Telescope

1. Correct or false: DD8217;s Early Seat Projection or Erroneous Seat Predictions changed faster than Mr.M.S.Gill did jackets on Wednesday morning as he went from DD to STAR.

2. Jagmohan: 8220;If given the opportunity, I will improve the quality of urban life.8221;. Which Ministry does he want? Communications of course his last assignment, dummies.

3. Who said: 8220;the RSS does social work8221;?

4. The same person admitted he wanted to be Defence Minister. Name him hey, there, Georgie boy..?.

5. Whom did DD anchors blame for the gaffe-announcement that Sonia G ji? was trailing in Bellary before counting had even begun? Her opponent, Sushma Swaraj/news agencies 8212; you may tick both.

6. Identify the politician nicknamed the bechara of Election 8217;99: Laloo Yadav,Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh you may tick only one.

7. A TV personality said: 8220;I have no views, I am just an anchor.8221; Now who could be that modest?

8a. Which anchor was so laid back, he/she could have been lying in bed? Never Naqvi sahib.

8b. Which ones were so aggressively rude, they should write I will be polite8217; a 1,000 times: Karan Thapar/Tavleen Singh/Rajdeep Sardesai?

9. What did the TV reporter, standing outside the Prime Minister8217;s house, mean when he said, 8220;the results have come in enthusiastically?8221;Frankly, your guess is as good as his.

10. Which TV exit polls came closest to the final tally but got nearly every individual state prediction wrong? Search through kabadi newspapers for the answer.

No, seriously. Television coverage of the general elections was bigger, better and more beautiful than before. It was also much longer than necessary or desirable and riddled with goof-ups and absurdities. Well, nobody is perfect, even when they8217;re paid crores to produce suchprogrammes. Also, someone should remind graphic artists that just because they have expensive technology, they don8217;t have to use it: there were a few abominable experiments with virtual reality. Another problem: after identifying guests in the beginning, channels then assumed that we knew who they were, two hours later that8217;s how long some were in one studio. The familiarity with which TV anchors addressed their guests further confused identities: you heard first names Prabhu, second names Akbar, decorative names Lord Paul, and no names. Bad manners, worse television.

Bad manners. For some curious, inexplicable reason, some anchors believed that they had to be aggressive, rude for good television. But nothing can be less viewer-friendly. Some anchors/journalists displayed their politics and preferences far too openly. If we don8217;t take names, it isn8217;t so much out of cowardice that too! as the fact that this bias was widespread and cut across channels.

Two more critical comments some people arenever satisfied!: disappointing that Mr.Vajpayee did not make an appearance. L.K.Advani did a channel crossing on Thursday night DD1, DD2, STAR and it was compelling viewing. Long, long ago, when the PM was a leader of the Opposition, he spent a good hour in the DD studio. Recited poetry. That he had spared 10 minutes to speak to the people who elected him.

Election coverage has been dominated by Vajpayee and Sonia. But the results were dominated by Naidu, Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, the JDU, the BJD, and Mamata B. We caught but fleeting glimpses of them in the pre-poll build. Like the Congress, TV channels need to give more importance to regional powers.

TV channels boast: we were the best, we had the latest results, we had superior graphics, we were the first to get L.K. Advani on our show but he spent longer on ours!, we got exclusive shots of Sonia8217;s back8230; But comparisons are odious and irrelevant for viewers.

Overall, TV channels did a job well done. Each one had the results, the trends, theanalysis, opinions lots. At the end of Day One, you knew who had won, who had gained and lost 8212; the big picture; by midnight Day 2, you knew why they had won/lost, who had voted why, opinions many 8212; the minute picture. And discussion on EVERYTHING: foreign p, the economy, 33 reservations for women, the left, the right8230; For example, 20 minutes of surfing on Thursday, gave you: the political fallout of the results in Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu; the future of the Third Front, the wealth of the economy. These were the successes of TV Election8217;99.

Last question 11 for luck: choose India8217;s long distance runners in the next Olympics from marathon men A.Jetley, J.Ramesh, A.Singh, P.Roy, D.Sopariwalla, Mahesh R., Saeed N, GVL N.Rao8230;.