May I first of all say that most of the media is doing a great job covering the events, of horror, and keeping the nation and the world updated
BUT…..
Right through day yesterday and the entire night, to very moment I am at the keyboard, this is what I have been listening to, sometimes, ad nauseum, from news Anchors, Journalists and…
Give us a sense of…
How you feel… your son is inside the Taj, isn’t he?
How you feel… what was it like being in there, with the terrorists firing inside?
What you saw, as you descended the stairwell…
Do they the journos, and anchors have any??
SENSE
that is??
Some of the comments border on sheer and deliberate insensitivity, as they hog limelight, telling you that these are pictures coming only from their news channel… and no one else has!!!! What do you do with this inanity, at this crucial hour of terror!!
I just wondered what would have been the scenario if one of the terrorists had called up Arnab at Times Now… Unthinkable…
He’d go on…
I’d like to give our viewers, brought exclusively by Times Now.. a
Sense of…
blah blah blah blah….
Sadly, even Barkha Dutt, went somewhat overboard.
Will someone please tell them to get some sense, and sensitivity and sensibility!
27 November, 2008
P.S. I am going to be late for school, but what the heck, I had to write this down! Now, give me a sense of … what you think.. !
A Quest on Overdrive ... :) 
November 28, 2008 at 11:52 am
hmm yes wht to do …cant help for that naaa
they r doing this since for the last 2 days
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November 28, 2008 at 2:24 pm
If the media just stuck to reporting, they wont sell, would they?
Selling is more important than sensitivity.
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November 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Totally agree with you,the media can act with appalling sense of immaturity at times.Hats off to those people who take such probing questions in their stride and contain themselves alarmingly well.
First time here.have to admit that I came her after seeing your name and realising you were a fellow malayali. It has been a treat to read your posts,Usha.will come up more often
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November 28, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I have been so lost and drained out all of yesterday, nothing seemed to be really sinking in. But I noticed Barkha Datta asking insensitive, probing questions. the kids kept answering her questions with, “Oh I am feeling great, no idea where my son is, so I am celebrating!
I like her otherwise and these questions disappointed me.
Same for the ‘exclusive’ clips and videos.
I don’t think it makes nay difference to their TRP ratings, we watch all the channels during such times, we want to hear all the points of views … and maybe hey should forget about the ratings at such times.
Can’t get over what happened …
Didn’t we all keep harping about how our divisiveness was inviting real ‘outsiders’ to attack this Nation!
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November 28, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I echo that.
And Barkha Dutt goes overboard every time. I still remember her coverage during the Kargil War. She asked a woman who was then widowed – “‘Woh’ khabar sunkar aapko kaise laga…?” (How do you feel having heard ‘the’ news – referring to her husbands demise)
Ludicrous!
Ah well… Sad reality. Each channel wants to hog the limelight. And they pounce on the slightest opportunity. Sorry if I seem to stray off topic; but I love to take out Headlines Today…
(earlier this year) “Terror Strikes and Blasts grip Indian cities” was the common headline among news channels… But what about HT – “Great Khali no longer WWE champ!” “Undertaker ‘fired’ from the WWE”
Refreshingly different indeed.
Peace.
—
Greetings ma’am.
First time here. I heard you are an ‘English’ teacher. 🙂 I owe a lot to that subject. When my peers had their scores pulled down by English, mine were boosted. *wide grin* 😉
Peace. Have a nice day.
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November 28, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Stephen, yes, they are doing a good job of providing us with relevant information. It is the way they do it sometimes, not even letting the army chaps through this morning, thrusting the cameras and mikes at their faces that disgusts sometimes…
But what to do.. except perhaps switch off the thing, and even that we cant because we want to know.
its a vicious circle I guess.
Mampi, ah yes, selling.. they seem to have their priorities set out for them.. at any cost. Sad!
Deeps, thank you for the visit, and the kind words.
Indeed, hats off to those who take such questions in their stride adn actually answer them. Really.
IHM, am equally exhausted. Especially after watching a malayalam news channel at the home of the Commando who succumbed at the Taj earlier today.
It seems so unreal, surreal really… I mean, how the heck? What was the Intelligence Agency doing? Was there no info on it? And what about the Mumbai Man himself… who probably is as instrumental in having fuelled a part of the situation.
Despair, and disgust… and a sense of pride in our Forces at work too. Poor guys, the kind of situation they have to go in to , and how well, and uncomplainingly they do, and did.
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November 28, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Katz, Kartik, if I may? Thank you for the visit; and your kind thoughts about English Teachers. It matters 🙂
And yes, HT, along with Times Now, I think take the cake, as far as “refreshing” stuff goes!
Sad but true and someday hopefully there will be more sense. I doubt it, but hope springs eternal in the human heart, 🙂
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November 28, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Kartz/Karthik, please. 🙂
(Am a bit finicky with the way my name or alias is spelt)
Hope, indeed ma ‘am. “Hope is a good thing; may be not the best of things. But all good things never die.” 🙂
PS: I still feel HT beats TN hands down! 😀 But yeah, they are in a league of their own! LXN [League of X-tra-ordinary (read: totally weird!) News channels] 😛
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November 28, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Karthik 🙂 [the earlier note had a typo, your name.. 🙂 Sorry :)], I understand entirely the name thing. Even I am, especially with my kids’ names.. 🙂
Ogden Nash had it easy, in that dentist’s chair… but that vicious circle he spoke of is somehow playing out here… in the sense that we don’t want these channels but we watch so that we know how terrible they are, and then they get TRPs, and air some more.. 🙂
And finally at least he gave us the hope against hope hopen too..:)
Thanks!
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November 28, 2008 at 11:37 pm
it was disgusting…especiallly “Exclusive pictures from our channel comment..”
and the divulging of all details abt the operations…shame on journalism!
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November 28, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I do believe that the news channels were, for some time, blacked out in mumbai.. but then restored… well the rest of the nation saw anyways..!
Thanks Praveen…
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November 29, 2008 at 1:39 am
Can’t agree more with you..
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November 29, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Shalini, thank you for the visit and for the way you connect to the notion.
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November 30, 2008 at 6:57 pm
“but that vicious circle he spoke of is somehow playing out here”
Spot on ma’am… 🙂 You spoke my mind!
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December 1, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Very true, even i was thinking wt qstns these ppl r asking. Asking how you feel? to someone who lost their dear ones… i doubt these ppl got some sense left on them or not!!!
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December 11, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Karthik.. 🙂 Thank you!!
@Journey to home, I have always wondered of late, how much sense they really have too! Thank you for dropping by and leaving a note.
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