Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dawn's Balls

So CPM was musing about scoops a couple of days ago. How's this for being on the ball.


This is a story on the front-page of Dawn today about how Punjab Governor Salman Taseer had written to President Zardari, indicating that he "smelled nepotism" (Dawn's headline) in Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Sharif's recommendations for judicial appointments. Dawn's Azaz Syed breathlessly informs us:





"A letter from Punjab Governor Salman Taseer written to President Asif Ali Zardari during the recent crisis over judicial appointments has revealed apprehensions of alleged nepotism within the superior judiciary.

Dawn News has obtained a summary of the governor sent to the presidency with detailed comments about persons nominated for appointment by none other than Lahore High Court Chief Justice, Mr Justice Khawaja Mohammad Sharif.

Exercising his powers under sub-section one of the Article 193 of the Constitution, the governor in his letter to the president had objected to the appointment of nine persons as Lahore High Court judges."



Wow! What a scoop! Er, except, that Rauf Klasra of The News carried this same story, with all the relevant details (and more), on February 12, a full 11 days ago!


I mean, missing a scoop is one thing. Happens all the time. Pretending it never happened and running the same story as some sort of exclusive in your paper (and on your tv channel) almost a fortnight later. Now, that takes balls.

7 comments:

  1. Well, love, this also takes balls:
    http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=225024

    I mean, how can the op-ed pages of a national daily be so obviously stupid??

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  2. Hahaha. Is Tito part of the CPM? just wondering :>

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  3. Omer, that seems to be a very meaningful "Hmmmmmm." :)
    I agree with anon. How can The News be so stupid. The NFP article was published in Dawn only a few days before The News picked it up and ran it as Agha's piece.
    Mind boggling.

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  4. magnum -- hahaha -- well because i used to edit those pages so that's probably why the 'hmmmm'

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  5. Azaz Syed is a gift from those who operate from behind the curtains. He has no capacity to break this story or the one on Omar Saeed Sheikh. The fact that Dawn is willing to use these plants shows the group is turning very fast towards the establishment, which, in any case, it always was. Now, it is turning to the establishment without any pretensions. Azaz Syed could not have done the Omar Saeed Sheikh story on his own even to save his own life. He is being built as a capable voice.

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