'Litter'-ature in a Hurry...

This is a Times of India Online classic. Please forward this to those who, when cornered, quote the saying journalism is literature in a hurry to escape public wrath (Yes, that is what a guy responded when someone criticised a TOI story).

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Here goes the fantastic reportage.

Is this an English Newspaper?

After some time... Times of India Online again... Am I missing something? Is this a new trend in grammar?

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Need I say more...? I think everything is self-explanatory here.

Need a Sub Editor?

Another news story that appeared in Times of India online edition. See the markings.

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This is about a mishap that occurred in Bangalore. Published on 30th March, 2012.

Weapon for Suicide Squad?

This one is from Zee News online for a change. This is about the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launching system and the rockets used by the Indian Army. If the report is to be believed, it can only be used by a suicide squad of the Indian Army.

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Please see the marked words. The report, published on 20th March, 2012, says that the Pinaka has a striking range of 40km and can bring devastation around 500km of the target area. Hilarious indeed...

A Case of Withheld Identity...

Here is another one from The Times of India online. TOI guys are experts in doing this it seems. Acting as the true representatives of the fourth estate, they withhold names of victims and culprits in all cases, but leave clues in the story that does not require a detective's senses to sniff out. Even I am caught between the ethics of putting this 'revealing' goof-up up for the public, but this is a classic case of it...

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Please see the red underlined words. The paper, published on 15th of March, 2012, clearly says that the names are withheld (to protect identities). But they have mentioned that the person is the Principal of St Elias High School in Khar (west). They further go on to suggest that the principal is a lady. 

TOI rocks...

  

Beware: Trainee at the Desk

So here goes the first blooper from Mumbai Mirror. The story was about the US President's 'Doomsday Plane'. Though the story was taken from the agencies, I believe Mumbai Mirror has a sub editor at the desk.

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Washington: It costs an astronomical $200 million, can stay in the air for days without refuelling, and is build to protect the US President, his Secretary of Defence (have you heard of a President's Secretary of Defence? Well, I haven't), Joint Chiefs of Staff and other key personnel.


Able to launch within minutes, the ‘doomsday plane’ offers protection from the ultimate worst-case scenarios (it is like saying 'the worstest'), including nuclear attacks and meteor strikes from outer space (wow...I am yet to hear of a meteor strike from the stratosphere).

People travelling on board can communicate with anyone on the ground and even submarines can be reached underwater when a five-mile long cable is extended from the back of the plane (funny isn't it? A submarine being towed by an aircraft. And why do you need a cable to communicate with a submarine?).

Mobilised hours after the 9/11 terror strikes, the world’s most impressive plane runs on 1,65,000 pounds of state of the art electronics (I thought planes run on Aviation Turbine Fuel) and is protected by an electromagnetic pulse shield.

Onboard equipment is so powerful a specially upgraded air conditioning system (upgraded from what to what?) is needed to keep it cool (otherwise it will lose its cool) - and a specially trained team of tech-whizzes stay on board to man the devices.