To the Times of India,
Dear TOI,
Firstly, I want to congratulate
you for the wonderful series in your online edition called OMG. I myself have
clicked on these links several times and almost unfailingly. It doesn’t matter what
follows OMG or how true it may be because you guys claim to be playing by the
rules of the game.Right? You say online
media is crude, crassy and has different rules in comparison to traditional
media and that one size does not fit all. Really? And who may I know is
responsible for setting these rules of sensationalism. As you are supposedly
one of the country’s biggest media houses I’m quite tempted to point all my
five fingers at you. In the past, you guys has unashamedly displayed Yana Gupta’s
private parts, shamelessly linked Arjun Kapoor to Malaika Arora, put down slide
shows of actresses in sex scandals and what not under the title OMG. But enough
is enough. Maybe you guys don’t understand (which is not surprising).
Are you guys so click hungry that
you make news that is dick hungry? What kind of perverse pleasure do you guys
get in sensationalizing stuff like OMG Deepika’s showing her cleavage. So what?
Like you mentioned in your futile and rather inane attempt to justify
yourselves, Deepika has posed provocatively for many magazines, movies etc etc,
but just what gives you the right to make it an OMG moment? Do you understand
where I’m coming from. Ok I guess you don’t so let me simplify it like teachers
explain to school children.
So here’s me taking central stage
with a stick in my hand for class full of children (read TOI journos). I even
have a stick in my hand for the mischievous back-benchers. So shall we begin class?
Children, today we will learn
about the term OMG and its various usages. OMG is the short form (I would’ve said
abbreviation but then these children don’t understand sophisticated words) for
Oh My God! It is a term that is used to describe something that really
surprises you. It is used to describe something that is unusual and warrants a
special mention. It is often used to sensationalize trivial matters to attract
viewers and many times uses a red circle to drive home its point. So remember
to use OMG whenever you see something surprising like:
a)
OMG teenagers are growing facial hair
b)
OMG the teacher has come to class
c)
OMG my friend had a bath
d)
OMG I wore clothes today
You get the drift right? Now can some of you tell me some OMG moments
in your lives?
One student stands up. ‘yes’ says
the teacher. ‘OMG I had breakfast today’ says the student. ‘Well done, child
you nailed it’ . So much for OMG moments. Now coming back to Deepika’s
cleavage. Why don’t you guys put OMG moments for stuff like ‘OMG, Amitabh
Bachchan knows English’ or ‘OMG, Shah Rukh Khan likes to take a plane when he
has to travel abroad’.
The crux of the problem is not
you guys sensationalizing Deepikas cleavage. The crux is you using it get those
extra clicks by calling it an OMG moment when it appears to be a perfectly
normal photograph of a woman in a dress. And not to mention that you guys drew
a red circle around it just to make it obvious. Are you guys catering to a
sperm bank? If you are then it’s a pretty pathetic effort to objectify a woman.
If you are doing it, then do a good job of it, will you? We don’t need your
stupid sensationalism coz if we want to see a nude woman or a provocative pose
there are magazines and media available for that. Are you competing with them
for clicks? Maybe you are. And spare us your point of view coz I doubt if anyone
is buying it. Why do you have to make a sensation out of Shweta Prasad Basu’s
sex racket and then right next to it, run a slide show of other actresses who
were involved in sex rackets. Or why should you put up a pic of Yana Gupta
showing her private parts and then run another slide show next to it with other
actresses that have done something similar???? It’s just down right PATHETIC. Do
you guys even care about what you are reporting? I mean this is irresponsible
reporting to its core but then I keep forgetting that you guys compete with SUN
magazine in terms of crass content.
Not that this one article of mine
will make any sense to you and not that it will make any difference but
understand this. You guys think you make stars, then get this thru into your
heads that WE make YOU. If we choose to boycott you, then you can publish it on
your front page. Now that will be a real OMG moment. ‘OMG readers boycott Times
Of India’
