Gentleman’s Game is Dying but not Cricket

India is a cricket crazy nation where this game is not less than a religion. When India plays, the entire nation watches with the hope of them winning every time. The minds, emotional, feelings and expectations are intensely related with this game of Cricket. The love, passion is immense and so is the game.

But still there are things that surprise us. Take for example, the ongoing Test Series between India and South Africa. The cable one gets has about 90 odd channels with 5 sports channels but still, we are unable to watch the match live. The telecast comes on a new channel which the cable providers do not subscribe for. And the only reason is that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) got the highest bid from that channel and they didn’t care whether people will have access to it or not. BCCI is the richest cricket club in India but wants to get richer.

That makes one realize that cricket has turn out to be a money game and nothing else. No one cares about the sport, not a gentleman’s game anymore. Nothing is done to promote the game.

Take the case of football. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has out rightly rejected England’s proposal of hosting a world cup, because they do not want rich to be richer. FIFA does not believe in getting more money but it is the game that matters. Alas! Cricket does not follow this rule.

Cricket also has a governing body known as The International Cricket Council (ICC) but just for the sake of it. The body makes rules, amends them, bends them and at times, forgets them. One wonders why we have such a helpless governing institute.

There are only ten full member of the ICC: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

There are 27 associate members of the ICC: Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, The Netherlands, Nepal, Papua, New Guinea, Scotland, Singapore, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and Zambia.

It clearly shows that out of 245 countries (recognized 193 and others) in the world, around 37 only play cricket while as 200 plus countries play football. Cricket might be getting bigger and admired but in the 37 countries only and not growing to additional countries. The ICC does not seem bothered about it. One can still get enormous quantity of money by caring about the game first and not the other way around. The realization, as always said, has gone astray here as well.

Every new add-on comes with pros and cons and so is 20:20 but the right way is to use it in favor of the game. The 20:20 cricket has made a huge difference to the game, though in both the good and the bad ways. It makes the game shorter in terms of time; more crowds friendly and therefore, popular. But with invasion of big cricket leagues (money wise only) like Indian Cricket League (ICL) and Indian Premier League (IPL), the picture gets worse. Money plays, money rules and the money wins.

Very soon, the players will leave their countries and play for the clubs only for money. I wonder what will happen to cricket then. This time is going to arrive sooner than you think.

According to Mamkol, “Cricket is a gentleman’s sport but organized by un-gentle people as a technique of moneymaking”.

Quoted Fabricated Journalism – Still Invisible

One of the nastiest opponent of media in fabricated journalism. But here, by fabrication one does mean fabricating events, stories, or even quotes. It is an unusual kind of fabrication which is not even noticeable. In simple words, it means quoting people who are known to you without actually sweating it out to recognize what the common concerned masses think.

I memorize reading features of a very juvenile journalist in a reputed national daily appearing on Sunday’s. Every time I would see his article quoting one individual over and over again and the photograph present will have a lady posing always. NO matter what the theme of the article is, the two entities will be omnipresent. When enquired, I came to know the person quoted was the journalist’s best friend and the photographed lady his ‘girlfriend’. You can minimally say that it is a customary thing but isn’t this constructed.

This is a very usual incident in today’s journalism and the reasons knowingly unknown. Either our journalist sees the profession with utmost comfort and believes in taking it the same manner. He does not want to put in sweat to get his work completed, favors an easy way out. He considers himself the boss and the best judge.

Another possible reason can be the ignorance dynamic. The journalist feels that he can quote anyone and everyone and it is not critical to be mindful of something like this. He has a permanent batch of populace whom he quotes every now and then. For him, this is standard reporting and he has boundless grounds to guard it.

Few months back, I read an article about introduction of 20:20 in cricket. To my surprise, I was not able to spot a single quote from a cricket player (either present or ex) of any level. All talked about was the sixes, the fours and the short time duration. The journalist seemed to be in a rush to finish the work to meet the deadline at the expense of killing the sense of the article.

A very important thing to remember is ‘whom’ to quote. You cannot ask a vegetable vendor about sensex or about changing faces of media. Although, everyone here is an expert and can talk about anything but this is not the journalism we know. The journalist needs to identify the people among the common masses to be quoted. Ask people about the things that concern them and not just anything. The day one realizes that, this fabrication will die right away.

With growing media competition, we have a single person reporting and editing the article, the sole soul to do it. When the instance of playing multi tasking role occurs, such mistakes happen. Things are taken for granted and the journalist loses the sight of being an editor also. The person is always in a hurry to finish his job and it pays also but in the incorrect way.

We are living in an era where anybody can develop into a journalist overnight. The person can meet deadlines, get facts and write any piece for you. But it takes courage, passion, hunger, determination, and the willingness to take responsibility.

According to Mamkol, “Next time you w-right an article, memorize the definition of a gener-a-list”.

Kashmir And Newspapers: An Unending Tie

We all have witnessed newspaper stands encumbered with papers (daily, weekly, monthly), tabloids and magazines. Did you ever thought about that stand? It has such a big quantity of publications loaded on it that the stand himself doesn’t know the exact figure. But, do not blame him either because can anyone of you recollect the precise tally; forget about the names, of all the newspapers you notice on the stands.

Every other day, we have a brand new newspaper being launched and yet again, it announces to be the finest. It asserts to be unusual and carrying the ‘voice of the masses’. I, from time to time, wonder if we have so many channels to speak, why are the “voices” unheard? Have you even tried to imagine what it means to own a newspaper? Not really, because it might mean nothing to you. But, do the people who hold such positions really know what it means.

Print media in valley still enjoys a much higher position than the electronic counterpart. Besides our press enclave, considered to be the hub of media, every nook and corner of the city has a newspaper office. Still, I have not been able to recognize the motive of some people behind running a newspaper. There is a very interesting incident that occurred to me when I was a student like I am right now although the age and weight have augmented.

Once I went to a marriage celebration and having lately joined Mass Communication course, I was introduced to a person who was an editor of newspaper whose name I had never heard. He talked to me a lot about journalism, of which I knew nothing, and the fascination and passion for it. I got more than a couple of chances to meet the gentleman over the coming few weeks. He finally invited me to his office one day. It was a two room cozy office and the paper was being sent for printing. He asked me if I wanted a copy or two of his newspaper and I said yes. He called someone and said, “Aaz chapayzev 2 copies extra, ye bache chu na aatum, amis ti havo as kya chi chapavan, magar paper chun zaya karun” (Print two copies extra, this kid also wants to see what we publish but make sure you don’t waste any piece of paper).

In one second, all the admiration for the fellow died and I am still in the process of thinking if that was the journalism he was talking about. An editor prints an exact number of copies for the near and dear ones and limits the use of our newspaper just as a means of money making.

In a conflict region like Kashmir, news sells like hot cakes. It is the best place for any individual to work in any type of media. But, that necessarily doesn’t mean that you forget the basic duties of owning a paper and keep on striving hard to earn the personal benefits. It makes people to begin questioning the authenticity of media. You should be opinion makers, the people to bring revolution, change minds and do what is best for the community. But, as again I said, our media people also seem to be a lost crowd.

There is another fear that is quite dreadful, about the ignorant journalist. People who just take a pen, a paper, a camera, hang an ID card around their neck and become journalists. They can be devastating to the society. For them, sensationalism is the ‘best’ news and creativity, morals, ethics, principles and rules are ‘mere’ words in the English dictionary. These journalists do not seem to think whether they need to know anything at all or not before writing even a word.

One remembers the name of only a handful of journalists whose stories we wait to read, who speak through their writings and who know what they write. Answer a simple question, name ten journalists from different newspapers in one minute? If you get this answer, you will realize what do I mean by ignorant journalists?

Everyone can be a journalist but not all. It requires passion, the extraordinary role to play in the society, becoming a voice of unheard and down trodden, the hunger for truth and the love for doing this. There is a threat lies that lies in blurring the line between journalism and public relations. When such a thing happens, a journalist denies his or her liability to implement a personal verdict of what is important by substituting for it the judgment of others. A possible reaction of the profession must lie in determination on editorial independence as a supporter of journalistic honesty. It takes plenty to be a journalist.

Each and every one upcoming editor has a particular line to say, “We will hit the stands soon”. I imagine what will happen to that stand you all are going to hit. That stand is already occupied by so many publications to take the weight. It is not a big thing to hit the stands but to survive there and get recognized. I anticipate that the future editors will consent with it.

With all the respect for the people who have been running newspapers and doing justice to it, this article is just an attempt to discover the ugliest side of operating a newspaper. Media is not just about money, it means a lot more than that.

According to Mamkol, “Read a news-paper$ before publishing one, you might find out more than a few thing$”.