What is excellence in journalism? Is it about working hard and producing copy after copy or story after story? Working 12–14-hour days non-stop and putting in the long hours? Or is it about the deep dive, an intellectual pursuit that goes beyond the surface and helps you get to the bottom of the story and understand it better? And in turn present it better for the readers and viewers? Or is it a mesh of the two in this age of demand and supply?
The truth is the definition has changed. It is not about quantity. Never was. So don’t come and tell me that I work long hours and produce so many copies or videos. That’s what most applicants for jobs do these days. The fact is if you produce 8-10 copies a day, they will never be quality. Can’t be. You don’t have the ability to do that. No one can. For numbers and hits and impressions we have sacrificed qualify at the altar of quantity.
“But we work long days. We put in 12-14 hours every day is another refrain”. So, what is my answer? Of the time put in how much of it had your fullest focus? How much did you think? Do research? Go deeper into a story? For unless you do there is no excellence.
For me at RevSportz it is all about intellectual growth. Unless you see a journalist grow and get better intellectually, the quest fails. He or she can produce many stories and do everything diligently but then even a robot can do that. Or AI in the future. Where is the human touch? The empathy to a story? Or rather the human element that still matters?
Maybe I am old school. Or critical. But then that’s how it is and will be. You challenge yourself every day and break the comfort zone. Unless you do, the quest is over. And if that happens you are bound to stagnate. As I write this, I am 30,000 feet above sea level on my way to Manchester. It still gives me butterflies. How can I make a difference? What can I do that stands out. How do I story tell better? It is not just about turning up for shows and going through them. God has given me the ability to speak decently, and I know I can swim through shows. And tick all boxes. But is that what I am here for? Am I cheating my readers and my viewers? Am I doing justice to why I set up RevSportz? Wasn’t the quest always excellence even if that means we make mistakes?
There will be self-doubt. Everyday. But then that’s how you challenge yourself. And sport always gives you a second chance. You write a bad piece today and you can get better tomorrow. You do a bad show at lunch, and you can get better end of the day. But the desire has to be there: the burning desire to keep getting better and be the best version of yourself. The decisive 1 percent. The home stretch. It will always be an unfinished quest for the day you think it is done, you should know you are going to stagnate. This applies for all of us and should be a constant reminder.
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