*WANT TO BE A GOOD EDITOR?* Then cultivate, master this skill ======================== By C. Chisala Hello family. I am still around. A FEW days ago, I was editing news. The intro of one of the stories had 47 words while the proposed headline had 12 words. After I had finished editing the story one senior journalist asked to see how I had edited it. He looked at me and asked me, "Boss, how do you manage to do this?" I answered, "Well, it's a skill I have mastered from years of practice and continuous improvement." Why did he ask me that question? I had reduced the headline from 12 words to 5 and the intro from 47 words to 13. I explained to him that in News Reporting brevity and clarity are sacred. If you want news to deliver the message, to communicate effectively, tell it as quickly and clearly as possible. That is the principle. How do you achieve these two? 1. Let your intro be as short as possible. 2. Use few accurate words. In short, be brief and straightforward. What I have observed as an experienced editor over the years of my Journalism practice is that reporters often succumb to the strong temptation to pack the intro with as much information as possible, without realising that they are actually weakening it and therefore reducing its chances of communicating the news. When I saw the intro of that news story, it was too long - crammed with 47 words. When I read it I saw too many irrelevant words which shouldn't be there. So, I trimmed it to 13 words so that the reader could get the news at once and quickly. I used the rest of the information to construct a new paragraph, which became the second paragraph to reinforce or explain the intro. Use the principle of building blocks. Be brief, be clear. It's an important Journalism skill you have to work at cultivating and mastering with consistency and determination. Once you master it, it will separate you from the crowd of average and below-average journalists. You can use it to earn more money than them. You see, people and organisations pay for skill, not mere knowledge. I hope you have learned something Mr, Ms Journalist. Let's keep the conversation. God bless you.