Once Upon A Time I Was A Journalist

Thanks!

…Once Upon A Time I Was A Journalist

My days as a Journalist, taught me a lot, like:

You are in a no-excuse business;

'Worst conditions clause' never applies here;

here weather is meaningless here;

learn to swim, skiing and if you can fly, that's much better;

nothing stales faster than news, so serve it fresh;

you only have 8 hours to make it or break it;

count your time as your breath...long pauses are not allowed;

don't try to write a perfect story throughout the night, even 'Stop Press' has the time line;

a crude & half but printed story is better than a polished and complete unpublished one;

we can not write an epic in a day, but we can write its chapters;

even if you carry a story for long it must be as refreshing as day one, so be creative always;

it is a great lesson to learn how to draft quickly and craft nicely;

you cannot hold your breath forever so come out, be fearless and a little more braver;

you won't find any other job with such diversity and sense of responsibility;

you will learn to treat even the tiniest issue or matter seriously;

if you place a wrong photograph just by seeing its dimensions, it actually means 'two';

you can see the sweet result of your efforts the very next morning; it inspires

you become an editor when you learn to convert news into views;

insight is always better than facts; so better be conceptual than factual;

if you cannot make HISTORY, at least you can write it;

we cannot leave our pages blank, and life too, so try to fill it fast;

if you cannot find a news, create it;

if you seed a news then you have to feed it too;

politically you should be non-aligned but practically you have to be pro-government;

if a published news earns you a friend, it means a foe too;

our job is to fill the space left blank by the advertising department;

facing different situations daily enriches you to face this life and world too;

you will learn to control your emotions and sentiments and even your tears & smiles;

you will be more pragmatic;

you will learn to use correct words at correct places;

your grammar of life will be more accurate than your language;

your understanding of complex situations and power of comprehension will give you an extra edge in every walk of life as a common person or as the President of a company or a country;

if you cannot compromise, better fix an appointment with some good placement consultant and find a better job and excel there;

some day you will realize that my days in journalism made it possible to get me here;

then will come a day when people will write about you and you will get yourself published, not as a news reporter but as a news

&

then you will write a note of ‘THANKS’ like this.

- Neelesh Jain

Presently : Sr. Creative in an International Advertising Agency at Mumbai

neelesh.nkj@gmail.com