Journalistic interpretation?

I takde kerja and sesaja googled Papa's name...and i found this at Ber*nama's library site...it was taken from their newsletter, Berita Bernama in 1980.

NOMENCLATURE OF UNACCEPTED DEFINITIONS

Journalists -Have you arrived?

At what stage of your career can you relax and say for certain that you have arrived as a journalist? Some say when you have regular irregular heartbeats, ulcers that defy diagnosis, untimely heart attacks, high blood pressure or a conspicuous loss of conspicuous loss of hirsute endowments at the hill-top.

Use the not-accepted Baharudin rating system to test yourself. Under this system, your stories must create some kind of response or aftermath (notice that I do not use the word reprisal as it might strike terror in your dainty hearts).

If your contact rings you up the next day to say you misquoted him completely, this indicates that he took the trouble to read, your report in the papers.

If he goes so far to threaten you with a law suit, this proves beyond any reasonable doubt that your story has touched him in the heart where it matters most.

By all means, do have a few restless nights thinking over your future in journalism but try not to lose appetite over this. You wouldn't want to drag in the medical profession over such a small matter. You could however try to catch hold of ex-journalists who hove gone into the legal profession (try Rashid Ali).

If your contact actually marches into Bernama Head Office with bloodshot eyes and fumes coming out of his ears to demand a retraction of your story, it goes to show how much trouble he has taken to see you personally over your story.

If he shows up with his lawyer, leave the matter entirely in the hands of the news editor, whose past personal experience in such matters will do doubt put him in good stead to deal with the problem.

However, while waiting for both parties to work out an amicable settlement out of court, you could spend the free time typing out your resignation letter.

And, for heaven's sake, as a parting gesture, exercise some principle - do not use office stationary. As an alternative, you could have your resignation letter typed out in advance. Just leave the date to be filled in when the need arises.

Therefore, under the Baharudin rating system, you can say you have arrived when you are leaving. At least you leave with a bang.

By BAHAR*UDIN LA*TIF, who jokes about his future.