Reluctant Editor , livre ebook

Marshall Cavendish International - PN Balji

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109 pages

English

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These are the unpublished stories about the stories that you may have read in Singapore newspapers over the years. Above all, they are Singapore media stories as experienced first-hand by a veteran journalist who had to be persuaded to become Editor of a leading newspaper. PN Balji was an active participant in mainstream journalism, having spent nearly 40 years working in five newsrooms. He was part of a hardy generation of newspaper editors who wrestled with editorial issues and made tough decisions, sometimes against the will of authority. He also had a ringside view of his colleagues' tussles and confrontations with the government. In Reluctant Editor, Balji weaves a compelling narrative, with anecdotes, of an alternative story of how some editors of his generation managed to hold the ground in challenging times.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Memoir

Media

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Publié par	Marshall Cavendish International
Date de parution	31 mai 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814868037
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0550€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

PN Balji is a rare and wonderful fixture in that peculiar world known as journalism in Singapore. For almost four decades Balji navigated a world where truth was often a state-sanctioned commodity and real journalism was a perilous undertaking Balji s insights into what it was like to practise journalism with integrity under these circumstances is an important contribution to the history of modern Singapore.
David Plott
former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and managing editor of Global Asia ( www.globalasia.org )
___________
Balji would loathe to admit it but he has raised a generation of intrepid journalists. A newsman ahead of his time, Balji s book contains not only fascinating behind-the-scenes accounts told in his trademark punchy style, it also holds deep lessons for tomorrow s journalists.
Loh Chee Kong
Deputy Chief Editor of TODAY

2019 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Text PN Balji
Reprinted 2019
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196.
Tel: (65) 6213 9300. E-mail: genref@sg.marshallcavendish.com
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The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Names: P. N., Balji.
Title: Reluctant editor : the Singapore media as seen through the eyes of a veteran newspaper journalist / P N Balji.
Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2019
Identifiers: OCN 1098016628 | eISBN 978 981 4868 03 7
Subjects: Journalism--Singapore. | Journalists--Singapore. | Reporters and reporting--Singapore.
Classification: DDC 079.5957--dc23
Printed in Singapore
CONTENTS
Foreword
Author s Note
Chapter 1 My Father s Son
The chapter I didn t want to write
Chapter 2 Accidental Sub-editor, Reluctant Editor
In a world of tabloids
Chapter 3 Living Dangerously
Who is that practising western-style journalism?
Chapter 4 The Misunderstood Paper
What a foreign editor saw that others did not
Chapter 5 Toh Chin Chye Affair
A footloose newsroom culture gone wrong
Chapter 6 Indian Fever
And TNP s role in it
Chapter 7 Big, Bold and Sometimes Ugly
An apology is in store
Chapter 8 TODAY Bets on Goh Chok Tong
Chairman Cheng makes split-second decision
Chapter 9 TODAY Arrives, SPH Miscalculates
And media history is made
Chapter 10 Last of the Mohicans
Why the editors of old did it differently
Annex
About the Author
FOREWORD
I thank my friend, PN Balji, for requesting me to write the Foreword for his memoirs. He is one of Singapore s veteran newspaper journalists and editors, and a very good one.
Balji worked with The Straits Times , The New Paper , TODAY , Malay Mail and New Nation . I think his greatest achievement as a journalist was during the ten-year period when he was the editor of the tabloid, The New Paper . He made the paper commercially successful and intellectually credible. He also did an unusually good job as editor of TODAY , in the face of fierce opposition.
Most intellectuals look down on the tabloids. I used to have the same attitude until I met a veteran journalist and good friend of Singapore, Arnold Brackman. He was a seasoned foreign correspondent, an expert on Indonesia and a good friend of Mr S Rajaratnam, our first Foreign Minister. He was teaching journalism at a college in Connecticut. One day, he asked me which newspapers I read every day. I said I read The New York Times , the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post . Professor Brackman advised me to subscribe to a New York tabloid. He reasoned that the three papers I read represented the elite opinions of America but not the opinions of the man in the street. I took his advice and started to read the New York Post , in addition to the three elite newspapers. The lesson I learnt from Brackman is that it is important to be in touch with the ground.
Coming back to The New Paper , I recall that the paper once asked me to write an article for them on ASEAN. I accepted the challenge. I wrote the article in very simple English and free of jargon. I submitted my article and received quite a shock when the editor of the paper told me that his readers wouldn t understand my article. The editor rewrote my article in a language and style which was more accessible to his readers. It was a humbling experience. It taught me that writing for The New Paper was an art which I did not possess.
I have always admired our journalists. They work under many constraints. My friend, Cheong Yip Seng s book, OB Markers: My Straits Times Story , gives a detailed account of the kinds of pressure under which they work. I particularly admire the journalists who have not caved in to the pressure but are able to maintain their integrity. Singapore needs a press which is both independent and responsible.
Tommy Koh
Professor of Law National University of Singapore
AUTHOR S NOTE
Reluctant Editor is NOT a memoir and doesn t pretend to be one. It takes the reader through the five newspapers where I worked and highlights the challenges and successes I experienced, especially in the last two. I started my career at the Malay Mail in 1970 and progressed through New Nation , The Straits Times , The New Paper and TODAY .
The New Paper became my university of life, forcing my introverted self to break out of the cocoon to take risks that have the ability, even years later, to make me shudder each time I think about them. TODAY was an insurgent that dared to steal a crumb of The Straits Times lunch. It compelled me to roll up my sleeves and, audaciously perhaps, take on the might of the print giant. Both papers broke new ground in Singapore media history: The New Paper as the only afternoon newspaper ever to top 50,000 in daily sales; and TODAY for unlocking The Straits Times stranglehold on the morning newspaper market.
The other theme that runs through the book is how a group of editors, suckered by the rambunctious Fleet Street culture of England s newspapers, stood their ground when their principles would not let them give in to everything that Lee Kuan Yew wanted. One should not forget that Singapore s founding prime minister was at his rogue best at that time. How and why did they do things differently? I try to answer that question in the final chapter, Last of the Mohicans .
There are NO photographs in this book. Sourcing for them would be a difficult task, as I realised when sounding out my former colleagues. Hardly anyone kept relevant photographs. I decided not to approach Singapore Press Holdings and Mediacorp as I felt there might be more to-ing and fro-ing than I cared for, and the cost would likely be prohibitive. Deep into my retirement, this was the last thing I wanted.
Reluctant Editor is NOT a comprehensive study of the Singapore media. This is a story, some aspects of which I was involved in. And in others I was a front-row witness.
I have organised Reluctant Editor thematically, NOT chronologically. This is deliberate as I felt that most readers will not have the time to plough through the important highs and lows and fit them into the two themes mentioned earlier. I sought to keep each chapter to about 4,000 words. Sometimes I got carried away and a few chapters busted the word count. My favourite chapters are Toh Chin Chye Affair and Last of the Mohicans .
The saddest point in my career was to see a crisis envelope The New Paper newsroom, leading to a great reporter being told to leave and two smart editors being demoted. It was the most horrible sin to happen in a newspaper. It took us a while to recover and get back on our feet. Years later, as I recollect the sad episode, I do it with some pride. The reporter has gone on to become a significant member in the commodities industry while the two editors have shown great resilience to move on to important jobs in Singapore Press Holdings. This episode is related in Chapter 5 .
I write about the three print giants of modern Singapore in the final chapter, Last of the Mohicans : Peter Lim, Cheong Yip Seng and Leslie Fong. Watching how they operated was like sitting through tutorials on a running story on Singapore journalism. I pay my deep respect to them. To Peter, I say thank you for showing me how to be a good human being and how to withstand the pressures of government; to Cheong, for displaying how a story can be acutely angled; and to Leslie, for displaying a grit to stay the course in the fight to achieve meaningful journalism despite the great obstacles.
The three women in my life, one wife and two daughters, were very patient as I went silent and grumpy while writing the book. They tolerated a lot of my nonsense and their patience and understa