Esther Ducks and Runs
No man can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing. - E. B. White.
I am not a journalist. I have no training in journalism and quite frankly I don’t know very much about writing a news story. That having been said, sometimes news stories worry me.
Back in 2002 Nicholas Laughlintook umbrage with the Express headline “Humphrey, Jearlean accused of meddling” which referred to John Humphrey by his first name and Jearlean John by her last. Laughlin noted, “The Express style rules clearly state, in bold type, that “Women are to be referred to by their last names” (p. 28). Why does John Humphrey get the dignity of a surname when Jearlean John doesn’t?” Today’s headline begs the same question. How does Esther Legendre not get the dignity of a last name?
When I read Nicholas Laughlin’s piece, I wondered at the time if it was because John Humphrey is better identified by his last name whereas the opposite is true for Jearlean John. After all I had seen the same thing happen quite recently with Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj whose first name is used extensively. Whatever the reason for the Express’s decison back in 2002, if the rule for the Express is true for all daily newspapers and if my theory at the time was correct, neither can be used to explain the reason for this headline in the Guardian today: “ESTHER DUCKS AND RUNS”. Something about that seems a little disrespectful. There is no one else in the public’s attention at the moment who goes by the name Le Gendre and so couldn’t she be referred to by her last name for that reason if not for the sake of decency?
This in itself, however, is not what I came to talk about.
NEWLY-appointed Education Minister Esther Le Gendre stormed past reporters at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port-of-Spain, yesterday, in an effort to evade answering how 103 pupils at Cap-de-Ville Government Primary School were hospitalised for food poisoning on Wednesday.Le Gendre, a communications professional, refused to field questions from the media attending the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Women’s League breakfast meeting at the Wrightson Road hotel.
Rather than apply her oratory skills to indicate likely measures her ministry would effect to prevent a recurrence, Le Gendre showed the benefits of her early morning walks last week at Salybia—where the Patrick Manning-led Cabinet held a retreat.
She bowed her head, crashed through a line of reporters on the first floor of the hotel, trotted down the staircase and hustled her way into the lobby, without even uttering “no comment.”
She was on her way to a Cabinet meeting.
However, her dress code for yesterday’s early morning sprint, to avoid the media, was nothing compared to the sports gear in which media photographers captured her at Salybia.
At yesterday’s PNM Women’s League function, she was elegant in a cream designer suit with matching stocking and shoes, which did not impede her athletic ability.
There is something about this story that bothers me a little especially when I consider the fact that it is a cover story. I don’t know about you, but when I am reading a straight news piece, which is what this story appears, to be, I would prefer that the writer told me the facts of the story and allowed me to draw my own conclusion. I would prefer if he or she didn’t colour it with his or her own impressions and I would hope that the writers think of their readers (and in some case viewers) as intelligent and that they would allow us to connect the dots ourselves. When a journalist deviates from this it affect the quality of the work and makes the reporting sound like street corner gossip.
NEWLY-appointed Education Minister Esther Le Gendre stormed past reporters at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port-of-Spain, yesterday, in an effort to evade answering how 103 pupils at Cap-de-Ville Government Primary School were hospitalised for food poisoning on Wednesday.Le Gendre, a communications professional, refused to field questions from the media attending the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Women’s League breakfast meeting at the Wrightson Road hotel.
This part is ok. The only part I don’t quite like is where he says she leaves “in an effort to evade answering how 103 pupils at Cap-de-Ville Government Primary School were hospitalised for food poisoning on Wednesday.” How does he know that is why she left? Did she say that? If questions about the incident were fired at her and she didn’t answer them, then say that. Don’t tell us why you think she left. Allow us then to connect the dots for ourselves, Mr. Reporter.
Le Gendre, a communications professional, refused to field questions from the media attending the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Women’s League breakfast meeting at the Wrightson Road hotel.
This is also fine since it helps us connect the dots. She is a a communications professional who didn’t take any questions. Good. The next part is where the news story goes downhill.
Rather than apply her oratory skills to indicate likely measures her ministry would effect to prevent a recurrence, Le Gendre showed the benefits of her early morning walks last week at Salybia—where the Patrick Manning-led Cabinet held a retreat.She bowed her head, crashed through a line of reporters on the first floor of the hotel, trotted down the staircase and hustled her way into the lobby, without even uttering “no comment.”
She was on her way to a Cabinet meeting.
However, her dress code for yesterday’s early morning sprint, to avoid the media, was nothing compared to the sports gear in which media photographers captured her at Salybia.
At yesterday’s PNM Women’s League function, she was elegant in a cream designer suit with matching stocking and shoes, which did not impede her athletic ability.
What is that? We already know she is a communications professional, allow us to see the rest for ourselves. If she said nothing then report that she said noting, don’t tell me she eh even say “no comment”. Additionally, is all the description of her attire really necessary? Is this comedy hour at the Guardian?
All I want is a straight story, don’t tell me how she does talk for a living and look at she shy cyah talk now, or how she walk fast in the retreat, and watch she she come with the same bad behaviour here and she eh even wearin’ exercise clothes.
Goodness gracious man, don’t patronize me and don’t spoon-feed me.
This is nearly the same issue I had with the C Evening News a few weeks ago. Where is the quality of the journalism and where are the poop detectors?
The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have it. - Earnest Hemingway.
If given the choice, I will almost always buy a Guardian over any other paper - no disrespect to the other papers, I’m just set in my ways. So it disappoints me greatly when I read this.
As I said before I am not a journalist and I know very little about the profession. I accept that I have the capacity to overreact so I’m open to criticism.
21 Responses to “Esther Ducks and Runs”
By MDF on Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
I’ve had conversations recently with some veterans in the profession who believe that there are no true journalists in T&T anymore. Management in the media is driving away the ones who’ve been taught journalism/writing skills to hire young inexperienced workers to cover events. Nothing against the young but if there is no one guiding them, teaching them to ask the right questions, how to lay out their material, what’s left?
Media today is all about sensationalism. It is all about the money. I dread reading the newspapers today because you see so many grammatical and spelling errors. Even though spell check might pick up some basic errors it is obvious that no one is rereading the material before publication: neither writer or editor.
Style rules are thrown out the window, basic sentence structure is ignored. It’s sad really.
By Shivonne on Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
Holy crike! This is what happens when you let media workers drink on the job and force them to use newsprint for toilet paper (former Guardian reporter is my source on that one).
Stops just short of, “Huh! And yuh shoulda see misslady take off like she was holding a hot pee.” The description of the outfit…why they doh shuffle this person around to de fashion section?
By MDF on Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
Ah shame. Here I talking ’bout dem writers, it should be neither/nor, either/or. Didn’t I learn this in primary school? My apologies.
By Mani on Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
MDF, it’s interesting that you’d say that, because I’ve been observing its decline in the electronic media. Nightly I hear reports from journalists who don’t know about the agreement between subject and verb and at times seem incredibly uncomfortable reading a sentence. Sometimes I have to wonder if any of these people have ever read a book before. I think it’s sad especially for such an old paper such as the Guardian and I agree - no one seems to be reading the material before publication.
Shivonne, oh gosh, yuh had me rolling. “Huh! And yuh shoulda see misslady take off like she was holding a hot pee.” I guess we still have a long way to go before we hit rock bottom.
By Jumbie on Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
You should have read my post on the inaccuracies in the Guardian. No disrespect, but the Guardian is the last paper I’d buy. Somehow their rate of getting it right is abysmally low.
By Anonymous on Nov 24, 2007 | Reply
The reporter who wrote the story is a new addition to the news desk, having been on features for years, so he took it from that angle. I don’t think he ever did a lead story before as a matter of fact. The editors should have picked that up, though.It’s the lead story after all, so no excuse there. But there’s a serious staff shortage among other things at the Guardian. Work is done on 20 year old equipment and software that shuts down sometimes every 2 minutes. Management is too cheap to address the issues, so staff operates under a lot of pressure and a lot of times things slip through the cracks. New staff is taken on and no training is provided. The editors try their best, but are always under plenty stress. And no Shivonne, there is not newsprint for toilet paper, but for hand towels, yes.
By Jill on Nov 24, 2007 | Reply
anon, can you clarify the diff. between writing features and then switching to news ? i suppose the different styles.. so i see your point from there. i dont see why people need to know what she was wearing at the time, as if clothes make the person ! she can’t be in the public eye and be in home clothes obviously but still..
what does it matter what she wore at salybia?
i am doing my undergrad in communications, and it is clear now that journalists can’t be objective, they will always take a side.. and some on the tnt ones (not all) could use a little more training i suppose…
By Anonymous on Nov 25, 2007 | Reply
Sounds like the journalist could be writing for the Macco channel. All macco all the time…no need for fact checking. Totally irrelevant what Ms. LeGendre was wearing.
By Shivonne on Nov 25, 2007 | Reply
oh gorsh anon, thanks for the inside info
By Indar on Nov 26, 2007 | Reply
Whatever happened to people like Wesley Gibbins, Elizabeth Solomon and Dennis McComie?
By D Trini in Me on Nov 27, 2007 | Reply
Boy we in a bad state of affairs in TnT….20/20 vision here we come!
By Shivonne on Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
Mani…have you seen this? What do you make of it?
http://trinidad-justice.blogspot.com/
By 'rah on Nov 30, 2007 | Reply
I guess both Express and Guardian’s recent ‘Internship Programmes’ are really a way to get cheap/free unskilled labour for the news desks.
“Want to be a journalist? Went to school? You’re hired!”
By Anonymous on Nov 30, 2007 | Reply
If we had won, we would have Green Papered them.
By sinistra on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
Manicou, thanks for this. The decline of media in Trinidad is something I find particularly upsetting, both as a journalist and as a Trinidadian.
By AC on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
I doh even think we have journalists anymore.
Me and my bionic eye tired picking up dem people and dem mistakes.
Tres horrible.
By Deigo "Ricky" Martin on Dec 6, 2007 | Reply
Mani I saw this article and thought of you!http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161245958
FYI the link on the Express front page says:
“Policeman loses job for stealing paper
The theft of four sheets of paper worth eight cents each has cost a police constable his job.”
So the reader thinks, oh lord these people wicked, they fire the man for ripping some pages out of a notepad.
Is only when you read to the end, you see is blank form for gas receipts he take….so he was probably going and scam the station.
Is not like hoss take a couple ah post it notes!
STEUPS
What a misleading headline, it trying to make the HONEST police that report the incident look foolish
By TRINI on Dec 9, 2007 | Reply
By 2020 :-
T&T would be one big massive traffic jam
Streets would be deserted after sundown
Nightlife would be non-existent
People would pay to play mas in enclosed areas like the Stadium, since the streets would not be safe
Small business would close and send staff home because people would not be able to afford to eat out
Then the Syrians will buy out their properties
Murders and kidnappings will continue
People will return their cable boxes, and antennas on top of homes will reappear
Price Smart will introduce a Gold Card for PNM friends and family and CEPEP contractors
The Water Taxi project will be promised by 2025
Everyone under 25 will be a graduate of the University of T&T, but will be unemployable anywhere in the world
UTT will still be spending millions on God knows what
A Panday will still control Indian votes
The sugar workers will still be waiting on their lands
Most of their lands will be bought by Syrian businessmen
The Police Service will introduce credit card and ATM facilities at Police Stations for easy payment
High rise buildings in POS will remain unoccupied
The Interchange Project will be stopped until the Commission of Enquiry into corruption is finished
Belgroves will open a kiosk at the Casualty Unit of all the main Hospitals
A doubles will turn into a singles, and be a once a week treat
Kiss Bakeries will introduce a sliced hops
The US and Canada will stop issuing visas to Trinis
Natural gas reserves will run out
Three smelters will be killing our people, but the environmentalists of the NW Peninsula will only be concerned with re-afforestation and landing some big UN job
There will be a demand for Jamaican and Guyanese dollars
The Piarco Airport corruption trial will enter its 2564th day of hearing
Dookeran will write newspaper columns from his home in Canada
Indians will be purged from the public service and Jennifer Baptiste will be smilingly silent
All persons south of the Caroni will have to buy a monthly pass or pay a toll to drive into POS
Manning will be Executive President for life
The rich will get richer
The poor will get poorer
The middle class will disappear
The PNM will continue tiefing and denying that we are a failed State
WE IN DEEP SHIT !!
By Anonymous on Dec 11, 2007 | Reply
http://news.bn.gs/article.php?story=20071129181138288
How about this photo on news.co.tt? Shocking…
By Kayode on Dec 20, 2007 | Reply
I’m sorry I didn’t see this post earlier. I was offline for a while.
Mani, I agree with your sentiments regarding that story. I was shocked myself when I first read it, and I wondered how it got past the EIC’s desk.
To answer the question above, a news story should not carry the sort of tone or make the sort of assumptions that the story in question does.
A news story should contain the facts, and any logical, formal questions/conclusions that those facts raise.
As a journalist (or a thinking Trinbagonian in general), it’s difficult to refrain from commenting on issues. But the journalist’s job is to remain objective.
Also, I’ll add that there are journalists in Trinidad. The problem is that due to the problems listed by abonymous above, journalism itself is seldom encouraged.
Good post either way, Mani.