Sunday, November 18, 2001		Feedback

AMAR Chandel deserves to be complimented for his article "Why newspapers publish what they do" (November 4).

To my mind, the article was long-overdue. It would help dispel, to a considerable extent, from the public mind several misconceptions on the subject in question, thus enabling people to appreciate better the position of editors. It would also help those whose unsolicited contributions to newspapers often get ignored.

TARA CHAND, Ambota

An extremely well-written article. The analytical skill of the author is commendable. The article is also very informative. Having said that, I would have liked the author to add a small portion on what makes a new contributor’s article worthy of being published. New contributors would have found the necessary guidance and encouragement.

V.B.N. RAM, New Delhi

After reading the article one understands fully the criteria under news is published. The author has rightly analysed how "every newspaper has to make a bouquet out of different flowers".

One finds that newspapers today carry a lot of political news, making dull reading.

Timeliness, proximity, famous persons, etc. are some factors which turn an event into a news. Apart from being accurate and unbiased, news must also be analytical.

Journalists ferret out the truth to expose scandals and scams, this is called investigative journalism.

Willard G. Bleyard author of Newspaper Writing and Editing: opines: "Best news is that which possesses the greatest degree of interest and significance to the greatest number."

The writer has rightly depicted the difficulties that a newspaper undergoes while selecting stories for publication.

However, one cannot fully agree with his dated copy-book views for the mere fact that today a newspaper is not what is used to be in the past, when the profession of journalism was a passionately pursued mission. Like every other profession, from teaching to art to politics, journalism today has been reduced to a money-making proposition.

That is why newspapers often spike stories not only for reasons that the writer has enumerated, but also to accommodate advertisements, which provide sustenance to the paper.

This refers to Taru Bahl’s "When duty becomes a burden for others" (November 4). Francis Bacon, the famous essayist, once said that a corrupt person in society is more acceptable than a perfectly virtuous man in isolation. Virtue becomes a curse when the virtuous person stops being practical and ignores his social and professional responsibilities.

The best virtue of life lies in appreciating others’ point of view and being able to encourage healthy interaction.

This refers to, "There is a silver living after adversity" by Taru Bahl (October 28).

Life, whether of a prince or a pauper, is full of vicissitudes. Of course, they are same people whom luck favours in an unusual manner and misfortune visits very rarely and vice versa. It is, however, a reality that no misfortune lasts long. Even the trauma brought about by the death of a friend or a relative gets mitigated with the passage of time.

CHAMAN LAL KORPAL, Amristar