The Hindu Business Line : Use active rather than passive prose

A handy dictionary for media novices is Key Concepts in Journalism Studies, by Bob Franklin, Martin Hamer, Mark Hanna, Marie Kinsey, and John E. Richardson, from Vistaar Publications (www.indiasage.com). From `absence' to `yellow journalism', the book encompasses print, radio, television and online media.

Let's begin with `agony aunt', the popular advice column. One of the best known was of Ann Landers, in Chicago Sun-Times. "According to her obituary in Chicago Tribune, `Dear Ann' began running in the early 1950s and by 1993 was appearing in 1,200 newspapers around the world with an estimated 90 million readers," informs the book.

Cartoons are `editorials in pictures,' say the authors, citing Seymour Ure. The cartoonist's armoury, according to Gombrich, includes "weapons of exaggeration, distortion, simplification, caricature and ambiguity." Chequebook journalism is "the practice of journalists paying for information or for exclusive interviews." Embedded journalists, as www.militarycity.com defines, "live, work, and travel as part of the units with which they are embedded to facilitate maximum, in-depth coverage" of forces in combat.

What is `inverted pyramid'? Also known as the `climax first' or `top-heavy form', this is a standardised format for writing a hard news story. Most important information is at the head of the story; and the lead paragraph answers the five `W' questions — who, what, why, where and when. So, "any necessary editing of the story can be achieved by simply cutting paragraphs from the bottom of the copy until the desired story length is achieved."

Metonym is explained as "a figure of speech in which one word, phrase or object is substituted for another from a semantically related field of reference." For example, in `the trains are on strike,' the object replaces the user. Similarly, in `the White House declared,' the place replaces the people. Event may give place to a date, such as in `September 11th must never be allowed to occur again.'

Spin has relevance not only in cricket but also in politics, "to imply the particular angle, meaning or interpretation assigned to a particular event by a spin doctor." Three `Rs' that help in spin are rhetoric, repetition, and rebuttal. Spoiler is "a story published by one media organisation to `spoil' the impact of another's exclusive."

On style, one learns that the style that a journalist uses tells us "a great deal about the identities of both the journalist and the audience, and also something about the assumed relationship between them." The entry for `style guide' explains, "All news organisations have a concept of a distinctive house style which is the language in which stories should be written." Simple tips from George Orwell are the use of active rather than passive prose and never to use a long word when a short word will do.

Quick reference, well annotated.

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Use active rather than passive prose