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Et tu?

As a single sport website, I think Cricinfo has brought about a revolution and the fact that they were bought by ESPN is testament to how highly valued they've become. Their editing and approach to articles/opinion has been refreshing to say the least and even though they seem to have had a lot of editorial staff movement they've usually maintained very high standards. Off late though, both in their headline styles as well as in actual content, there seems to be an occasional slippage of standards and an inching towards the modern media sensationalism which is a bit of a pity. This piece by Siddharth Monga is a classic example. Granted that the last two press conferences by Dhoni and Sehwag indicated clearly that the captain and his deputy did not agree on this aspect of selection but "discord", "dissent", "public sniping" feels rather presumptuous and heavy handed. Yes, it is a team sport but there is no reason why everyone on the team needs to agree with each decision. What is important is that players agree to abide by a decision once its made and Sehwag has indicated that he did so fully.

In my mind the media's role is to inform the public of facts and then provide their view (clearly stating that the latter are hypotheses). When a media organisation starts to meld the two together, its walking on the wrong side of a very fine line.

Comments

Buttax said…
Its hilarious when an organisation/person attempts to defend themselves and doesn't realise that they're digging an even bigger hole.

Sidharth Monga is clearly clutching at straws (http://www.espncricinfo.com/commonwealth-bank-series-2012/content/current/story/555252.html). And by publishing the transcripts, he doesn't appear to realise that the only thing they prove are how much of an imbecile he is. Dhoni clearly said "it's not only these three players that we are talking about. We also have quite a few other players who are slow on the field. It will just add on to that and we will be left with just two or three really good fielders." So no singling out of Sehwag, Tendulkar, and Gambhir. And despite this, in the Sehwag press conference, the questioners clearly kept repeating that Dhoni had singled these men out. How underhanded is that?

Btw, also really funny how Sehwag says (when asked about fielding) "We are same for the last 10 years. Nothing has changed." Clearly he didn't see that could be interpreted as (and is actually) that he has been this bad for the last ten years :-)

Much fun all this.
February 26, 2012 at 11:12 AM
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