virgia tech that: how designers take over news space

This, what the blog-world thinks is a "strikingly original" front page after the virginia tech shootout.
It's a day after the crazy killer went ballistic in virginia tech// and the paper is Virginian-Pilot.. a local paper.
It lists all the deceased// The colours used in the ribbon are apparently Virgina Tech's colours.
Sympathies, of course, with the victim's families. But no sympathy for the designers// what is so "original" about the idea? it's exactly what is wrong with designers, and increasingly in india, too, as designers "take their place" in the editorial. haven't we seen such stuff done after world trade center bombing? why on earth would you want to waste a front page by ramming some crazy designer's ideas down readers' throats (or eyes)? or did they not have anything to tell the poor readers?
the names could easily have come in a special box, and the rest of the page dedicated to news.
after all, it's a NEWSPAPER, not some calendar art.

News changes blood group, turns AB+ overnight

Now that's IT is over, I can give you the juiciest news that your paanwallah/ dhobi/ saas/ bahu/TV news channel have not been able to feed you: I WAS NOT INVITED. What's news about that, you ask? Think again. All the characters within slashes would have had you believe that they were part of the whole damn thing (I would have loved using the word 'tamasha' but sounds a touch too much like Hindi TV news).

To top it all, the TVwallahs even held programmes (refer sonia verma-hosted whatever-the-darned-thing-is-called) on HOW DARE THE B-FAMILY KEEP THE MEDIA SLAMMED OUT, or something along those lines. She went on and on, sounding super-sanctimonious, how the family never forgets the media while promoting their upcoming ventures but forget the tribe during such immensely important issues as weddings in family.

Ridiculous? Everyone thought so, but for the media. And that's a shame. Really.

If it's so much of a insult/letdown, why not boycott the proceedings? Why plant silly-looking (though with cheeseburger like smiles) and siller-sounding juveniles (a.k.a. reporters) outside the HQs (read B- and Rai-families)? Half the time they were so excited ("we can report XYZ have just left for the venue"; add exclamation marks to suit self) that my mother thought they were the ones getting married.

Not exactly 150 years ago I covered cricket for a mumbai paper (i don't do that anymore: neither cover cricket, nor work in mumbai) and -- this was just before the indian team left for the 2003 world cup -- we had a meet-the-press with rahul dravid. now, the occasion was launch of some new service from hutch (he still promotes the brand) , and the organisers said dravid would not answer any question apart from those related to the brand. so in effect, no questions about cricket.

What the whole sports journalist community did was a total boycott of the event// it was not reported -- not even the company launch -- in the papers that mattered in the city: neither english, nor the vernaculars.

result: dravid was forced to come off the podium the following day (during the official team photo-op) and explain that you cannot always take the organisers seriously// in effect, he was ready to talk cricket.

a small wonder: can't the same example be followed by the pious-sounding TV babes?

why fans love the cooler BCCI (because it's summer)

5 reasons why I love BCCI after the Communist-style diktats:

(Note: i am your average cricket fan. my qualifications: i can play well. far better than my nephew. he's three and a bit now. i smash the ball harder THAN HIM. put more spin on the ball THAN HIM. i dive around all over the place to stop the plastic ball that comes off his plastic bat. and do all that much better THAN HIM. i can also watch 20 minutes of nonstop cricket, and mandira, on TV without gunning for the remote.)

1. Because the cricketers may just earn less. And why would I love that? I don't know. Don't ask me. I am just a fan. I am plain jealous.

2 Because the players may just stop talking to the media. And why would I love that? Because they anyway hardly ever talk on quote. If at all, they come under a pseudonym: "a senior/junior player", "sources in Team India" and suchlike.

3. Because they just might stop writing columns in newspapers. Those columns never made much sense anyway.

4. Because juniors might get a chance. Why would I want that? Because I am just just a fan. I want new heroes whom I would start character-assassinating in no time flat.

5. Because Greg's 'process' might just go off our newspages. And why would I want that? because my nephew-who's-three-and-a-bit does not understand one bit of it. He thinks cricket is a simple game of bat meeting ball, and going towards the fielder.

The bottom line: none. Just glad that I, your typical Indian cricket fan, would still be able to watch the cricketers in three advertisements. For, they look better in commercials; may the lord save them from the blushes the day state associations decide to prepare greentops for even Ranji matches.

first up, bowled over

So, why do I need a blog NOW? At precisely 4.37 am on a black (it's night outside, as highly placed sources in the bcci say) friday-turning-saturday? i forgot the password of the earlier one; and couldn't even get it back. I have a genius for that. I sometimes forget my signature, and have had cheques bouncing because some imbecile clerk in my bank thought none but fellow imbeciles have a right to forget their autograph. but having been out of the indian team for so long (precisely 31 years and too-week-in-math-to-count-days), i really face problems on that front. Sometimes.

Now, to get back to the bcci (one of the factors that drove me off the telly to the computer, which i hate to use on an off-day), those officials seem to have done the media a favour by retaining greg-da: more juice for the "sources"-happy reporters; more speculation on pages one to eternity; more analysis from pages edit-oped; more sms-es to greg's anonymous plants in our estate -- the fourth one, from the right. just ask THE rajan bala for confirmation. and check with the cricket reporters in every other paper, save the kolkata brigade.

more on that, and more, later. pff tp sleep now, with happy visuals of saturday's page ones. .

BCCI plays 3rd ump, says Greg not out//
howzzat for the theme of most headlines in a few hours?

So, why do I need a blog NOW? At precisely 4.37 am on a black (it's night outside, as highly placed sources in the bcci say) friday-turning-saturday? i forgot the password of the earlier one; and couldn't even get it back. I have a genius for that. I sometimes forget my signature, and have had cheques bouncing because some imbecile clerk in my bank thought none but fellow imbeciles have a right to forget their autograph. but having been out of the indian team for so long (precisely 31 years and too-week-in-math-to-count-days), i really face problems on that front. Sometimes.

Now, to get back to the bcci (one of the factors that drove me off the telly to the computer, which i hate to use on an off-day), those officials seem to have done the media a favour by retaining greg-da: more juice for the "sources"-happy reporters; more speculation on pages one to eternity; more analysis from pages edit-oped; more sms-es to greg's anonymous plants in our estate -- the fourth one, from the right. just ask THE rajan bala for confirmation. and check with the cricket reporters in every other paper, save the kolkata brigade.

more on that, and more, later. pff tp sleep now, with happy visuals of saturday's page ones. .

BCCI plays 3rd ump, says Greg not out//
howzzat for the theme of most headlines in a few hours?