The Cacophony Hurts....

I don't know why discussions on Indian television channels are so poor in quality and loud. It is very tough to tolerate these shouting participants who have no idea that screaming doesn't help and rather than watching the star performance, one can either channels or switches off television.
For example I tuned in the NDTV, Vikram Chandra was nice, polite. The programme was going on well. I tried to watch the entire programme by switching back to it again and again but the sight of Swapan Das Gupta in his shrill, feminine voice, was too much to bear. His voice does something to me from within.
Can't these people be told to speak in a measured way. Not he alone though, the speakers always try to interrupt the others, don't speak in their allotted time and can't sum up things and also the anchors think they can any time cut short any person and call for break.
On NDTV India, Pooja Bhatt was demolishing Mr Singhal, the grand old man of discussions. But I can't bear Mr Singhal also. No, it is not a question of any BJP bias. Just the fact that people ought to be more civilised.
Even I have begun to have a disliking for Yogendra Yadav, whose lower jaw moves in such a way that I feel irritated. Now why should his jaw movement irritate me. It is his effort to sound pedantic and over-intellectual that makes his face act like that. Still, he has sometime before he will be able to match Karan Thapar. There are many good people who are not that loud.
Even Rajdeep sometimes, as an anchor gets on to your nervers. But Swapan Das Gupta, oh no way, I'd better watch the FTV mute. Thank god, Prabhu Chawla, the greatest irritant in Television History does not come in any panel discussion.

Channel 7 bought by CNN-IBN

CNN IBN (TV 18) has bought Channel 7, the Jagran's near flop Hindi news channel. So with a substantial English viewership, Mr Rajdeep Sardesai is gonna get a share of Hindi viewership as well.
Now the galaxy of four channels with CNN-IBN, CNBC, Awaz and Channel 7, the company will have a fare share in electronic media.

DNA's poor editorials and clarification on Ambani story

The Daily News Analysis (DNA) started a column of corrections on its edit page just because the paper was having so many mistakes. And corrigendums were becoming a daily affair.
They worst was map of India sans Kashmir which they had probably searched through google image and published it. But now a clarification was published but not in that column made for corrections rather on page 1. Why? Because it was about Ambanis.
When business houses are involved, paperwallahs fall on their feets first. The story mentioned Anil Ambani as SP's Rajya Sabha member though he is independent so the paper wrote something like that it understood the difficulties it caused to Ambani.
Yes, thousands of common men get offended you don't give a damn to publish apology or correction but when an Ambani is involved all pee in their pants. That the correction was published as box item in the lead says it all. Kisi mein dum hai? Sab gir padte hain. Aam aadmi ki auqaat nahin.

Great! And see the editorial. What a poor piece it was on the ongoing Muslim protests. Agreed free speech is a right. We all know. But shouldn't the editorial writers know the issue before starting to write. The edit-writer had surely neither seen the caricatures nor knew that protest was less over caricature and more over the fact that the images showed Prophet's turban as the shape of bomb and how can an entire community be branded as terrorist? Mr Gautam Adhikari kindly tell your edit writers to first read or at least see the edit of Hindustan Times on the issue or other edits in leading papers. What a balanced piece, I must appreciate it was in HT. Not a soul can differ. I understand now why DNA has named its Editorial as OPINION.
For godsake bring man from Hitavada/ Free Press/TOI/HT/Express/Asian Age or any paper but don't ask Britannia biscuit man to write edit and Parachute oil manager to sell paper.

Vir Sanghvi, Chandan Mitra and Barkha discussing...

It was interesting to watch Vir Sanghvi, Chandan Mitra, Farooq Sheikh and Barkha Dutt discussing freedom of expression, especially, in the context of MF Hussain's paintings and growing intolerance.

While Vir Snaghvi seemed to have a clear idea about the agenda of the 'chat show', Mitra appeared a prisoner of his political leanings. It was sad to see him argue without proper reason.

The man whose writings I loved to read, is now forced to support a regressive ideology and speak in accordance with the BJP's fundamentalist mindset. It was not the Chandan Mitra, we have seen or read over the years.

Naturally, when ideology overcomes reason, one ends up making a fool of himself. He looked a pale comparison of past. Surprisingly, Farooq Sheikh came out as an intellectually profound person. He had his opinion and articulated his thoughts well.