Sign #37
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 |Another sign that some parents really have no idea what their kids are doing on the internet.
Lord Fa-da!
Archive for the ‘Media’ Category
Jerry Narace
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 |One man says we are living under a dictatorship. The other asks, “What are you talking about? This isn’t dictatorship. Pinochet, now that was a dictator.”
Sometimes it’s so easy to identify with the first guy.
I found this story reading one of my new favourite blogs Media Watch. I never watched more than a few seconds of any of Sasha Mohammed’s pieces on the health system in Trinidad and Tobago this week. So I can’t comment on the veracity of Ms. Mohammed’s information or criticisms of its supposed anti-government slant. However I will admit that her work makes me a little uneasy sometimes. Considering I am no fan of the Government that’s saying a lot.
So the story is that TV6’s Sasha Mohammed does this week-long in depth piece about the health sector from which I gather that the government didn’t look too good. Subsequently the Minister of Health, Jerry Narace, hot under the collar for what he calls “inaccuracies”, “unfair statements” and the “lack of balance”, appears on the TV6 set to be “interviewed” by Sasha Mohammed (in a minute you’ll see why I used quotation marks). However instead of Jerry Narace, Heinrich Himmler shows up at the TV6 newsroom, not to be interviewed, but to inform the nation of the evils of CCN.
***NOTE: Apparently TV6 complained to YouTube about the copyright infringement and the video was removed. Geez, these people know nothing about publicity.***
I would have thought that Minister Narace would have wanted to come in and discuss with Sasha Mohammed the source of her facts and pit his against hers. If I were Minster of Health, I would want to show the nation how she was wrong - embarrass her if I could. Why not let the truth come out? Instead, Himmler comes in, reads off a bunch of stats, and refuses any attempt by Ms. Mohammed to interview him - which is probably the way he wanted it. After all, he is the Minister of Health and his word should count for more than that of a lowly reporter. Once he speaks, the citizenry will shed whatever foolish beliefs they held after viewing Ms. Mohammed’s piece, right?
In essence all Mr. Narace did was to bury the truth in an unmarked grave. How is anyone supposed to find out what the truth is? She said her piece, he said his, but what’s the truth? It occurred to me that Mr. Narace’s appearance on TV6 was not to comfort worried citizens, but to bludgeon them with his stats. As bad as this may sound, this fits in perfectly with my own personal view of Mr. Narace i.e. I’m not convinced he’s in government because of a burning desire to serve the people. I’m also not sure he’s the kind of person that stays up at night worrying about the poor and disadvantaged.
Sasha Mohammed also deserves some criticism for that debacle of an interview. Jerry Narace just can’t walk onto the TV6 set and silence her with his finger. This isn’t a post-cabinet news conference. This was Sasha’s turf and she should have been more forceful in making the Minister know that. Kudos to her for having the testicular fortitude to end the interview, but by that time the damage was done and she had already shown herself to be a tad bit weak. Of course I am just the armchair analyst.
Mani’s Shorts
Monday, July 7th, 2008 |I need to stop running away from my blog. And believe me when I say I am running. I’ve been avoiding writing in this thing like the plague and for no good reason at all.
CNC3 - Specifically Samuel McKnight
Dear CNC3, please spend the money to hire good reporters instead of hiring substandard ones with the hope that they’ll work out. Case in point: Samuel McKnight. Newsflash! He’s not working out. Is it that no one over at CNC3 has realised this? As if the crime situation isn’t bad enough in itself, I have to listen while Samuel McKnight bludgeons the English language to death. Are things really that bad in the hiring business? Some tips for Samuel McKnight.
(1) Pronunciation - There is no “y” in “Cat”.
(2) Subject and verb - It’s great if they can agree sometime. Honestly, man. Singular subject, singular verb. Plural subject, plural verb.
(3) The Possessive Case - It’s surprisingly easy to use. For example let’s say “The girl’s father” instead of “The girl father”. Or how about “The man’s car” instead of “The man car”. Try it out.
(4) When conducting an interview it’s a good practice to keep speaking standard English. Remember the microphone is also picking up your questions. For example don’t ask, “And afta dat where she went?” or “An’ wha he tell she?”
Geez, man.
Trinidad Rum Drinkers
Are you a Trinidad Rum Drinker? If you are, you can’t be as dedicated or as serious a rum drinker as you pretend to be if you’re not a member of the Trinidad Rum Drinkers club. Shame on you, poseur. The TRD club has been experiencing a high turnover rate in recent years and is actively recruiting new members. So you there, if you ever plan to get serious about your choice and consumption of alcoholic beverages be sure to apply for membership in this exclusive club*.
*Beer, whiskey, homemade wine drinkers need not apply. Bay Rummers tolerated downwind. No Vodka Snorters. No Tobagonians.
Esther Ducks and Runs
Friday, November 23rd, 2007 |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.
The Internet Sexpress
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 |I know that the world works on advertising and the vast majority of things that we enjoy to day would not exist or would not be free if it weren’t for advertising. But sometimes I have to question the ad selection going on over at Express House. Ads on the TrinidadExpress.com website leave a lot to be desired. Obviously the people over there at Express House aren’t too concerned with the user experience since the vast majority of ads on the site are the incredibly intrusive, seizure-inducing, blinking type.
Not too long ago the Internet Express displayed ads with sound. Thank God they don’t have any now. One of them beeped repeatedly like the sonar of a submarine and the second made a huffing sound that just beat out the first one on the annoying scale. Exactly who is screening these things?
Now for the past few days we’ve seen the “sex” ads. The following is three different vies of the same ad on the right sidebar:
Maybe these aren’t so bad, but considering it’s a reputable news website, I wonder if they aren’t a little out of place.
The next one’s the kicker:
The Spanish reads “The most beautiful girls” (I think). I clicked on the first ad which turned out to be an ad for lingerie and “toys” (by the way they have a fab array of Christmas teddies starting at just $26). The second one I didn’t click on and I’m not sure why. I think I may have seen enough at that point. A woman in a thong? Are you serious?
As I said, I know that advertising is the lifeblood of most businesses, but can’t the Express be a little more selective? Ads like help can quickly cheapen the look of a website although I’m not sure if the Express website could be cheapened any further.
Also, there must be a number of children who use the Internet Express on any given day for research. God knows the kind of education they are receiving.
C News is in the Doghouse
Sunday, August 26th, 2007 |The evening news is pissing me off again. First it was CNC3 who ran a story about the ANSA McAl book and neglected to mention that CNC3 was owned by ANSA McAL, now it’s the C evening news.
Saturday night I’m watching the C evening news and the news presenter Nicola Barriteau is reading a story about a Friday night UNC meeting in San Juan. She introduces the story by mentioning that the UNC Alliance has a new member who made her first speech on the San Juan platform blah, blah blah. Then Ms Barriteau reads that the new member took to task former Prime Ministers A.N.R. Robinson and Patrick Manning who she said let down the country. Then Ms. Barriteau read “it’s interesting to note that she did not name Basdeo Panday as one of the Prime Ministers who let down the country”. Where dat come from?
The last time I remember being this disappointed was back in 1994 when then TV6 anchor Francesca Hawkins was reading a story concerning the O.J. Simpson verdict. A news reporter had done a man-in-the-street type story asking people for their reactions to the verdict. Of course some people were disappointed with it while some were esctatic. The last woman the reporter interviewed was standing by the People’s Mall and when the reporter told her that O.J. had been found not guilty she proceeded to dance, strut and shout with joy at the news. When the story is over and the camera is back on Francesca she wraps it up by saying sarcastically “sympathetic reactions there from the people in Port of Spain today” (or something to that exact effect). Here am I thinking what is wrong with this woman? We get it. You think O.J. is guilty, but spare us your insight. Most rational people believe that O.J. was guilty and if that woman by the People’s Mall wants to also believe that then hooray for her. But Francesca’s views had nothing to do with the newscast. Why did people have to be sympathetic? Now every time I see her face I remember that one incident.
While the Francesca remark was bad because she allowed herself to get caught up in the moment, this incident on the C evening News was a hundred times worse because it was scripted. Some idiot wrote it, another idiot vetted it and then Ms. Barriteau read it.
The fact that Basdeo Panday’s name was not called is irrelevant. The only news worth reporting is that the speaker named A.N.R. Robinson and Patrick Manning were named as Prime Ministers who had let down Trinidad and Tobago. If the speaker didn’t name Bas, then let the listeners discover and debate the exclusion for themselves. We don’t need the evening news to take on the role of bacchanalist on our behalf. Someone at C is writing the evening news as if it were an opinion column. What kind of crappy reporting is that?
Is it any wonder now that CNMG used to be called PNMG?
What has happened to my 7pm news? It used to be so pure (or at least I was too young to know what impure news was) and now it is tainted by both large corporations and now crappy reporting.
First Up from C
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 |Channel surfing this morning I came across a programme on C that sparked my interest. C (formerly CNMG) is broadcasting a breakfast show called First Up which is actually a radio/TV simulcast - a kind of Don Imus/Mike & Mike in the Morning type show which introduces C’s cameras into the Talk City 91.1 FM studio. I don’t think I’ve ever before seen something like that here in Trinbago on a regular basis. Of course the simulcast has always been around in the forms of sports and event coverage, but I don’t believe that any media house has every employed it as a regular gimmick.
First Up is competing against CNC3’s Early Morning Show and the more established Morning Edition on TV6 so trust me when I say that C will need all the help they can get - especially after coming off a two-year $20 million loss. Whether they can sustain interest in the show will be the real crux of the matter.
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Obviously the format of the “First Up” sets it apart from the rest and in so doing attracts some gawkers. After all, don’t we all wish sometimes that we could see behind the scenes at our favourite radio programmes? Whether the personalities and antics of Fazeer Mohammed and Jessie May Ventour is enough to sustain that interest is what will make or break the show. A dull morning talk show is still a dull morning talk show even if the cameras are rolling. I’ve seen Fazeer sit in for Andy Johnson on occasion on the TV6 Morning Edition and while he’s an excellent sports commentator, he’s a little subdued and I can’t see him setting the town on fire. If I had a choice, I’d want to see antics of Anil, Chris and Sprangalang in the studio of Power 102.1 during their Powerdrive show. Now that would make for good TV. But that’s a different organization altogether.
Overall C is a nice looking channel with well-designed sets and attractive presenters. Everything from the newscast to the weather has a professional look to it mainly because the state has pumped and continues to pump millions of dollars into its operations. In fact I believe they may be outfitted better than any other news house in Trinidad and probably the Caribbean for that matter.
But C’s issues aren’t likely to be how cool their sets are or how hot their babes are. Their hurdles are going to be along the lines of “does anyone care to watch after all this time”. I have to admit that I don’t watch C at all. There’s really no reason for me to switch as C hasn’t given me one. Without a doubt advertisers know it too as a lot of C’s commercial breaks advertise their programme lineups. I applaud C on their First Up simulcast, but they are going to have to do some pretty radical stuff to spark viewers’ interest.
Re: Teens think the darndest things
Monday, June 25th, 2007 |I was reading this column by Keith Smith in Wednesday’s paper. The beginning of the column states:
Boy, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. A former teacher of mine (whom until recently I kept calling “sir”) until he pointed out that almost 50 years had gone by since we were teacher and student, both of us having entered life’s departure lounge, at around the same time sent me this seta howlers with the preamble that:“The following questions and answers were collected from last year’s junior exam results… These are genuine responses, from some Caribbean 16-year-olds, that were read on a local morning show!
The answers might seem funny but the reality behind it is scary… let’s do our best to help our country’s future
Mr. Smith then proceeds to give a list of responses to questions that that were fielded to Caribbean students in some exam. From the time I started reading these I thought it was a little familiar and therefore a little suspicious. In fact it sounded like a bunch of lame jokes. Here are a few:
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.Q: What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A: If you are buying a house, they will insist you are well endowed.Q: In a democratic society, how important is elections?
A: Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.
After reading this I’m thinking this can’t be for real. So I Google one of the jokes. As it turns out, these exact same jokes are word for word all over the internet. For example here, here and here. Is something wrong with this picture? I reread Keith Smith’s column just to make sure I wasn’t missing out on something, but the only conclusion I can come to is that Keith Smith meant what he said literally i.e. an old teacher friend gave him this list of answers from some Caribbean exam or the other. So how is it that a list of over-circulated Q&A jokes becomes a selection from “last year’s junior exam results…genuine responses, from some Caribbean 16-year-olds”? I can’t tell you. My best guess was that it somehow became an e-mail forward and a West Indian put his or her stamp on it. But regardless of it happened, someone along the line someone got duped.
Is this News or a Commercial?
Thursday, May 31st, 2007 | |
Dear CNC3,
You and I really need to talk. I am becoming increasingly disillusioned when it comes to your newscasts. You all started out great and roped me in as a viewer during Trinidad and Tobago’s journey through the 2006 World Cup in Germany. I was really pleased by the quality of reports coming out of Germany especially as TV6, the rights holders of the broadcast in T&T, was doing a piss-poor job of covering the hoopla surrounding the Soca Warriors, which was the 2nd most important thing to me. When TV6 was contented with bringing us capsule reports from what I almost mistook for a drunk fan, you all dished out the money to send Roger Sant and a camera crew to Germany. I wanted to see it all, and Roger and his crew came pretty close to delivering it. That to me was an excellent decision and I haven’t looked at a TV6 newscast since.
I understand that you are still a young station, even though you do posses a crop of experienced journalist from current and former TV stations, as well as radio and the print media. I have learned to ignore it when Astil Renn (sp?) butchers the names of the people he’s reporting on. And while we’re on the topic, Astil Renn isn’t really a reporter is he? And if he is, he’s probably more of a print guy than a TV & Radio guy, right? Anyway, I’ve also forgiven you for letting Carla Foderingham go on to head the T&T film company - forgiven but not forgotten. I’ve even managed to ignore temporarily, the really terrible technical aspects of the CNC3 7pm news - the lost videos, the incorrect videos, the cringe-worthy pauses while master control tries to locate the correct video and the really bad CGI set.
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But what I’m really disappointed me last night was a report last night on the ANSA McAl conglomerate. I think it’s great that ANSA McAl wants to put out a book. The thought of a massive conglomerate putting out a book is the sort of thing that makes me feel all warm inside and it makes me remember the days when I used to curl up at nights with a good yarn. So hey, the ANSA McAl book, excellent. However, in the 3-minute-plus report, I think you all forgot to mention that CNC3 was owned my ANSA Mcal. In fact, I wonder if that bit of information was left out on purpose.
In introducing the Focus on Business segment, Francesca Hawkins mentioned ANSA McAl’s interests with included “manufacturing, finance, the beverage industry, insurance and banking”, but somehow didn’t mention ANSA McAl’s media interests. That’s a little interesting isn’t it?
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Now, I know that ANSA McAl is a mammoth-sized company. I’m aware that Francesca’s list was just a brief overview, but it’s a very obvious omission. Isn’t the failure to mention the relationship between the two companies a conflict of interest? Even the mighty CNN does not report on AOL Time Warner without mentioning at the end that they are owned by the latter. So how does CNC3 air this entire Focus on Business segment and not say, “By the way, blah, blah, blah”. That’s a little shady if you ask me. When the teaser for the story is, “ANSA McAl: A Success Story”, I have to wonder was that segment news, or an advertisement? Did your reporters find the story, or were they directed to cover it? Should I have to wonder if it’s news or an ad? Is the business news self-promotion or a swipe at another competing company? Is trying to decide worth the hassle?
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| ANSA McAl’s Media and Communications Sector Page |
You see, little things like that make me distrust and subsequently rethink the source of my news. Silly little things like that make me very suspicious that what I’m looking at may not be news at all, but instead a broadcast for a captive and uninformed audience.
If you aired this segment after the news was concluded, I wouldn’t care one bit (and honestly, I probably wouldn’t watch either). But the decision to slide this “story” in between the weather report and the regional news is sly to say the least.You see it really is a precarious position when you oversee so much, and so far I can’t say that you are juggling it all too well. The late night news, especially for me, is something that is supposed to be honest and pure, and unfortunately, it is all too easy to taint it. A pinch of arsenic in a tank of water might as well be a pound. Either way, I’m going to avoid it. If you ask me, my perception is that CNC3 has tainted their newscast. I don’t know whether this is the first time if they’ve ever done this, or if it’s the first time I’ve ever seen or noticed, but I should let you know that that’s a bad, bad practice.
I can’t say whether or not I will ever watch again, but my eyes are opened know.
Mani
P.S. - I hear Sampson is back?
Miss Universe 2007
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 |
By the way, for those of you Miss Universe addicts who plan on catching a glimpse of the show on the 28th(?), don’t look out for a Miss Trinidad & Tobago. In case you haven’t heard, for the first time in 17 years we won’t be represented at the competition.
Apparently there was no money from either sponsors or from Government so no rep was chosen.
I remember I began watching the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions the year Giselle LaRonde won the title and I made it a point to watch the show every year since then (well maybe up till Miss T&T failed to progress). I watched especially as T&T almost always made it to the final 10. In fact I met so many people in the United States who knew about Trinidad because of our prowess in the beauty pageants.
It will probably be a lesser competition because we weren’t there, but I won’t know for sure because I won’t be watching. It won’t be the same without us.
