Flatulence as edit writing

BY darius| IN Opinion | 18/06/2006

What do the editors do when their assistant editors for economics show off like this? Don`t they feel competent enough to dumb the copy down?

You don`t say!

Darius Nakhoonwala

We got another taste of editorial flatulence last week when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the price of money in the economy. Readers will forgive me I hope for saying what I had said just three weeks ago about the way leader-writers in general newspapers treat topics in economics. In a nutshell, they don`t write for their readers but for experts who don`t look to general papers -- but to the pink ones -- for such comment.  

I was amazed to see that not one of the major newspapers tried to simplify the story. They all talked of repo rates, reverse rates, in line with global trends, inflationary expectations and so on, all without once bothering to ask: does the lay reader understand these terms and phenomena.  

And what, pray, do the editors do when their assistant editors for economics show off like this? Or is it that they don`t feel competent enough to dumb the copy down? I rather fear it is so.  

Here are some samples.  

The Pioneer was first off the mark on June 10 but it did explain what a `basis` point was. It also tried gamely to explain what all this meant to for the middle class salary-earner. But it did so clumsily. For example,   "if the reverse repo, which was pegged at 5.5 per cent, is hiked by say 25 basis points, in a matter of days, interest rates in the Government securities market will nudge up and, if the rise is significant, say by 40-50 basis points, banks may soon consider hiking loan rates and deposit rates." I beg your pardon? Can you say that again, please?  

The Telegraph was not much better and it focused on the timing of the increase, rather than its implications for the reader. "With gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter of 2005-06 coming in at a sizzling 9.3 per cent, with money supply growing at a year-on-year rate of 18.5 per cent and with inflation moving up, it is time to make amends." Eh?

The Hindu said the increase was "entirely consistent with its recent monetary policy stance." Well good but so what? So this, folks, "Short-term rates have emerged as the main signals for interest rate changes in a largely decontrolled and globalised environment. Elsewhere in the world too, the more traditional monetary instruments, such as the bank rate, have fallen into disuse. The argument that the RBI could have waited until July, when its quarterly review of the monetary policy is due, to announce the hikes is fallacious for at least two reasons..." blah, blah, blah

The Deccan Herald did explain what the repo rate is, "the rate at which it (the RBI) lends money to banks for short term period" and the Reverse Repo rate - "the rate at which banks park their funds with RBI". Then it fell off the stool. "This was to ensure a monetary and interest rate environment that enables continuation of the growth momentum consistent with price stability… government should keep a constant vigil over inflationary pressure and be in readiness to act in a timely and prompt manner on any sign of evolving circumstances impinging on inflation expectations."

Need I say more?