There are multiple reasons why we all write. A single, homogenised idea about writing reduces this form to a gazette. In a newspaper, the primary task of writing is to provide credible information in a language that is free from clichés and jargon and that is engaging enough to provide reading pleasure as well. The myriad strands of the legacy media offer each writer a method and style to be expressive in an unambiguous way. As a news ombudsman, I learnt to evolve a writing style from two great Latin American literary masters. In an interview to the Paris Review, Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez said: “When I’m writing I’m always aware that this friend is going to like this, or that another friend is going to like that paragraph or chapter, always thinking of specific people. In the end all books are written for your friends. The problem after writing One Hundred Years of Solitude was that now I no longer know whom of the millions of readers I am writing for; this upsets and inhibits me. It’s l...
