Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Hypocrisy at its best
TOI reported today that ‘Speaker’ Somnath Chatterjee and his colleagues had to spend extra time circling because a southern China flight took more time to clear the runway. After Mumbai attacks, the same damn TOI complaint of high VIP security for MP’s and MLA’s. Now the same TOI is reporting about little extra that a VIP had to waste because of some technical snag. Common men including me face similar situation so many times, those are not reported. It is by reporting such incidents that media enhances the VIP image of a person.
Mumbai Terror Mubai Terror Mumbai Terror Mumbai Terror Mumbai Terror
That’s what is happening all around us everyday, right? In today’s TOI, caption of marathon foto on front page is ‘mumbai runs against terror’
My question is for how long? The so called 26/11 took place on Nov 26 last year. Of course I do not want people to just forget and take no lessons from the tragedy. But at the same time, I do not want this tragedy to be felt sad about FOREVER. And more importantly, it’s gross to see media – print or otherwise – deriving fodder out of this tragic incident. Their work is to inform citizens, and not influence their opinion or keep things alive in people’s memory.
But what irks me even more is the hypocrisy. After this article , I might be accused of indifference to the sorrow of terror victims but what should the media guys be accused of when they did not give even half as much coverage to guwahati blasts (which took place more recently ) as they are doing even to this day to Mumbai attacks. Guwahati and other north eastern cities suffered from blasts last year too. And they too suffer huge casualty. But these are reported for a day. And then forgotten. Why will not people form north-east complain of feeling detached from India? No wonder entire region is inflicted with insurgency. Why entire nation cried, Mumbai we are with you? Has one ever read, “itanagar, we are with you” ?
No wonder people coming from guwahati to delhi sometimes say they are coming to India!
My question is for how long? The so called 26/11 took place on Nov 26 last year. Of course I do not want people to just forget and take no lessons from the tragedy. But at the same time, I do not want this tragedy to be felt sad about FOREVER. And more importantly, it’s gross to see media – print or otherwise – deriving fodder out of this tragic incident. Their work is to inform citizens, and not influence their opinion or keep things alive in people’s memory.
But what irks me even more is the hypocrisy. After this article , I might be accused of indifference to the sorrow of terror victims but what should the media guys be accused of when they did not give even half as much coverage to guwahati blasts (which took place more recently ) as they are doing even to this day to Mumbai attacks. Guwahati and other north eastern cities suffered from blasts last year too. And they too suffer huge casualty. But these are reported for a day. And then forgotten. Why will not people form north-east complain of feeling detached from India? No wonder entire region is inflicted with insurgency. Why entire nation cried, Mumbai we are with you? Has one ever read, “itanagar, we are with you” ?
No wonder people coming from guwahati to delhi sometimes say they are coming to India!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Crusade against print media.. continued
Few weeks rather months back, I wrote to The Hindustan Times for giving some coverage to non-south-Delhi areas too. The report gave information on plantation drive during monsoons in Delhi.
Here's what he wrote.
"First of all, the story had many points. The major point was the booming business of nurseries due to early monsoons as the first sentence corroborates.
The second important was voluntariness of youngsters who could be called to give a helping hand as their vacations were on when monsoon had hit.
Plantation drives do happen. there's nothing new in it.
It was only early monsoon which made Hindustan Times publish this story. Focussing on plantation drives was not our focus.
You should read the story again!
As far as other areas are concerned. Check this sentence..
.....Gautam Pandey, who is spearheading a campaign named Hands For Trees (HFT) around
Chirag Delhi, Vasant Vihar, Dhaula Kuan and some areas in east and north Delhi......
Anyways thanks for your feedback..
We always welcome our readers to give their valuable responses.
"
Then I shot back with:
"
Well I read the story quite nicely first time itself. I am not trying to deny your first major focus and second major focus. I am concerned about the examples you took for your focus, which were mainly from south Delhi. I don’t understand why you wrote about early monsoon and plantation drive stuff, I nowhere , in my mail, doubted the reason you published the article. Hence I will rather encourage you to read the mail again!
And as you yourself pointed out in your reply here, “some areas in east and north Delhi...... ”, why ‘some areas’, when you can write chirag delhi – vasant vihar , you could also give some examples of those ‘some areas’ as well. I am sure the picture that was attached in that article was also not from those ‘some areas’ but from south Delhi only.
Anyways, thanks for your reply. I have wrote a couple of times to columnists of HT Brunch, only to find no response. It was heartening to see that your cared to reply.
"
That was the end, no more communications. My further correspondences to even other columnists or reporters are met with no reply. Looks like they have directed my mails to spam!!
Here's what he wrote.
"First of all, the story had many points. The major point was the booming business of nurseries due to early monsoons as the first sentence corroborates.
The second important was voluntariness of youngsters who could be called to give a helping hand as their vacations were on when monsoon had hit.
Plantation drives do happen. there's nothing new in it.
It was only early monsoon which made Hindustan Times publish this story. Focussing on plantation drives was not our focus.
You should read the story again!
As far as other areas are concerned. Check this sentence..
.....Gautam Pandey, who is spearheading a campaign named Hands For Trees (HFT) around
Chirag Delhi, Vasant Vihar, Dhaula Kuan and some areas in east and north Delhi......
Anyways thanks for your feedback..
We always welcome our readers to give their valuable responses.
"
Then I shot back with:
"
Well I read the story quite nicely first time itself. I am not trying to deny your first major focus and second major focus. I am concerned about the examples you took for your focus, which were mainly from south Delhi. I don’t understand why you wrote about early monsoon and plantation drive stuff, I nowhere , in my mail, doubted the reason you published the article. Hence I will rather encourage you to read the mail again!
And as you yourself pointed out in your reply here, “some areas in east and north Delhi...... ”, why ‘some areas’, when you can write chirag delhi – vasant vihar , you could also give some examples of those ‘some areas’ as well. I am sure the picture that was attached in that article was also not from those ‘some areas’ but from south Delhi only.
Anyways, thanks for your reply. I have wrote a couple of times to columnists of HT Brunch, only to find no response. It was heartening to see that your cared to reply.
"
That was the end, no more communications. My further correspondences to even other columnists or reporters are met with no reply. Looks like they have directed my mails to spam!!
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