A newspaper byline is no place for pompous and lengthy introductions.
SYDNEY: This is with reference to S Akbar Zaidi’s article of May 11 “The self-importance of names and titles”. The truth is that if Mr Zaidi practised what he preached, the introduction at the end of his article should not have been there. However, because it was there I now know that he is a “political economist” with multiple “degrees” and that he is an academician. My curiosity, aroused by the writer’s humility, made me Google his name and I found out that he has impressive credentials.
Readers cannot be expected to read every article, which is why it helps if they know something about the author, whether he is (or was) a lawyer, a professor, a journalist, a retired military officer, etc — the perspective and the training matters. But I agree with Mr Zaidi, that a newspaper byline is no place for pompous and lengthy introductions.
Razi Azmi
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2012.
