“Allyuh publishin anything now?” asked a sarcastic commenter on a recent Wired868 story. Wired868’s editor is not the person who spent two years performing autopsies on the two media dinosaurs in Port-of-Spain. But he is nonetheless acutely aware of the adage that enjoins entities to adapt or die. To the …
Read More »Media Monitor 2: An Obscene Farce! St Vincent St, Independence Sq, Memory Lane and and Shit Street
“Nah, sir!” Two words, no more. But I know I heard controlled anger. I know I heard complete disbelief. “You mean you read (she used the present tense) that Sunday Guardian editorial,” she said, her voice almost breaking with the effort not to lose control, “and only see grammatical errors?” …
Read More »Dimanche Gras! Not deflated, not defeated, will Brathwaite’s WI double up in Dhaka?
A double-century on debut! And in Asia to boot! That’s the stuff of which West Indian boyhood dreams are made. As well as come-from-behind West Indian victories. Guardian cricket reporter Vinode Mamchan did not seem to know about these dreams. Or to care about them. On television on Friday evening, …
Read More »Media Monitor: Editor, editor where have you been? To London, not ‘Lester’, to see the queen
If you plan to be a journalist in voice or vision media at the BBC, be prepared to spend a full three months merely learning names. Important people, places, common foreign words and phrases and, of course, commonly mispronounced words like ‘epitome’ and ‘anemone’. One wonders if any such arrangements …
Read More »Bonner the balance, Mayers magnificent as WI minnows mow down Bangladesh
Thanks largely to a double century by Kyle Mayers, the West Indies second string came from behind to register a stunning three-wicket win over hosts Bangladesh in the First Test at Chattogram on Sunday. It was hardly the result many had expected at the end of Day Four yesterday when …
Read More »Open letter to Kieron Pollard: Ask not what WI can do for you…
Dear Kieron, Wherever you happen to be in the world, you would not have failed to watch the First Test action between Kraigg Brathwaite’s side and Bangladesh in Chattogram; my instincts tell me that. And that, along with so many of us, you steupsed loudly after Day Three when West …
Read More »Stern first test for second-string; what will Brathwaite’s young West Indians be thinking?
Ardent WI cricket fans said a prayer. And continue to pray. Curtly Ambrose made an appeal. Sir Clive Lloyd wrote a letter. Coach Phil Simmons issued a challenge. But the biggest impact on the performance of Kraigg Brathwaite’s second-string unit in Bangladesh over the next couple of weeks is likely …
Read More »Media Monitor: Kalicharan launches attack on WI elite, Skerritt called to defend innocents
In all my years of observing and commenting on West Indies cricket, I have tended to agree rather than disagree with public positions espoused by Dr Noel Kalicharan. Or Ricky Skerritt. But I guess there’s a first time for everything. That’s progress! Progress comes in various forms. For more than …
Read More »Best: Whether with Pollard or Holder, WI spinning top in mud without CWI reform
For 32 years since Viv Richards’ West Indies beat Australia by nine wickets at the Gabba, no other country successfully breached that fortress. Of the 31 matches played there between that defeat and this year, the home side had drawn seven and won 24. But without its appointed captain and …
Read More »WI look past Bangladesh ODIs, as hosts sweep Mohammed’s men out of their way
In today’s Third ODI, West Indies won the toss, the only outcome that was not seemingly pre-ordained. They opted not to bat first; cynics who watched all three games might be tempted to omit the last word. When they did eventually take their turn at the crease in Chattogram, halfway …
Read More »Waiting for Wehby action, WI wonders about Pollard’s promotion and the Peter Principle
It’s enough to wipe the smile off your face. Or make you disrespect anyone else who is within earshot. On the radio on Friday morning, the announcer broke the news this way: “As expected, Bangladesh defeated the West Indies by seven wickets in the second ODI earlier today.” That she …
Read More »Media Monitor Mondello Pt-2: Trump’s number comes up; 45 in the books—in the red column!
“Shakespeare, yuh go dead before mih.” If, as children, we happened to say the same words at the same time, my sisters and I used to blurt out those six words. And we used to hear Billy Graham on the radio on Sunday mornings. All four of those sisters eventually …
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