Monthly Archives: January 2009
There are many kinds of books which will make you a better journalist if you know how to use them properly.
Even in the digital age, the notebook is an essential tool of a journalist’s trade, whether working in print, radio, television or online. Few people have memories good enough to remember everything they are told, and there is no room in journalism for getting things “roughly right”. The notebook allows you to record essential details and organise information; it frees your mind for thinking.
However, it is no use carrying a notebook around unless you are able to use it properly and consistently.
Whenever someone starts to talk, you should assess whether or not it is likely to be newsworthy. If it is, take out your notebook and start taking notes.
Many young journalists are embarrassed to take their notebooks out in front of people. Remember, if a person is to be quoted, he or she would much prefer that you get a correct version than be misquoted. If there is any doubt in your mind about a person’s willingness to be interviewed, ask if they object to you making notes. If they do, try to remember what they said and write your notes up as soon as they have gone. Be careful though. Your notes will not be so accurate and you must bear this in mind when you are writing your story.
Do not struggle with notebooks which are either so large that they become impossible to hold or so small that they do not hold enough information and leave you turning the page for every sentence.
Ideally you should choose a notebook with the following features:
It should sit comfortably in one hand. This is useful whenever you have to make notes standing up or walking.
It should have a hard back for support.
It should have a metal spiral at the top to make it easier to flip pages over.
It should have feint rules on both sides of each page.
Once you have found a make of notebook that you like, stay with that make where possible. It will be one less thing to go wrong.
Before you attempt to make notes, also make sure that you have either a sharp pencil or a working ballpoint pen, whichever you prefer, and always have at least one spare. Regularly check all your pens and pencils to make sure they are in working order. If in doubt, throw it out.
Using the notebook
As soon as you get a new notebook, write your name and the name of your news organisation clearly on the cover, in case it ever gets lost.
Write on the cover the date when you start using it. This is useful for future reference.
Hold the book firmly in your hand, with the cover and any used pages flicked well out of the way. On windy days, hold any free pages firmly under the book.
You can even hold down used pages by putting a rubber band around them.
Start every story on a new page, even at meetings where there are several stories (e.g. Parliament).
At the foot of your new page, mark clearly in longhand:
a) the title of the meeting or full name of your interviewee and b) the date and place of the meeting or interview.
It is easier to flick through the notebook looking for these details at the foot of the page, than to look for them at the top of the page.
Many journalists like to draw a rough margin down the left-hand side of each page, in which they can make longhand notes or marks of emphasis. Others like to draw a line down the centre of the page, which allows them to get two columns of shorthand per page. This is especially useful if your shorthand outlines are small.
Note clearly whenever a new person speaks or the speaker touches on a new topic. This does not need to be a full title, just enough for a reminder. Leave a blank line between new speakers and/or topics.
Clearly mark those passages, words, figures etc. which you regard as important. You should develop your own system of marks, preferably made in the margin. For example, one stroke alongside your notes for any material you must include in your story, two strokes for more important sections and three strokes for the most important angle or remark.
Work your way through your notebook in an orderly fashion, starting at the front and using only one side of the paper. This makes it much easier to go back through your notes when you need to recap.
When you come to the end of the book, turn the whole notebook over and start again, using the reverse side of each page.
At an interview, always review your notes quickly before you thank the interviewee and leave. This allows you to identify any areas you may have missed or which are unclear. It is always a good idea to go through your notes after the interview, before sitting down at the keyboard. This is the time when you should go over any doubtful shorthand outlines and put extra marks or key words in the margin. If you review your notes while they are still fresh, you decrease the chance of making errors in reading them back.
On occasions you may make notes of an interview or meeting without expecting to use them immediately, for example if they are part of your research into a future feature article. Always type these notes up straight away. If you do not, when you return to them in a week or a month, you may find that you cannot read your shorthand.
When you have used the notes, strike them out with a single diagonal line across each page. This makes the task of finding “active” notes a lot simpler. Do not obliterate the pages and never tear them out. You may need to refer back to them at some time in the future, such as in the case of a complaint.
When you reach the last page of your notebook, you will have used only one side of each page. Now turn the whole notebook over and work your way from the back to the front, using the other side of each page.
When a notebook is finished, do not throw it away. Mark the date you finish it clearly on the front cover, then store the book safely in your desk drawer or filing cabinet. You can eventually throw the books out, but make it a policy never to discard a notebook for at least a year after it is finished. You never know when you might need it again. Should you be accused of defamation, for example, a properly marked notebook can be produced as evidence in court and may help in your defence.
Finally, there will be occasions when you are caught without a notebook, maybe at a social event. Then you must make use of whatever paper is handy.
On this day(January 26,1950),India cut her last ties with Britain and became a republic.Dr.Rajendra Prasad became the first president of India.
BBC Radio reported the historic event in this way:
The independent republic of India is officially born today, after nearly 100 years of British rule. A public holiday has been declared throughout the country, and millions of people have been celebrating with processions and ceremonies to hoist the new flag of India for the first time. India has been running her own affairs since the actual transfer of power from British to Indian hands on 15 August 1947. But today's ceremonies mark the cutting of her last ties to Britain. India's first president has been sworn in, replacing the King as the country's head of state, and the new constitution ratified. In the capital, Delhi, the day began with the 34th and last Governor-General of India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, reading out a proclamation announcing the birth of the Republic of India.
The new President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, then took the oath of office.
Dr Prasad was a key campaigner in the nationalist movement of Mahatma Gandhi, along with India's interim Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The president then addressed the crowd first in Hindi, and then in English.
"Today, for the first time in our long and chequered history," he said, "we find the whole of this vast land... brought together under the jurisdiction of one constitution and one union which takes over responsibility for the welfare of more than 320 million men and women who inhabit it."
Dr Prasad then drove through the streets in his state coach, greeted by thousands of people along the way.
July 17,2008: Pollution Control Board issues the ban order.
July 18: The Calcutta High Court endorsed the PCB order and said that the notice should be treated as an order of the High Court.
December 23: Several transport operators file an appeal in the Calcutta High Court to revise the order seeking extension of the deadline.
December 24:Calcutta High Court rejects the appeal and says that order will remain valid and unchanged the Jan 1 two-stroke auto ban.
Jan.1:Six two-stroke autorickshaws were seized by the police in Calcutta on the first day of the ban imposed by Calcutta High Court.
December 30: State Government announces that from January 1, 2009 all two stroke autos will be seized by the police.
Jan.2:Autorickshaw drivers blocked vehicles on different parts of Calcutta to protest against the auto ban.Auto drivers turned violent as police seized 37 vehicles.They block roads,burnt down vehicles and prevented commuters from catching other mode of transport.At midnight opposition leader mamata banarjee started sit-in-domonstration near Chief minister’s residence after being stopped by police.
Jan.3:The Marxist Government signelled a ‘go slow’on the enforement of the auso ban,citing violence by auto drivers as a reason,seeks a extension of the deadline by three more months.
Jan.5:Calcutta High Court stuck to its earlier order on the ban on polluting autos refusing a plea by the Autorickshaw Operators’ Association for early hearing and prompting the bengal government to defer by a few days its petition for extending the deadline.
I still remember the film Kamla for it’s powerful and bold storyline.Later, I discovered that the film was based on the path-braking investigative reporting by Journalist Aswani Sarin.I also mesmerized by the powerful acting of Sabana Azmi and Dipti Naval.But,when I read the actual series,Aswani Sarin became my real hero.Actually, in investigative reporting,deception plays a major role.In the case of Aswani Sarin,he approached the slave traders to buy a girl to prove that slave trading was thriving in the country.According to expects,if sarin didn’t approach the slave traders to buy a girl,they wouldn’t sell him one either.It might be a breach of media ethics but as an investigative reporter,I often asked myself then how I expose someone who is in murky world.
Ashwini Sarin was the Delhi-based Indian Express reporter who ‘bought’ Kamla at a market place in Dholpur to make a strong social statement – money can buy anything.But its another matter that no body knows what had happened to Kamla after that(Kamla was sent to an orphanage in Delhi, from where she disappeared after few weeks).But hats of to Indian Express editorial team to allow Sarin to carried out the story.