ At that silent morning hour, it was a big noise. I rushed to the printer to now read the news. The flash had said ‘Indian Plane Hijacked.’  I froze for a moment and looked at BRP who was taking down the story over the phone and typing it over his typewriter. His second and subsequent parts of the story began rolling out of his typewriter. I entered the serial numbers and pushed the papers to the operator for the next fifteen minutes. Our airport reporter had passed on the subsequent details to Bhaskar to continue the story. A little later when we had had a breather, he broke the silence. ‘Did you edit the story, Kiran?’ he asked me casually. ‘How can I edit your story, sir?, I asked him in disbelief, implying that he was the news editor and I, a mere trainee sub-editor. ‘That is not correct. Every story must be edited, even if it is written by the Editor.’ Thus, he had taught me the first lesson face to face. The second was indirect, a subtle, and everlasting.

Before I tell you what the second lesson was, let me tell you what the story was. It was the first hijack of an Indian flight as I was to know later that day. It was an Indian Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft named  Ganga, flying from Srinagar to Jammu. Two Kashmiri terrorist belonging to the National Liberation Front were the hijackers. They had flown the aircraft to Lahore where the passengers and crew were released.  The aircraft was burnt on 1 February 1971. Thus, it was the first earth-shaking story that had hit the headlines across the world . Within a year, India-Pakistan conflict led to the liberation of Bangladesh after the surrender of Pakistan’s army. That morning of 30^th January, I was a witness to the newsroom operation led by Bhaskar. He had taught me how a journalist should remain cool, calm and controlled, and should write stories without panic and excitement: the lesson I would remember all my journalistic career of four decades.

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Kiran Thakur

Adjunct Faculty. FLAME University

drkiranthakur@gmail.com

03, Indrayani, Patrakaarnagar, Pune 411016

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Mr Bhaskar’s response:

 Thanks, Kiran, for rekindling fading memories of a bygone era.

That was indeed a historic day. As you have noted, the hijack was the first of a chain of events that led to the India-Pakistan War of December 1971 and the birth of Bangladesh.

I would say, for us, in UNI, it was not just a historic day, but a historic period. Mirchandani had made arrangements for monitoring of Radio Pakistan’s main bulletins. We circulated every day a Pakistan Nighter which presented the day’s developments in that country with adequate background information. There was no Google search engine those days. So we depended on our memories to supply the background.

One day the monitor informed me that Dhaka radio did not relay Radio Pakistan’s main bulletin. This was after Mujibur Rehman, realizing that he would not be made Pakistan’s Prime Minister in spite of the majority he had in the newly elected National Assembly. From that day we started distributing the night story as Bangladesh Nighter, instead of Pakistan Nighter.

Coming back to the hijack, one night the monitored Radio Pakistan report said ZulfiqarAli Bhutto, who had flown back from a meeting with Mujib in Dhaka, had gone to the plane parked at Lahore airport and spoken to the hijackers. After we had moved the Pakistan Nighter with this information, the monitor called me and said the 10.30 p.m. Radio Pakistan bulletin had reported that the hijackers had blown up the plane. This necessitated a Night Intro. So we had a late night story which said the hijackers “blew up the aircraft in full view of army personnel” The reference to the presence of army personnel was based on an earlier report which had said the hijacked plane had been moved to a remote part of the airport and army personnel were standing guard.

India’s protest note to Pakistan the next day on the blasting of the plane lifted words straight from UNI’s night story.

Forty-eight long years have passed, and memory can play tricks. I think the report of the hijack came from N.S.Malik, head of the Srinagar bureau, not the airport reporter.  

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Remembering Historic Day for India and For Me

Thirtieth January 1971 is a historic day for India, and for me. I had joined United News of India barely a fortnight earlier as its trainee sub-editor in Delhi. It was early in the day and only our news editor BRP Bhaskar and I were in the office. My job was to collect the papers Bhaskar would type on his baby typewriter, read, edit, write a serial number and pass them on to the teleprinter operator. Computers and internet for word processing and dissemination were unheard of then.

He signalled me to collect a piece of paper. Without reading and editing the text, I marked a serial number and passed the paper to the operator. In an instant, the operator typed a three-word message. All the teleprinters in the office had begun transmitting a clutter that indicated that it was a ‘flash.’ At that silent morning hour, it was a big noise. I rushed to the printer to now read the news. The flash had said ‘Indian Plane Hijacked.’  
I froze for a moment and looked at BRP who was taking down the story over the phone and typing it over his typewriter. His second and subsequent parts of the story began rolling out of his typewriter. I entered the serial numbers and pushed the papers to the operator for the next fifteen minutes. Our airport reporter had passed on the subsequent details to Bhaskar to continue the story. 
A little later when we had had a breather, he broke the silence. ‘Did you edit the story, Kiran?’ he asked me casually. ‘How can I edit your story, sir?, I asked him in disbelief, implying that he was the news editor and I, a mere trainee sub-editor. ‘That is not correct. Every story must be edited, even if it is written by the Editor.’ Thus, he had taught me the first lesson face to face. The second was indirect, a subtle, and everlasting.

Before I tell you what the second lesson was, let me tell you what the story was. It was the first hijack of an Indian flight as I was to know later that day. It was an Indian Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft named  Ganga, flying from Srinagar to Jammu. Two Kashmiri terrorists belonging to the National Liberation Front were the hijackers. They had flown the aircraft to Lahore where the passengers and crew were released.  The aircraft was burnt on 1 February 1971. 
Thus, it was the first earth-shaking story that had hit the headlines across the world. Within a year, India-Pakistan conflict led to the liberation of Bangladesh after the surrender of Pakistan’s army. 
That morning of 30^th January, I was a witness to the newsroom operation led by Bhaskar. He had taught me how a journalist should remain cool, calm and controlled, and should write stories without panic and excitement: the lesson I would remember all my journalistic career of four decades.

--

Kiran Thakur

Adjunct Faculty. FLAME University

drkiranthakur@gmail.com

03, Indrayani, Patrakaarnagar, Pune 411016

     

Pranay Principles of Journalism

Mahesh Vijapurkar is a veteran journalist belonging to my generation. He has begun reading my new book Newspaper English. He has sent me the following which I missed when he wrote it first years ago. I would have included these tips in the book for the benefit of the new generation of journalists.

He wrote today: 

Pranay Gupte who worked with the NYT and later other papers, probably one in the Gulf, has the following tips which may interest you. Much of it, needless to say, are what you and I and probably a depleting number of journalist, hold dear,

"In December 2004, I wrote “The Pranay Principles of Journalism,” intended as pointers for young journalists. From time to time, I repost these principles for the benefit of novice or middle-level journalists in the belief they might benefit from the hard lessons I learned over five decades in international journalism.

Here are these principles:

1. You have only one constituency in journalism: your readers.

2. Never forget who signs your paycheck: Your publisher. It is his / her newspaper.

3. A journalist is, above all, a storyteller.

4. Write simply and clearly.

5. Use verbs liberally.

6. Use adjectives sparingly.

7. Don't just tell: show and tell.

8. Use short sentences.

9. Make that extra phone call on your story before you write it.

10. Read your own story before sending it to your editors.

11. Journalism should be fun. If it isn't fun for you, then get a job in some other field -- like coal mining.

12. All news institutions have their flaws, just like humans do. Instead of just grumbling, make specific suggestions for positive change.

13. The purpose of newspapers is to educate, inform and entertain readers.

14. Get the following right: names of individuals and institutions; ages; titles; revenues of institutions, and the number of employees.

15. Instead of gossiping, read a book.

16. Sex is OK: in the bedroom, not at the workplace.

17. Take your job and your editor seriously, not yourself.

18. In the journalism business, you've got to be ambitious. If you don't want to be famous, then join an ashram and meditate on your navel.

19. Newsrooms should be a no-smoking zone.

20. Always be polite to people, even if you think that you're smarter than them.

21. Smart journalists always smile -- sincerely.

22. Listen carefully to people: you will get some great stories that way.

23. Always be fair to those you write about. How would you like to see yourself maligned in print for the entire world to see?

24. Avoid anonymous quotes, especially “attack quotes.”

25. Give as many details as you can in your stories: colors, smells, sizes, shapes, flora and fauna. Stories should be word pictures; they should transport the reader to where you, the reporter, have been.

26. No matter how smart you are, it must show in your work. How else are people going to know how smart you are?

27. Being professional means never making excuses.

28. Always meet deadlines.

29. Explain, explain, and explain.

30. Always give context and background in your story. Don't assume that the reader knows.

31. Smart journalism means that you acknowledge your mistakes and quickly rectify them.

32. You've got to be sensitive to people’s cultures, customs and traditions. Just because they pray differently or eat different foods doesn’t make them inferior to you.

33. When in doubt, ask. An inquiring attitude never hurts a journalist.

34. A successful newspaper is the result of disciplined teamwork.

35. Working together doesn’t have to mean shelving your ambitions. It means channeling them better.

36. There's little point in shouting at people. Better to sweet-talk others into doing what you want them to do.

37. It’s essential to cultivate a sense of humor. A well-timed joke often defuses a tense situation.

38. Make others feel good about themselves after they've talked with you.

39. Never put others down, especially in public.

40. Believe in yourself.

41. Don't try and teach your grandmother how to suck eggs.

42. If you feel like saying something nasty on paper, don’t. It will always come back to haunt you.

43. Love your employer but not too much: Never forget that once you've outlived your usefulness, you will be tossed out.

44. If you are over 40 years old, prepare an exit strategy. Mainstream journalism is increasingly for 20-and-30-somethings, not the least because their salary expectations aren’t budget busters. Regardless of your experience and wisdom, your news institution will want you to make a graceful departure once you hit your 40s. (See Point 43 above.) But what about the long years you put into building your news institution’s reputation? Well, who said life was fair?

 "

Reuters's rule

My book Newspaper English discusses the need to write a short lead of about 25 words. (Chapter 2, Page No.31, https://amzn.to/2SxVLf4 )

Reuter's rule says:

Count the words in your first sentence. If there are more than 25, start to get nervous. If there are more than 30, then get very nervous. By the time you reach 40, it is time to break the sentence in two and reach for a full stop. If you reach 50, you have definitely gone too far. Simply breaking the sentence can be a very useful way of shortening your lead.

It is nothing new. Then,  why should I mention it, now? Again and again?

That is because even my colleagues in leading newspapers keep flouting such rules and guidelines. Here is one example, quoted at the beginning of the second chapter of the book :

Three days after BCCI boss N. Srinivasan claimed at a packed press conference that he enjoyed the unanimous support of the Board, Rajeev Shukla, IPL commissioner and one of BCCI's most powerful men, told The Times of India on Wednesday evening that he and Arun Jaitley, another heavyweight, wanted Srinivasan to ‘cede functional responsibilities during the duration of the probe’ into the charges of betting and fixing against his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings principal Gurunath Meiyappan, who was arrested midnight of Friday-Saturday and whose custody was on Wednesday extended to May 31.

(One sentence, 93 words).

Do you have a comment on such a lead, please? 

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Book Newspaper English launched

I am delighted to inform you that my book Newspaper English was launched on January six. I am happy because it is an outcome of experience in my news reporting, teaching, and seven- year research. The 172-page book is priced at Rs. 225.00 and is available online athttps://amzn.to/2SxVLf4.

The launch offered me an opportunity to share some points of interest to my peers in journalism and media education and communication research. But first about the launch:

The book was launched in the presence of UGC Vice Chairman, Prof Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, Mr Abhay Vaidya, the editor of Pune Edition of The Hindustan Times, Dr Virender Sharma, the Registrar of Pune's FLAME University. 

Prof Patwardhan spoke about the study on Language of English Newspapers that I undertook with funding from UGC. The UGC had granted me the fund for a Major Research Project after my retirement in 2010. The fund had helped me in data collection for two years in major cities in six states till 2012. I continued the study even after the project period was over. The outcome of the study helped me write the book.  

He appreciated the book for its theme for journalism students and journalists on how to write simple, plain, and brief. 'Prof Thakur has provided us in UGC a model for research projects fundings that can be useful for the society,' he said.

Thakur's is a case to demonstrate that a professor can take up a useful study even after the age of 70 years. Prof Patwardhan said the UGC has appointed a committee to evolve guidelines for research funds. The guidelines will be useful to revive the Major Research Projects scheme that has not been in force for some time now.

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About the book and the author:

http://mediasceneindia.blogspot.com/2019/01/book-newspaper-english-launch-on-sunday.html 

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Book ‘Newspaper English’ launch on Sunday, January 06, 2019

Prof Dr Kiran Thakur’s book ‘Newspaper English’ launch on Sunday, January 06, 2019:

Price: Rs. 225.00

Book your copy via Amazon :

https://amzn.to/2SxVLf4

Publisher: Vishwakarma Publications (https://vishwakarmapublications.com/)

About Book

..The first sentence of a news story, or the lead, should not have more than 25 words.. A sentence in a newspaper should have average 15-20 words..Newspaper language should be plain, clear, and simple. It must be easy to understand for ordinary readers..   

Generations of great journalists and media teachers in the West and in India have given such guidelines to their students and young reporters and sub-editors. These veterans include Sir Harold Evans, Martin Cutts, and our own Jyoti Sanyal, Editor, The Statesman’s Style Book.

Yet, Indian newspapers carry stories with leads replete with long-winded sentences, often with as many as 90 words.

So? How does it matter?

Prof Dr Kiran Thakur’s qualitative study demonstrated that lay readers find it difficult to quickly understand such stories. His research showed that journalists often use words that readers do not know.

Is there a way to improve the situation?

Prof Thakur came out with a solution after experimenting for over seven years under a UGC-funded study titled ‘Language of English Newspapers’. The study and the solution form the basis of this book, Newspaper English. He tested Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Level readability index as a tool to edit news.

And look, how simple it is to edit news and features using the formulae. You have only to set the proofing option in MS Word once for all. You can get readability statistics of your text every time. The next step is to follow his guidelines to edit!

Kiran Thakur takes the readers through a miscellany of examples that you will find helpful for journalistic writing. These include a sample of Mahatma Gandhi’s writing, samples of writing from an online publication for immigrants in the USA, and of Bhutan Times. It is fun to go through the pages containing ‘Most Annoying Clichés’,’ Crazy English’ and tailpieces of chapters such as ‘Spell Checkers.’

The book is a useful guide to students and teachers of journalism as well as reporters and sub-editors in newspapers and online publications. It is useful also to students and teachers of Management, Social Sciences, and English language.

About the Author

Prof Dr Kiran Thakur is a senior media academician with an equally impressive professional experience in journalism. After working for thirty years as a journalist with United News of India (UNI), and now-defunct The Indian Post and The Observer of Business and Politics, he took over as Professor and Head, Department of Communication and Journalism (DoCJ), the Savitribai Phule University of Pune in 2001. His doctoral thesis on web editions of Indian newspapers was a pioneering study in the field which he later extended as a post-doctoral research project to examine further developments in online journalism.

Prof Dr Thakur has been associated with teaching, curriculum development and research programmes in several state and private universities across India. He worked also with Mudra Institute of Communications Research (MICORE), Ahmedabad, in 2008-09 where he led a series of research that focussed on emerging trends in the television, mobile and web media. He has authored and edited many books including ‘Handbook of Print Journalism’ and ‘Press in India: On the threshold of 21st Century and its Marathi rendering’ (Edited).

Newspaper language is his area of keen interest. He carried out two UGC-funded major research projects on this topic in which he analysed the perception of readers from various parts of India on the quality, style, and readability of English in newspapers. The present book Newspaper English is based on the insights from this research as well as his extensive experience as reporter and sub-editor. 

Presently Prof Thakur works as an Adjunct faculty at Pune’s FLAME University.

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