Thursday, May 27, 2010

And Now, The Rest of the Media In Heat

You know, maybe there needs to be a whole new category of reporting. Yesterday morning I had posted something about the effects of heat on Samaa TV. And lo and behold, not soon after, in the morning's papers there was further evidence that the heat and humidity is getting to others in the media world as well.

For example, here is our perennial headline favourite, Express Tribune's main heading in it's Karachi city pages (obviously a contender for the WTF Headline Award in the Bizarre Newspaper Headline Contest):

"Sky alarmed as 'chicken licken' falls"

Oddly, this is a story about Siberian migratory birds fainting due to the heat and falling on residents' heads in Naushero Feroze. I kid you not.

Next up, is this gem of a poetic story on the back page of Dawn, from the desert of Thar. The topic - the death of a thirsty toddler who followed her mother while she went looking for water in the blazing sun - is indeed heart-breakingly tragic. However, it takes a special kind of reporting genius, or a little too much sun, to end up with a news report that actually does not tell you what happened either to the mother or the daughter beyond a oblique mention that

"Kamli did not find her mother but death."

You do, however, learn an entire Thari lullaby:


"[A social activist] cited a saying that Tharis make children sleep and calm them down by saying “Pani Nahe Gorha Pee, Monhnji Mithri Piyari Dhee. Meenh Ta Panhenji Mund Te Einda, Khooh Waya Sabh Khara Thinda”. (Oh my lovely sweet daughter, as there is no water, drink tears. It will rain on its time proper. Meanwhile, wells have gone sour.)"


I suspect the reporter, a Mr A.B. Arisar, had been waiting for a long time to find the appropriate occasion to slip this bit of poetry in somewhere. I tell you, the heat does strange things to us all.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

but to be fair, the Express Tribune story was so much better compared to the crap which was printed in Dawn. Also, as a neutral observer who's not part of any media group, I've noticed that CafePyala loves to pick on ET for some reason. And I wonder why that's the case ALL the time? I've been reading the new paper for the past many weeks now, and frankly, it really isn't as bad as you guys would like us to believe. So what's the problem CafePyala? Why can't you appreciate the good in that paper too? You must admit that some of their content has been better than what appears in other papers. I'm sure ET journalists work as hard if not more than the journalists at Dawn, The News and DailyTimes. Also, I'm assuming that CafePyala is written by journalists too. So why is there so much hatred for other journalists and media groups? Why be so cynical, petty and bitchy everytime CafePyala? You guys must be good at something else too...isn't it? Honestly, sometimes your blog reflects as a space where journalists, including the team from CafePyala, come to vent their grudges and jealousies against other media groups, media personalities and journalists. I, as a reader, would like to get some informed analysis about the state of our media. About the stories which they should be covering or have missed etc. About issues which have never been raised. About what media campaign is not serving any purpose and perhaps is just a deflection from other main problems of our society. Maybe something about the stories which are being planted in the media and explain why that could be the case. You guys really need to move on from all this pettiness. Seriously.

XYZ said...

Dear Anon327: You say " I've noticed that CafePyala loves to pick on ET for some reason. And I wonder why that's the case ALL the time?"

It isn't. Your powers of observation seem to have a blind spot about the critical stories about other publications / media groups. The question really should be, why are you so sensitive about ET?

You say: " I've been reading the new paper for the past many weeks now, and frankly, it really isn't as bad as you guys would like us to believe."

Fair enough, EXCEPT that we've never really commented on the content of the paper! I mean, all we've EVER done is poke a little bit of fun at its sometimes bizarre headlines. Please cite ONE place we've said the paper is bad. Once again, what's all this misplaced sensitivity about?

You say: "I'm sure ET journalists work as hard if not more than the journalists at Dawn, The News and DailyTimes."

I'm sure they do. Except perhaps Daily Times, they work harder than anyone else there.

You say: "Why be so cynical, petty and bitchy everytime CafePyala? You guys must be good at something else too...isn't it?"

Shit, you're on to us.

You say: "I, as a reader, would like to get some informed analysis about the state of our media. About the stories which they should be covering or have missed etc. About issues which have never been raised. About what media campaign is not serving any purpose and perhaps is just a deflection from other main problems of our society. Maybe something about the stories which are being planted in the media and explain why that could be the case."

Um. I don't know Anon, perhaps read some stuff on the blog other than that about ET? Seriously.

Anonymous said...

Oh my God not another paranoid ET moaner!
Let's see. This post only made a light-hearted dig at a silly ET headline while actually ridiculing a Dawn story. The previous post was poking fun at Samaa TV. The one before that actually praised the media (including ET). Then there was Hamid Mir (not exactly an ET staffer) being subjected to some very hard questioning. Before that, Dawn TV was the target of much criticism etc etc etc.
The last time I remember ET getting it here was for that dodgy porn film story and the monumental Dogar screw-up. And boy did it deserve all the ridicule it got for those!
So please, stop being such paranoid cry babies and learn to live with criticism. At least it's better than being ignored

Anonymous said...

what a daft whinge. seriously.

Anonymous said...

By the way, 'Chicken Licken' aside, what was a story on heat-waved Siberian birds falling on residents of Naushero Feroze doing as the lead CITY story in ET? Have Karachi's borders spread way beyond their known boundaries since I last looked? In comparison, Dawn had a very good story today on the lack of investigation skills among the Karachi police force as its metropolitan lead and The News had a fascinating story about an Indian author who has travelled to meet the family of Queen Victoria's Indian tutor, plus one on the affects of the facebook ban on the drive-in cinema project

A b Arisar said...

hi, it is great that u people discussed my story, it is a matter of pleasure for me, that some senior journalists picked holes out of my story, infact if u visit Thar u will find 30 to 50 women carrying pitchers travel 3 to 5 kilometers in search of water, how they consume saline, brackish and arsenic and flouride contaminated water. regards A B Arisar Dawn Umerkot.
http://abarisar.blogspot.com, www.abarisar.com

Magnum said...

Btw, has anybody noticed that for the past week, 8 out of 10 op-ed pieces in ET are about some trendy 'columnist' talking about the facebook ban?

I doubt if ET can ever be taken seriously.

know it all said...

Agreed Magnum---ET has gone way overboard in its coverage of the Facebook ban, but in my opinion, so have the others---this stupid Facebook ban has gotten just way too much coverage. The only difference perhaps is that ET is giving too much space to these young Facebook types (who probably wouldn't have much to write about in the absence of the Facebook ban) and putting them at par with some of the more respectable columnists that they have managed to sign on. That policy I cannot understand.

Alpha Za said...

I personally love this blog, it's funny and insightful, and I have no desire for it to change one iota.

I even like the bitch media loyalty fests that go on.

I actually think they've given Express Tribune a very easy time of it. Perhaps they should be more critical and evaluate their thoughts on the paper. That said ET has to prove itself, it's circulation numbers from what I'm hearing aren't as high as they had hoped, due in part to the current market leaders.

@ Magnum: I will say the over abundance of Facebook related pieces in both ET and Dawn blogs has negated my interest in the story.

@ Arisar:...so would you like to answer the allegations?

Be Cynical, Be Bitchy, Be Cafe Pyala.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone read the idiotic story on the teacher's protest in ET today? (Are you a teacher? You don't look like a teacher?)Talk about NASTY for no good reason!
I mean, either someone out there is Pir Mazhar's best friend or wouldn't know a rural schoolteacher even if he/she fell on the reporter's head in Naushero Feroze. I give up!

Anonymous said...

I know who the people behind Pyala are. And their social climbing days are over because everybody by now knows who they are. They don't realise that people are watching each and every move they are making, espcially the fact that they became staffers of a major English daily after signing a contract that they will work for that paper alone. But now they have a website which is a violation of their contract. Have they taken permission for launching a website which is aimed at advancing their ambitions?