Srini's battle with media far from over
The stepping aside of N. Srinivasan and the slippery move of Jagmohan Dalmiya into the role of BCCI chairman, albeit temporarily, has probably dampened the spirits of the media. In the two weeks and more since the IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out, the media relentlessly pursued the issue with vigour and single-mindedness to bring Srinivasan's downfall.
It was media mayhem with shrill cries, passionate high pitches of news anchors along with roaring voices of panelists -- ex-cricketers, experts, politicians and lawyers. It is a moral victory for Srinivasan, at least for now. The media had pegged its arguments on the issues of morality and probity when it demanded the BCCI chief’s resignation.
Srinivasan's frustration and anger at the media "hounding" him is understandable but for him to try and escape from the ensuing scandal as nothing but a "media trial" showed he lacked media savviness. That brashness and defiance are part of his character came out strongly as he battled both -- the forces inside the BCCI and the media -- to win the day at the Chennai meeting.
A report in Mail Today (June 4) by S. Kannan says that Srinivasan was aware of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's link with bookies. He writes, “The reality is the ICC had actually called an influential politician connected with the Indian Premier League and told him there was some concern relating to Gurunath.
This politician, in turn, reportedly called up Srinivasan and briefed him about what the ICC had to say.
Sources say this phone call was placed in the first week of April but Srinivasan did not act on it."
If the police rope in Srinivasan into the probe for his knowledge of what his son-in-law was doing, it could again bring the media circus at his door. He can afford to now laugh at the media and their failed attempts but if things in the scandal keep on unraveling and Srinivasan pays dearly by losing his post and credibility, the media would have the last laugh. Right now the scoreline reads: Srinivsan 1, Media 0.
The Mail Today report also predicts a storm for Srinivasan in his own Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) at its meeting on June 23. The Chennai-based The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle have not been easy on Srinivasan either. Besides, he has his former friend and now enemy A.C. Mutiah fighting him on all counts, including in the Supreme Court where the case of conflict of interest against Srinivasan is scheduled to come up in July. Money, power and loyalty of his supporters in the TNCA may help Srinivasan prevail, though, with some bruises.
The real test, however, is reserved for the big meeting in September when the august members of the BCCI come together for the annual general meeting. Srinivasan is wounded but remains unbowed. Signs portend that he may ride the storm and may go on to cock-a-snook at his critics. As one paper has said that by coming out triumphantly at the Chennai meeting he has shown the “middle finger” to those who were baying for his blood.
Since now and the September meeting, the media will have issues on its plate. Some issues will surface that may subject Srinivasan to harrowing times. If the spot-fixing and Srinivasan saga was not enough, the cricket board has been hit with a new problem in the shape of team India captian MS Dhoni conflict-of-interest issue with regard to his share in a sports management company.
Winning the match against his enemies in the cricket board may have come as a relief to Srinivasan, but the war of attrition against him by the media is far from over. Srinivasan has shown tackiness in handling the 24x7 news channels by ignoring Times Now and providing sound bytes to NDTV. He spoke to Srinivasan Jain after the Chennai meeting but he was evasive on certain questions asked by the anchor. Jain didn’t grill him as Arnab would probably do.
With Srinivasan’s lack of interest in talking to Times Now, it's evident he is not a fan of the crusading-style of journalism practiced by Times Now. The confrontational Arnab Goswami isn't easy to handle for politicians and sports administrators alike. It’s clear that Arnab's direction of questions to Ajay Shikre, the BCCI treasurer, made the latter very uncomfortable and almost drove him to the point where he felt committed to demand Srinivasan's resignation.
The Readers' Editor of The Hindu, A.S. Panneerselvan, has opinioned that the coverage of the spot-fixing scandal "looks like Pack Journalism", a term widely used in American journalism during the presidential election coverage. To me, the media coverage appeared more like “bulldog” journalism. The media had its teeth into Srinivasan’s skin.
He states, "The media should have been in the forefront of exposing the rot that had seeped into this sport. IPL gave enough indication that something is rotten in this model right from its first season."
Panneerselvan faults the limited coverage regarding the earlier issues that engulfed the IPL and blames the media, along with the general public, for getting "held in trance, or enchanted by its mesmerising quality." He may have hit the nail on the head but the media, like everyone else, falls for a novelty and embraces it till the novelty begins to show its ugly side. The IPL probably gave – and still gives -- an indirect boost to newspaper circulation during the period the carnival (to use Panneerselvan's word) was on and it also helped in TRP ratings for news channels. IPL is still good as a marketing tool and as sportainment but needs to be curbed in certain ways to preserve its sanity and semblance. It wasn't meant to replace the traditional cricket.
Taking into context Panneerselvan's views, it should be conceded that the media plays along as long as it feels that the readers get what they want from the game. When "oddball" things happen in the game, the media rightly assumes the role of investigator and doesn't pull back its punches. The media may act as "Pack Journalism" but the views don't converge into a canned version.
Eugene Correia is a journalist with 35 years of experience and currently works as a media consultant and freelancer.