To begin with... gibberish gibberish gibberish

Writing a good and catchy intro (opening lines) for a story has assumed so much significance in journalism that for many reporters, often the intro is the story. Understandably so, because competition between broadsheets has become so cutthroat, that newsroom bosses remain under pressure to churn out content which will attract the reader first and maybe inform him later. Fresh recruits ‘on the beat’ sent to some press conference carry that distinguishable expression of worry over their faces that voices the concern, ‘Where do I pick up the story from?’

The question is not illegitimate, but its interpretation has changed of late. ‘Where do I pick up the story from’ earlier used to mean which of the so many things talked about at the conference holds the highest importance – thereby deserving place in the opening lines. Now it means what smartass and wittily constructed sentence (even if vaguely relevant to the story and its facts) can I come up with to get the reader read my news item. It is like using Aishwarya Rai to advertise a new electric drill or a bulldozer. Viewer spots a beautiful face staring out of a newspaper ad, and once the attention is captured, we can leverage it to sell whatever… fairness crème, television, cooking oil or Patton tanks.

No real harm is done in writing a catchy intro to attract a reader toward a news item, as long as the item performs due diligence in delivering all the facts in the later paragraphs.

How are fresh recruits reacting to the newsroom pressure for good intros? Quite funnily. I have seen a huge number of fresh recruits set their browser homepages to one of the many websites on the Internet that contain famous quotes by famous people from where they cull out intros for their stories. If the story has a sociological flavour, begin with a Chomsky quote. For political, it is Abraham Lincoln of JFK. If the story is on personalities or celebrities, Freud has blurted out enough dope on people and behaviour to work as coherent intros. And George Bernard Shaw is the all-seasons man, he has said something witty about everything before dying. PG Wodehouse is the resort of the humorously inclined.

Is it doing the reader any harm? Mostly no. Because stories allotted to a fresh recruit are usually not important enough to affect the reader’s life in a big way. Is it doing the young reporter any harm? Maybe yes. Excessive pressure on intros does channelize all energy towards those first four sentences of the story. The remaining 300 words end up being mishmash and a vague representation of the facts. Over time, will this generation of reporters become as good writers as the newsroom bosses they work under?

One look at the Metro pages of any of the half-dozen broadsheets in Mumbai proves this. Beyond the intro, most stories are a mess. They begin with something and conclude with something completely unrelated.

As a classic example, I copy-paste the intro and the final paragraph below of one such story I read and leave it to you to guess what subject the story was about.

Intro: Men are four: He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool – shun him; He who knows not and knows he knows not, he is simple – teach him; He who knows and knows not he knows, he is asleep – wake him; He who knows and knows he knows, he is wise – follow him!

Ending paragraph: “Some of the challenges involved in KPO will be maintaining higher quality standards, investment in KPO infrastructure, the lack of talent pool, requirement of higher level of control, confidentiality and enhanced risk management." Mr Walia adds.