 Good afternoon, students. At the outset, I will give my own introduction. I am Professor Parth Chatterjee. I am former dean of Assam University and I retired personally at the moment, but I was connected with many universities including my own university. So, I have been asked today to address you on one topic, that is reporting. You are very familiar with this model. You have come across many reporters working on duty and it appears to be very lucrative and very interesting job for you. Many of you, I hope that we will become reporters and join newspapers or join television and we start your more work as reporter. I have been reporter myself for more than 35 years. I started as reporter, I ended as special correspondent and then I switched over to media company. But now, this is a huge subject, but I will only deal with one chapter which is quite in conformity with your service. The unit number three, you please consult unit number three, you will find that the concept of the reporter chapter. Now, first of all concept means that what is it, what is inside, what is it mean? The concept of the reporter's job is firstly to correct the information that I am, specially I am talking about the print media. Already it is both applicable for television media, but I am really concerned with print media that the job of print media reporter is to gather or collect information for the next newspaper and information from where you will get information, information you will get from everywhere. That is why it is called North East, Southwest News. That is you can get information from anywhere, but there are bits, specially bits. It is not that beyond the bits one cannot cover, but bits are somewhat some routine jobs from where the reporters go every day and they bring it to us. It may be secretary, it may be police, it may be innovation, it may be commerce, so there are many areas where the reporters go from where they can get information for the information of the buses. That is called bus communication because you are imparting information with the buses. Now, the fact is that how other ways of getting information are the news. Another mode as apparently is interview. Reporting is basically interview. Sometimes your news source will give you news and you get the news, you write down and you will edit the news and you will print it for the next newspaper. But there are interviews, interviews which basically you know what you go somewhere to collect news, you have to ask questions. That questions must be handy and must be with you. You will be ever ready with those information. What do you want to ask? And if it is exclusive news, if it is any news for your personal inquiry, due to personal inquiry, that is called exclusive news, means that the news which you gather yourself and which nobody gets that and only you are the person who can gather the news and that is called exclusive news. So, every newspaper reporter are interested all the time to get exclusive news so that their rival newspapers do not get the same news. So, he wants that something exclusive which his newspaper will publish and no other. So, that is his right, that exclusive news. And a newspaper as many as exclusive news can focus will give a completely privileged or a bonus. That may be a newspaper market and among the reporters also. And you can ask me one question sir, what is the scoop? Because we are very much familiar with this word scoop and what is the difference between scoop and exclusive news. Now exclusive can be any news, any amount of news it may not be so much sensational. Any information which you gather for yourself or for your own paper that is called exclusive news. But scoop is something which is sensational, which shakes the world. Now take for instance the first scoop I have heard there is from my elder colleague that application of reward the aid in England. The he for whom the entire world he co-orders the Indian journalist for Amrit Prasad Kothika who is a Sundar Pravati he co-orders the news. Now there is a scoop, the scoop it switch you yes very, very secret news to fill it out. And I can remember in my own life as I have done many scoop stories. And one of them because you are familiar with those persons that is why I am remembering that the marriage of secret marriage of Sourabh Kapooridhi Krikata, he married secret with his fiancee and nobody knew it. Even the father of Sourabh Kapooridhi did not know it. So I got this news and it came by accident but however I got this news and I published in my paper which I used to edit at the time. So this is called scoop and another scoop I read is Gali Sobas, the West Indies captain. He also engaged secretly with Anjumandru in one clap and run of the tank. So these two different scoop sites for instance that I scooped in my life. So there are no other, I am not going to tell. I am just giving you some idea that what scoop is. That if scoop depends on your life, it depends on your exuberance, depends on your entire heart level and also your tenacity. They are and by law share the last part of this. So you can take this. Now, no news never can say that I will make the scoop every day. It comes all of a sudden and it may happen to anybody. Now another thing is that the report has worked for television too. You have seen on television screen that reporters are going somewhere and interview people. You see in television interview is must. So one must interview one person because it is a dialogue because otherwise it becomes quite meaningless like pull out dialogue. So interview and get the news. Now again for voice services. Now all the news you get from news voice services like PTI, Press Trust of India, even the United News of India and Reuters, AP, also the international news is up there, national news is up there. They get news with the same thought. They are reporters, they also they are loud every day and they gather information. Instead of giving exclusive for their own newspaper they give it for their agency and agency distributed above their clients. So all the newspapers who are their clients, every day 24 hours the news is being supplied to them. So this is the another system and even besides the reporting, besides newspaper news is required for public relations too. But that news is not for consumption of all the people, it is for consumption for the managing directors or higher up in the corporate body. But another thing that they have is the chief journals and the chief journals for each corporate companies they also need news and the public relations officers they gather news from their own institutions, from their own companies different units and they publish news and the other news and they publish what they do. So the news gallery is very much necessary for not only for the reporters, not only for the newspapers, not only for the television but for all media engaged in distributing information to people. Now again another thing is that this, what you can ask in the he or she question who can become a journalist. This objective of this force which you are one of the participants is to make you a full-fledged journalist. To journalist you will become by dint of your training, by dint of your education you gather from the Christian standard method. Now if you want to become reporter you can choose, you can become a reporter, you can become a sub editor, you can become an assistant editor or you can join any other medium and then can choose and pick up and choose your own choiceable career in media. But if you want to become a reporter newspaper reporter or television reporter there are certain criteria you have to fulfill and if you know from right now that what are those criteria it would be very convenient for you to become a reporter and to muster that subject only. And this is not only one or two criteria but there are a long list of criteria you have to fulfill. It is where your university degree is not only exclusive necessity, you may have basic qualification, you may have graduation, in journalism of mass communication but it is not only the subject education will not land you somewhere in the proper place in your right place. You have to earn those capacity, earn those education, earn those capability of yourself by dint of your merit, by dint of your perseverance, by dint of your very hard work, hard training. Now I am telling you one way you are, first of all that you have to gather new sense. That is why your training is very much specific, is what is news sense, what is news and what is not news. You have already read in 7th chapter about the news sense. I only in all that I will tell you that news sense is that it is like a tea tester. Just tea, a tea tester and you know there are, there are number of tea pots and one tester can just by one testing, can determine that which garden stage is belongs, it belongs. So it is like that, the news you throw up information you are having all the time. The news is coming from different places and you have to know that what is news and what is not, which is printable, which is not. So whatever information you receive these are all not news. News is definitely information but all information is not news. So regarding we can choose you have to train your mind, you have to train your sixth sense, you have to develop your sixth sense, what is news and what is not news. What you will throw away and what you will accept. Because something will come to you on their own you may reject it. It is not news because they are coming to you, but you are rejecting them because as they are not news. But you are after that information which people are trying to hide, they are not disclosing it, they are not giving it to you and you have to train your mind, you have to investigate and you get the news which the people wanted to hide it. That is news and that is the job of the reporter. Now that is news sense you have to develop first. News sense is sense just a sensitivity in your mind from which you can discriminate what is news and what is not. It is like smell, just to smell rat, just to smell the scent of flower, that type of sense of news you have to develop yourself. By seeing it, by really reading one paragraph, or reading one paragraph, all life you would say, oh it is news, I will be after it and then you can gather this news. That is for news sense you have to develop it. It is a sensitive mind you have to be around. And secondly, you have to be aware of what is on the city stand and what is real news, what is real information. Because as a newspaper reporter, your liability and obligation is always to your readers. If your readers you can easily discern that what your readers want. This news which my readers want, because they are purchasing news paper and post. So, they are purchasing, you are the seller. So, if you cannot deliver anything which cannot say in the market, which has been from demand, definitely people will not accept it. So, news is not just like covering your white pages, by printing anything what you like. So, this will have to keep in your mind and you have to. Because there are many corporate public relations officer, there are many interested, interested person. They will try to smuggle out what is not news. But the city stand, the commercial value which has got only to just to disguise on the news. That is called surrogate news. And they will try to pass it on you. And you have to be very aware of that. And you have to discard all those rubbish. And you have to collect the real news. And this discrimination you have to make and you have to be very much aware of it and what is news and what is not. And that is why you must have clarity in your mind. Because news must be simple. Because people you are addressing, who are your audience? Your audience is mostly the ordinary people. Who are the majority? The majority people are only up to class H, class 9, or matrimonial standard. They are your readers. Your readers are not readers of very complicated novels. Your readers are like audience persons. They own, you have to keep in touch with their sentiment and psychology all the time. So you have to choose in that way. And you have to see the world from their point of view. Not from your point of view, but from their point of view of your readers. Thirdly, use accuracy. You have to be very cautious about accuracy. News must be correct. Otherwise even news is not correct. Your paper will be denounced. Your paper will be condemned by people. Even they are maybe attack on all the newspaper office. Or maybe they would be fined. So take it in the court of law and you will be in very difficult position. So the must be accurate. So the accuracy is the key word, the buzz word in news. You have to, all the time you have to guard error. So and must uphold accuracy. And the objectivity is another thing. You must not be biased. The report must be not only correct, but also objective. That means it's neutral. You cannot be partial. You cannot favour one party and dislaver another party. You have to judge equally. You are the judge. You are the seat of judgement. So that is why you have to keep in mind. And alertness is the another key word of the reporter's qualification. Alertness, you have to be always alert. You do not know when the news breaks. You do not know that suddenly it may happen that the call of a hat, the news may come. Or sometimes you just like an angel, an angler in the tank. You see, all after all she sees one piece and it is ridiculous like that. You have to be very cautious, very alert and when any slight inkling of news he will be sensitized. Automatically he is ready in that way and speed, which is very much necessary. You see, I have said that in the classrooms when I give dictation to the students the students cannot follow it. So the ask question, ah, what's that, what's that. So it is not like that. I say to them, especially in the journalism class I have said that when I give dictation the students cannot follow it. Sometimes I ask, ah, what do you want to say? What is the last word? So because a journalist, a reporter has to give dictation all the time and that dictation nobody gives no dictates to him. He will address a news source or a chance to play for instance the minister whenever he gives statement in press conference or in his chamber, he may not even reduce whatever statement he gives he gives and if someone, any very important person gives speech from the pulpit he does not stop. He gives continuously and you have to keep pace with him. You have to accurately write. Nowadays, temporary water has come but temporary water, we cannot open temporary water. Only the division we can use that because it helps them. But for temporary water, temporary water does not happen in place. You see, because you find that speech after that meeting you go to the office and you just open the operator, temporary water and this temporary water you play back and get notes and then it takes a lot of time. You see, one or two hours you spend on that only just recovering the news from the temporary water but if time will not provide that nobody will give you some time. You have to come from the field immediately you have to write up your copy. See, sometimes it happens, I know. I can give you one or two instances that when one separate time but there was happening now the technology has advanced. Now the cell phone, in all times the cell phone was completely unmoved or even the fax was unknown. Only the old method you would be surprised to know this Karey Kakka is the most advanced code that used to be the only way of sending news but that used to be out of order most of the time. So it is a long story, a very funny story. So in that way very difficult and sometimes I can remember that I went to the reproductive organ cycle and there are three or four rivers at the time now it's everything everywhere has been reached there was no bridge at the time and you have to ferry. So you have to keep that hand over this news to that pilot of the plane. Only one in the morning and one in the afternoon two flights are there and you have to by 5 o'clock you have to hand over you are coming to the pilot and ask them to just go and do the character you please stay from this office but they are very courteous and they used to comply with all our requests there was no problem with that in that way in 1971 Pakkadeshu was told we used to send by with the help of those pilots there was no connection at the time so you see the house we have to work with speed there is no time at all so on the bank of the river waiting for the ferry we have to write 4 or 5 paragraphs or 1 or 2 pages so by crossing 4 rivers we have to finish all your stories on the bank of the river so there is no time no time for writing no time for thinking the only time you have to write so this is speed how you can special television how speed you want now I can remember at that time I was working for a meeting I was going for the meeting I went with Mr. Gandhi on our world tour to cover your whole year and I used to have places because I don't have any deadline to cross I go back I write but take for instance the agencies now they would have to say they don't have any time full bank of program of Mr. Gandhi and they have to cover every moment they have to cover they cannot leave that place and they have to send news to media to the headquarters so how speed this is a in such circumstances and you can so if you want to join newspaper if you want to become a reporter you have to because reporting is history in hurry so you have to carry with the history you have to keep yourself unfamiliar with the history so you have to write with that now again functionality again give that you cannot miss the second to attend to attend the meeting attend the press conference attend the speech now if take for instance the Prime Minister of India Varun Damodhi is speaking and it's very important speech he has already made and you come in the midst of the speech but what about the museum portions they have already finished in the beginning and how to work for them too if you ask any other fellow reporters they will feel disturbed you see in profession nobody nobody in clever mode see because everybody is rushing so there is no time to here to listen from your fellow so you will miss the story so definitely you have to be dependent on agency's story whenever you go back to the office you will ask for the agency's stories and you compare yourself with what you have missed but this is this is not done actually for a book reporter is not the ideal so be patience another thing for a book reporter you must have patience sometimes you have to wait 3 hours 4 hours 5 hours now you don't have to go to the canteen to have enough of tea and you are waiting waiting waiting because this cabinet meeting is going on inside the chamber and if you miss anytime even go to canteen to have a cup of tea when you come back you find that the minister cabinet meeting is over and the meeting is going on then you will miss it so the patience you have to keep yourself waiting and patience training you have to take what you need and fearlessness you have to be very fearless you see if you are afraid of dying then you cannot you cannot be a reporter lots of reporters have been killed in the field now in Iran in Egypt in Iran look everywhere the reporters are killed you see in that and I know in my story many times I was very barely saved from being killed now in 1971 when we were going to from Chitaka from Chanku you see our steamer was saved and we were just about to be drowned into river mega so how were we able to escape but we were not afraid we knew that it is our destiny it is a part of our game it is like soldiers so reporters must be like soldiers when we don't less fearless and we have to whatever we have they have to cover riots they have to cover insurgency they have to cover war and they have to even if you write a story against against the mafias the mafia will kill you then one gentleman few years back he was part of the homemade I don't know that he was he was covering the inside story of the mafias homemade mafias don't and he was killed so in that way it is in the game nobody will compensate that you know it is your game you have to know that what is out in the game and that is why you have to make tax use so tax use this is another criteria another criteria is diligence means you have to work very hard you have to be very tired of studying you have to wait you have to be patient and you must have diligence otherwise you cannot succeed people in game now and another thing is the team spirit reporter sometimes you have to work in a name with other reporter or in group with others now it is like the real race now real race one can claim the entire credit the credit is divided out of the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the all the you do not know what type of emotive comment, sometimes very important person's comment. Now sometimes they are very retrative, sometimes very good reader, sometimes very good statesman, sometimes very good poet, we have to be careful. And unless you have read poem of that particular poet, unless you have read the latest poem, unless you have read the latest book which has been very best read, so you will be completely, you cannot ask any question. And even when you are in the group, when you have your peers, sometimes one may ask who is the question, or any story about that particular subject comes out and you cannot answer, you cannot participate in discussion, you cannot participate in debate. So definitely your prestige will be completely at stake. So you have to be a very readable person and a very great person and responsibility is you have to take. The report which you have published, once published you cannot take it back, either it is good or bad or erroneous or right, you have to take responsibility of the report which you have to take back. And either you face the big back or you face the honor, everything is your duty. You cannot impose the responsibility of the dark side of your report on others, you have to face the honor. And self-discipline, first of all, it is a profession which has got a lot of value. Many people will try to value you, many people will try to bribe you, many people will try to manipulate you, so a lot of pressures will come to deviate you from your path of opportunity. So you have to withstand all those barriers and you have to sense something, there is a lot of corporate persons of their own interest, they will try to inebriate you, they will try to offer you, make you drunk, they will offer you priceless, they will offer you gifts. So you have to just manipulate that use to their favor. It is that job. So what you must not grab, must not fall into the trap. So you have to really cautious with that. And that is why self-discipline is very necessary. And last but not the least, that you have to be mobility, you must have mobility and you will be out of it. That means what, what does it mean? That you have to go anywhere, you see. Sometimes you are going to the mountain to accompany a mountaineer, which has happened to many people, to accompany a mountaineer and went up to the west end, braving the all those hazards a muddy mountaineer is having now. Sometimes you have to go to the jungle to meet with a insurgent. Sometimes you have to be in the war. Sometimes you are in the high school hotel. Sometimes you are in the desert. Sometimes you, you are living in mostly overnight to go the, to go closely the people living there. Or you may, many, many times I have had such experiences. Now, anywhere I have sent, but there is no abortion at all. Then we have to stay at the park or in a river station where to spend the night. Did not have any food properly because this is a place, this is a place, very horrible place there sometimes. Now I went to jungles, I went to war, many places, many hazardous places I have been. But at the same time I have to have very good places. I, I, I have seen the world many times. I have seen the most of the beautiful hotels in the world have stayed there. So it happens anytime you don't know, but you have to be productive. So that is what you have to know why. And you have to be very fond of, to me, very fond of travelling. Travel and tourism is the must, the community you cannot discuss. You cannot, those people, there are people who are very, very fond of living inside them. They don't move out. They, they cannot take any hazard. So the deputies is not, is, is not the job of them. They, you can, it will get a test shot, can sit in air condition office and can, can eat the coffee, which is good for you. But those who will opt to become the promoter, they have to be very careful all the time. And sometimes you have to move, move, with very short notice. Now just you, from the office job, after, after hard days, you go to home and suddenly telephone call comes from the office. Well, you will be ready, you have to start such and such places. And all, next morning flight, you have to catch and go somewhere. So you think, you, you are not prepared mentally. You are not prepared physically. You are very tired person, but then you cannot report it. You have to. So that is, that is, that is very, little risk you can take for some time. But you have to accept it, smile in you, and ungrasp in you. And this is called provisions. You are, it is the call of provisions. So you have to accept it. So if that is why you have to be very flexible in mind. And if you are so flexible, if you are honest to yourself, and you enjoy this type of job, only you will be able to do it. So these are the, these are the one, and these are the skills of the product. There is no other skill. You equally, you have to be intellectually very strong, and physically strong, and mentally strong. So if you want to, because the reporter is a combination of all types of qualities, idealism, and plus qualities which in a profession can offer. So if you want to become a reporter, you have to do it. You have to report like a soldier. You are a food soldier of the newspaper. So you are the real newspaper, because you are bringing the news, and news, news means the newspaper. And who is the person you are bringing the news. So you are the newspaper lotioner. The, a fabricist who reads the papers at home, in a cozy home, he is not newsman. He, although he must have certain news says, but he is not newsman. So you have to be very cautious of that, and you, this is all theoretical news, but it is all the type, the type is a practical news, but we can give you through this session, that you will be prepared to become a reporter. And you know at this, that what the job of the reporter is. Thank you very much for this beginning. And I hope that whatever you read as a student, it will inspire you to take to the profession, because our object as a mass communication teacher, just to inspire you to be into the profession, and assimilate all the nonsense, and all the class and minus points to be aware of this profession, from behind, from different, so that you can, at least you can, you can say, that yes, we have prepared to go, we know it is cross and cross, we know it is good and bad. So we are all, knowing all the well, we have come to the profession.