Newsrooms the world over are grappling with a new, formidable entrant — AI. The advanced capability of machines and systems can help simplify labour in many areas, reducing the time spent on grunt work. AI could potentially sharpen our output by bringing down the time required for rigour, which often entails background reading, fact-checking, speaking to experts, and perusing archives in our line of work.
When some of us stepped into a newsroom for the first time, sending a story to our editor by email was the new “cool thing”. And email was something we checked only on a bulky desktop computer. In addition to books and archives at the office library, there was another crucial resource we relied heavily on — our colleagues who have been there, done that. KV (K. Venkataramanan), who recently retired as a Senior Associate Editor of The Hindu, has been one such exceptional colleague. Exceptional, not only in his breadth and depth of knowledge — in politics, law, policy, governance, popular culture, literature, sports (he is also a grammar nerd!) — but also in his willingness to readily share it.
To my advantage, KV is a Sri Lanka expert. Around dramatic news developments on the island, he would gently pass on a nugget from the past, helping me make more sense of the present. “Hey, just read your copy. Didn’t a similar situation arise in so-and-so’s presidency? Do you want to bring in that; I can look up the date,” he would offer. KV knew the date; he was only verifying it. He would easily pull out a precise detail from decades ago, in just a second, as if his memory were organised in neat folders. My colleague in the data team recalls how a casual chat with KV in the newsroom led to a compelling data story probing how India’s Chief Justices involved their senior colleagues in major cases.
While it is professional practice not to attribute the newspaper’s editorials to any one edit-writer, it was hard to miss the KV touch in many of the paper’s powerful editorials on controversial judgments. The arguments would be built on solid facts, and framed with an unmistakable commitment to human rights, democracy, and justice. That is the other thing we learn from journalists like him. There is knowledge, and there is perspective. Public-spirited journalism is hardly about flaunting knowledge or cold facts offering de-politicised accounts of history. It is about applying principles of fairness, while recognising all the structural inequalities and injustices in our world.
Reporters write for a living, but that doesn’t make it easy. There are days when you stare at an awfully wordy lede wondering why the words won’t just fall into place more gracefully. On such occasions, KV was my go-to person. “KV! Can you please help fix this long opening paragraph?” Within minutes, he would respond with a pithy couple of lines, instantly highlighting what matters most.
Not just me; many of my colleagues will tell you KV has been their go-to person. I have seen several popular TV anchors requesting him to break down intimidating jurisprudence or decode new legislation for them. Basically, KV would read a lengthy document in ‘legalese’, interpret it quickly, and unpack it for the rest of us in an accessible way. We repeatedly went to him not only because he knew things, but also because he was willing to help, that too without condescension. But there was a cost — his painful jokes! (Although I grudgingly admit that many were really good ‘bad jokes’.)
Even as newsroom dynamics are changing for the better, they are not immune to pettiness or cut-throat competition. It is silly and even ironic, because none of us can deny that the stories we consider among our best benefited immensely from inputs from and sharp editing by colleagues. My generation of journalists is yet to grasp how AI might steer journalism. We have gotten by with human intelligence and generosity.
Published – April 18, 2025 01:51 am IST