Opinion Hole Stories
Times Nows exclusive with Lalit Modi on IPL auctions demonstrated the impressive power of television journalism...
Times Nows exclusive with Lalit Modi on IPL auctions demonstrated the impressive power of television journalism: if you consistently ask soft questions,strange questions and non-questions you can put a newsmaker at ease no matter how difficult the news context is for the latter. At one level you must be disappointed (that Pakistani cricketers werent picked by IPL franchisees),Times Now asked Modi. Yes,I am,Modi said. Did you ask Vijay Mallya why he didnt pick Pakistani cricketers,Times Now asked. Why should I ask Mallya that,Modi replied. Were you told by the government not to pick Pakistani cricketers,Modi was asked. No,he said.
If these are halfway probing questions,I am a T-20 allrounder worth a million dollars at an IPL auction. If you ask Modi whether hes disappointed,do you expect him to say no I am delighted,overjoyed that Pakistanis arent part of the IPL? The real questions for Modi came (and come) from his being the bossman of IPL and the absolutely necessary burden he therefore carries about making sure the game is played right.
You are batting very well,Times Now told Modi during that interview. Of course,he was; he was getting slow-medium pace full tosses on a flat pitch. Have a good IPL,Times Now said,as it bid adieu to Modi. There will be good action,Modi said,beaming. How lovely it must be to appear on national news TV on a day your signature venture raises so many troubling issues only to find yourself engaged in a nice,pleasant chat. Let me put it this way,there were more holes in this interviewing technique than on the stretch of the LoC fence that Times Now exclusively visited. The latter variety of holes nailed the lie,Times Now said,that Pakistan wasnt encouraging infiltration. The hole story had close-ups of the holes,vaguely martial music,strongly patriotic chatter from the anchor and the reporter and two news bytes that was the whole story. Some Indian news TV exclusives on serious subjects can be such fun.
Speaking of fun,arguably the only show on news TV that seriously attempts to have fun with news The Week That Wasnt on CNN-IBN is increasingly not the show that it was. Two things make or unmake a news-driven comedy show: the man (or the woman) and the material.
There are things about TWTW I always liked. Its irreverence towards all political leaders,even those treated with uncommon courtesy by straight journalism and its confidence in being risqué. Thats a good attitude. But that aint enough when both the TWTW man and TWTW material appear to be in serious need of reinvention.
I pass this verdict after an amount of research that should be considered stunning by the standards of news TV,and very impressive even by print media standards. I twice watched TWTWs year-ender show on CNN-IBNs web site. Yes,twice! I know,you are impressed with me. I am impressed with myself. But I am also a little scared. I mean,sometimes you look back and ask yourself,so,mate,what are you doing with your life. And one of the answers I am getting is that I watched one TWTW show twice.
Still,it helps me say with complete conviction that TWTWs problem is that in general its become awfully predictable and that more often than not its awfully unfunny. If there was a law against being unfunny in a funny show,TWTWs take on the cost-cutting CEO would have been deemed a heinous crime.
Yes,its tougher being funny than taking news camera close-ups of holes in the LoC fence. Which is why TWTW must understand its at a disadvantage: we dont expect serious news on TV to be necessarily serious,but we expect a funny news show to be funny.
saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindia.com
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