Take a gun to my head

And pull the trigger. Between the politicisation of the IPL and the cricketisation of politics I feel generally underwhelmed. There is a lot of not so good real news going on across the world, real news other than Jade Goody's death. Flimsy excuses are being used to cut back on staff and salary cuts are really starting to hurt the little guys in the media. Things are getting so bad, that it seems whenever I end up at a gathering of journalists, young and old all talk about how horrible times are. And when things start going wrong, the amount of fingers that start being pointed are not funny - "I'm not useless, he is", or in certain places, "S/he is more useless than me" The sudden acrimony is leading to some fairly interesting plots all over the place. Will keep you posted on more and I promise to be more regular this week.

Real India

My point about 'Real India' is not that a cowshed in Amethi is not 'Real India'. No, it is quite real and quite India. My point is that Rahul-baba a la Sarah Palin's comments about 'real America' is missing the point. Rural folk might outnumber us by a factor of two to one, India is still an overwhelmingly rural country, though, the latest delimitation for the Lok Sabha does acknowledge the rise of urban areas.
My point is simple, there is no 'unreal' India - everything from the cocaine dens of South Bombay to the cowsheds in Amethi or elsewhere are quite real. I've seen reality, in fact I might have seen more reality than most urban, English journalists. My trip to Vidarbha is still one I can't quite forget, that was a particularly hard story, not as a story but dealing with the fact that what is going on is quite different from the perception that even we in the media pass on. It wasn't easy to deal with reality head-on, which is why I guess in India we like the fantasy that Bollywood and cricket delivers. But then again, that fantasy is also part of the real India.

PS: The Press Trust of India does an easy way of syndication of foreign news - essentially copy an article, give it some credit though. That said, isn't that what most foreign correpondents do? In fact, Chiddu and Saibal in ToI and Sutirtho in HT are leagues ahead of the usual crowd. The Hindu carries a lot of international news but sometimes making head or tails of what they're saying through their red-tinted glasses is nearly impossible. My two paise only, no wait my two rupees only, haven't seen a smaller denomination coin outside calcutta for a while.

In other news

Where, like some in the BJP I will pretend that Varun Gandhi did not shoot his mouth off like a 'psychopath' (in the words of one senior leader) - well Varun Gandhi does have a crazy gene set, so why was I not surprised. That said, as one person told me recently, this sort of vitriol comes from personal hurt and/or anger - a grievance against someone which manifests itself as anger against the community.
You know Hitler started this way, though I will not call VG close to being Hitler. But the kid, and he is a kid, should have known better than to shoot his mouth off - every fourth person in India owns a mobile with a videography device. This will be India's first sort-of internet election - broadband numbers have swelled since 2004 and shit like this will swim back and forth over fibre-optic cables. Well, I do have better things to download though. Of course, the media, at least the poorer bits of the English media will climb all over this and tactfully ignore the vitriol that gets preached every Friday and try to bully the majority into a sense of guilt. Instead of leaving the matter to the EC where it should be acted on. And it is being acted on.
But VG is the son of the man who did come very close to being India's 'Dear Leader'. Instead we will probably get his cousin Rahul Baba who will take world leaders in cowsheds in Amethi, tell them that they're in 'Real India', so that like with David Milliband - and while it feels painful to talk like this about an Arsenal supporter - is a complete twat. Next time, Rahul Baba, keep them in the cowshed - or keep them away from toilet paper for a day or so.
Anyway, the news I wanted to get to was UndieTV's extraordinary bid for the IPL rights.
Now, the background to the case is simple. BCCI/IPL issued a termination letter to WSG India which owned the broadcast rights for IPL and had sub-leased them to Sony. Sony rushed to the Bombay High Court, which has reserved its judgement. Now WSG Mauritius gave the IPL 30% more dosh for the telly rights - believed to be around $1.3 billion. OK, doesn't make sense at all, but makes even less sense when you consider that the 'samdhi' of a very rich Indian politician (who aspires to be PM) is a part-owner of SET. The SET fiasco has been going on for a while, the stopping of AXN a few years ago, makes a lot more sense now. This is a case of cutting off the nose to spite the face.
Back to the story, now before SET could go to court, WSG Mauritius called for telecast bids. Now it appears that UndieTV has bid $1.45 billion for the rights to broadcast the IPL. The irony of the bid doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the company is broke, the money for the bid is not coming from India. But this is a company, at least a sister company of a channel which chopped salaries 20% last week. Not as bad as the salary cuts at Bennett, which are in the 30% range, but more on that fiasco later.
Will UndieTV broadcast the IPL? Will cricket save the News? Will the cricket happen in the first place? Keep watching for more.

Snip, snip

For someone who just filled up an appraisal form with a lot of disdain - how on earth am I supposed to have several KRA's - this is bad news. Over at UndieTV, which some might argue is actually down to its chaddi's there have been some pretty serious salary cuts. At least that is better than a very big media baron asking 'Why?' about a extremely expensive forthcoming new venture. Another wannabe media baron thinking of pulling the plug on an about-to-be launched magazine and yet another fading baron(ness?) pulling the plug on her group's latestg misadventure like they did to a General Entertainment Channel and an integrated web portal. Of course, not before some of the top bosses in assorted media companies face the Guillotine. Times aren't good as they say, times just aren't good. Not as bad as America though. Also, I'm really surprised that Mint has toned down media coverage of late. Sad since they did it well, unlike most other industries. 

Tired

I've just not been my week, yes Arsenal just about beat Roma in the Champions League, trhanks to Julio Baptista playing the way he usually does. I've hardly slept in the last few days, and have survived on a diet of pure coffee and (yesterday at least) French Fries.
But we'll get to the French Fry bit later on, but surprisingly it was great fun. You know the bit about life being about experiences and doing a whole host of things before you die. Well, at the rate I'm going I have fairly impressive list of 'Things I really wonder why I did but don't really have a problem having in a stupid list' list. Hey, I've been to a radial tyre factory. Have you? Trust me, it isn't half as exciting as sitting on a beach supping on a freshly caught lobster with a nice glass of Pinot by your side.
But then again, I've been to a radial tyre factory. And factories and places where several everyday things are made and strange things happen. I've been inside the homes of guys who have killed themselves with pesticide so that their families can get government compensation. I've seen pits with thousands of dead chickens and I've eaten the most amazing food at some of the most ridiculously expensive places.
But sometimes I feel like I need to sleep. And right now at four in the afternoon, with my body screaming out loudly that it needs to sleep I want to go back to a nice comfortable bed. And snore. So please excuse this post. I don't think the bhang has totally come off as yet and my face is still pink. These mid-week festivals take a heavy toll.

End of INX?

You know I did have plans to leave early today. Get stoned and go to sleep. But it seems that the INX war is over - the Mukerjea's have lost everything. Their reputation is in shreds. I wonder if the Audi TT that IM bought will remain with her. But the Bongs are having a hard time in Bombay it seems - first Kunal Dasgupta gets turfed out (and almost 50 people, all of Dasgupta's chelas have been booted out as well, in this an extremely horrible market for jobs) and then Peter is left with nothing on his shirt. Though, the irony is that the Bong who was turfed out first is the one coming back to right the INX ship, but as they say in Bangla, "Dhongsho Hoye Gache", I don't think there is much to save. I know some media reporters drank the Mukerjea Kool-Aid as did the WSJ (most powerful women in India - Please!), and this blog was always on the ball. This is just the beginning of the end, at least one or two more media bosses might see it all fritter away. The thing is that with the chaos and the bad blood that ensued following the NewsX fiasco a year ago, you can't really wish them very well either.

News from America and other stuff

And it doesn't look so good - any one of ten papers or even all ten could be shut down soon. But even in those that are surviving, the new brain trust (with Indian connections, mind you) in some cases is not getting through to the staff? Is the new Blackberry Storm really that good? I found it irritating very honestly, though I really do like the Curve 8900.
And if the BJP wants my vote, please, please tell Arti Mehra to take down her pictures that have been plastered on my morning commute. I've lived in India long enough to be able to tune out of most things, but somehow 'her' face still manages to give me daymares. And if she stands for New Delhi, I'm seriously going to vote for whoever the Congress puts up, most probably Ajay Maken. Heck, I might vote for Maken even if Vijay Goel stands. Plastering adverts and starting blogs won't make me blindly vote, if the BJP wants to be seen as the party of change it cannot be achieved by taking out ads for Advani on The Guardian's website (served up by Google to Indian IP's - though the irony is delicious) but by putting up candidates who truly signify change. Anyway, I know that it all comes down to the guys who put up the best 'Get Out The Vote' campaign fuelled by cheap country liquor on Election day and that casteism, despite everything still dominates our elections. But I'm impressed at the Times Of India's Lead India campaign this year, but lets see what the voting numbers are?
Happy Holi to everyone out there, have a blast and don't get too stoned on Bhang. I'll see you all soon enough though I might disappear for a day or two on work!

But what will TV do?

In case you were wondering, the Press Council of India, a body that looks over the print media - newspapers, newsmagazines, the lot has come out with a set of guidelines for coverage for the General Elections. As such, they state the bleeding obvious, but then again given the brains of some journalists, the bleeding obvious has to be stated. I'm publishing the guidelines below, but I just have one question - What about the television channels? In the surfeit of guidelines for TV channels and the joke of 'self-censorship' and the rather open political stance taken by some channels given their ownership direct (Jaya TV for example) or indirect (any of the English channels with their penchant to create mass hysteria against the BJP) - is the broadcasters association going to come up with anything or will this be open season?
About the guidelines - firstly, I think it is the right of any paper to 'endorse' a party though not candidates (in India). I also think that rule four could be interesting - I doubt it will ever get followed particularly since money is in really short supply - though HT has made a good start but they could ease up on carrying their reporters pictures, but the coverage so far has been interesting. Anyway more later.
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PRESS COUNCIL GUIDELINES

i) General Election is a very important feature of our democracy and it is imperative that the media transmits to the electorate fair and objective reports of the election campaign by the contesting parties. Freedom of the Press depends to a large measure on the Press itself behaving with a sense of responsibility. It is, therefore, necessaryto ensure that the media adheres to this principle of fair andobjective reporting of the election campaign. The Press Council has, therefore, formulated the following guidelinesto the media for observance during elections:

1. It will be the duty of the Press to give objective reports about elections and the candidates. The newspapers are not expected to indulge in unhealthy election campaigns, exaggerated reports about any candidate/party or incident during the elections. In practice, two or three closely contesting candidates attract all the media attention. While reporting on the actual campaign, a newspaper may not leave out any important point raised by a candidate and make an attack on his or her opponent.

2. Election campaign along communal or caste lines is banned under the election rules. Hence, the Press should eschew reports which tend to promote feelings of enmity or hatred between people on the ground ofreligion, race, caste, community or language.

3. The Press should refrain from publishing false or critical statements in regard to the personal character and conduct of any candidate or in relation to the candidature or withdrawal of anycandidate or his candidature, to prejudice the prospects of thatcandidate in the elections. The Press shall not publish unverified allegations against any candidate/party.

4. The Press shall not accept any kind of inducement, financial orotherwise, to project a candidate/party. It shall not accept hospitality or other facilities offered to them by or on behalf of any candidate/party.

5.The Press is not expected to indulge in canvassing of a particular candidate/party. If it does, it shall allow the right of reply to theother candidate/party.

6. The Press shall not accept/publish any advertisement at the cost of public exchequer regarding achievements of a party/ government in power.

7. The Press shall observe all the directions/orders/instructions of the Election Commission/Returning Officers or Chief Electoral Officer issued from time to time.

ii) Guidelines on 'Pre-poll' and 'Exit-polls' Survey-1996

The Press Council of India having considered the question of desirability or otherwise of publication of findings of pre-poll surveys and the purpose served by them, is of theview that the newspapers should not allow their forum to be used for distortions and manipulations of the elections and should not allow themselves to be exploited by the interested parties.

The Press Council, therefore, advises that in view of the crucial position occupied by the electoral process in a representative democracy like ours, the newspapers should be on guard against their precious forum being used for distortions and manipulations of the elections. This has become necessary to emphasize today since the print media is sought to be increasingly exploited by the interested individuals and groups to misguide and mislead the unwary voters bysubtle and not so subtle propaganda on casteist, religious and ethnicbasis as well as by the use of sophisticated means like the alleged pre-poll surveys. While the communal and seditious propaganda is not difficult to detect in many cases, the interested use of the pre-poll survey, sometimes deliberately planted, is not so easy to uncover.

ThePress Council, therefore, suggests that whenever the newspapers publish pre-poll surveys, they should take care to preface them conspicuously by indicating the institutions which have carried such surveys, the individuals and organisations which have commissioned the surveys, the size and nature of sample selected, the method of selection of the sample for the findings and the possible margin of error in the findings.

2. Further in the event of staggered poll dates, the media is seen to carry exit-poll surveys of the polls already held. This is likely to influence the voters where the polling is yet to commence. With a view to ensure that the electoral process is kept pure and the voters'minds are not influenced by any external factors, it is necessary that the media does not publish the exit-poll surveys till the last poll is held.

3. The Press Council, therefore, requests the Press to abide by thefollowing guideline in respect of the exit polls:
Guideline: No newspaper shall publish exit-poll surveys, however, genuine they may be, till the last of the polls is over.

Sorry

Apologies for disappearing but I had to endure Pervy Mushy's saturday night dinner schtick of 'I almost solved Kashmir', and being cornered by five people and suffering the Spanish inquisition on why I haven't updated my blog over the past week. Well, honestly I do have a ton of work and March will surprisingly be a heavy travel month but with the cutbacks of airline service doing a 'FIFO' (Fly In Fly Out) is pretty tough to some destinations. So there are some twenty hour days ahead of me, but tell you what, I'm looking forward to it for strange reason. I do need to justify the salary right? Anyway, more later, have a great Holi week, go easy on the bhang but enjoy it nonetheless. You know what, despite the insane traffic and the blatant disregard to life and limb but most Indians, I love this country - slumdogs and all. And Holi is one of those things about India I love the most. As long as I manage to avoid people with pigment, which isn't easy when one of your best friends runs a pigment factory.

Not an alternative career

I'm not writing this as a disgruntled blogger, because I am not disgruntled. But blogging is not a career option for journalists. No matter how much you game the system and click on the adverts you won't make much money. In over two and a half years I've raked in about $200, maybe because I can have better advertising placement but mainly because there is not too much money to be made. Sure, you can make a few hundred dollars a month if you do this seriously and a few hundred dollars at the current exchange rate is bloody good, but I doubt it will keep the home fires going. Blogging, or micro-blogging are not career options. The blog networks set up by Nick Denton in the US are laying off people. A well-run blog can make money, more money than some new magazines because the cost of bandwidth and server space is miniscule compared to the cost of newsprint, but as a career option. On a badly designed blog! Sorry to burst the bubble folks, but the bubble does not exist. Read Dan Lyons experience with the FSJ blog, and this guy ran a truly popular blog and is a 'propah' journo.
PS: Only 'propah' journos can do what Dan did to a CNBC twat, though after watching a lot of CNBC US, I'm pretty sure that the kids at CNBC TV18 are far smarter than their US counterparts. Though, really that isn't saying much.