Showing posts with label Journalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Journalism. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
...or ignorant... This has been written for you .
The article is a welcome relief amidst the usually mindless journalism happening these days.
We need more of such pieces which decode a phenomena and leave it at that.
Unfortunately, such insights often come from people outside the field of journalism - people, who are not paid to indulge in propaganda.
Link via Vikas.
Link via Vikas.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Will we ever see more of such brilliant coverage in English media?
I know. Stupid question.
Btw, did I tell you that one of my many dreams has always been to become political journalist?
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On Gujarat : I absolutely love the infrastructure in the state. And we are not talking only about cities.
Small towns have been given equal importance and there is much to envy (especially for a Bombayite).
Btw, did I ever tell you that another of my many dreams has always been to work for the Urban Planning Commission?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
There has been much ado about the Niira Radia tapes and the politico-corporate-journalist nexus. Amidst daily breaking news, one point of view that caught my attention has been freedom of an individual and his rights to privacy.
While I am all for an individual's privacy, I don't quite get the point of using this argument for the Radia tapes. The tapes are neither voyeuristic in nature nor do they spill out any personal chats and/or corporate secrets of the companies involved.
What they do bring to the fore is how our journalists blinked, and became brokers between the ruling political party and private enterprises.
Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, like us, can be favourably disposed towards certain individuals and/or political parties. But if the fourth estate became an agent for the powerful, then there is almost nobody one can trust. (Here, I feel vindicated - I have always opined that the English print and television media in India is extremely biased. However, even I am surprised at the complete lack of scruples in this scandal.)
Now, if you are still keen to become a torch bearer for privacy rights, please be my guest. However, to save you some time and heart burn, I suggest you start from here
According to Kushan Mitra
And just a small bit of information to everybody, Government security agencies tap each and every phone call and text message you make in India. Thats right, each and every call. So next time you talk to your pimp/drug dealer/gun runner please know that Big Brother (Sister?) is listening to your every word. OK, so only if you use certain key words does the system get alerted, but everyday in those bunch of buildings behind Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium every call is recorded and stored for over a month. Detective Agency my ass!
And, if you still feel zealous about the cause, I will also ask you to bear in mind that in India :
No 'secret' government document has been declassified since 1947. Well, that's not technically true. The Ministry of External Affairs did declassify more than 120 files dating from the 1950s and 1960s, but these are stored in the foreign office's records management section - not in the National Archives of India - and out of bounds for the aam janta, journalists included.
So whether it's the Henderson-Brooks Committee report on the performance of the Indian Army in the 1962 India-China war, or the LP Singh Committee report on the misuse of intelligence agencies and the CBI by Indira Gandhi in 1975-1977 during the Emergency, it's a strict no-go area, all in the name of that jelly bean called 'national security'.
And here's the clincher: the rules that deal with India's policy for declassification itself are classified.
I quite agree with Indrajit Hazra when he says
Let many more taps and leaks and creaks and groans lead to official and unofficial secrets tumbling out of the dingy attic. Because they're certainly not going to come out on their own.
What our journalists did was certainly not illegal.
But how about unethical?
I suggest you also read Shoma Chaudhary's take on the Tata's moving the Supreme Court on this subject.
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A few days back I watched The Insider and couldn't help drawing parallels with the Indian media.
A powerful movie with compelling performances - The Insider is a real life account of a whistle blower and how he is (almost) short-changed by Corporate America and Media Moghuls.
While Jeffrey Wigand deserves every bit of applause for his heroism, I couldn't help feeling awe for Lowell Bergman. The walkout in the climax has been playing on my mind ever since I watched the movie.
I jogged my memory through all my years of learning and searched for Indian journalists who had everything going for them, and yet had walked out on their venal employers.
Only for a tiny principle.
If you know of such people, please write back.
Monday, October 18, 2010
This piece by Aravind Adiga appeared in yesterday's Times of India Op-Ed.
I will wait for those of you who haven't read it, to march over and read Adiga's thoughts on Kannadigas and Karnataka.
Done?
Now, let's get down to some rumination.
Were you able to draw any parallel between Adiga's article and clarion calls of the fiery Raj Thackeray?
This post is not aimed at the merits/de-merits of the sons of the soil movement.
We are here only to take note and be more aware of the manipulation of public opinion that the Times of India regularly indulges in.
For a group that takes immense pride in its ultra secular credentials, how this piece snaked through the Op-Ed is anybody's guess.
A Cadbury treat to anyone who points out the real reason :-)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I have a lot to share, so, combining everything at one go.
Godhra and ever after
I am very happy about Modi's appearance before the SIT. The past eight years have seen hundreds of allegations and counter allegations, unwarranted media frenzy and plain lies. Ofcourse, the country has been divided too.
Finally, we will know the truth.
The wait has been troublesome at a personal level too.
Anyway, if anything the incident has taught me - it is the media's role in forming public opinion and, how stong a pen really is.
The incident has taught me to look into facts.
No rhetoric. Or emotions. Just plain facts. However disturbing or non-compliant with your belief they be.
A friend recently reminded me and likened the media's role in Godhra and Gujarat to the following verse -
""Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” said Adolf Hitler, about 70 years ago. Our Human Rights activists are proving it today."
While we are still at this subject, I also recommend reading two excellent pieces each by Swapan Dasgupta and Ashok Malik.
They will make you appreciate, how responsible you must be as a reader and a consumer of the media and the Indian Government.
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History
Hitler reminds me of two movies I watched recently.
Inglourious Basterds and Invictus. Both, historical dramas.
While Inglourious Basterds is only the produce of a fertile imagination, Invictus carves out Nelson Mandela's presidency and his vision.
While "Inglourious..." has very good performances and a lovely soundtrack, Invictus has enough sincerity and inspiration to overwhelm you.
Both are "must watch" movies and maybe, Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds) should be included as a case study at every acting school.
*****
Partition and Sikh Riots
I am a sucker for all things historical and cultural.
A little difficult to explain, but I have always been attracted to the past.
Any family gathering or friends get-together, and I am all for anecdotes and experiences from the era gone by.
Recently, while having lunch at a school friend's place, we got talking about the Sikh Riots. The family is half Sikh and they had lots to share about what transpired before and after Operation Blue Star.
Village and small town men and women, just established themselves as heroes in my eyes !
I felt much respect for all those who protected their families, friends and neighbours and fought against armed terrorists, when the state police failed its people miserably.
We also spoke about our families, the partition and the 1971 war.
Some trivia was funny while others scared me enough to choke on the pav bhaji.
*****
Law
I also happen to have a thing for law and coutroom dramas.
All thanks to John Grisham.
So, if you find yourself captivated by the genre too, I recommend watching 12 Angry Men and The Verdict - both directed by Sidney Lumet.
In fact, 12 Angry Men is often shown to management students, with the intention of churning out better negotiators.
You can obviously ignore the above trivia. But do watch the movies - good content I say !
Also, Paul Newman is very handsome !
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