I can't imagine what those poor children are going through right now. One of them has to contend with the fact that she was raped at the tender age of 10. The rest of the kids in that school bus have the trauma of having been made to watch the attack happen in front of their very eyes.
All these children will have to live with the trauma for a long time to come, possibly for the rest of their lives.
The only good thing to have come out of this incident is that the bastard who did it was caught red handed, meaning that it's a case even our cock-eyed and calamitous justice system couldn't fuck up.
I only wish that the people who had caught him had killed him instead of merely bashing him up. I wish they had smashed his head to tiny bits. I wish they had cut off his privates with blunt and rusty knives. But even that's too good for monsters like him.
Now, I'm hoping that he is raped, repeatedly and violently, as he rots in prison. I hear they have some very "special" treatment reserved for the likes of him.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Business of Happiness
I consider myself luckier than many people when it comes to theme park experiences. I've had the good fortune to visit not only Eurodisney in Paris, but also Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, which can quite accurately be described as the Mecca of amusement parks.
I don't know if it's the journalist in me that's being cynical or if its just the repeated visits to theme parks like Disney, Sunway Lagoon, Sentosa Island and Genting Highlands that's made be blase to the charms of this particular mode of entertainment.
But whatever it is, I found myself depressingly immune to the charms these man-made Gardens of Delights have to offer. For example, at Genting, I'd notice how tacky the colours are, how the paint peels from the rides, how the mattresses in the hotel rooms seem to have suspicious stains of indeterminate origins and I'd make wise (or is that snide?) comments to myself about how the casinos are places where people go to murder and bury their dreams.
In Disneyworld, I'd observe how the hour-long lines morph into minute-long rides. I'd see that there is always a huge - and often, very expensive - gift shop at the end of every ride and around every corner. I'd moan about how expensive the price of entry to the theme park is and cattily say that fun and laughter is available only to those who can pay for it.
It's ironic then that when a gig to do a freelance assignment came my way recently, it was to cover the Asian Attractions Expo 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Basically it was an amusement park industry trade show featuring all the gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks that come with the industry.
Frankly, I did it for the money. A boy needs to pay his credit card bills and I ain't gonna turn my nose up at making an honest buck any way I can. Funnily though, attending the expo made me reassess my feelings about the entire concept of theme parks.
It wasn't the funky exhibits - and trust me, there were many of those! - that made me change my mind either. It was the conference sessions, which I had been dreading to attend. (Conferences are usually - to me - deadly dull things which tend to put me to sleep more often than not.)
But attending this conference made me realise one thing. The people running these shows do really want to make their customers (or, as they call them, "visitors" or "guests") happy. I tried to think of any other business or line of work which is targeted at giving joy to people and couldn't think of a single one. Music and movies come the closest, but their primary purpose is to entertain and not necessarily create joy. Plus, it seems just weird to think of dudes like Ozzy Osbourne bringing joy and light into people's lives.
But as I sat there, listening to people like Noble Coker (apparently that is his REAL name!) from Disneyland Hong Kong and Paul Pei from Ocean Park Hong Kong talking about how the main objective is to give people memories and how the idea is to ensure they have a good experience, it dawned on me that there really aren't many more noble callings than that.
Yeah, you heard me.I said "noble". No, I've not gone off the deep end. I'm saying that an industry which generated over US$11 billion in revenues in 2006 is noble. I'm saying that parks which charge you an arm, a leg and half a duodenum for entry is noble.
Not out of choice or out of any altruistic motives, mind you. This industry, like any other, has an eye and a half on the bottom line and profit column. Still, any business which aims to give me good memories and a lovely experience is alright in my book. And when I look back at the trip to Eurodisney with dad, or the visit to Walt Disney World with Hoon, I suddenly realise that it was pretty fun. That I did have a good time and create some lovely memories.
And that, to me, is worth the price of entry many, many times over.
I don't know if it's the journalist in me that's being cynical or if its just the repeated visits to theme parks like Disney, Sunway Lagoon, Sentosa Island and Genting Highlands that's made be blase to the charms of this particular mode of entertainment.
 |
| Castle of Dreams or just a prettier and much more expensive Wal-Mart? |
But whatever it is, I found myself depressingly immune to the charms these man-made Gardens of Delights have to offer. For example, at Genting, I'd notice how tacky the colours are, how the paint peels from the rides, how the mattresses in the hotel rooms seem to have suspicious stains of indeterminate origins and I'd make wise (or is that snide?) comments to myself about how the casinos are places where people go to murder and bury their dreams.
In Disneyworld, I'd observe how the hour-long lines morph into minute-long rides. I'd see that there is always a huge - and often, very expensive - gift shop at the end of every ride and around every corner. I'd moan about how expensive the price of entry to the theme park is and cattily say that fun and laughter is available only to those who can pay for it.
It's ironic then that when a gig to do a freelance assignment came my way recently, it was to cover the Asian Attractions Expo 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Basically it was an amusement park industry trade show featuring all the gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks that come with the industry.
Frankly, I did it for the money. A boy needs to pay his credit card bills and I ain't gonna turn my nose up at making an honest buck any way I can. Funnily though, attending the expo made me reassess my feelings about the entire concept of theme parks.
It wasn't the funky exhibits - and trust me, there were many of those! - that made me change my mind either. It was the conference sessions, which I had been dreading to attend. (Conferences are usually - to me - deadly dull things which tend to put me to sleep more often than not.)
But attending this conference made me realise one thing. The people running these shows do really want to make their customers (or, as they call them, "visitors" or "guests") happy. I tried to think of any other business or line of work which is targeted at giving joy to people and couldn't think of a single one. Music and movies come the closest, but their primary purpose is to entertain and not necessarily create joy. Plus, it seems just weird to think of dudes like Ozzy Osbourne bringing joy and light into people's lives.
 | |
| Hmmm...wonder which of these two blokes makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside... |
But as I sat there, listening to people like Noble Coker (apparently that is his REAL name!) from Disneyland Hong Kong and Paul Pei from Ocean Park Hong Kong talking about how the main objective is to give people memories and how the idea is to ensure they have a good experience, it dawned on me that there really aren't many more noble callings than that.
Yeah, you heard me.I said "noble". No, I've not gone off the deep end. I'm saying that an industry which generated over US$11 billion in revenues in 2006 is noble. I'm saying that parks which charge you an arm, a leg and half a duodenum for entry is noble.
Not out of choice or out of any altruistic motives, mind you. This industry, like any other, has an eye and a half on the bottom line and profit column. Still, any business which aims to give me good memories and a lovely experience is alright in my book. And when I look back at the trip to Eurodisney with dad, or the visit to Walt Disney World with Hoon, I suddenly realise that it was pretty fun. That I did have a good time and create some lovely memories.And that, to me, is worth the price of entry many, many times over.
You Can Keep Your Upins and Ipins. Give Me My TV Pendidikan Any Day.
There's a whole generation of Malaysian kids that were weaned on the milk of TV Pendidikan. Yes, those were the days before 24-hour TV, before Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel.
Those were the days when cartoons were gloriously hand-drawn and 2D.
Say what you want about visually stunning CGI and awesome modern special effects. I still think the old cartoons - local or foreign - had a charm that modern fare finds impossible to replicate.
I'm betting that those who've seen these videos before will be transported on a nostalgic trip down memory lane. And those who haven't, well take a look at this and tell me if this wasn't a more innocent time.
Those were the days when cartoons were gloriously hand-drawn and 2D.
 |
| Jangan monyet...menyesal nanti... |
I'm betting that those who've seen these videos before will be transported on a nostalgic trip down memory lane. And those who haven't, well take a look at this and tell me if this wasn't a more innocent time.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Football - The Beautiful Game
Jogo Bonito seems to have quite literally become The Beautiful Game.The World Cup 2010 may not have tickled and titillated too many fans, with its low-scoring games, dour tactics and God-damn annoying vuvu-fucking-zelas.
Still, it has pushed the right buttons as far as one group of people are concerned.
The South African jamboree has sparked the interest of
beauty worshipping website, beautifulpeople.com
The website has recently published a list featuring the beauties and the beasts of this World Cup. And no, I'm not talking about WAGs and visiting celebrities. The website's list actually focuses on the players themselves.
Come on, let's face it. It's a common enough thing. Most of us have had to put up with fans - mainly women - who gush about how cute Stevie G is (the answer being: not at all!) or how they'd like to despoil Iker Casillas (who, I have to admit, is a good looking bloke) and how bewitching Kaka's dark, mysterious eyes are (excuse me while I go puke my dinner).
Well, anyway, visitors to beautifulpeople have appointed
Spain's misfiring forward Fernando Torres as this edition's official Adonis.
Joining him in the "most beautiful man" category is Portugal winger/ inside forward / gay icon /new daddy Cristiano Ronaldo. Torres scored a massive 7.81 out of 10 while Crissy wasn't far behind,with 7.52.
Other Greek Gods in the tournament include Kaka, French flop Yoann Gourcuff, Casillas and Spanish hotshot David Villa. All polled scores of above 7.
Interestingly, the teams that are considered to be collectively the most lovely to watch (and I mean that quite literally) are also the World Cup's finalists - Spain and Holland. If their beauty ratings are anything to go by (5.77 for Spain, 5.53 for Holland), the Spanish will just about edge Holland to the trophy.
And what about the beasties? Who are the ones who are considered the uglies? The kinds that wouldn't be able to score in a brothel?
Well, the most prominent names are Frenchman Franck Ribery, England's Wayne Rooney (whose summer seems to be going from bad to worse), Argentine striker Carlos Tevez and Spanish semi-final hero Carles Puyol. They scored a paltry 2.95, 3.28, 3.23 and 3.98 respectively. And you really can't argue with that can you? None of them have the kind of face you'd want to encounter in a dark alley at night.
But the award for the fugliest, the most un-lovely and the most unravishing teams belongs to North Korea and the Ivory Coast.
North Korea's soccer superstars' ratings range from 2.95 to 3.53 for an average of 3.26. The Ivory Coast, on the other hand, counts Didier Drogba as its best looking bloke, which pretty much tells you how tragic they are in the looks department (3.57 for the number-
obsessed among you).
But then again, that's the beauty (THAT WORD AGAIN!) of football, isn't it? Or rather, that's the beauty of sports in general.
You can be the most goddamn ugly motherfucker around and still be a God. It used to be that way in music and acting, but both art forms are devolving into popularity contests and beauty pageants as time goes by.
Sport remains pure though. Where else would the Williams sisters shine? In what other line of work would Smokin' Joe Frazier have found fame and fortune? Shaquille O' Neal has a face that even a mother would have trouble loving.
But if you're a sportsman or sportswoman, none of that matters. It's all about your talent, your perseverance, your fighting spirit, your sportsmanship and the moments of magic that you create.
It doesn't matter if you're a bug-eyed Brazilian teenager scoring one of the greatest ever World Cup goals or an aging Cameroonian with missing teeth celebrating your goal by gyrating with the corner flag. People will worship you, people will adore you, people will love you and people will remember you.
And that, boys and girls, is why we love sport.
Hanging is Too Good for Astro. It Should Be Drawn and Quoted.
I have on more than one occassion heard that Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto standing up.
The reason, apparently, that Herr Marx did not sit down while penning the world-changing book was because he had a wound of some sort on his butt.
The wound was so painful that it was impossible for him to sit. Or so the legend goes.
I, while writing this, find myself in something of a similar situation. I have not one, but two minor (I hope!), but very painful little wounds right now.
So, the only thing left is to emulate Marx and use this time to write. Unlike Marx's masterpiece, I doubt what I note down will be of any consquence to the world. But, fuck it. I'm bored and cranky. And there's nothing like being fussy and nitpicky when I'm in one of my bitchy moods.
So, there i was, surfing Astro to see if there were any documentaries worth watching. I tuned in to Animal Planet and decided to check out the programme synopsis.
I was quite simply flabbergasted when I saw what popped up. If you look at the image on the left, you'd understand quite well what I mean.
My first reaction was to just wonder how a company as big, as well staffed, as rich and as technologically advanced as mighty Astro can make a boo-boo like this.
This is a company that collects on average RM100 a month from God knows how many million Malaysians. With all that cash flowing in, you'd think that they can afford to hire people who speak and write decent enough English to know the difference between "six feet" and "six fit". And to know that it's "third" and not "thirrd". And to actually have the brains and the initiative to come up with a programme synopsis that makes some sense.
Disbelief then gave way to anger. Is this what I am paying my RM100 every month for? To get sub-standard programming? TV reception that seizes up every time it rains? Synopses that don't make sense? Programmes that are:
a) boring
b) repetitious
c) inane
d) all of the above
But then again, this is exactly what happens when one company enjoys a monopoly and stranglehold on a certain sector. A lot of us still remember humble Megatv, with its bare-bones 5 channels. It gave us the essentials for less than RM50, if I remember correctly.
But Astro, with its marketing and its thousands of unnecessary channels, blew Megatv away with ease. Then came Vincent Tan's MiTV cable provider. Only God - and Vincent - know what happened to that thing.
It ultimately means that we consumers have a choice. Put up with Astro's crap, substandard service or just unsubscribe. Not really much of a choice, is it? Not many people can imagine making do with just TV1, TV2 and the other free-to-air channels. Looking at the quality of the programmes, one can't really blame the viewership for succumbing to Astro.
The reason, apparently, that Herr Marx did not sit down while penning the world-changing book was because he had a wound of some sort on his butt.
The wound was so painful that it was impossible for him to sit. Or so the legend goes.
I, while writing this, find myself in something of a similar situation. I have not one, but two minor (I hope!), but very painful little wounds right now.
One is a pimple inside my nostril which is making my entire, not-so-little nose feel very sore indeed. The other, worse, one is a boil just below my waist. It's location makes sitting down very painful indeed. I've tried squeezing it, warming it with a hot compress and even pricking and poking it with a blade. Nothing works, though I've subjected myself to a lot of - probably unnecessary - pain.
So, the only thing left is to emulate Marx and use this time to write. Unlike Marx's masterpiece, I doubt what I note down will be of any consquence to the world. But, fuck it. I'm bored and cranky. And there's nothing like being fussy and nitpicky when I'm in one of my bitchy moods.
I was quite simply flabbergasted when I saw what popped up. If you look at the image on the left, you'd understand quite well what I mean.
My first reaction was to just wonder how a company as big, as well staffed, as rich and as technologically advanced as mighty Astro can make a boo-boo like this.
This is a company that collects on average RM100 a month from God knows how many million Malaysians. With all that cash flowing in, you'd think that they can afford to hire people who speak and write decent enough English to know the difference between "six feet" and "six fit". And to know that it's "third" and not "thirrd". And to actually have the brains and the initiative to come up with a programme synopsis that makes some sense.
Disbelief then gave way to anger. Is this what I am paying my RM100 every month for? To get sub-standard programming? TV reception that seizes up every time it rains? Synopses that don't make sense? Programmes that are:
a) boring
b) repetitious
c) inane
d) all of the above
But then again, this is exactly what happens when one company enjoys a monopoly and stranglehold on a certain sector. A lot of us still remember humble Megatv, with its bare-bones 5 channels. It gave us the essentials for less than RM50, if I remember correctly.
But Astro, with its marketing and its thousands of unnecessary channels, blew Megatv away with ease. Then came Vincent Tan's MiTV cable provider. Only God - and Vincent - know what happened to that thing.
It ultimately means that we consumers have a choice. Put up with Astro's crap, substandard service or just unsubscribe. Not really much of a choice, is it? Not many people can imagine making do with just TV1, TV2 and the other free-to-air channels. Looking at the quality of the programmes, one can't really blame the viewership for succumbing to Astro.
And so, Mr. AK laughs all the way to the bank as he counts his ever-growing billions. And all the while, us average Joes can't say anything.
Except this.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships experience, one year on.
It was about this time last year that I had just begun settling in to life in the US. We Fellows had been in our newsrooms for a month and a half and were preparing to go for our mid-term seminar in Florida.
We were all relatively comfortable in our new environments, some more than others. We had all begun getting ideas and thoughts about things we could change in our newsrooms back home. These ideas would germinate and congeal as the months wore on. Some of the more gung-ho ones - meaning, Rodrigo and me - even went to the extent of interviewing the top editors in several leading publications in the country to pick their brain and find out what they were doing to survive in the brave new world of New Media.
A lot of our musings and ideas were put down in paper as the Fellowship drew to a close in Septembar. I recently revisited the AFPF website and read the reflections of the 2009 Fellows. Some thoughts were instructive, some were poignant and some were indicative of how similar the issues facing journalism are, despite the vast distances that separate us.
Most were, unsurprisingly, focussed on the need for better and wider multimedia coverage. Ethical issues like the importance of quotes also featured prominently. Another popular topic was the need for more communication and interaction between editors, reporters, photographers, multimedia folk, graphic designers, copy-editors, etc.
Looking back at our reports, at our hopes and our expectations, I wonder how many of us actually managed to put what we learned to any use at all. I know for a fact that I hit a big and painful brick wall when I tried to pitch my many ideas to my former newspaper.
I also know that four out of the nine of us left the companies we worked for in a matter of months after returning. Sherine, from Egypt, went to Reuters almost immediately after returning. Rodney, from Uganda, applied for, and received, a scholarship to study in the United States. Huyen applied to further her studies in broadcast journalism. I, having become jaded and bitter at how things had gone downhill for me at NST since I returned, left to join a TV station.
But at that point, not many of us knew what the future had in store for us. All we had were our hopes, our dreams and our expectations of what we were going to do when we returned.
Here are some excerpts from the Reflections of the Class of 2009.
Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
The News International
Lahore, Pakistan
Hosted by The Houston Chronicle
I was never over-ambitious and knew from the very beginning that it’s hard to fully replicate the working models of U.S. newsrooms in Pakistan. Because our newspapers are not that resourceful, and even if they are, the will to spend on the development of human resources and the improvement of the working environment is almost extinct.
It is not an exaggeration if I say the facilities available to a fresh reporter in the U.S. are still a distant dream for a typical Pakistani editor, nearing his or her retirement. Here I mean the facilities required for the performance of one’s professional duties and not one’s personal belongings.
I would quote just one example to explain how pathetic the situation in some cases is. A journalist from a national Urdu daily told me how his editor had rejected his application for the approval of his mobile phone allowance. He was asked to make friends with some officers in the civil secretariat and use their phones to stay connected to the office.
This poor guy can receive a missed call on his mobile from his office anytime, forcing him to abandon whatever he is doing, and run around to find a free calling facility. This way the editor and the reporter are both saving the organization some precious pennies.
The situation is not as bad everywhere, but there is no question that one can suggest to the bosses to share their funds with staffers to pay for their travel with dignitaries, lunches and dinners with their sources, and the purchase of reference books or research material.
I remember going to meet a city council member with a Houston Chronicle reporter for lunch. The venue was a popular restaurant known for its “mouth-watering” and “finger-lickin’-good” South Asian food. We had not even properly rested ourselves in our seats, or exchanged any niceties, when this reporter announced that he would foot the bill. The council member was adamant that he would pay for the food, but the reporter refused the offer and, politely, threatened to leave the place if he was not allowed to do that. Later, he told me that the newspaper pays all the work-related costs incurred by staffers for food, air-travel, lodging etc.
If I ask my bosses to adopt this practice, I am sure I’ll right away be referred to a psychiatrist for a mental checkup.
Therefore, I will focus on those values and traits of American journalism that can be adopted in my organization, without much dependence on the finance department.
To start with, I would like to see my reporters and editors get rid of their obsession with the worn-out and decayed inverted pyramid style of news writing.
The newspaper content, however dull it was, would sell when there was no Internet or independent private TV channels. Now, the only way the print edition can survive is through innovation in reporting as well by writing style and value-addition to the content.
Today, news is no secret, and many times the readers have heard it before it reaches a reporter. If the print journalists simply provide the transcript of what TV channels are saying, no one would be interested in it. I have learnt in my host newsroom that the content should be catchy enough to attract readers and to get them hooked.
Journalism is rightly called “the first rough draft of history.” If journalists behave like court historians and only record the boastful accounts of rulers and the influential elite, the history written tomorrow will be devoid of its beauty. There would be no mention of the masses, their culture and lifestyle, real-life stories of sacrifice, resilience and righteousness, and other narratives that describe a society.
The problem with many Pakistani journalists is they think they can become big overnight, by rubbing shoulders with those in power. There are very few who focus their lens on the have-nots. I would convince my bosses to spare more space for stories about people and shrink the expansive political coverage.
Sherine El Madany
The Daily News Egypt
Cairo, Egypt
Hosted by the Los Angeles Times
In today’s digital age, the Internet has taken charge, and it is not enough for a print journalist to only use the notebook. Today’s print journalist needs to support text stories with audio, video and other graphic materials.
At both the Poynter Institute and the LA Times, I have learned that multimedia tools complement the text version of the story rather than a stand alone version. The key question is to decide which medium makes the text story better. Is it audio, video, sound bytes, informational graphs or a mix of these? If the medium does not make the text version better, then don’t use it.
Jaideep Hardikar
The Daily News and Analysis
Nagpur, India
Hosted by the Sun-Sentinel
Writing with one’s readers in mind.
Time and again, copy editors wrote back to me asking to clarify and simplify sentences. Old hawks in senior positions act as filters – they help you re-write stories; simplify complex sentences and re-check facts. What do you mean by this? Do we need to say this? Are you sure? -- Common questions at work. Quotes and attributions are sacrosanct. You can’t mess around with those. This is basic, but we most often overlook this. It’ll be my regular practice henceforth, something that I’ll strive for and advocate in my own journalistic circle. It has to become a habit.
Frank discussions.
I loved the practice of open ‘budget’ discussions at The Missourian, the campus newspaper of the J-School at Columbia. TheSun-Sentinel and other newspapers in the U.S. do not follow this practice, but they have their own ways to engage in frank discussions about a story. They follow a more formal way. Sometimes reporters meet with their editors or colleagues over lunch or coffee to discuss stories and find out ways to refine their ideas. The Sun-Sentinel also has a writers’ group.
Reporters and editors meet twice a month in a conference hall, eat good food and discuss old stories. The convener sends stories to be discussed with a note: good lead, strong endings or powerful narratives. Many other newspapers in the U.S. have similar internal groups. I am recommending one for DNA. As soon as I return, I will also be forming one in my home town inviting journalist friends from different newspapers for brainstorming sessions. It is a break from the routine and an opportunity to do something creative.
Effective story-telling with multi-media.
The Sun-Sentinel is leading an experiment of an integrated newsroom – print, online and television. While the print remains its main product, the newsroom now has a strong online content and a morning television show. Programs like sound-slides enhance the online story telling abilities. It’s a new skill that I learned hands-on working alongside a photojournalist at the Sun-Sentinel. It’s an effective tool that my home newspaper could think of adopting for its online edition.
Rodney Muhumuza
Daily Monitor
Kampala, Uganda
Hosted by The Kansas City Star
The Monitor has to start valuing feedback in ways it has never done before. I wrote on my blog, madeinuganda.blogspot.com, that it was wrong for a newspaper that’s not even 20 years old to be aloof to feedback. “In Uganda, where state tyranny over the media is sometimes taken for granted, reporters know they are doing a good job when the state comes down hard on them,” I wrote. “It has become one crucial, if painful, way of measuring influence, yet one that ultimately shows a blithe disregard for what the ordinary Ugandan thinks. If we are as good as we think we are, our journalism should not merely aspire to draw the wrath of angry dictators. Above all, it should get the local people, the silent ones, talking.”
Rodrigo Muzell
Zero Hora
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Hosted by The Philadelphia Inquirer
The major learning was how to plan a story. Being a foreigner led me to develop a better way to do this. Let me give you an example from my first story. My mentor gave me a tip about a big line of people near a subway station where free food was distributed every Tuesday. He gave me a handout with the name of the group that distributes the food. In the past I would just call the guys and go there. But since I didn’t know anything about the city, I had to research the group to see if there were previous stories about them. I talked to the poverty reporter here and got some background about food stamps and food banks. Then I had to research the food banks and to learn what they exactly do and how they are organized. I did all of it before going to the streets to interview people.
Just to have a clue about any issue demanded a lot of research, and I figured that this effort resulted in more contextualized stories. Instead of a telling only about the group that distributes the food and people who receive it, the story explains what’s happening with the food banks that use groups like that to help people.
In May, I attended the Investigative Reporting and Editors Conference in Baltimore. There, I talked to seasoned reporters about their techniques, got other tips at the panels and slowly figured out my own way to organize a story idea. Planning it from the beginning allowed me to work on a bigger story later on about recycling. I talked to over 15 sources, and here’s the method I’m using now. I am using the recycling story as an example.
1) Research the clips: The general idea was to see what’s being done in recycling here. I looked at Inquirer stories about it since 2005. In the last published story, it was reported the city had set up a recycling goal for 2009.
2) Researching the internet. At city’s website, I learned that Philadelphia had achieved the goal, and that The Inquirer hadn’t reported it.
3) Finding a focus. I decided to explain what this goal means to the city. I defined two major lines of research: the economy of recycling (it saves taxpayers money) and the importance of it for the environment. I knew I would have to find citizens to tell me their doubts about it and how important the matter is to them.
4) Talking to the editor. After all that work, I pitched the story to the editors. I had the increased rate to tell them, which was enough to justify the story, and I told them what I wanted to do. The editor had some doubts about the subject, so we discussed what sources I should use and questions I should answer for the reader.
5) Get to the sources. From there, it is a regular reporter’s work.
This is an example of how the planning can be effective for a writer. But it is also extremely important to get things done in the newsroom. Since you will more and more to depend on a lot of your colleagues to make your stories better online, you need to have a well-shaped idea to begin with. You have to approach the graphic designer, or the photo editor, or the multimedia desk with something clear in your mind. They rely on you to tell them how the story is going to be written.
Huyen Vu
The Guide
Hanoi, Vietnam
Hosted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For me democracy was right there, in the newsroom, where editors were not some supernatural power who were entitled to make a mess of my stories and get away with it. It happened more than once when my editors edited me and got me wrong. But there they were, all ears to my complaints and explanations. The result was that together we made more accurate, more readable stories. From my editors I had learned to keep my stories coherent, to try to make every detail relevant, to get every word to mean something. More often than not, the stories were kicked between my editors many times before they finally made it into the paper.
An interesting thing I discovered there was the editors are able to apologize if they make a mistake. And I had learned that almost any problem can be resolved by talking about it. I’ve gotten to really believe in the power of explanation and discussion.
Myoung Hoon Suh
Money Today
Seoul, South Korea
Hosted by the Los Angeles Business Journal
Multimedia
What I cherish most and would like to share first and foremost with my colleagues is my experience with multimedia. In Korea, IT has developed to a stage where free DMB technology is enjoyed by the majority through their mobile phones. Ages before Facebook made its debut, Koreans were already uploading photos on their own CyWorld homepages. (This may be the reason Koreans call Facebook America's version of CyWorld.)
America's use of multimedia by a print media company lags far behind Korea's. For the most part, there's only an accompanying photo or a video link to an article. But in a word, what I saw of multimedia use at American print media companies while I was at the Poynter Institute was, shocking. It was not only a matter of 'copying and pasting' a photo or a graphic, but a whole host of multimedia platforms in use, including photo slides, interactive graphics, just to name a couple. I would like to let my colleagues know the enormous benefits that can be realized when the use of multimedia is employed well with an article.
At The Missourian
What was most interesting at The Missourian was learning about 'Citizen Journalism'. It was new and refreshing to see coverage of next door neighbors and ordinary people gracing the front pages of the paper. Most of the people who I have interviewed in my career are very successful and recognized both far and wide. The centerpiece of the articles focused on their successes and what tests and hardships were overcome to reach these successes.
But the stories in The Missourian were about people one would easily meet on the street. It was a way of getting to know what was occupying their minds right here, right now. But it turned out that what was on their minds was usually not only about them and them alone. Everything they had to say was relevant to others in one way or another, and the reporters at The Missourian sought questions to produce quotes with the widest possible relevance. I was ultimately reading articles that addressed ideas and opinions held by many.
All reporters constantly concern themselves with relevance and the value of information when writing articles. But cases abound where the blanks are sought to be filled only after setting an article's angle and parameters. At least that is how it seemed to me. That may be because I learned that it was only then that a more detailed article could be written.
Zhiming “Diego” Xin
China Daily
Beijing, China
Hosted by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press
If there’s any skill I’ve learned, I would say I had some practice doing business stories and making them more like features. In the limited number of stories I’ve done for my host newspaper, the most impressive thing for me is my relentless effort to make my story different from news releases.
The most challenging of it is to produce an enticing lead. I have not done that successfully (I’ve usually spent most of the time figuring out a good lead; it’s much easier to complete the other parts), but I’ve read numerous of my colleague’s headlines, such as in the September 17th St. Paul Pioneer Press, in which Richard Chin used the lead: “The Constitution is never far from Chuck Samuelson’s heart.” He used a pun to indicate the fact that many people not only keep a small book of Constitution in their breast pocket, but also keep the ideals of Constitution in their heart.
Using a pun requires much linguistic skill and wit, something not all writers could accomplish. But there are other easier ways to make our stories more readable, such as starting them by relating someone’s personal story. As always, it’s easy to find and memorize tips on how to write business stories as features, but it’s hard to carry them out in real writing practice. It takes time, energy and persistence to improve in that direction.
Another thing I’ve learned from my host newspaper is the combined use of multimedia and print and the cooperation between the print and the online sections to cater to the readership. For example, when something significant cropped up, the writers would first write a short piece for the website before digging deeper to write a story for the print edition. While my host newspaper doesn’t make many multimedia videos, sometimes it put Youtube clips on their website, such as the one on a September 14 emergency landing of a German plane with landing gear problems. Of course, the editors must be very careful to abide by the intellectual property rights and rules and make sure not to pick up the wrong video.
Reporters and editors do make mistakes, however which I learned during my fellowship in the US. On July 5, China’s Xinjiang saw a brutal mass killing tragedy, in which more than 100 ordinary Han people were killed by a local minority group. The US newspapers reacted enthusiastically and promptly to cover the event. Their reporters interviewed extensively the local minority group, related in detail how they were treated “unfairly” in the past, and how “peaceful” they were this time, without mentioning the fact that they brutally killed more than 100 people in their “peaceful demonstrations”! They did mention the number of deaths, but in a way as if those dead were all from the minority group crushed by the Chinese government.
Those newspapers also quoted the Chinese government, but it seems they did it simply to have it refuted later by giving more voices to that minority group. They went so far that in a picture shot by Reuters, in which the Reuters caption was “People who were injured during riots …”, a major US newspaper simply changed it to “Uighurs injured at a hospital …”, while the face of the man and his name card on the wall clearly indicate he is a Han Chinese, not a Uighur. The editor could explain it away by saying he/she can’t tell Han Chinese from Uighur Chinese. Then since he/she can’t tell them from each other, why did he/she make the change? I don’t know why the editor of that internationally renowned newspaper made the mistake, but it’s thought-provoking. What they did reminded me of last year’s incident in Tibet in which some western newspapers simply used fake pictures or changed pictures to show the “brutality” of Chinese troops.
I’m very upset, since they are newspapers from which I’m supposed to learn how to do good journalism -- fair, balanced and accurate. Apart from feeling upset, I should learn some lessons from them, too.
1. Never take something for granted. For a long time, thanks to ideological differences, the Chinese government has always been described as “communist” (every English speaker knows what “communism” means). So I guess many journalists simply take it for granted that whatever the Chinese government does, it’s wrong. It’s an easy way of doing journalism, but is it a good way?
2. Try to be balanced, fair and accurate, no matter how different a journalist’s opinion is from the party he/she is going to cover. It takes a lot of time, energy and effort to achieve this. It’s no simple task.
Marc Lourdes
New Straits Times
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hosted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Though blogging has a tremendous following in Malaysia nobody has quite figured out how to make it pay just yet. I may just have an idea to change that.
Malaysia is a small country if compared to the United States. We've only got a population of 27 million people. Our land mass is roughly equal to that of New Mexico. With such a small and dense population, it's inevitable that our newspapers focus mainly on national issues. We do have certain sections devoted to high-density urban areas, but due to a lack of space, large swathes of the land lack close coverage, unlike America, where regional and local papers service even the smallest of communities.
But we do have bureaus scattered throughout the country. What if these bureau reporters were to each set up local blogs and put up reports there? The big stories that have national impact would of course go into the newspaper. But the smaller pieces, the pieces of local interest, but not national, could be blogged about.
What's the big deal about that? After all, aren't there many citizen bloggers out there? And more importantly, how would one make money from this idea? Well, let me answer these questions one-by-one.
1) The main difference between citizen bloggers and journalist bloggers is the ethical and professional gulf between them. Think about it. The reason why bloggers exist is because they address a need. A need that newspapers and journalists haven't addressed. So, why not start addressing the need? I'm convinced that if we can give the people blog content, along with the citizen participation a blog allows, coupled with high journalistic standards and ethics, the readership will follow. Secondly, journalists enjoy something most citizen bloggers don't. They can do this full-time, with the machinery of a big company supporting them. If journalists can't win with the aid of a stacked deck like this, then they really have no business being in the business.
2) So, how does one make money from this? Advertising, of course. How many small businesses out there can afford the high cost of advertising in a newspaper? How many want to advertise on a national platform when all they want is to get their message to the people in their area? With small, concentrated, highly localized blogs, this under-served community can be tapped into and hopefully become a revenue source.
Granted, the money made from each individual blog advertiser would be a mere pittance compared to the huge sums paid for full-page newspaper ads. Still, if things go right, there will be tremendous volume, which will more than compensate for it.
So, that's it. That's my great idea. For it to work though, there needs to be a concentrated effort from all those in the newsroom. We cannot afford to wait for people to catch on to it. There needs to be an advertising blitz to inform local readers about it. I'm thinking flyers tucked into copies of each paper at bureau level, informing readers about the blogs. Add to that a daily page in the newspaper dedicated to promoting the highlights of our web-only content, including the Best of the Blogs. We need to get hits, and we need to shamelessly promote ourselves to do so.
A potential pitfall is the willingness of journalists to actually take on the extra work and responsibility this will entail. I admit that this element baffles me a little. How do you motivate reporters? Through the threat of job losses? Through dangling carrots like individualized performance-related bonuses? Through creating lucrative monthly awards for best bureaus, bureau reporters and bureau blog posts? The methods are many, and I think what it calls for is a combination of all these elements. Straight talk. Tell them what awaits them if they don't change and promise to reward the ones that do. That's what would work for me.
The entire collection of Reflections essays can be accessed here.
We were all relatively comfortable in our new environments, some more than others. We had all begun getting ideas and thoughts about things we could change in our newsrooms back home. These ideas would germinate and congeal as the months wore on. Some of the more gung-ho ones - meaning, Rodrigo and me - even went to the extent of interviewing the top editors in several leading publications in the country to pick their brain and find out what they were doing to survive in the brave new world of New Media.
A lot of our musings and ideas were put down in paper as the Fellowship drew to a close in Septembar. I recently revisited the AFPF website and read the reflections of the 2009 Fellows. Some thoughts were instructive, some were poignant and some were indicative of how similar the issues facing journalism are, despite the vast distances that separate us.
Most were, unsurprisingly, focussed on the need for better and wider multimedia coverage. Ethical issues like the importance of quotes also featured prominently. Another popular topic was the need for more communication and interaction between editors, reporters, photographers, multimedia folk, graphic designers, copy-editors, etc.
Looking back at our reports, at our hopes and our expectations, I wonder how many of us actually managed to put what we learned to any use at all. I know for a fact that I hit a big and painful brick wall when I tried to pitch my many ideas to my former newspaper.
I also know that four out of the nine of us left the companies we worked for in a matter of months after returning. Sherine, from Egypt, went to Reuters almost immediately after returning. Rodney, from Uganda, applied for, and received, a scholarship to study in the United States. Huyen applied to further her studies in broadcast journalism. I, having become jaded and bitter at how things had gone downhill for me at NST since I returned, left to join a TV station.
But at that point, not many of us knew what the future had in store for us. All we had were our hopes, our dreams and our expectations of what we were going to do when we returned.
Here are some excerpts from the Reflections of the Class of 2009.
Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
The News International
Lahore, Pakistan
Hosted by The Houston Chronicle
I was never over-ambitious and knew from the very beginning that it’s hard to fully replicate the working models of U.S. newsrooms in Pakistan. Because our newspapers are not that resourceful, and even if they are, the will to spend on the development of human resources and the improvement of the working environment is almost extinct.
It is not an exaggeration if I say the facilities available to a fresh reporter in the U.S. are still a distant dream for a typical Pakistani editor, nearing his or her retirement. Here I mean the facilities required for the performance of one’s professional duties and not one’s personal belongings.
I would quote just one example to explain how pathetic the situation in some cases is. A journalist from a national Urdu daily told me how his editor had rejected his application for the approval of his mobile phone allowance. He was asked to make friends with some officers in the civil secretariat and use their phones to stay connected to the office.
This poor guy can receive a missed call on his mobile from his office anytime, forcing him to abandon whatever he is doing, and run around to find a free calling facility. This way the editor and the reporter are both saving the organization some precious pennies.
The situation is not as bad everywhere, but there is no question that one can suggest to the bosses to share their funds with staffers to pay for their travel with dignitaries, lunches and dinners with their sources, and the purchase of reference books or research material.
I remember going to meet a city council member with a Houston Chronicle reporter for lunch. The venue was a popular restaurant known for its “mouth-watering” and “finger-lickin’-good” South Asian food. We had not even properly rested ourselves in our seats, or exchanged any niceties, when this reporter announced that he would foot the bill. The council member was adamant that he would pay for the food, but the reporter refused the offer and, politely, threatened to leave the place if he was not allowed to do that. Later, he told me that the newspaper pays all the work-related costs incurred by staffers for food, air-travel, lodging etc.
If I ask my bosses to adopt this practice, I am sure I’ll right away be referred to a psychiatrist for a mental checkup.
Therefore, I will focus on those values and traits of American journalism that can be adopted in my organization, without much dependence on the finance department.
To start with, I would like to see my reporters and editors get rid of their obsession with the worn-out and decayed inverted pyramid style of news writing.
The newspaper content, however dull it was, would sell when there was no Internet or independent private TV channels. Now, the only way the print edition can survive is through innovation in reporting as well by writing style and value-addition to the content.
Today, news is no secret, and many times the readers have heard it before it reaches a reporter. If the print journalists simply provide the transcript of what TV channels are saying, no one would be interested in it. I have learnt in my host newsroom that the content should be catchy enough to attract readers and to get them hooked.
Another thing that I have learnt in my newsroom is that journalists must write primarily for their readers. I am not stating the obvious; my point is that many journalists write about big names only. They have no place for the ordinary people, to whom the readers relate more easily.
Journalism is rightly called “the first rough draft of history.” If journalists behave like court historians and only record the boastful accounts of rulers and the influential elite, the history written tomorrow will be devoid of its beauty. There would be no mention of the masses, their culture and lifestyle, real-life stories of sacrifice, resilience and righteousness, and other narratives that describe a society.
The problem with many Pakistani journalists is they think they can become big overnight, by rubbing shoulders with those in power. There are very few who focus their lens on the have-nots. I would convince my bosses to spare more space for stories about people and shrink the expansive political coverage.
Sherine El Madany
The Daily News Egypt
Cairo, Egypt
Hosted by the Los Angeles Times
In today’s digital age, the Internet has taken charge, and it is not enough for a print journalist to only use the notebook. Today’s print journalist needs to support text stories with audio, video and other graphic materials.
At both the Poynter Institute and the LA Times, I have learned that multimedia tools complement the text version of the story rather than a stand alone version. The key question is to decide which medium makes the text story better. Is it audio, video, sound bytes, informational graphs or a mix of these? If the medium does not make the text version better, then don’t use it.
Jaideep Hardikar
The Daily News and Analysis
Nagpur, India
Hosted by the Sun-Sentinel
Writing with one’s readers in mind.
Time and again, copy editors wrote back to me asking to clarify and simplify sentences. Old hawks in senior positions act as filters – they help you re-write stories; simplify complex sentences and re-check facts. What do you mean by this? Do we need to say this? Are you sure? -- Common questions at work. Quotes and attributions are sacrosanct. You can’t mess around with those. This is basic, but we most often overlook this. It’ll be my regular practice henceforth, something that I’ll strive for and advocate in my own journalistic circle. It has to become a habit.
Frank discussions.
I loved the practice of open ‘budget’ discussions at The Missourian, the campus newspaper of the J-School at Columbia. TheSun-Sentinel and other newspapers in the U.S. do not follow this practice, but they have their own ways to engage in frank discussions about a story. They follow a more formal way. Sometimes reporters meet with their editors or colleagues over lunch or coffee to discuss stories and find out ways to refine their ideas. The Sun-Sentinel also has a writers’ group.
Reporters and editors meet twice a month in a conference hall, eat good food and discuss old stories. The convener sends stories to be discussed with a note: good lead, strong endings or powerful narratives. Many other newspapers in the U.S. have similar internal groups. I am recommending one for DNA. As soon as I return, I will also be forming one in my home town inviting journalist friends from different newspapers for brainstorming sessions. It is a break from the routine and an opportunity to do something creative.
Effective story-telling with multi-media.
The Sun-Sentinel is leading an experiment of an integrated newsroom – print, online and television. While the print remains its main product, the newsroom now has a strong online content and a morning television show. Programs like sound-slides enhance the online story telling abilities. It’s a new skill that I learned hands-on working alongside a photojournalist at the Sun-Sentinel. It’s an effective tool that my home newspaper could think of adopting for its online edition.
Rodney MuhumuzaDaily Monitor
Kampala, Uganda
Hosted by The Kansas City Star
The Monitor has to start valuing feedback in ways it has never done before. I wrote on my blog, madeinuganda.blogspot.com, that it was wrong for a newspaper that’s not even 20 years old to be aloof to feedback. “In Uganda, where state tyranny over the media is sometimes taken for granted, reporters know they are doing a good job when the state comes down hard on them,” I wrote. “It has become one crucial, if painful, way of measuring influence, yet one that ultimately shows a blithe disregard for what the ordinary Ugandan thinks. If we are as good as we think we are, our journalism should not merely aspire to draw the wrath of angry dictators. Above all, it should get the local people, the silent ones, talking.”
Rodrigo Muzell
Zero Hora
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Hosted by The Philadelphia Inquirer
The major learning was how to plan a story. Being a foreigner led me to develop a better way to do this. Let me give you an example from my first story. My mentor gave me a tip about a big line of people near a subway station where free food was distributed every Tuesday. He gave me a handout with the name of the group that distributes the food. In the past I would just call the guys and go there. But since I didn’t know anything about the city, I had to research the group to see if there were previous stories about them. I talked to the poverty reporter here and got some background about food stamps and food banks. Then I had to research the food banks and to learn what they exactly do and how they are organized. I did all of it before going to the streets to interview people.
Just to have a clue about any issue demanded a lot of research, and I figured that this effort resulted in more contextualized stories. Instead of a telling only about the group that distributes the food and people who receive it, the story explains what’s happening with the food banks that use groups like that to help people.
In May, I attended the Investigative Reporting and Editors Conference in Baltimore. There, I talked to seasoned reporters about their techniques, got other tips at the panels and slowly figured out my own way to organize a story idea. Planning it from the beginning allowed me to work on a bigger story later on about recycling. I talked to over 15 sources, and here’s the method I’m using now. I am using the recycling story as an example.
1) Research the clips: The general idea was to see what’s being done in recycling here. I looked at Inquirer stories about it since 2005. In the last published story, it was reported the city had set up a recycling goal for 2009.
2) Researching the internet. At city’s website, I learned that Philadelphia had achieved the goal, and that The Inquirer hadn’t reported it.
3) Finding a focus. I decided to explain what this goal means to the city. I defined two major lines of research: the economy of recycling (it saves taxpayers money) and the importance of it for the environment. I knew I would have to find citizens to tell me their doubts about it and how important the matter is to them.
4) Talking to the editor. After all that work, I pitched the story to the editors. I had the increased rate to tell them, which was enough to justify the story, and I told them what I wanted to do. The editor had some doubts about the subject, so we discussed what sources I should use and questions I should answer for the reader.
5) Get to the sources. From there, it is a regular reporter’s work.
This is an example of how the planning can be effective for a writer. But it is also extremely important to get things done in the newsroom. Since you will more and more to depend on a lot of your colleagues to make your stories better online, you need to have a well-shaped idea to begin with. You have to approach the graphic designer, or the photo editor, or the multimedia desk with something clear in your mind. They rely on you to tell them how the story is going to be written.
Huyen Vu
The Guide
Hanoi, Vietnam
Hosted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For me democracy was right there, in the newsroom, where editors were not some supernatural power who were entitled to make a mess of my stories and get away with it. It happened more than once when my editors edited me and got me wrong. But there they were, all ears to my complaints and explanations. The result was that together we made more accurate, more readable stories. From my editors I had learned to keep my stories coherent, to try to make every detail relevant, to get every word to mean something. More often than not, the stories were kicked between my editors many times before they finally made it into the paper.
An interesting thing I discovered there was the editors are able to apologize if they make a mistake. And I had learned that almost any problem can be resolved by talking about it. I’ve gotten to really believe in the power of explanation and discussion.
Money Today
Seoul, South Korea
Hosted by the Los Angeles Business Journal
Multimedia
What I cherish most and would like to share first and foremost with my colleagues is my experience with multimedia. In Korea, IT has developed to a stage where free DMB technology is enjoyed by the majority through their mobile phones. Ages before Facebook made its debut, Koreans were already uploading photos on their own CyWorld homepages. (This may be the reason Koreans call Facebook America's version of CyWorld.)
America's use of multimedia by a print media company lags far behind Korea's. For the most part, there's only an accompanying photo or a video link to an article. But in a word, what I saw of multimedia use at American print media companies while I was at the Poynter Institute was, shocking. It was not only a matter of 'copying and pasting' a photo or a graphic, but a whole host of multimedia platforms in use, including photo slides, interactive graphics, just to name a couple. I would like to let my colleagues know the enormous benefits that can be realized when the use of multimedia is employed well with an article.
At The Missourian
What was most interesting at The Missourian was learning about 'Citizen Journalism'. It was new and refreshing to see coverage of next door neighbors and ordinary people gracing the front pages of the paper. Most of the people who I have interviewed in my career are very successful and recognized both far and wide. The centerpiece of the articles focused on their successes and what tests and hardships were overcome to reach these successes.
But the stories in The Missourian were about people one would easily meet on the street. It was a way of getting to know what was occupying their minds right here, right now. But it turned out that what was on their minds was usually not only about them and them alone. Everything they had to say was relevant to others in one way or another, and the reporters at The Missourian sought questions to produce quotes with the widest possible relevance. I was ultimately reading articles that addressed ideas and opinions held by many.
All reporters constantly concern themselves with relevance and the value of information when writing articles. But cases abound where the blanks are sought to be filled only after setting an article's angle and parameters. At least that is how it seemed to me. That may be because I learned that it was only then that a more detailed article could be written.
Zhiming “Diego” Xin
China Daily
Beijing, China
Hosted by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press
If there’s any skill I’ve learned, I would say I had some practice doing business stories and making them more like features. In the limited number of stories I’ve done for my host newspaper, the most impressive thing for me is my relentless effort to make my story different from news releases.
The most challenging of it is to produce an enticing lead. I have not done that successfully (I’ve usually spent most of the time figuring out a good lead; it’s much easier to complete the other parts), but I’ve read numerous of my colleague’s headlines, such as in the September 17th St. Paul Pioneer Press, in which Richard Chin used the lead: “The Constitution is never far from Chuck Samuelson’s heart.” He used a pun to indicate the fact that many people not only keep a small book of Constitution in their breast pocket, but also keep the ideals of Constitution in their heart.
Using a pun requires much linguistic skill and wit, something not all writers could accomplish. But there are other easier ways to make our stories more readable, such as starting them by relating someone’s personal story. As always, it’s easy to find and memorize tips on how to write business stories as features, but it’s hard to carry them out in real writing practice. It takes time, energy and persistence to improve in that direction.
Another thing I’ve learned from my host newspaper is the combined use of multimedia and print and the cooperation between the print and the online sections to cater to the readership. For example, when something significant cropped up, the writers would first write a short piece for the website before digging deeper to write a story for the print edition. While my host newspaper doesn’t make many multimedia videos, sometimes it put Youtube clips on their website, such as the one on a September 14 emergency landing of a German plane with landing gear problems. Of course, the editors must be very careful to abide by the intellectual property rights and rules and make sure not to pick up the wrong video.
Reporters and editors do make mistakes, however which I learned during my fellowship in the US. On July 5, China’s Xinjiang saw a brutal mass killing tragedy, in which more than 100 ordinary Han people were killed by a local minority group. The US newspapers reacted enthusiastically and promptly to cover the event. Their reporters interviewed extensively the local minority group, related in detail how they were treated “unfairly” in the past, and how “peaceful” they were this time, without mentioning the fact that they brutally killed more than 100 people in their “peaceful demonstrations”! They did mention the number of deaths, but in a way as if those dead were all from the minority group crushed by the Chinese government.
Those newspapers also quoted the Chinese government, but it seems they did it simply to have it refuted later by giving more voices to that minority group. They went so far that in a picture shot by Reuters, in which the Reuters caption was “People who were injured during riots …”, a major US newspaper simply changed it to “Uighurs injured at a hospital …”, while the face of the man and his name card on the wall clearly indicate he is a Han Chinese, not a Uighur. The editor could explain it away by saying he/she can’t tell Han Chinese from Uighur Chinese. Then since he/she can’t tell them from each other, why did he/she make the change? I don’t know why the editor of that internationally renowned newspaper made the mistake, but it’s thought-provoking. What they did reminded me of last year’s incident in Tibet in which some western newspapers simply used fake pictures or changed pictures to show the “brutality” of Chinese troops.
I’m very upset, since they are newspapers from which I’m supposed to learn how to do good journalism -- fair, balanced and accurate. Apart from feeling upset, I should learn some lessons from them, too.
1. Never take something for granted. For a long time, thanks to ideological differences, the Chinese government has always been described as “communist” (every English speaker knows what “communism” means). So I guess many journalists simply take it for granted that whatever the Chinese government does, it’s wrong. It’s an easy way of doing journalism, but is it a good way?
2. Try to be balanced, fair and accurate, no matter how different a journalist’s opinion is from the party he/she is going to cover. It takes a lot of time, energy and effort to achieve this. It’s no simple task.
New Straits Times
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hosted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Though blogging has a tremendous following in Malaysia nobody has quite figured out how to make it pay just yet. I may just have an idea to change that.
Malaysia is a small country if compared to the United States. We've only got a population of 27 million people. Our land mass is roughly equal to that of New Mexico. With such a small and dense population, it's inevitable that our newspapers focus mainly on national issues. We do have certain sections devoted to high-density urban areas, but due to a lack of space, large swathes of the land lack close coverage, unlike America, where regional and local papers service even the smallest of communities.
But we do have bureaus scattered throughout the country. What if these bureau reporters were to each set up local blogs and put up reports there? The big stories that have national impact would of course go into the newspaper. But the smaller pieces, the pieces of local interest, but not national, could be blogged about.
What's the big deal about that? After all, aren't there many citizen bloggers out there? And more importantly, how would one make money from this idea? Well, let me answer these questions one-by-one.
1) The main difference between citizen bloggers and journalist bloggers is the ethical and professional gulf between them. Think about it. The reason why bloggers exist is because they address a need. A need that newspapers and journalists haven't addressed. So, why not start addressing the need? I'm convinced that if we can give the people blog content, along with the citizen participation a blog allows, coupled with high journalistic standards and ethics, the readership will follow. Secondly, journalists enjoy something most citizen bloggers don't. They can do this full-time, with the machinery of a big company supporting them. If journalists can't win with the aid of a stacked deck like this, then they really have no business being in the business.
2) So, how does one make money from this? Advertising, of course. How many small businesses out there can afford the high cost of advertising in a newspaper? How many want to advertise on a national platform when all they want is to get their message to the people in their area? With small, concentrated, highly localized blogs, this under-served community can be tapped into and hopefully become a revenue source.
Granted, the money made from each individual blog advertiser would be a mere pittance compared to the huge sums paid for full-page newspaper ads. Still, if things go right, there will be tremendous volume, which will more than compensate for it.
So, that's it. That's my great idea. For it to work though, there needs to be a concentrated effort from all those in the newsroom. We cannot afford to wait for people to catch on to it. There needs to be an advertising blitz to inform local readers about it. I'm thinking flyers tucked into copies of each paper at bureau level, informing readers about the blogs. Add to that a daily page in the newspaper dedicated to promoting the highlights of our web-only content, including the Best of the Blogs. We need to get hits, and we need to shamelessly promote ourselves to do so.
A potential pitfall is the willingness of journalists to actually take on the extra work and responsibility this will entail. I admit that this element baffles me a little. How do you motivate reporters? Through the threat of job losses? Through dangling carrots like individualized performance-related bonuses? Through creating lucrative monthly awards for best bureaus, bureau reporters and bureau blog posts? The methods are many, and I think what it calls for is a combination of all these elements. Straight talk. Tell them what awaits them if they don't change and promise to reward the ones that do. That's what would work for me.
The entire collection of Reflections essays can be accessed here.
I Miss My Column.
I told myself I would not go down the path of certain people who left the New Straits Times only to devote their blog to bitching about the company and the people in it, even though their treachery seems to have been ultimately rewarded with triumphant returns to positions of power and prestige.
However, there is one thing on my mind which has been bothering me and I'm hoping this blog posting will prove cathartic. At the very least, it'll allow me to vent. So, here goes.
I never asked to be a columnist for the paper. I only ever volunteered to write one column, with disastrous results. In fact, the fallout of that column - and there's a huge back-story to the writing and editing of the piece itself - was so bad that I resolved to never write another column again.
However, I was encouraged and prodded to turn my hand to attempting columns and commentaries by an editor, who was very supportive and helpful in my early days. When my fellowship came up, it was this editor that told me to turn the column into a regular fortnightly thing.
It took a while to get used to it (column writing, to me, is a very personal thing, something which gives the reader a glimpse into my soul), but I did and began to really enjoy it. This despite the fact that most of the columns that really meant something were rejected because they were too sensitive. But hey, you don't work for the NST without knowing the constraints that come with it.
But anyway, before I left NST, I asked the Sunday Times editor whether I would be able to maintain my column. She said she saw no conflict of interest with my production duties in BRTV and writing columns in NST. I was happy, because it meant that I could still write and still, in a way, have some sort of a link to NST (which I was very fond of, despite certain odious trolls in charge of the paper today).
I mentioned the same thing to the CEO, GE and Deputy GE as I said my goodbyes. Everything passed with no negative comments from them.
And then from out of the blue, I was told by the Sunday Times editor that the GE had decided not to retain my column due to a supposed "conflict of interest". I was sad, but accepted it as a judgement call made by upper management in the best interests of the company.
But as time has passed, I realise that it is a shallow excuse. Why? Three reasons.
1) Jason Dasey. He writes a regular sports column. Yet, he is also the editor of 442 magazine and a host on Astro. Isn't there a conflict of interest here, considering that 442 is in the print media and Astro is a competitor to Media Prima?
2) Teoh Teik Hoong. He's a friend and a nice enough dude. But he is also the owner and editor of the SJ Echo, which is a publication in direct competition with NST Streets. Yet, he too is writing columns for Sunday Times.
3) Malay Mail. When the paper decided to go free, NST blared the news. The decision didn't make sense to me as well as to a lot of other reporters. Why promote a rival newspaper. An editor who used to work at MM said it was because we were helping out a "friend". I'm all for helping my friends out, but it doesn't make any kind of sense to promote a competing business, especially when NST Streets itself is trying to get a foothold in the same market.
Ultimately, anybody who reads this posting would probably surmise that I am bitter and reeking of sour grapes over my expulsion as a columnist. And to a certain extent I am. But I'm not saying that I SHOULD have been retained. All I'm saying is I think I deserved to hear the real reason of why I was not retained.
However, there is one thing on my mind which has been bothering me and I'm hoping this blog posting will prove cathartic. At the very least, it'll allow me to vent. So, here goes.
I never asked to be a columnist for the paper. I only ever volunteered to write one column, with disastrous results. In fact, the fallout of that column - and there's a huge back-story to the writing and editing of the piece itself - was so bad that I resolved to never write another column again.
However, I was encouraged and prodded to turn my hand to attempting columns and commentaries by an editor, who was very supportive and helpful in my early days. When my fellowship came up, it was this editor that told me to turn the column into a regular fortnightly thing.
It took a while to get used to it (column writing, to me, is a very personal thing, something which gives the reader a glimpse into my soul), but I did and began to really enjoy it. This despite the fact that most of the columns that really meant something were rejected because they were too sensitive. But hey, you don't work for the NST without knowing the constraints that come with it.
But anyway, before I left NST, I asked the Sunday Times editor whether I would be able to maintain my column. She said she saw no conflict of interest with my production duties in BRTV and writing columns in NST. I was happy, because it meant that I could still write and still, in a way, have some sort of a link to NST (which I was very fond of, despite certain odious trolls in charge of the paper today).
I mentioned the same thing to the CEO, GE and Deputy GE as I said my goodbyes. Everything passed with no negative comments from them.
And then from out of the blue, I was told by the Sunday Times editor that the GE had decided not to retain my column due to a supposed "conflict of interest". I was sad, but accepted it as a judgement call made by upper management in the best interests of the company.
But as time has passed, I realise that it is a shallow excuse. Why? Three reasons.
1) Jason Dasey. He writes a regular sports column. Yet, he is also the editor of 442 magazine and a host on Astro. Isn't there a conflict of interest here, considering that 442 is in the print media and Astro is a competitor to Media Prima?
2) Teoh Teik Hoong. He's a friend and a nice enough dude. But he is also the owner and editor of the SJ Echo, which is a publication in direct competition with NST Streets. Yet, he too is writing columns for Sunday Times.
3) Malay Mail. When the paper decided to go free, NST blared the news. The decision didn't make sense to me as well as to a lot of other reporters. Why promote a rival newspaper. An editor who used to work at MM said it was because we were helping out a "friend". I'm all for helping my friends out, but it doesn't make any kind of sense to promote a competing business, especially when NST Streets itself is trying to get a foothold in the same market.
Ultimately, anybody who reads this posting would probably surmise that I am bitter and reeking of sour grapes over my expulsion as a columnist. And to a certain extent I am. But I'm not saying that I SHOULD have been retained. All I'm saying is I think I deserved to hear the real reason of why I was not retained.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Facts. Of A Sort.
Idle minds are the devil's playground. And it seems my mind is very often idle these days. So, in order to avoid Lucifer, Beelzebub and co moving in, I've taken to reading FACTS. (Facts to be pronounced with raised eyebrows, pulled down lower lip and exaggerated haughty voice. Why? Coz they are FACTS!)
I would describe these facts as useless, except that I'm sure that somewhere out there a sociologist/anthropologist/zoologist or whatever-ologist is creaming his panties over these esoteric grains of knowledge.
Here are said facts - in bold - with my humble opinion - not in bold, since it is supposed to be humble - attached.
The housefly regurgitates its food and eats it again.
A very useful ability. Gross, and bound to ensure a barren love life, but has anybody ever
heard of a housefly that died of hunger?
Some sailors believed that if there is a cat on a ship, it means it is a lucky trip.
Didn't they also believe that having a woman on a ship was considered unlucky? So what if it was a female cat?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named Lew Alcindor when he was born.
Lew Alcindor just doesn't have the same ring to it. Say it after me now. Karrrrreeeeeem Abdoooooool Jabbbbbbbbbarrrrrrr...
Fingernails grow about 3 times faster than toenails.
Chew on that!
Cher wore braces as an adult.
And the Osmonds obviously didn't...
The Poison- Arrow frog can kill about 2,200 people.
May I add a few of my gruesome ex-bosses to your hitlist, Mr. Poison-Arrow Frog, sir?
Notaphily is someone who collects bank notes.
And a necrophilly is?
Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US President whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal". William Jefferson Clinton is the 2nd.
There's really nothing to add to this, is there?
The only insect that can turn its head 360 degrees is the praying mantis.
That ain't nuffink! Linda Blair can do that AND spit out a pint of green pea soup!
At Disneyland they have hundreds of wild domesticated cats running around the park. They never come out during the day because there's too many people, but the reason they're there is to catch the mice.
Okay, this is literally like something out of a...well, Disney cartoon!
An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3 steps backwards while dancing.
Something tells me the tango never made it big in Bellingham.
Charlie Brown's father was a barber.
And Charlie Brown had, what? Three strands of hair? The irony is beautiful, innit?
I would describe these facts as useless, except that I'm sure that somewhere out there a sociologist/anthropologist/zoologist or whatever-ologist is creaming his panties over these esoteric grains of knowledge.
Here are said facts - in bold - with my humble opinion - not in bold, since it is supposed to be humble - attached.
The housefly regurgitates its food and eats it again.
A very useful ability. Gross, and bound to ensure a barren love life, but has anybody ever
heard of a housefly that died of hunger?
Some sailors believed that if there is a cat on a ship, it means it is a lucky trip.
Didn't they also believe that having a woman on a ship was considered unlucky? So what if it was a female cat?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named Lew Alcindor when he was born.
Lew Alcindor just doesn't have the same ring to it. Say it after me now. Karrrrreeeeeem Abdoooooool Jabbbbbbbbbarrrrrrr...
Fingernails grow about 3 times faster than toenails.
Chew on that!
Cher wore braces as an adult.
And the Osmonds obviously didn't...
The Poison- Arrow frog can kill about 2,200 people.
May I add a few of my gruesome ex-bosses to your hitlist, Mr. Poison-Arrow Frog, sir?
Notaphily is someone who collects bank notes.
And a necrophilly is?
Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US President whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal". William Jefferson Clinton is the 2nd.
There's really nothing to add to this, is there?
The only insect that can turn its head 360 degrees is the praying mantis.
That ain't nuffink! Linda Blair can do that AND spit out a pint of green pea soup!
At Disneyland they have hundreds of wild domesticated cats running around the park. They never come out during the day because there's too many people, but the reason they're there is to catch the mice.
Okay, this is literally like something out of a...well, Disney cartoon!
An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3 steps backwards while dancing.
Something tells me the tango never made it big in Bellingham.
When Coca-Cola began to be sold in China, they used characters that would sound like "Coca-Cola" when spoken. Unfortunately, what they turned out to mean was "Bite the wax tadpole".
Is this Chinese code language for "suck my dick"?
Is this Chinese code language for "suck my dick"?
The hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue.
There are more than a hundred billion crayons??? There's a colour called Periwinkle Blue???
There are more than a hundred billion crayons??? There's a colour called Periwinkle Blue???
Charlie Brown's father was a barber.
And Charlie Brown had, what? Three strands of hair? The irony is beautiful, innit?
In the movie "Toy Story", the carpet designs in Sid's hallway is the same as the carpet designs in "The Shining."
As if the idea of your toys coming alive at night isn't freaky enough by itself...
Clinophobia is the fear of beds.
Well, it could have been worse. Imagine if it was clitophobia.
Well, it could have been worse. Imagine if it was clitophobia.
Sigh...I'm getting neither funnier, nor wittier, am I?
Friday, July 2, 2010
The I.S.A. - You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.
It's not really surprising that right wing Nazis like Perkasa evoke the spectre of the Internal Security Act the moment anybody says anything contrary to their narrow world-view.
The latest example of Ibrahim Ali and co's warm and cuddly approach to making friends and building bridges is Perkasa's call to detain Wangsa Maju MP Wee Ka Siong under the ISA for daring to suggest that Mara scholarships should be reduced in tandem with Public Service Department scholarships.
And of course, everybody's favourite political scion, S. Vell Paari (who is proud of the fact that he is more Italian - or was it Australian - than he is Indian), is demanding that Ibrahim Ali himself be detained under the ISA for being racist. (Read the story here.)
I, along with many others, relish the thought of that troll of an MP being thrown into a cold, dark hole to commune with his fellow cockroaches for the rest of his natural life.
However, it is saddening that influential politicians (well, to influential to a certain degree-lah) are still using the ISA as a bludgeon with which to inflict blunt force trauma on those with alternate views.
The ISA was, is and always will be a "BAD" law. It is a classic example of how the Rule OF Law is subverted to become the Rule BY Law. The introduction of other such draconic laws, like the Patriot Act in America for example, by no means makes it "better" or less of an abuse of the legal process.
Everybody - terrorist, thug or tycoon - is entitled to a fair and impartial hearing in a court of law. I, for one, truly believe that if there is a lack of compelling evidence to indicate a person's guilt, that person should be released and allowed to live his or her life as freely.
The ISA is a slippery slope and Malaysia has slid down its precipice more than once. Ops Lalang, in the 80s, proved that the law was just as applicable against political opposition and hard-hitting media practitioners as it is against genuine threats to the nation. Some would argue that it is used far more often as a political tool by the Barisan Nasional overlords than it is to really protect the safety and security of the country.
It's especially galling to see it endorsed by the likes of Vell Paari when it was his father who not so long ago lobbied for the release of ISA-detained Hindraf leaders to gain brownie points from the Indian community. You can't have it both ways. You either use it or you lose it.
Many a regular Malaysian would say - lose it.
The latest example of Ibrahim Ali and co's warm and cuddly approach to making friends and building bridges is Perkasa's call to detain Wangsa Maju MP Wee Ka Siong under the ISA for daring to suggest that Mara scholarships should be reduced in tandem with Public Service Department scholarships.
And of course, everybody's favourite political scion, S. Vell Paari (who is proud of the fact that he is more Italian - or was it Australian - than he is Indian), is demanding that Ibrahim Ali himself be detained under the ISA for being racist. (Read the story here.)
I, along with many others, relish the thought of that troll of an MP being thrown into a cold, dark hole to commune with his fellow cockroaches for the rest of his natural life.
However, it is saddening that influential politicians (well, to influential to a certain degree-lah) are still using the ISA as a bludgeon with which to inflict blunt force trauma on those with alternate views.
The ISA was, is and always will be a "BAD" law. It is a classic example of how the Rule OF Law is subverted to become the Rule BY Law. The introduction of other such draconic laws, like the Patriot Act in America for example, by no means makes it "better" or less of an abuse of the legal process.
Everybody - terrorist, thug or tycoon - is entitled to a fair and impartial hearing in a court of law. I, for one, truly believe that if there is a lack of compelling evidence to indicate a person's guilt, that person should be released and allowed to live his or her life as freely.
The ISA is a slippery slope and Malaysia has slid down its precipice more than once. Ops Lalang, in the 80s, proved that the law was just as applicable against political opposition and hard-hitting media practitioners as it is against genuine threats to the nation. Some would argue that it is used far more often as a political tool by the Barisan Nasional overlords than it is to really protect the safety and security of the country.
It's especially galling to see it endorsed by the likes of Vell Paari when it was his father who not so long ago lobbied for the release of ISA-detained Hindraf leaders to gain brownie points from the Indian community. You can't have it both ways. You either use it or you lose it.
Many a regular Malaysian would say - lose it.
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