Sometimes it is not only a book but the book read with an insightful review of it that gives us an understanding of a reality. One has to read Seymour M. Hersh’s memoir, Reporter, and Alan Rusbridger’s review of it for The New York Times to understand modern journalism. Mr. Hersh is what he calls “a survivor from the golden age of journalism” — the 1960s and ’70s. Those were the days when reporters were “free to travel anywhere, anytime, for any reason, with company credit cards”. However, with the onset of a financial squeeze, which continues till now, Mr. Hersh’s editor asked him in 2011 to interview an important source by telephone rather than fly 3,000 miles. In the memoir, Mr. Hersh shares the difficulties and punishing work schedule of an investigative reporter. Mr. Rusbridger’s review locates those difficulties within the overall framework of journalism.
Making copies readable
From a reader’s point of view, the most striking aspect of this honest memoir is the role of the desk in making copies readable. Mr. Hersh being touchy, and sometimes too demanding a reporter, in 1976 complained to his managing editor at The New York Times, Abe Rosenthal, that the desk was indulging in a rather tedious editing of one of his stories. He spoke of the bureaucratic systems in the desk that were delaying the publication of his report.
Rosenthal’s response, which Mr. Hersh terms as “testy, albeit funny”, explains the wonderful work done by the desk: “It should interest you to note that at this moment a good part of The New York Times has come to a standstill because the deputy managing editor, one assistant managing editor, one acting national editor and one assistant national editor are tied up as they have been all day, and for days past, in trying to get your series into printable form. It seems to me that if I were a reporter whose work needed that much attention, I would be slightly embarrassed and hugely grateful. Unlike you and me, the editors involved are polite and civilised individuals. Perhaps that is why it has not come across to you that it is you, not the ‘system’ nor the ‘bureaucracy’ that is responsible for the delay between your handling in the piece and the day it will eventually be printed.”
The uneasy relationship between the reporters and the desk is not new. With their bylines and visibility, reporters tend to think that they are the aristocrats of the profession. Though they never say it in as many words, they tend to view the desk as their proletariat counterpart, whose work is to run their eyes over copies. The reporter gets the credit for a good story not only for its content but also for its readability; however, when a copy is sloppy, the desk is easily blamed. Sometimes I get complaints against the desk from readers who contribute for the Open Page and the letters section when their stories and letters are cut for length.
The value of interdependence
In a newsroom, two values that are most talked about are independence and freedom. But we need to inculcate another supreme value: interdependence. Reporters and the desk bring a different set of skills together to publish a newspaper. An editor of a news organisation works like the conductor of an orchestra. It is not a solo performance. The job is to bring out the full import of each note assigned to different players and ensure that the resultant product is not a cacophony but a pleasant symphony. In a newspaper, the various notes are facts, accuracy and ease of reading. The desk’s job is to essentially harness all the details that have been filed by the reporters into cohesive text that not only makes sense to a general reader but also fits within the newspaper format.
Some journalists opt for editing because it enhances the reading experience. Harold Evans once said that text editors are surgeons who can save facts and who can make the body of the story more vigorous and healthy. He wrote: “When it is necessary to cut for length they struggle to save details by using the language more economically than the writer. They are specialists in concise writing.” These invisible warriors perform multiple tasks, from fact-checking to polishing to ensuring ease of reading.
readerseditor@thehindu.co.in