More on Oxymorons

During an editorial meeting when I was a reporter just starting out, my editor got a phone call. Cring...cring...cring...The landline was kept on the side of her round table, which had a glass surface. Sunlight streamed in through the open window. She picked up the receiver. After listening for a few seconds, she slammed the phone down. We were sitting around the table in complete silence.

- DOLA MITRA

During an editorial meeting when I was a reporter just starting out, my editor got a phone call. Cring...cring...cring...The landline was kept on the side of her round table, which had a glass surface. Sunlight streamed in through the open window. She picked up the receiver. After listening for a few seconds, she slammed the phone down. We were sitting around the table in complete silence. We had been discussing ideas for the week's newspaper articles just moments earlier. Her mood had changed completely. From fairly cheerful she was now fully cantankerous. No one dared ask what had transpired. "How dare he?" she thundered and told us later. "He was suggesting that his company was willing to give us a lucrative ad in return for coverage." The caller had crossed a line—the line between the aspects of editorial and financial in a newsp