My first column appeared in Houston Chronicle last Monday. I had moved to the editorial section in the last week of July, so it took me more than one month to come out with this piece. The reason was not only that I had taken much time to recollect my thoughts; in fact I had been travelling extensively and was too busy.
Beofore leaving for New York and then Los Angeles, I had attended several community meetings in the editorial section. They were held between the editorial page staff and small groups of people representing their respective fields of life.
It was during these meetings that I came to know how to question people who are authority on their subjects, and incorporate their answers in your opinion pieces. Even if you don't have to quote them, you need their help to remove ambiguities that you may have in your mind regarding a topic.
In one such meeting, I was deeply impressed by the knowledge of a hospital system chief who could speak for ages on the health reform issue.
It was at this meeting that my opinion about column writers changed. I once thought it's the easiest thing to be a column writer. I would say one can write whatever one wants to and email that to the editors, without even moving from one;s bedroom. Now I realize it takes a lot of brainstorming, research and interaction with specialists to produce a good column.
I took my write-up very seriously, as I knew I was responsible for each and every word that comprised it. In a news report or a feature, one can get away easily by attributing quotes to other people. But while writing an opinion piece, one has to be as clear as possible and rational in approach.
It's just like preparing a case and presenting it in a court of law. If you have sufficient substance and logical arguments to back it, you win, otherwise you lose. So, I put a lot of effort in it and studied extensively to equip myself with the knowledge that I needed.
This exercise made me condut Computer Assisted Research (CAR), sift through archives, interview people and even consult books. I feared lot of hate mail and criticism coming my way, but fortunately my column earned praise from most of the people who commented on it. By the way my column focused on the flaws in the previous US policies designed for Pakistan and Afghanistan and also carried some suggestions for the future.
Since August 16, I am reading all the stuff published on opinion pages of Houston Chronicle. I have written one and working on another. It won't be a surprise for anybody if I turn a columnist on my return. I have really enjoyed working on my column; the feeling of being someone who can mould public opinion is too great.
I can say during the last two weeks, I tried to master the art of writing a column and practice all that goes into making it a masterpiece.
But this were not all. There were other activities also. For example, I reviewed the handouts that I had received at Poynter, practised the lessons given in Roy Peter Clark's book and participated in public debates over iftar dinners hosted for Muslims, who are fasting nowadays.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
From New York to Los Angeles
This month I have hardly spent two days in Houston and constantly been on the move. The first two weeks were spent in New York and Los Angeles-two cities separated by thousands of miles and located on the east and the west coat of the continent. So, all that I learnt during these two weeks was thanks to the experiences that I had outside my host newsroom.
Since the start of the fellowship, I was interested in visiting a publication that had global presence and that catered to the needs of readers coming from all over the world. I was lucky; I got the chance to visit four of them in the first week of August, in New York.
The city houses the head offices of Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes and Bloomberg. It was very difficult to go to all these places keeping in view the tight schedules that all these publications have and that I was not at all familiar with the public transport system of New York. Anyhow, barring some temporary hiccups, the trip to New York turned out to be very successful and I was able to manage time to a great extent.
I feel myself lucky to be part of the Page 1 meeting that’s held daily at the head office of New York Times. It was great to see the top editors and reporters discussing the leading news of the day and discussing ways to improve its coverage in the paper. All the leading foreign correspondents were participating in the discussions, from their respective overseas stations, thanks to the video conferencing facility.
After this meeting, I went to the different sections and met the departmental heads who explained me how things worked out there. I liked the Times’ policy of making their people work in different fields to give them maximum exposure and make them versatile. So, it’s quite common that a journalist joining the Times as a reporter ultimately ends up as editor or vice versa. They also give priority to the newsroom people to go overseas and work as foreign correspondents there rather than hiring a native in that respective country.
The visit to the Wall Street Journal office was quite similar. Here I met some friends and colleagues of Daniel Pearl who recalled the good old days they had spent with him. I was very much interested in knowing how their foreign desk worked and what perceptions they had about Pakistan as a country. So, I spent most of the time with the head of the foreign desk and discussed the international issues which are very much hot nowadays.
The Journal and the Times are rivals and always in a race against each other. So far, Times leads with 92 Pulitzer prizes to its credit followed by the Journal with 37. Houston Chronicle has reached finals a couple of time but it’s yet to win a Pulitzer. I also visited the section of the Times where they had displayed the Pulitzer prize winning stories on walls.
Bloomberg office was simply amazing. The grandeur and aura of the building and its interior was so overpowering that I was breathless for sometime. The editors had lined up five reporters who covered the news beats that I was interested in. We had a very fruitful discussion over lunch. The main focus of the talk was on how business journalists can watch the interest of consumers, especially at times when businesses and corporations are becoming stronger and stronger and more profit-oriented.
At Forbes I learnt how business reporting can be made interesting for ordinary readers. The editors and I discussed stories that had very few figures but interesting accounts of ordinary people trying to take wise financial decision.
Shafiq Siddiqui, a Pakistani-American journalist who has a big media house in New York, arranged a get together where I was the guest of honor. There were many Pakistani journalists who either owned or worked at community newspapers in the US or were overseas correspondents of different media organizations based in Pakistan. It was a unique opportunity to learn about the problems that these journalists face while performing their professional duties. I told them about my fellowship and how much I had benefited from this opportunity.
I came back to Houston from New York on August 6 and left for Los Angeles on August. There I, along with Sherine-the other Daniel Fearl Fellow, spent a full week working at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. It was something that I had never thought of earlier in my life. There are hardly any Jews in Pakistan and the first ones I have met in my life are the Pearls and their friends. I also attended the weekly meeting at the Jewish Journal where I was asked a lot of questions about Pakistan. Everybody was keen to listen to what I had to say as it seemed they only knew the stuff that’s published in American newspapers.
August 13 was the day when Sherine and I were in the line of fire. We had asked hundreds rather thousands of questions from people during our professional life but it was for the first time, at least for me, that I was in this role. Most of the questions were about Pakistan’s relations with the US, rise of militancy in the country, what I had learnt in the US, how I would pass on the message of hope to my countrymen and so on.
Pearls and their friends-Chris Fager and Corie Brown-in whose house I stayed for a week gave me a royal treatment. Ruth and Judea are striving hard to make this world a better place. Chris and Corie are wonderful people and know a lot about Pakistan-may be more than any other person I have met in the US so far. They took me out for dinners; we went to the beach and spent time at the house next to that of Tom Hanks and Jim Carey. We also went to the Hollywood Boulevard to watch the movie Ditrict 9 on the day of its release.
Since the start of the fellowship, I was interested in visiting a publication that had global presence and that catered to the needs of readers coming from all over the world. I was lucky; I got the chance to visit four of them in the first week of August, in New York.
The city houses the head offices of Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes and Bloomberg. It was very difficult to go to all these places keeping in view the tight schedules that all these publications have and that I was not at all familiar with the public transport system of New York. Anyhow, barring some temporary hiccups, the trip to New York turned out to be very successful and I was able to manage time to a great extent.I feel myself lucky to be part of the Page 1 meeting that’s held daily at the head office of New York Times. It was great to see the top editors and reporters discussing the leading news of the day and discussing ways to improve its coverage in the paper. All the leading foreign correspondents were participating in the discussions, from their respective overseas stations, thanks to the video conferencing facility.
After this meeting, I went to the different sections and met the departmental heads who explained me how things worked out there. I liked the Times’ policy of making their people work in different fields to give them maximum exposure and make them versatile. So, it’s quite common that a journalist joining the Times as a reporter ultimately ends up as editor or vice versa. They also give priority to the newsroom people to go overseas and work as foreign correspondents there rather than hiring a native in that respective country.
The visit to the Wall Street Journal office was quite similar. Here I met some friends and colleagues of Daniel Pearl who recalled the good old days they had spent with him. I was very much interested in knowing how their foreign desk worked and what perceptions they had about Pakistan as a country. So, I spent most of the time with the head of the foreign desk and discussed the international issues which are very much hot nowadays.
The Journal and the Times are rivals and always in a race against each other. So far, Times leads with 92 Pulitzer prizes to its credit followed by the Journal with 37. Houston Chronicle has reached finals a couple of time but it’s yet to win a Pulitzer. I also visited the section of the Times where they had displayed the Pulitzer prize winning stories on walls.
Bloomberg office was simply amazing. The grandeur and aura of the building and its interior was so overpowering that I was breathless for sometime. The editors had lined up five reporters who covered the news beats that I was interested in. We had a very fruitful discussion over lunch. The main focus of the talk was on how business journalists can watch the interest of consumers, especially at times when businesses and corporations are becoming stronger and stronger and more profit-oriented.
At Forbes I learnt how business reporting can be made interesting for ordinary readers. The editors and I discussed stories that had very few figures but interesting accounts of ordinary people trying to take wise financial decision.
Shafiq Siddiqui, a Pakistani-American journalist who has a big media house in New York, arranged a get together where I was the guest of honor. There were many Pakistani journalists who either owned or worked at community newspapers in the US or were overseas correspondents of different media organizations based in Pakistan. It was a unique opportunity to learn about the problems that these journalists face while performing their professional duties. I told them about my fellowship and how much I had benefited from this opportunity.
I came back to Houston from New York on August 6 and left for Los Angeles on August. There I, along with Sherine-the other Daniel Fearl Fellow, spent a full week working at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. It was something that I had never thought of earlier in my life. There are hardly any Jews in Pakistan and the first ones I have met in my life are the Pearls and their friends. I also attended the weekly meeting at the Jewish Journal where I was asked a lot of questions about Pakistan. Everybody was keen to listen to what I had to say as it seemed they only knew the stuff that’s published in American newspapers.
August 13 was the day when Sherine and I were in the line of fire. We had asked hundreds rather thousands of questions from people during our professional life but it was for the first time, at least for me, that I was in this role. Most of the questions were about Pakistan’s relations with the US, rise of militancy in the country, what I had learnt in the US, how I would pass on the message of hope to my countrymen and so on.
Pearls and their friends-Chris Fager and Corie Brown-in whose house I stayed for a week gave me a royal treatment. Ruth and Judea are striving hard to make this world a better place. Chris and Corie are wonderful people and know a lot about Pakistan-may be more than any other person I have met in the US so far. They took me out for dinners; we went to the beach and spent time at the house next to that of Tom Hanks and Jim Carey. We also went to the Hollywood Boulevard to watch the movie Ditrict 9 on the day of its release.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Half Way Through the Fellowship
It’s not an easy ask to sum up a whole month’s activities and learnings in just one blog entry but I will try my best to say whatever I can. For the convenience of the readers as well as that of mine, I have divided my blog post into three parts: Pre-Poynter phase, Time at Poynter and the Post-Poynter scanraio.
Pre-Poynter phase
The first week of July was a bit dull and there was very little activity in the city. People were planning to take outstation leaves to make the best use of this long weekend. I stayed back home reading books and newspapers most of the time. I went to a downtown park on the night of July 4 to see the spectacular fireworks show. It seemed people had been waiting for this event for the last one year.
This week I was supposed to interview the governor of a Southern Sudan state. This gentleman was on a visit to Houston in a bid to woo American investment for his state. I did a lot of research to prepare questions for him. I made the list and took it to the editors who asked me to revise the questions again and again. Here I learned that a journalist has to ask the questions that interest his readers and not only himself. I talked to different people in the newsroom to have an idea of what American population wants to hear from a Sudanese official.
This strategy worked out well and it turned out to be very a good interview. The concerned editor came to my desk and appreciated my work. Even the Sudanese governor found it hard to believe that I had been in the US for hardly two and a half months. He said “though you have come here recently you think like Americans.” These were the very words that made me believe that I had done my job properly.
The rest of the week was spent on preparing for the Florida trip. Despite Katie’s suggestion to leave laptops home, I decided to bring mine to Poynter. My laptop has been my long-tested best friend during the long and boring discussions at seminars and training workshops. In such situations, I log on to my email account and interact with my friends and pose as if I am taking notes.
I was expecting a repeat of these experiences at Poynter but there was something totally different in store for me.
Time at Poynter
It won’t be an overstatement if I say that I learnt more at Poynter Institute in 6 days than what I learnt in my newsroom. I really mean it. This learning process did start on the day we reached St Petersberg. I talked to Gary Weaver at length, over the dinner, to get an idea of what I had missed during the orientation seminar. Then there was Jonathan who I had been waiting for long to meet. He treated all of us like the head of the family. In fact, we are the Friendly family expanding every year.
Every session at Poynter was amazing and taught important lessons to me. The level of interest was so high among the participants that Poynter faculty found it difficult to practice what is professes. I am referring to the fact that Keith Woods couldn’t even complete half his presentation during the stipulated time period. Paul taught us it’s imperative to decide the subject matter in a way that it can be covered in one session. Keith definitely followed this rule but what can one do when everybody is so charged up and involved.
Keith taught us through examples how to make news interesting and readable. He taught us ten golden rules which I think are applicable in every situation, irrespective of the country, medium and the language of reporting. I am trying to apply these rules in the story that I am currently working on. This gels with my training goal to write good leads and news stories.
Receiving my certificate from Sherine
Paul and Mitchell conducted the sessions in an excellent manner. They filled us with confidence to the brim. They are not only teachers, they are wizards. I would often be awe-stricken and mostly silent in the presence of senior journalists, scholars and academics in my country. But now I think I can express myself loud in any situation. If I can hold a training session in the presence of Paul and Bill I can do the same in the presence of everybody.
One thing that I learned, rather discovered at Poynter was that I can be a good coach as well. It was the pat on my back from Paul that did wonders. I think this is the focus of the whole program. The fellows must pass on whatever they learn here to as much people back home as they can.
The sessions about new technologies, multimedia and The News University created an interest in me to explore these venues more and more. I can’t say that I learnt the use of these during the sessions. But I can safely say that these sessions made me cognizant of these wonderful tools, technologies and resources available to journalists.
Last but not the least, it was the session with Roy Peter Clark that has left indelible imprints in my mind. I feel myself equipped to teeth, courtesy of the 50 tools he handed over to us. I always thought I can’t change my style as my writing habits are deep embedded in me. But now I think I can refine my writings with the help of these tools.
Post-Poynter phase
I returned to Houston on the night of July 16 (Thursday) and took an off from the office on Friday. Katie had told me that I could join office on Monday but just to keep people in the loop, I informed the editors at Chronicle about my plans. I remembered Paul saying that it’s good for reporters and editors to have cordial relations with each other. So, I started practicing this right away.
I had a long weekend at my disposal which I spent in recollecting the experiences at Poynter and going through the handouts once again. Besides, I read extracts from different chapters of Roy’s book. The more I read this book the more confident I became about improvements in my writing skills.
Right now, I am writing a column for Chronicle. I am following the simple rules described by Kelly McBride in her presentation. I have identified the focus and collecting as much resource material as I can. Once I have it I will organize it and try to carve out a piece worth reading.
In short, I can say that I have been halfway through the fellowship. I will spend the remaining time in practicing all that I have learnt at Poynter.
Pre-Poynter phase
The first week of July was a bit dull and there was very little activity in the city. People were planning to take outstation leaves to make the best use of this long weekend. I stayed back home reading books and newspapers most of the time. I went to a downtown park on the night of July 4 to see the spectacular fireworks show. It seemed people had been waiting for this event for the last one year.
This week I was supposed to interview the governor of a Southern Sudan state. This gentleman was on a visit to Houston in a bid to woo American investment for his state. I did a lot of research to prepare questions for him. I made the list and took it to the editors who asked me to revise the questions again and again. Here I learned that a journalist has to ask the questions that interest his readers and not only himself. I talked to different people in the newsroom to have an idea of what American population wants to hear from a Sudanese official.
This strategy worked out well and it turned out to be very a good interview. The concerned editor came to my desk and appreciated my work. Even the Sudanese governor found it hard to believe that I had been in the US for hardly two and a half months. He said “though you have come here recently you think like Americans.” These were the very words that made me believe that I had done my job properly.
The rest of the week was spent on preparing for the Florida trip. Despite Katie’s suggestion to leave laptops home, I decided to bring mine to Poynter. My laptop has been my long-tested best friend during the long and boring discussions at seminars and training workshops. In such situations, I log on to my email account and interact with my friends and pose as if I am taking notes.
I was expecting a repeat of these experiences at Poynter but there was something totally different in store for me.
Time at Poynter
It won’t be an overstatement if I say that I learnt more at Poynter Institute in 6 days than what I learnt in my newsroom. I really mean it. This learning process did start on the day we reached St Petersberg. I talked to Gary Weaver at length, over the dinner, to get an idea of what I had missed during the orientation seminar. Then there was Jonathan who I had been waiting for long to meet. He treated all of us like the head of the family. In fact, we are the Friendly family expanding every year.
Every session at Poynter was amazing and taught important lessons to me. The level of interest was so high among the participants that Poynter faculty found it difficult to practice what is professes. I am referring to the fact that Keith Woods couldn’t even complete half his presentation during the stipulated time period. Paul taught us it’s imperative to decide the subject matter in a way that it can be covered in one session. Keith definitely followed this rule but what can one do when everybody is so charged up and involved.
Keith taught us through examples how to make news interesting and readable. He taught us ten golden rules which I think are applicable in every situation, irrespective of the country, medium and the language of reporting. I am trying to apply these rules in the story that I am currently working on. This gels with my training goal to write good leads and news stories.
Receiving my certificate from SherinePaul and Mitchell conducted the sessions in an excellent manner. They filled us with confidence to the brim. They are not only teachers, they are wizards. I would often be awe-stricken and mostly silent in the presence of senior journalists, scholars and academics in my country. But now I think I can express myself loud in any situation. If I can hold a training session in the presence of Paul and Bill I can do the same in the presence of everybody.
One thing that I learned, rather discovered at Poynter was that I can be a good coach as well. It was the pat on my back from Paul that did wonders. I think this is the focus of the whole program. The fellows must pass on whatever they learn here to as much people back home as they can.
The sessions about new technologies, multimedia and The News University created an interest in me to explore these venues more and more. I can’t say that I learnt the use of these during the sessions. But I can safely say that these sessions made me cognizant of these wonderful tools, technologies and resources available to journalists.
Last but not the least, it was the session with Roy Peter Clark that has left indelible imprints in my mind. I feel myself equipped to teeth, courtesy of the 50 tools he handed over to us. I always thought I can’t change my style as my writing habits are deep embedded in me. But now I think I can refine my writings with the help of these tools.
Post-Poynter phase
I returned to Houston on the night of July 16 (Thursday) and took an off from the office on Friday. Katie had told me that I could join office on Monday but just to keep people in the loop, I informed the editors at Chronicle about my plans. I remembered Paul saying that it’s good for reporters and editors to have cordial relations with each other. So, I started practicing this right away.
I had a long weekend at my disposal which I spent in recollecting the experiences at Poynter and going through the handouts once again. Besides, I read extracts from different chapters of Roy’s book. The more I read this book the more confident I became about improvements in my writing skills.
Right now, I am writing a column for Chronicle. I am following the simple rules described by Kelly McBride in her presentation. I have identified the focus and collecting as much resource material as I can. Once I have it I will organize it and try to carve out a piece worth reading.
In short, I can say that I have been halfway through the fellowship. I will spend the remaining time in practicing all that I have learnt at Poynter.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
A hot June
Sometimes you have to pay for something done by others. This exactly happened to me when I covered a lecture delivered by a Pakistani politician Imran Khan on June 22. He spoke at a luncheon hosted by the World Affairs Council, Houston. This gentleman criticized the US policies in general and the military offensive against Taliban in the northern parts of Pakistan.
His point was that the operation be stopped right away, the Taliban brought to the talking table and pressed to hand over or drive away Al Qaeda operatives from the country. To him Al Qaeda people were terrorists whereas the Taliban represented a popular political movement.
I had a couple of questions to ask him publicly but I couldn’t as he would answer to only those submitted in writing. I tried that as well but he answered only a few of them (none them were asked by me) and left for the airport minutes after finishing the lecture. The story was published the next day. I reported exactly what I had heard him say. What followed were endless comments on the story. The readers were primarily condemning this politician, the reporter (me) and the editors who had allowed the story to run.
Some of these comments were so abusive that I cannot reproduce them here. Quite amazingly, none of them had any reservations against the World Affairs Council that invited this politician to speak on this topic and the charged audience that gave him a standing ovation at the end of his lecture.
My purpose for narrating this incident here is that it let me learn some lessons, most of which were not so pleasant. I realized that people who make comments are not always the most serious of the readers. Many of these people were not aware of the difference between a news report and an opinionated piece. They could have differed altogether with the politician, challenged his logic and established their own point. I myself do not agree with what he said.
But from these comments it seemed they want newspapers not to report anything that doesn’t appeal them. If this had been the case, the history of journalism would have been devoid of reporting on many scandals generated by controversial statements.
These observations will be very helpful to me as I plan to write more and more for my home publication’s online edition and develop interactive platforms for readers and writers.
I discussed this topic with Jeff Cohen, Executive Vice President and Editor of Houston Chronicle as well. What he said was also an eye-opener for me. He said it’s not always true that the most viewed and the most commented stories are the most popular ones. Watch out advertisers, here’s another reason to ruin the new business model for online publications.
Last week, I worked on a story that helped me hone my interviewing skills and add authenticity/accuracy to my work. The Islamic Da’wah Center is hosting a traveling exhibition that honors contributions of Muslim scientists during medieval ages. They have placed the model of a glider used by a Muslim engineer in 875 A.D. to take the first piloted flight in history.
I referred to this flight in the first few lines of my story. The editor looking over this story asked me to quote some authentic source on it as the event organizer’s claim was not sufficient to establish this. I went back to the organizers and asked for such reference(s).
They did not have them handy and had to work on them. Quite interestingly, the news coverage of this exhibition in the cities where it was held earlier had not mentioned any source that it was a Muslim scientist who took the first piloted flight. Now, as I have quoted a source, I believe my story (yet to be published) will be more creditworthy than those already published.
I had to re-do the story as my editors said it should carry quotes that attract the readers. They were correct as I realized some of the people who I talked to had stated the obvious. Some were repeating things that had been published in the past. I had no idea as I am new to the place. From now onwards I will sift through the archives and try to have a grasp of issues that I intend to cover.
I got a quote from Joanne Herring King, a well-known celebrity who is also a member the event committee managing this exhibition. I would like to share this quote with others through this blog.
She said: “The exhibit highlights the work of good Muslims. There are good and bad people in every religion. But the good work is often obscured by the smoke created by the wars waged by the bad people.”
With Joanne Herring King.
I had many things to share with her as she had been very active in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. She was honorary consul general of Pakistan and Morocco in Houston at that time. Joanne was the lady who convinced US government with the help of US rep Charlie Wilson to approve aid and weapons for Afghans in their fight against Russians.
Julia Roberts played Joanne in the movie Charlie Wilson’s war. The role of Charlie Wilson was played by none other than Tom Hanks
His point was that the operation be stopped right away, the Taliban brought to the talking table and pressed to hand over or drive away Al Qaeda operatives from the country. To him Al Qaeda people were terrorists whereas the Taliban represented a popular political movement.
I had a couple of questions to ask him publicly but I couldn’t as he would answer to only those submitted in writing. I tried that as well but he answered only a few of them (none them were asked by me) and left for the airport minutes after finishing the lecture. The story was published the next day. I reported exactly what I had heard him say. What followed were endless comments on the story. The readers were primarily condemning this politician, the reporter (me) and the editors who had allowed the story to run.
Some of these comments were so abusive that I cannot reproduce them here. Quite amazingly, none of them had any reservations against the World Affairs Council that invited this politician to speak on this topic and the charged audience that gave him a standing ovation at the end of his lecture.
My purpose for narrating this incident here is that it let me learn some lessons, most of which were not so pleasant. I realized that people who make comments are not always the most serious of the readers. Many of these people were not aware of the difference between a news report and an opinionated piece. They could have differed altogether with the politician, challenged his logic and established their own point. I myself do not agree with what he said.
But from these comments it seemed they want newspapers not to report anything that doesn’t appeal them. If this had been the case, the history of journalism would have been devoid of reporting on many scandals generated by controversial statements.
These observations will be very helpful to me as I plan to write more and more for my home publication’s online edition and develop interactive platforms for readers and writers.
I discussed this topic with Jeff Cohen, Executive Vice President and Editor of Houston Chronicle as well. What he said was also an eye-opener for me. He said it’s not always true that the most viewed and the most commented stories are the most popular ones. Watch out advertisers, here’s another reason to ruin the new business model for online publications.
Last week, I worked on a story that helped me hone my interviewing skills and add authenticity/accuracy to my work. The Islamic Da’wah Center is hosting a traveling exhibition that honors contributions of Muslim scientists during medieval ages. They have placed the model of a glider used by a Muslim engineer in 875 A.D. to take the first piloted flight in history.
I referred to this flight in the first few lines of my story. The editor looking over this story asked me to quote some authentic source on it as the event organizer’s claim was not sufficient to establish this. I went back to the organizers and asked for such reference(s).
They did not have them handy and had to work on them. Quite interestingly, the news coverage of this exhibition in the cities where it was held earlier had not mentioned any source that it was a Muslim scientist who took the first piloted flight. Now, as I have quoted a source, I believe my story (yet to be published) will be more creditworthy than those already published.
I had to re-do the story as my editors said it should carry quotes that attract the readers. They were correct as I realized some of the people who I talked to had stated the obvious. Some were repeating things that had been published in the past. I had no idea as I am new to the place. From now onwards I will sift through the archives and try to have a grasp of issues that I intend to cover.
I got a quote from Joanne Herring King, a well-known celebrity who is also a member the event committee managing this exhibition. I would like to share this quote with others through this blog.
She said: “The exhibit highlights the work of good Muslims. There are good and bad people in every religion. But the good work is often obscured by the smoke created by the wars waged by the bad people.”
With Joanne Herring King. I had many things to share with her as she had been very active in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. She was honorary consul general of Pakistan and Morocco in Houston at that time. Joanne was the lady who convinced US government with the help of US rep Charlie Wilson to approve aid and weapons for Afghans in their fight against Russians.
Julia Roberts played Joanne in the movie Charlie Wilson’s war. The role of Charlie Wilson was played by none other than Tom Hanks
Friday, June 19, 2009
Taking off, gradually
Though I reached Houston on May 21, it was not until June 1 that I could settle down in the city and take up any assignments. I had already been introduced to everyone at Chronicle through internal office memos and was welcomed by the staff when I reached there. They all knew a lot about me and even the reason for my joining the paper late . I was quite relieved to find them so receptive and courteous.
Just after a day at the office there was a long weekend because of the Memorial Day. This was the time that I spent on reading reporters' blogs on the paper's website and familiarizing myself with the issues that were hot in the city and its neighbourhoods. I would take a bus and go to some place. There I would simply roam around, observe the environs and read anything that I could find written on plaques, signboards or notice boards.
In fact I was able to talk to a delegation of Pakistani women legislators in the very first week but it took me good ten days to get the story published. It was while working on this story that I realized that sometimes it is very difficult to get people's comments even in the United States.
Just after a day at the office there was a long weekend because of the Memorial Day. This was the time that I spent on reading reporters' blogs on the paper's website and familiarizing myself with the issues that were hot in the city and its neighbourhoods. I would take a bus and go to some place. There I would simply roam around, observe the environs and read anything that I could find written on plaques, signboards or notice boards.
In fact I was able to talk to a delegation of Pakistani women legislators in the very first week but it took me good ten days to get the story published. It was while working on this story that I realized that sometimes it is very difficult to get people's comments even in the United States.
Houston Chronicle building at Texas Avenue
The legislators wanted the story to be based on their statements and what they thought they had achieved during the visit. But the editors wanted the story to have some point of interest for the readers. Back home our newspapers publish endless texts of speeches made by politicians without even thinking it for a moment that readers have no interest in such trash. I totally agreed with this point and pegged my story on Americans' perceptions about women's role in Muslim countries.
I worked on this story for a while and would share the draft with the editors on city desk. They helped me write the lead again and again, till it took a pretty good shape. I really enjoyed going through this practice as it is one of my ambitions to learn writing attention-grabbing news leads.
The next to follow were the interviewing techniques and finding experts who could dwell on the issue. I talked to public relations officials at two big universities and from then onwards it was their headache. I talked to the experts introduced by PR people and added their comments to my story. In fact I had to talk to them repeatedly as the editors were always asking for more information.
For a moment I got frustrated but then realized that the American readers want to read in-depth reports supported by logic and do not believe in cliches. You can simply go through readers' comments on a story and get endless ideas for followups on the same issue. For example there was a comment on my story on women legislators from Pakistan. It read comparing the lives of these women with the lives of ordinary women in Pakistan is just like comparing the life of Paris Hilton with that of an ordinary American women. This was very helpful for me. I immediately realized I should also have discussed the plight of ordinary women in Pakistan and asked a question related to this issue.
A glimpse of the newsroom.
In Pakistan, reporters do not normally take pains to go into extra details. I am sure the reading habits are far changing in Pakistan and such practices will soon take roots there as well. Now I believe it's the responsibility of journalists to produce quality content for readers and do not make assumptions on their own.
Coming to problems, I think I have been unable to fully understand the accent of the people who I talk to. Some speak too fast whereas there are those also who mince words or use slang too much. Lately, there has been an improvement on this front also. Sometimes I also use slang; but on realization I immediately correct myself.
I have learnt how to use newspaper archives and find material relevant to different news stories. Unfortunately, our newspapers only keep last one year's issues in their online archives. My paper has a huge collection of newspaper clippings but it is of not much use as this data is not searchable digitally. I will try to convince my editors in Pakistan to get this content digitized, and explain it to them that how useful it can be for the publication. They can even charge a fee from others (non-staffers) for accessing this resource material online.
I used these archives to write an obituary of a famous hotelier. I had some information that even the family members of the deceased did not have with them.
Over the last three days I have had a series of discussions with the Chronicle staff, my mentor and the editor of the paper. At a brownbag session I gave a presention to the staff on life, politics and journalism in Pakistan. It was followed by a reasonably long Q&A session. It was good to be at the receiving end this time. There were some really good questions. I got an idea of how to frame a good question and say something harsh in a way that it doesn't hurt the person it's meant for.
Next week I will be moving to the editorial and column writing section. I have also talked to the editor about the possibilty of starting a blog of mine on Chronicle website. So, there seems to be a lot of action and fun in store for me. I'll narrate all that I go through in my next blog posting. Till then Good Bye
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Just landed
I am feeling like very much being at home in Houston. The weather is almost the same as it is in Lahore, my hometown, at this time of the year. People are quite friendly and open. Here you find people from everywhere. The city hosts people coming from no less than 60 countries from across the globe. This adds a lot to the cultural diversity of the city.
For a visitor to a new place, it's always a blessing to have someone there to take care of him. In this case, I am lucky enough to have a very caring mentor at my host organisation-Houston Chronicle. His name is George Haj and he was the first person I met in Houston-within moments of my arrival. This first meeting was in the baggage claim area of IAH airport.
So far, I have not been able to properly navigate the city. Public transport is almost extinct and one has to to have a car to commute between the closest of the places.
My apartment is fine, and quite spacious to house a person like me. The distance from office is not much. I once tried to walk all the way to office but dropped the idea half way. It was hot and humid, and I was perspiring from top to toe.
Bomar Street: A quiet neighborhood
I took my driving lessons on Saturday, May 23. My main concern was about driving on the right hand side of the road with the streeing wheel on the left. This was totally opposite to the practice in my country. There we have right hand drive cars that ply on the left hand side of the roads.
It has been 7 days since I took these lessons. Before I forget whatever I learned during these lesons, I am going to pick up my car from the car rental outlet. May be tomorrow. Once I am in the driving seat, I will start scaling the length and breadth of the city to explore whatever I can.
For a visitor to a new place, it's always a blessing to have someone there to take care of him. In this case, I am lucky enough to have a very caring mentor at my host organisation-Houston Chronicle. His name is George Haj and he was the first person I met in Houston-within moments of my arrival. This first meeting was in the baggage claim area of IAH airport.
So far, I have not been able to properly navigate the city. Public transport is almost extinct and one has to to have a car to commute between the closest of the places.
My apartment is fine, and quite spacious to house a person like me. The distance from office is not much. I once tried to walk all the way to office but dropped the idea half way. It was hot and humid, and I was perspiring from top to toe.
Bomar Street: A quiet neighborhoodI took my driving lessons on Saturday, May 23. My main concern was about driving on the right hand side of the road with the streeing wheel on the left. This was totally opposite to the practice in my country. There we have right hand drive cars that ply on the left hand side of the roads.
It has been 7 days since I took these lessons. Before I forget whatever I learned during these lesons, I am going to pick up my car from the car rental outlet. May be tomorrow. Once I am in the driving seat, I will start scaling the length and breadth of the city to explore whatever I can.
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