[IMC Bombay] NEws Mastheads

Fri, 14 Feb 2003 09:57:23 +0530

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Nity 
Symbols get hijacked when we allow partisan groups to do so. 
Symbols and Iconography, in general, is owned by the public not individuals and
groups.
If we feel they are "hijacking" it, the most graceful response is to gently
bring it back into a more democratic lobby. I am not sure how....
And for the same reason, is an astrologer's suggestion more palatable than that
of affiliations?
I personally would have more problem if a media organization that should stand
for truth and  clarity, chooses to heed the mind numbing exhortations of an
astrologer who in turn translates the celestial voices into a palatable drone.
Extremely personal opinions
-Yashodhara

-----Original Message-----
From:	nity68@vsnl.com [SMTP:nity68@vsnl.com]
Sent:	Friday, February 14, 2003 9:30 AM
To:	imc-mumbai@lists.indymedia.org
Subject:	Re: [IMC Bombay] NEws Mastheads

hello yashodhara/abhijeet:
i rarely post too. but you're right. this one does get to you. i agree 
that the reporting may not change. but at a time when religion is 
willy nilly being equated to communalism, symbolism matters a 
hell of a lot. Christian Science Monitor may have named itself so in 
a completely different context. Just as saffron as a colour has been 
hijacked by the loony Hindu right, various other religious symbols -- 
especially when used in public -- convey and are meant to convey 
affiliation to the loony right. that's how i see the symbols. so i'm not 
sure that it is a simple matter of whether the reporting quality 
changes or not. I would not fault the Times Group with a lack of 
understanding of these issues. Given that, I only feel that the 
decision to place a Ganesha on the masthead has more to do with 
declaring one's affiliation than anything else. Of course, i could be 
wrong, and it may be a simple matter of the astrologer advising 
samir jain to do this to improve his profits.
ciao, nity

On 14 Feb 2003, at 9:06, yashodhara pawar wrote:

> I rarely post. This one gets me right on the middle with a hard
> cabbage.
> 
> As someone who has lived in many parts of the world and greeted many
> mornings with different newspapers even those whose language I could
> not fathom, I can say this: News reporting and declaration of a
> religious/cult/belief association COULD be delinked in the minds of
> the reader. I see no reason how putting up a Ganesha on the M.Times
> would alter HOW they report and their journalistic rigor. I could not
> care less. 
> 
> 
> The newspaper I respect most, Christian Science Monitor has overt and
> proud association with the Christian Science scriptures. Their
> attention to rigor, relevance and responsibility sets the utopic
> standard for all! I strongly suggest you check it out:
> www.csmonitor.com
> 
> As for what goes for news in the Times of India, with or without any
> mastheads,
>  let that question hang in the air
> 
> And oh yes, I am hard boiled atheistic egg, so dont shoot me.
> -Yashodhara
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	abhijeet tamhane [SMTP:abhijeet.tamhane@timesgroup.com]
> Sent:	Friday, February 14, 2003 2:56 AM
> To:	imc-mumbai@lists.indymedia.org
> Subject:	[IMC Bombay] change... (?)
> 
> Hi All,
> Recently, 2 dailies of the Times of India Group have modified their
> Mastheads. Maharashtra Times, the Marathi newspaper, has started using
> a LORD GANESHA image (and has even invited people to send in their
> Ganesha images, to be printed on the masthead) and Likewise, Navbharat
> times is now using "Om", in their Masthead. both these hindu symbols
> are right-up-there, in between "Maharashtra" (or Navbharat)& "Times".
> As an employee of the Times of India group, I will be very, very glad
> if a learned group like this thinks on these changing Mastheads. If
> you want to know who I am, check my homepage
> http://www.geocities.com/abhitamhane/index.html
> 
> _______________________________________________
> IMC-Mumbai mailing list
> IMC-Mumbai@lists.indymedia.org
> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-mumbai
> 

_______________________________________________
IMC-Mumbai mailing list
IMC-Mumbai@lists.indymedia.org
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-mumbai

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\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang1033\f0\fs20 Nity \par
Symbols get hijacked when we allow partisan groups to do so. \par
Symbols and Iconography, in general, is owned by the public not individuals and groups.\par
If we feel they are "hijacking" it, the most graceful response is to gently bring it back into a more democratic lobby. I am not sure how....\par
And for the same reason, is an astrologer's suggestion more palatable than that of affiliations?\par
I personally would have more problem if a media organization that should stand for truth and  clarity, chooses to heed the mind numbing exhortations of an astrologer who in turn translates the celestial voices into a palatable drone.\par
Extremely personal opinions\par
-Yashodhara\par
\par
\pard\li360\cf0\protect\f1\fs16 -----Original Message-----\par
\protect0\pard\protect\fi-1440\li1800\tx1440\b From:\tab\b0 nity68@vsnl.com [SMTP:nity68@vsnl.com]\par
\b Sent:\tab\b0 Friday, February 14, 2003 9:30 AM\par
\b To:\tab\b0 imc-mumbai@lists.indymedia.org\par
\b Subject:\tab\b0 Re: [IMC Bombay] NEws Mastheads\par
\protect0\pard\protect\li360\f0\fs20\par
hello yashodhara/abhijeet:\par
i rarely post too. but you're right. this one does get to you. i agree \par
that the reporting may not change. but at a time when religion is \par
willy nilly being equated to communalism, symbolism matters a \par
hell of a lot. Christian Science Monitor may have named itself so in \par
a completely different context. Just as saffron as a colour has been \par
hijacked by the loony Hindu right, various other religious symbols -- \par
especially when used in public -- convey and are meant to convey \par
affiliation to the loony right. that's how i see the symbols. so i'm not \par
sure that it is a simple matter of whether the reporting quality \par
changes or not. I would not fault the Times Group with a lack of \par
understanding of these issues. Given that, I only feel that the \par
decision to place a Ganesha on the masthead has more to do with \par
declaring one's affiliation than anything else. Of course, i could be \par
wrong, and it may be a simple matter of the astrologer advising \par
samir jain to do this to improve his profits.\par
ciao, nity\par
\par
On 14 Feb 2003, at 9:06, yashodhara pawar wrote:\par
\par
> I rarely post. This one gets me right on the middle with a hard\par
> cabbage.\par
> \par
> As someone who has lived in many parts of the world and greeted many\par
> mornings with different newspapers even those whose language I could\par
> not fathom, I can say this: News reporting and declaration of a\par
> religious/cult/belief association COULD be delinked in the minds of\par
> the reader. I see no reason how putting up a Ganesha on the M.Times\par
> would alter HOW they report and their journalistic rigor. I could not\par
> care less. \par
> \par
> \par
> The newspaper I respect most, Christian Science Monitor has overt and\par
> proud association with the Christian Science scriptures. Their\par
> attention to rigor, relevance and responsibility sets the utopic\par
> standard for all! I strongly suggest you check it out:\par
> www.csmonitor.com\par
> \par
> As for what goes for news in the Times of India, with or without any\par
> mastheads,\par
>  let that question hang in the air\par
> \par
> And oh yes, I am hard boiled atheistic egg, so dont shoot me.\par
> -Yashodhara\par
> -----Original Message-----\par
> From:\tab abhijeet tamhane [SMTP:abhijeet.tamhane@timesgroup.com]\par
> Sent:\tab Friday, February 14, 2003 2:56 AM\par
> To:\tab imc-mumbai@lists.indymedia.org\par
> Subject:\tab [IMC Bombay] change... (?)\par
> \par
> Hi All,\par
> Recently, 2 dailies of the Times of India Group have modified their\par
> Mastheads. Maharashtra Times, the Marathi newspaper, has started using\par
> a LORD GANESHA image (and has even invited people to send in their\par
> Ganesha images, to be printed on the masthead) and Likewise, Navbharat\par
> times is now using "Om", in their Masthead. both these hindu symbols\par
> are right-up-there, in between "Maharashtra" (or Navbharat)& "Times".\par
> As an employee of the Times of India group, I will be very, very glad\par
> if a learned group like this thinks on these changing Mastheads. If\par
> you want to know who I am, check my homepage\par
> http://www.geocities.com/abhitamhane/index.html\par
> \par
> _______________________________________________\par
> IMC-Mumbai mailing list\par
> IMC-Mumbai@lists.indymedia.org\par
> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-mumbai\par
> \par
\par
\par
\par
_______________________________________________\par
IMC-Mumbai mailing list\par
IMC-Mumbai@lists.indymedia.org\par
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-mumbai\par
\par
}

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