New Delhi, April 3 -- In the middle of a hectic news cycle, I once managed to get about six byline credits in the newspaper I worked for. Elated, I took screen grabs of the articles that had my name and shared them with my family in the hope that the word spreads. Until a few years ago, my count of personal connections was more than that of my social media followers. Hence, word of mouth was the best bet for that ego kick. The giddy sensation that comes with seeing your name appear many times in a single edition of a news daily got wiped out with one call around 8.30am.

It was from my boss, who in turn had got a call from a super-boss. There was a 75-word brief that had appeared in another newspaper that we had missed. It was a regulator...