A short take

I was told today that something I wrote cannot and will not be published.

There is a column in my newspaper which my colleagues and I take turns to write. Sometimes we comment on serious current affairs, sometimes we share little snippets of life, sometimes we write about light hearted issues.

The other day, I did a short take on a news report I did recently. Unfortunately, it will never live to see daylight.

Not because what I wrote was not good (although nobody said it was good either), but because, as I was told, if it was published, it may have a damaging impact on the person (let’s name him X) I commented on, and the after effects might prove damaging to myself as well.

In a mild case, X may never accept an interview by me again, and in a more serious case scenario, the mega organization where X works under may not want me to cover their news in future.

The fact that I penned it down meant that I was prepared to face whatever repercussions there are to come. The mild and serious scenarios went through my head before I wrote my piece, but I wrote it anyway.

Perhaps this is the kind of liberal journalism I hope to see. Perhaps this is the kind of journalist I want to be.

I was never one who broke rules back in school. But that does not mean I did not debate and argue on the need for more flexibility and openness.

I do not like to conform or adhere to old systems or the usual ways of doing things, just for the sake of convenience. The older I get, the more I am sure about this.

Perhaps it is this rebellious streak in me that makes me cut out to be a journalist. I enjoy the feeling of treading on a thin line between what can and what cannot be done.

But sometimes, one person’s strength is not enough. As I had learnt.

In case you think that I wrote about some big shot or some important political figure, do not be mistaken. X is in fact, a rather ordinary person, and I consider my piece to be rather subtle.

But I need to be more subtle. I was told.

Sigh.

I certainly do not want to jeopardize my career, not at the expense of a trivial case, but neither will I be contented being somebody else’s mouthpiece.

This whole incident has taught me some important lessons.

That I am still a greenhorn.
That I have yet to master how to look at things from a broader and wider perspective.
That I have to think before I leap.

There is still a long way to go for certain systems which have been well in place. For now, they will remain.