Reporting the IPL saga
FROM THE STANDS
S R Khelkoodkar
The second season of the IPL seems like a dead duck, or at least a duck that is very, very close to dying. A combination of the Lok Sabha elections and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore has made security a key issue regarding whether the IPL II will take place or not. Over the last two weeks, there has been high drama and a sort of tennis match between the IPL and the government, with the former serving up the dates for the series, and the latter smashing them back with no mercy. It hasn¿t been all that confusing, but the developments have been quick-fire, and so keeping up with them was a bit of a challenge.
The important dates in the saga of the IPL¿s second season are: March 3, when the Lankan players were attacked in Lahore, March 7, when the IPL submitted its revised dates to the Home Ministry, March 10, a desperate Lalit Modi says that the IPL will manage the players¿ security, March 12, the states demand that the centre be in charge of security, and March 13, when the Home Ministry asked the IPL to rework the schedule again.
March 3: On the day after the attack on the Lankan players, there was a dark cloud that hung over the IPL. The Times of India captured this mood well. On the front page, right next to the report on the attack, there was a story on the IPL and whether it would be cancelled or not. ¿IPL may be off for this year¿ was the headline, and with a suitable mournful looking picture of Preity Zinta, it brought forth the gloom very well. The sports page had an optimistic interview with Lalit Modi. He was bravely saying that the IPL would carry on as planned. But then, he would say that, wouldn¿t he?
The Hindu, true to its matter-of-fact manner, had the boring headline ¿Terrorists attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore¿ as the main lead, and the equally boring ¿Reschedule matches, Chidambaram tells IPL¿ as a smaller story, on the front page. Nobody ever accused the Hindu of ever having an imagination, but this is the limit! Both the stories are exciting and important. The IPL news spread ripples through the cricketing world, and the
The Indian Express accorded the attack on the players the majority of the front page and two sports pages. The IPL was relegated to a tiny paragraph that told the readers about Chidambaram asking the IPL to reschedule their matches.
March 7: The day after Modi submitted the revised dates and venues to the Home Ministry, and said that the IPL would go on as before, except for a few minor changes. The Times of India, seems to like the IPL, maybe because it too is a money-spinner. It accorded the story on the IPL the position of second lead with the reassuring "IPL to roll on as scheduled" as the headline.
The Hindu was stingier. It gave the IPL a single column space at the bottom of the page, again with the matter-of-fact headline "Modi: IPL on, with revised schedule". The Indian Express had a brief of the story on the front page, and a big story on the sports page with sub-parts on what Modi said, what Chidambaram¿s opinion was, what Daniel Vettori¿s position was (he was waiting for the New Zealand cricket board¿s clearance to take part in the IPL), and the Maharashtra government¿s request of five extra battalions for security during the IPL. By far the most informative piece on the IPL situation.
March 11: The day after the now desperate Lalit Modi announces that the IPL would take over the players¿ security. However, the final dates for the IPL were not announced because the Centre first wanted the approval of all the states involved. The TOI had a straightforward anchor story on the front page that left the reader in no confusion about what was going on. There was a connected story on the sports page about Chennai not hosting all the games played by the Chennai Super Kings. The TOI did a good job, not over-burdening the reader with useless information at a time when making sense of the confusion was requiring everybody¿s effort.
The Hindu, adamant about not giving the IPL front page space, had a brief about the change of venues in the IPL, and a larger story about the security it would provide on the sports page. Again, no confusion, well done. But then, the Hindu, of all papers, would never confuse the readers. Maybe bore them to sleep, but never confuse.
The Indian Express, though not doing anything overstated in story placement, has always given the IPL an exciting feel. The spread on the IPL had the headline ¿IPL 2: STATUS REPORT¿ and had smaller stories on the security and change in venues.
The confusion at this point lay in the fact that Lalit Modi was vociferously saying that the IPL would start on schedule, but the government had said no such thing. Who was one to believe? The papers were not making guesses, they, like the readers, had to wait.
March 13: The day after the various states decided that they were not confident about the security of the players during the IPL, especially in the light of the imminent election and asked the centre to take care of the issue. The TOI carried a story on the front page. However, unlike its usual zing, the headline to the story was uninspired: ¿States refuse to play ball, seek govt cover¿. It doesn¿t say much, does it? I had to read the story to find out that it was about the IPL. Shoddy work.
The Hindu again did not feature the story on the front page, but had a brief instead. The main story was carried on the sports page and was more an opinion piece than a report, but it still painted a clear picture.
The Indian Express also had a short piece on the IPL situation on its sports page, with a little more information on the positions of separate states.
March 14: The day after the IPL was asked to revise its schedule again. The TOI gave the story no importance whatsoever. It was featured in a small brief on the front page, and nowhere else in the paper.
The Hindu, surprisingly, had the story on the front page. Quite a switch for both the papers, no?
The Indian Express was true to its standard, however. The IPL was featured in a jazzy looking spread with the headline "Roadblock II for IPL II", which really tells the whole story, doesn¿t it?
The matter isn¿t done yet, but it has already been quite a journey, and the papers haven¿t done a half-bad job in making it easy to handle. There were a number of developments, which made us foggy about the whole picture, but the newspapers were there to guide us through the fog to get a clear picture of the confusion. It is still confusing, as to whether the IPL will happen or not, but at least it is not compounded by bad reporting and disinterest among the papers.