Humble, soft spoken, much respected, extremely well read in Cricket, Clayton Murzello (54), is Group Sports Editor, of India’s largest selling tabloid MID-DAY, Mumbai. He has covered the Cricket World Cups of 1996 and 2003, apart from a host of international events.
Here he talks to A.Radhakrishnan about his passion and work.
Clayton Murzello
Trace your career.
I started off selling books at The Marine Sports shop in 1985, the day after my SSC exams. In May 1988, I wrote my first article in Mid-Day. It was about a less fancied team, St Mary’s ICSE, beating giants Shardarshram Vidyamandir for whom a certain Sachin Tendulkar played for. One reason why I followed St Mary’s progress that year was because I sold cricket equipment to them.
I then started compiling cricket statistics for MiD-DAY with one eye on local sports, while keeping my job at the bookshop till 1991. I skipped my TYBA exams because I was offered an assignment to provide statistics after every match of the 1992 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. Joining it as a trainee, I could not however get a full-time job because I was an under-graduate.
Leaving with a heavy heart and a hot head, I worked briefly for an investment company, but continued as a freelancer for MiD-DAY and in June 1994, they roped me in full-time. In 2001, I became the Sports Editor and in 2006, was elevated as Group Sports Editor.
Who has influenced you?
My (late) father, a non-mainstream journalist, ran his critical eye over the introductions to my published statistical pieces and suggested changes. He brought home a cricket magazine in 1978 and the World Cup Illustrated Weekly of India issue in 1979, which attracted my interest. One Diwali morning when I wanted to play with fireworks, he instead bought me a copy of Sportsweek. I had no problems with that trade-off of sorts and was not so mad about crackers after that.
My (late) mother too influenced me. In 1984, she surprised me by buying an Australian magazine titled Cricket Lifestyle, costing ₹ 35/-. While I couldn’t stop reading it, the only price I had to pay was running all errands for a good part of the year. Many helped, but it was my friend Austin Coutinho, a former fast bowler and a master caricaturist who took me to various roadside bookshops in the 1980s and showed me how important books were in one’s life. He also regaled me with stories from his club cricket days. All this put me on the right path.
What makes an ideal sports editor?
A good sports editor must love and feel for all sportspersons especially at the grassroots level. Our young achievers even at school level should be given their share of space. It’s not always easy to do with perennial space crunches, but it is so very satisfying when done well. Criticising performances is easy, but this is sport and mistakes do happen. Practitioners are not robots, but try their best and that’s why not everyone can win medals.
How important is Sports? Have you played any game?
Sports is a way of life. How would you would feel if you walk a mile without seeing any sporting activity taking place? Or how good would you feel if you noticed it every 800 steps? Amidst all the big ticket events, there is the joy of watching sport being played purely for pleasure and not the score line. Cricket and badminton at a very, very elementary level. A cricket influencer in my building, I used to beg my friends to join in for a game.
How would you rate your writing skills?
Over the years I have learned that going out of your way to impress people with your writing is a recipe for disaster. I keep it simple, convey whatever I have to, and if a few lines turn out to be good, I feel happy about it. That doesn’t mean you close the door on acquiring new skills.
How do you find new and unique sports story ideas?
Your mind keeps ticking. When immersed in your job, ideation is
Taking notes at a pre-match media briefing conducted
by Australia captain Steve Waugh at Kochi in 1998
not difficult. The key is to be open to ideas your mind throws up, be honest about them, look at the negatives, ask the ‘how does it matter to the reader’ question. In a team environment, encourage ideas.
How do you assign topics, events and stories to individual writers or reporters for coverage?
You look at resources, at strengths. One writer may come up with good copy but may lack a good professional relationship with the subject. Another one wouldn’t have the writing skills but can converse well with the subject. I’d opt for the latter. The former I will utilize for a feature
What is the most memorable story you’ve reported on?
Meeting former West Indies fast bowler Winston Davis who was paralysed waist down, at his UK residence in 2011 was a hard emotional story to do. And interviewing Sachin Tendulkar in his car (on his return from England in 1996) going on record to say that he was ready to take over as Captain of India.
What is your experience in reading, evaluating and editing manuscripts?
I have evaluated manuscripts only once or twice. But there are at least 25 books which have my name in the Acknowledgments section including a few editions of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
How do you balance cooperation with others and independent thinking? Describe a typical day at work?
I encourage team suggestions and views even if they do not align with mine. But I take a call finally, as Editor, on what is best for the sports section.
My working day starts with my waking up. While the main course is the print edition, one has also to think about the website and other digital deliverables. The second half of the day is spent in office. Headlining, play for certain stories, page planning; they are all part of the job. The edition goes to bed at night but journalists working on that go to bed more than a couple of hours later
Your management style? Are you a team player? Do you work well under pressure?
I believe a good senior has to be straight with people. I have a no-games playing policy in my soul. Of course, I’d like to think that I am a team player but everybody else believes so. I’m no different. Tight deadlines are a challenge we face day after day. The challenge changes as you get older but the enjoyment will be a constant if you happen to love your job.
What does quality work mean to you? Have your ethics been tested?.
Quality work is job done with sincerity and sensitivity. Ethics should be at the heart of every effort. I vehemently detest plagiarism in the profession. Honesty starts at the top and if you display that quality in good measure, it generally rubs off on your team. Exceptions are when using someone’s quote in your copy, you attribute it to that person as well as the publication in which it appeared.
What is your favorite sport to cover? Are you biased towards it?
My favourite sport is cricket but no, I don’t indulge in any favouritism when it comes to what goes on the page. Yes, you can get a judgment call wrong but it’s unpardonable to let something else get priority on purpose. I have utmost respect for sporting skills which come into the mix no matter what sport or what level of sport you report on or publish.
Isn’t cricket overhyped and its players obscenely paid? When will other sports get equal importance?
I will not use the word hyped but yes, cricket does get more space and has mass popularity (read readers). It will always dominate the sports pages, but other sports get their due too, I dare say. Cricket administrators, however arrogant they are or have been, have promoted their sport well and the results show. I would like to see the other sports administrators perform similarly.
Any books?
I have edited Khalid AH Ansari’s book ‘Sachin: Born to Bat’ and also penned the title ‘Caught and Told’, with former Indian batsman Sandeep Patil.
Is government budget for sports adequate?
It can never be enough. I hope to see more funds being allocated for sports so that one day we can call India a true sporting nation.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to enter the profession?
Enter it to do justice to your passion and work assiduously. Let money not be the bottom line. Beware of the pitfalls. There will be temptations to take the sinister route, but remember not only will you be caught out eventually; you also won’t be able to face your inner self with pride.
Also, don’t take criticism personally. Look at the positives. Someone is telling you where you are going wrong. Pardon the cliché, but don’t give up. When you have weathered the storms, walked the tightrope and reached a fair distance, you will feel proud that you didn’t give up.