Speechless!

In an age when PR journalism seems to be taking over, few things seem to provide that glimmer of hope. Notable among them are some columns by renowned journalists. Although, most columns today merely paraphrase the news of the day, there are few columns that keep the hope of true journalism alive.

I've for long been an admirer of M J Akbar, Editor-in-Chief, Asian Age. His Byline every Sunday is something definitely worth reading. Speechless is one such article that makes me acknowledge the insight possessed by this man. Do read (and I wish our PM Mr. Manmohan Singh, too, reads this article).

Try this if the link doesn't work:

http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/mjakbar

The tea towel explanation of cricket!

The tea towel explanation of the game of cricket is a comic explanation of the game that has been current in the UK since the 1980s. It was made popular when the text was printed on a best-selling tea towel. The text runs as follows:
Cricket: As explained to a foreigner...
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.
Although intended to be comical and being very difficult to understand, this is an entirely correct explanation of Cricket.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_towel_explanation_of_cricket

Mid Day Turns YUMPI

Just when I was wondering...Can journalism get any murkier?........The news came along today.....

Recently, Mid Day organised an orientation seminar for its employees .... and expectedly... the presentation was given by a representative from The Times Group. All the reporters, editors.... were directed to focus all their news gathering and editing abilities on getting "YUMPI" news features.. i.e., Young Urban Mobile Professionals across India. This is their target audience...i.e., probably... the ones with the highest level of disposable income.

When one of the reporters enquired whether all stories had to be focussed around this one concept... the answer was... Yes! Tailor all your stories to fit into this segment... only 200 word stories.

What if the story isn’t based on this perspective.... then either reshape it to fit into this slot or... dump it, simple!

You might say.... this is simply a good marketing strategy by a business house... after all they are running a business.... I agree... In fact, it actually is a shrewd marketing strategy.. but the only thing that pains me is that..... why ... why... why all this in the name of Journalism?

A senior Journalist has aptly described what TOI (and now MID DAY) are doing ... as "sheer prostitution of Journalism" ................. and its a sad moment for all present and future Journalists.

Dare I say "Journalism is dead...... Long live PR (Journalism)"?

The Big Bad World Of Mumbai's Buildings, Builders & Banks!

Haven't we been feeling for long that there is some dirty game behind the unhindered development gobbling up the remaining open spaces of Mumbai? Well, I was just browsing through the website of "The Week" and I came across this wonderful article. It gives a lowdown on the big game behind the scenes and a peek at the reality of ever increasing property rates in simple words. Do spare a couple of minutes to read this.