What ails Team Anna in 2012??

Anna Hazare and his team have started their agitation again! I am surprised by the lack lustre response by the media, this time. India’s channel, as claimed by Arnab G has decided to skip their 24/7 live reporting of the fast and even the print media are not interested.  Funny, how the headlines read this time, one paper even calls it as Anna Hazare’s circus in Jantar Mantar!! This same paper went gaga over his earlier fasts and agitations.

So, what’s the reason for the low turnout to Team Anna this time round??

Here is my take:

Anna Hazare is a very nice and well intentioned man but the movement per se lacks the collective focus and intelligence to carry it through to the logical conclusion of an effective Lokpal. Besides, his team members seem to be having divergent agenda and methodology, right from campaigning for state elections, taking an anti- congress stance, transparency within the Team Anna committee meetings and focus. Besides, formulation of Lokpal bill needs some wisdom, maturity and balance, mere sloganeering and social networking skills aren’t obviously enough.

The media did their bit in whipping up passions and emotions ran high with 24/7 reporting on TV in 2011. This helped them grab TRPs and the media barons were happy with Anna and his team. But Team Anna, instead of consolidating the gains and the ‘free’ support from media and youth, frittered away their chances. Many of the members became as brash and annoying as the congress leaders they were fighting! Thus began the beginning of the end. Today, media is quite apathetic to Team Anna as there is probably something better for them, to grab TRPs. They have realised that Indians like armchair activism and the likes of Satyameva Jayate programmes generate more revenue for the media houses and are easier to support (I mean politically correctJ).

The second theory of mine is that Anna Hazare movement was a media creation, in the first place. Media decided to back him and his team, and got the urban youth to rally around them and when the media didn’t back them this time, the same urban youth have gone missingJ

Can we recreate the magic of the 70s?

As I watched the TV last night, I was surprised by the play of emotion on me, watching the most memorable dialogues and scenes from Rajesh Khanna’s films. I guess that kind of sums up the feelings of Indians who grew up in the 70s, an era of innocence, idealism and romance that Rajesh Khanna carried with great élan. I can hardly be described as a movie buff and yet news on Rajesh Khanna’s passing away took me to those yesteryears.

I certainly have no idea on what kind of person he was, off screen, but he simply was the best we had on screen. He belonged to an era when films did well if people went and watched them in theatres and spoke about it to their friends. There was no promotion of the stars, nor the movie, there was no news programme on “making of the film” by the lead actors, gushing inanities like they do, today. At most, we got to watch the songs on “Chayageeth” for those of us who were lucky to own a televisionJ. The only other exposure was on Vivid Bharathi on AIR where these songs became immortal.

Listening to people who worked with Rajesh Khanna, sharing their interesting tidbits and anecdotes got me thinking about life in the 70s. for these movie stars. I guess if you were successful in the 70s, with very little media at your disposal and not much of brand building and hype, it must be cakewalk for them, in today’s world. I mean, these people, be it the actors, the lyricists, the music composers, directors, had awesome talent and were so original. There were movies that were grossers by the sheer strength of the songs it had. Or a superstar like Rajesh Khanna could carry a movie on his shoulders and deliver a hit.

If only we could get them all back, they can easily push the current stars into oblivion, permanentlyJ

The great Indian Olympian Dream

The recent controversy surrounding Leander and Mahesh is a classic case of tardy and shoddy behaviour of officials heading the various sporting bodies. All of them have one unique common thing, irrespective of the sport they represent - all of them don't give a damn for the sportsmen and/or their careers. The officials’ only concern seems to be to continue being office bearers of various sporting associations. Little do they realise that without the sportsmen, they have no job!

Given that the Olympic medal, the ultimate dream for every sportsman, requires some training and preparedness, however accomplished he/she maybe, it is therefore natural for teams or individuals to be formed at least six months in advance, if not earlier. It is therefore shocking that AITA chose to announce the team of their choice, not player's choice, with just a month left for the Games to begin.

I am certainly not privy to the internal squabbles between Mahesh and Leander and/ or the officials at AITA, but anyone with common sense will know that for a team to succeed there needs to be a good understanding and camaraderie between them. Granted that Leander and Mahesh were a great team in the past, but it’s obviously not the case now. From reports in the media, it is clear that Mahesh and Bopanna have communicated to AITA on their plans to team up for the Olympics as early as last year and they were encouraged by the AITA to play together. Therefore, it is extremely baffling to suddenly pull out teams from the hat and shock the players and public. What makes it extremely pathetic is to split the successful mixed doubles team of Mahesh and Sania who recently won a Grand Slam, only to pacify and mollify Leander’s egoJ If I were Leander Paes, I would have retired gracefully than wait for the wild card decision of Sania Mirza!!

What is extremely painful is that such games by officials are being played ever so often and in almost every sport. Often we lament on the reasons for not scoring medals in spite of being a one billion plus nation. The reasons for the poor show are certainly not the sportsmen but the brainless officials controlling the hapless sportsmen! 

NGOs and TRPs

I suddenly had this terrible thought of the possibility of activist NGOs being measured by an equivalent of TRPs that are currently being used for TV channels and programmes. This thought was triggered by the headline hogging news from the Delhi based NGO about the harm caused by fast foods and other brands, today.

If we are discussing paid news and biased media houses today, imagine how the scenario will be like with NGOs joining in too?? Being 1/04/12 tomorrow, lets consider a few likely scenarios to start with! 

These are some of the headlines at this hour / today, says Arnab Goswami with utmost seriousness and outrage, all at the same time!!

CSE and ABC, two environment based NGOs have come out with startling findings of the commonly consumed  milk, from state run dairies. Findings from CSE mention alarming levels of fertilizer derived nitrates, phosphates in milk. Staff at ABC also confirm similar findings but the levels of these salts vary between them. The spokespersons from both these NGOs claimed that they used very exacting standards and followed standard and established protocols. The biggest violators were Mother Dairy, New Delhi, Nandhinee, Bangalore, Aavin, Chennai. Consumers are confused and are left wondering if they must remove dairy products from their menu. NGOs that root for organic farming are seen preening themselves on TV, till Arnab dada dropped his bomb. The maximum levels of these pollutants are from buffaloes that grazed on organic farms, said he with a straight face!! This stumped every guest on his show - from the consumer to the different NGOs and certain omnipresent experts on his show like Suhel Seth, Lord Meghnad Desai, Vinod Mehta, etc., except of course, himself!

Another day....

Team India has offlate, decided to target proponents of organic farming. Arvind K has videos of Ms. Vandana Shiva shopping in Wal-Mart for apples from USA and grapes from Australia. Vandana Shiva, on her part, vehemently denies consuming these tasty fruits but bought them to entertain her guests at her home! Her foes were quick to point out her double standards. Realizing that attack is the best form of defense, Vandana Shiva launched a tirade against Team Anna and Arving K, in particular. She said that Arvind K was a plant set up by Monsanto to malign her and her movement and further blasted him for getting funded by them for his anti-corruption movement!

24/7 media channels share a common art, in India

It has just struck me how the media houses share one thing in common between them.. they successfully make everybody else so likeable and acceptable!!
 

Let me elaborate. I was never a fan of Vijay Mallya and always thought he was too flamboyant and flashy for my taste. While I agree it takes all kinds to make this world, he was not somebody I was inspired or motivated by. But the recent crises that Kingfisher has landed in, and the media frenzy and reporting has improved my opinion of Mallya. Yes, he continues to be the flashy guy but there was something more to him than just that - this came through during his answers to News channels yesterday. The news channels were shown their place!

 

Another person who I didn't think much of, but has risen in my eyes is Omar Abdullah, CM of J & K. I really enjoyed the way he gave it to Arnab Goswami a month ago over a custodial death. The interview was so good that it had me jumping for joy!

Media houses do one thing well - they make the rest of us very greatJ

Arnab G - role reversal?

Breaking and trending news today is that Arnab and his team are being questioned and grilled by CBI. Apparently, this team is in possession of too many secret, leaked documents from the government offices!! I knew it would come to this... he has been waving far too many documents circled and highlighted for his own good. The CBI has been with the team right through the day and sources reveal that Arnab is not amused at being questioned... He has always been the one asking the questions.. Infact, in the first hour of interrogation, the CBI officers had a tough time explaining to Arnab that he couldn't ask questions, instead he had to learn to answer themJ, as Arnab seemed to be hallucinating that he was anchoring the Newshour programme, while he was actually being interrogated!

This news story has many politicians grinning from ear to ear; across party lines... impromptu parties are planned tonight, in many homes in Delhi. Many Tihar inmates are also pleased with the recent developments. So are the other news channels. They can't believe this unexpected festival bonanza.. apparently, Diwali celebrations have been pre-poned and festive spirit is in the air, in Delhi. Team Anna, however, is not too pleased as they have lost their main TV anchor.

 

This is how yours truly woke up this morning!! Bad dream, huh??

Arnab G sure needs a break!

Its my earnest appeal to Times Now to have another set of anchors for their Newshour capsule. Arnab needs a vacation. And viewers will welcome the breakJ. While I enjoy his interrogations in Newshour, (not for his prowess but for sheer entertainment and his ‘holier than thou attitude’), yesterday, for the first time in years, I sat through his programme without flipping channels. He has surely lost it and looked jaded.

He was quizzing (yeah, just like a quiz master would) Shri Praful Patel on the CAG report and clearly had come ill-prepared. While I have no knowledge on the topic, it was apparent that Praful Patel came out more impressive than ever, a seasoned politician that he is. There were more than 3/4 occasions when Arnab had egg on his face although he pretended to be on top of the game. And his discomfiture was so apparent that he was often repeating sentences like, "my first question to you is, my first question to you is.."

I am always wary of people (more so, media guys) who think they have a halo around them, but our man clearly needs a long vacation. He has had better days on his show, believe me. He was clearly out of sorts and was nodding his head like he couldn't believe his terrible show, tooJ. And those of us who were watching couldn't help but sympathise with him while Praful Patel looked pleasantly surprised to be let off so easily.

And to top off the total comedy show, he announced very grandly that he had a set of 3 rapid fire questions to end the interview... by now I was sure Arnab has made some alternate career plans... And needless to say he managed to ask only one and had to gracefully bid adieu to the comedy showJ. I think Siddharth Basu has a new apprentice joining him!

Best news channel award for the month goes to....

Many many thanks to Congress and Team Anna's Civil Society, news channels are thanking their stars and loving their TRPs like never before:-)...

A year ago, any scam worth thousands of crores was a sureshot winner with news channels, not anymore, though! Arnab really worked hard with obtaining copies of CAG reports on CWG scam part II, Air India etc.. but the public were so numbed, that nothing could really interest them anymore. With IPL another 10 months away, and elections another year away, and with everybody blaming the media for the overdose of everything... Arnab and gang were a worried lot, till the India Against Corruption picked up steam, thanks to government handling (or bungling).

Never mind if the visuals were repeated every 3 minutes, the anchors were going hysterical with the reporting, much like the sloganeering youth on the street. It was pathetic to watch them but we had no choice but to endure them. Its like as if there is nothing else happening in the country or the world!! But apparently, there is the usual stuff, if you do happen to read the newspapers... there are floods in North India, Dengue in Orissa, floods and protests in West Bengal, Bombay preparing for the annual Chaturthi festival, farmers protests in Pune and UP. A US Senator was visitng India and met with politicians in Kashmir. Indian cricket team continued their show with Test cricket.. World economy very precarious and bleak.. Indefinite Truckers strike from today etc. etc..

Having watched TV this past week, with little to choose between them, I would say NDTV scores over the rest with a more balanced and mature reporting.. There seemed to be an attempt at genuine understanding and debate on the topic, with some quality experts on the panel.

Peepli Live - a class apart in Bollywood

Managed to see Peepli Live only yesterday, a good eight months after its release.. I am so glad I finally could watch it at home. Its about farmers' plight is most Indian villages and captures the ways of Indian politicians, and the Indian media in continuing and exploiting the situation. Such a serious subject but handled in a very light hearted manner and yet leaving the viewer with thought provoking questions.. 

Only Aamir Khan can come up with such fine productions. He has brought glory to Indian Cinema through this film and hats off to him. He has shown that Indian viewers do appreciate good films and they need not be pure art films nor the usual commercial crap that is dished out to the masses. 

The movie captures how the media houses are polarised across political parties, how they fight to do exclusive stories without having any sensitivity of the very people on whom the stories are done.. It captures how callous and insensitive the politicians are in passing the buck to another department or the state or central government.

The movie is about a story of how a farmer contemplates taking his life to avail the compensation his family would get if he commits suicide. Yet, the politicians are not concerned about the agrarian crises in the country and the plight of farmers, all they focus is on their survival and upcoming elections. And the media look at it as a story to roll out for the next week and jostle about for exclusives stories and leads. The media houses fight over this story to boost their TRPs and therefore please their bosses and sponsors.

The entire movie is filmed with class, much like any other foreign movie, and has a good run time of 1 hour and 40 minutes. So, it brings the awareness on the burning issue of the Indian farmer and yet entertains. A must watch for any movie buff. 

Barkhagate

This is just what I needed:).. Media has often been at the receiving end in this blog and today its at its best, probably:). Politicians, industrialists getting caught lobbying, etc., does not surprise me anymore. But its shocking to know that the half baked media in India are also as bad. Earlier, I only had a problem of the quality of reporting... But now, that they are no different from politicians and the rest, is a revelation! 

The media has always played a "Holier than Thou" attitude and has always pointed fingers at everyone while maintaining a self drawn halo around themselves... Well, this link will dissolve that halo in seconds:)

What is even more deplorable is the ganging up of all mainstream media and they have successfully blacked out this youtube video... The same media that would have jumped 10 feet if there was a probable scam in any part of India, has decided to go silent on this... This is good brotherhood, man! 

This same brotherhood among industrialists or political parties would be ripped and torn apart by these very media houses. Can there be a better example of double standard??

Well, I am actually glad this video clip has come to light... I couldn't stand these TV presenters wearing a "larger than life" virtuosic personality, anyway.

Time for media to grow up!

I seem to be a pathetic minority in the current issue of the Bhopal gas verdict. I think all of us (actually the media) are having a misplaced priority on the issue. I don't understand why or how important it is to track down Warren Anderson and get him behind bars!!! How will it help the victims in the tragedy?? And secondly, do we take the same stand when it comes to all other accidents?? If yes, then why isn't the CEO of Air India put behind bars for the Mangalore Air crash or the Rail board chairman be put in prison for the rail accidents??

My question to the media houses is to please sift the issue thread bare and then report, and not take stands like half baked interns on their first training assignment!! Here, its not important to get Warren Anderson in prison but its far more important to get fair compensation to the victims. That's more imperative and proactive action to take. Somewhere, the media seems to have lost it and are getting more decadent in their reporting and high on the sensationalism quotient. Arnab from Times Now was screaming hoarse last night on how Times Now located Warren Anderson's home in NYC (I was telling people at home that Times Now should join the Police force:))... till the reporter in NYC said that a simple google search was all that was required to track his home:).

Can we get more pathetic than this!! What happened to the Lt. Colonel who was allegedly involved in a sex scandal? Media hanged him guilty before even before hearing his case and from the second day, there is absolutely no news on the issue, but the damage to the individual is done!! Jumping to conclusions and handing the verdict and surmising and conjectures seem to rule the day and very sadly so!

The Great Indian (?) Summer Wedding

I wonder what interests us when we watch news or read the morning papers - do our politicians interest us?? I can hear a big No inside my head. Well, the Sports Page is probably the best part of the morning paper. Its definitely more pleasant to read about which team won and how and stellar performances from sportspersons - in any sport. I would rather read this than about politicians attempting reform, or road accidents, burglaries, and other city blues... The other entertaining page is the TOI page called "Times Trends". They have the funniest and vaguest research findings that will put the authors of Freakonomics to shame:-). If you haven't read this book yet, please do.

This week has been weird, though.. The front page, middle page and sports pages all have the same topic. Sania to wed Shoaib. So, what's the big deal? Sania has had a very indifferent Sports career for more than a year now, she is more famous for her off court appearances than on court. Infact if you have been reading the Sports pages, its always - "Sania crashes out of this -------- tournament" !! So much so, my friend remarked if she is doing some crash course:-). And Shoaib is a tainted cricketer from Pakistan and faces a one year ban from playing cricket for his country. So, he probably thinks he has some free time to start a family! So be it.

But here comes the spoiler... Ayesha Siddiqui claims to be Shoaib's wife and wants a official / formal divorce before he marries Sania. That's how it has found its way in every page of the paper... there is Crime, Cheating, Dowry harrassment, Police, Pakistan, Cricket and Tennis - oh what a heady mix!! I don't see what the issue is - I mean its something that happens in many families and its a personal affair.

Alright they are some kind of wannabe celebrities but big deal!! I think the media ought to leave them alone to sort out their family mess and do what's best for them. We can get back to watching IPL and Formula One and Soccer and Twenty20 World Cup please.

But while I am blogging about them, I feel sorry for Sania - she comes out as the dumbest in this issue!

Media and their sense of right and wrong

Oh yes, I was not to post anymore this year but the news headlines about Ruchika and Rathore everyday for the past week has me irritated.... What's with the media and activists?? Why do we go after such stories like its the most important thing?? Alright, Ruchika was wronged and the culprit was influential and had his way in getting a light sentence.. So, what's new about this??

Often, the media simply goes beserk, thanks to so many 24/7 'news' channels and websites and each vying for some exclusive scoop. The Judiciary was always the system we learnt to bank on (they are sadly not so dependable), but when they pass a verdict, we raise a hue and cry.. Yes, we can protest against injustice, but media need not carry it as main headlines everyday... A colleague of mine very rightly remarked, "At this rate, we need not have courts to decide punishment, we can have sms polls and pass judgments much like the reality shows on TV".

Take the Arrushi case for example, nobody knows what happened to it, but the media behaved like they knew it all for one month and bored us to death. Now, why aren't they getting to the bottom of everything? Does the media want to play the role of the Police? Same with N D Tiwari. God knows if the news was real or it was a frame up, but before the truth is known, the media splashes it everywhere and he is declared guilty and the public is forced to read such news... And what really saddens me is that every media house has fallen to this sub standard journalism. The public has very little to choose..

I do wish the media barons get together and put an end to this nonsensical way of reporting. The media is a very powerful tool and can shape young minds and also has the power to change the mindset of public. I do wish, they have a conclave soon and decide to become responsible media channels and effect a positive change in 2010.

Am I asking for too much?

M S Dhoni

I like this guy's ishtyle! He is good on and off the field, indeed. Yesterday, our media reported some rift between Sehwag and MS Dhoni. But I liked the way he gave it back to them... We've had captains caught in similar situations before but they have usually chosen to be silent and deny only when asked.

But our man addresses a customary pre match press meet with his full team present, says what he wants, and leaves before any media guy could begin asking a question. He simply rubbished the report and apparently as he was leaving, he tossed a stack of printed copies of his statement at the reporters and said, "here, otherwise you will misquote me on this as well [Nahin toh tum log isko bhi ulta likhega]".
I do particularly like it when the media is put in place:)

Corporate Governance

Well, I am no authority in this subject but surely there must a law enacted to prevent financial fraud. I am talking about the aborted attempt by Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computers to exit from Satyam and clean out the cash. He thought he was very smart and the world all so dumb, around him. Actually, he may have been able to do it ~15/20 years ago without anybody noticing but not anymore. Fortunately, we have a more active media and financial watchdogs to alert the who's who and scuttle his plans.. I watched him on TV yesterday and he put on such an act.. such innocence.. who does he think we are - brainless? Even for a lay person like me it was clear he was siphoning away money and didn't care two hoots what happened to the shareholders nor the employees of Satyam. A pointed question on who owned Maytas was asked and he said he didn't have all the details and was not privy to information that even a News reporter had!! Without such information, he planned to invest 1.6 billion US$.... who does he think he is talking to, school kids??

Not to mention the beating India Inc has taken in the eyes of the World, thanks to this misadventure. I believe most family owned businesses are now being viewed with suspicion, naturally. This has blotted India Inc image and will take a lot of efforts to re build confidence in Indian Cos.

Just as we woke up to the lacuna in our system to combat terror, this is a wake up call to have stricter laws to book such fraudsters under IPC.

Well, I have been critical of the media in my earlier posts, they deserve praise here, and I think they had a role in scuttling the whole deal. I particularly liked the way the presenters asked pointed, no-holds barred questions at Mr. Ramalinga Raju. There was no implied meanings or oblique references made, they were straight and boldly thrown at him. Kudos to the CNBC team!! (that was the only channel I watched on this issue).