Write the writing off!

We print journalists have a strange habit of enumerating 'a flair for writing' as the prerequisite skill for journalism. 'If you have a flair for writing, journalism is the career for you' is a much milked line in our respective publications' weekly education supplements. I don't know why we do this.

The truth is, that unless you are the table journalist type, you realise two years into the profession that writing skills are only the third or fourth most essential in journalism. At best, it is only an added asset.

Out there on the field, especially on the cherished crime/court beats or panchayat beat, writing skills amount to zilch. What matters is street-smartness, awareness, alertness, persistence and ruthlessness. You can be a reporter, a good one at that, without writing skills. But you cannot be a reporter for nuts if you cannot extract a story out using this whole cocktail of people skills. If your story is good, the newsdesk will take care of mediocre writing.

The overrating of the flair for writing is why we have so many journalism dropouts. Kids with perfect backgrounds join the profession assuming that they would get to write beautiful pathbreaking pieces and become famous overnight. I see so many leaving within months because they could not take the shock of dealing with a foul-mouthed policemen, politicians and goons. The basis of journalism is not good writing, it is News. Good writing can only build on top of interesting facts.

If you don't have enough facts worthy of News, what really is the use of beautiful writing skills? If you want to earn money out of good writing skills, why not instead become an author of books?