In a thought-provoking but amusing piece you can find on the Internet, Christopher Howse complains about the pronunciation ‘haitch for aitch’. “There must be a confused idea that since the letter h- is aspirated, its name should be too,” he continues. “It’s a kind of genteelism, like saying ‘Between you …
Read More »Media Monitor: The lighter side of a heavy Australia 56-run defeat
Some people say T20 is not cricket, it’s entertainment. It’s not a distinction that my family is wont to make or one I am prepared to spend any energy on challenging either. We watch T20 cricket and have great fun doing so. The Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia. Game …
Read More »Media Monitor: Minister’s mistakes and a mess of missed opportunities
CCN’s Anthony Wilson missed an opportunity to cover himself in media glory on Saturday. Responding to a question from the Express Business editor, Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley asked rhetorically: “Yuh want somebody to blame? Blame me.” People knowledgeable about boxing might call that leading with your chin. But …
Read More »Best: Dr Rowley, UNC, Jackass and Demming; who against the Oxford comma?
‘My prime minister,’ writes Wired868 columnist Dennise Demming, ‘is talking to me about not jackassing the thing.’ I couldn’t disagree more. Now I am not suggesting that Dr Keith Rowley’s choice of language has always been appropriate. In the instant case, however, Demming is barking up the wrong tree. Dr …
Read More »Media Monitor: Holding forth forever; will WASA main leak Badree please shut up!
“In the air… and out!” That’s Richie Benaud, the Voice of Cricket, describing a dismissal. Yeah, describing. Five words. More than enough. He is, you see, on television. The name Jimmy Magee probably does not ring too many bells. But he outdid Benaud. That came during Diego Maradona’s magical half-the-field-run-and-score …
Read More »Media Monitor: Pros too have off days; a yes-we-Khan turn-on for Mr Live Wire?
The Frequently Found Foreign Names list is a problem for voice and vision journalists in T&T. In one of these columns last month, I tried to shine a light on its importance. Not so long ago, Wired868 editor Lasana Liburd was part of a seminar discussing challenges for the media …
Read More »Media Monitor: Where have all the scholars gone? Should the Fourth Estate know the answer?
Two things happened this week to set me off on the path on which I am about to embark. The first, not in chronological order, was the passing of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (Caiso) head Colin Robinson, which occurred in the US on Thursday morning. Colin …
Read More »Media Monitor: Wasting time on Cameron, TV6’s dodgy maths and a testicular cock-up
Did anyone else react with a long, wet steups to the CNC3 sports news on Thursday night? Maybe steups are music to Ryan Bachoo’s ears. I cannot imagine any other reason why a young man who clearly works so hard at his craft would choose to bring us news off …
Read More »Media Monitor: French tongues, Spanish villages and stress for radio and TV presenters
Watson Duke, would-be prime minister of Tobago, held a news conference recently. Not for the first time with this high-profile personality from the sister isle, things did not exactly go swimmingly. I say ‘sister isle’ but for how much longer, I wonder. Trinidad and Tobago remains one country but that’s …
Read More »Media Monitor: Express and Guardian sport trying to fool some people all of the time?
Which bowler has captured 355 wickets in 111 Tests and 400 more in his 322 ODIs in 15 years spent in the international arena on both sides of the watershed year 2000? Here’s a helpful clue: he is a vassly experienced former Sri Lankan fass bowler, who has just opted …
Read More »Media Monitor: A bevy of Guardian gags and CNC3 gaffes but who gets the last laugh?
“A La Romain man who was shot and killed on January 10,” CNC3’s Jesse Ramdeo reported just over a month ago, “has died.” You laugh. In spite of yourself. Raucous mid-morning laughter had also filled the Guardian newsroom way back in the 1990s as the word got around. Crime ace …
Read More »Media Monitor—Epilogue: Taking a reading; what do current trends mean for today’s papers?
Two questions demanded an answer last week during the second Donald Trump impeachment proceedings. Fascinated by the phenomenon of fascism’s fight for a firm foothold in what once was democracy’s fortress, few had missed round one last year. This time around, many watched very little, including the final vote. After …
Read More »