Hi , guys !
I really like your show and am also a subscriber ! I have seen and read almost everything you guys upload and refer.
I like your show as it attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of issues.
I really like Madhu . Her experience helps to simplify even the most complex of issues. I especially like Clothesline , which is amazingly funny.
She has also done some really great interviews. I really like her interview with Madhu Kishwar . It was really funny how she made a fool of herself.
Though her jingoism is sometimes over the top.
Often i have heard on your program that Barkha Dutt is the best interviewer in India . But i believe Abhinandan is the best. He cleverly speaks less to let the other person reveal himself. Not like our prime time loonies where the interviewer speaks more than the one being interviewed.
Manisha and Deepanjana are really good . Manisha though is a little innocent. Deepanjana needs to work on her accent (:p).
You had Arunabh Sakhia also . His revolutionary inputs were really insightful .
However , there is a problem. Ranga Uncle cleverly uses facts to make his ignorant points about issues. He is a confused character. His views regarding Dalits led me to believe he is a true liberal . However whenever there is any criticism on Hindus or Hinduism , the bigot in him cannot control . His criticism of Islam is theoretical . He uses quotes used by jihadis to prove the problems with Islam . Nothing could be farther from the truth. There is a context to everything which scientists probably do not understand.
I really didn’t like your criticism of Katju . You guys completely ignored the 2 landmark judgments he gave. He is the one who declared Khap Panchayats to be illegal and prescribed death penalty for such people . He also legalised passive euthanasia in India. These are scholarly judgments. He also exposed corruption in Judiciary. Yes no doubt , that post retirement he behaves like a lunatic. But questioning his judgments by painting him as a lunatic is pettiness.
Your show is really great , keep up the good work . I assure you , that at least 1 person will subscribe always.
Abhimanyu Singh
Delhi
Hi all,
Before I begin, I must say that I have recently started subscribing for news laundry. I have been following news laundry for the last year or so, and after hearing Abhinandan relentlessly raise the point about promoting free media, I finally made the move in the right direction.
I confess, that I wasn’t very aware of the political news in the country during my student days. No excuses here, but I never read beyond the entertainment section in a newspaper. After qualifying CA though, I had a lot more time to spare and wanted to keep up with the current affairs. A friend of mine introduced me to the NL Hafta last year and since then,I have been hearing them every week. I now read the articles that are posted and also follow your channel. I don’t always agree with all the opinions raised, and sometimes find the discussions to be overtly anti-state. Non the less, I find the conversations to be very insightful, and I appreciate camaraderie that comes that reflect during the discussions. Very often, I imagine myself being right there amidst you guys nodding along or disagreeing. And Abhinandan, much against what others say about your sense of humor, I find you really funny!
Madhu, I loved your interview with Arun Shourie and I like how most of your interviews are so conversational and questions pick up from the last answer.
I must thank you all for good work! You have made “news” a very interesting part of my life now and I find myself to be opinionated, interested and aware.
I urge all my friends, to listen to your podcasts and subscribe!
Much love to all the other members in NewsLaundry!
Regards,
Subiksha,
Hyderabad
Hello Team Newslaundry,
At the outset, let me apologetically clarify that I am not a subscriber yet. I study medicine in Manipal and the little money I am able to spare is invested in old monk quarters. I hope you guys understand. Though I do think that the promise of exclusive content for subscribers will enforce a sober Saturday and compel me to subscribe soon. As we students are fond of saying- “subscription khaate me likh Lena boss.”
Being a news and current affairs junkey, I have been following Newslaundry since day one; admittedly”muft me”. I remember old dhobi ghat and cleaners videos. The slant eyed sarcasm of the “I agree” interviews are a personal favourite. I hope Abhinandan gets to do them more often. The first thing that struck me about these early interviews was the refreshing camera work. Instead of boring steady cam angles, I remember being impressed by multiple, dynamic, split screen shots. I hope you bring that camera work back.
For me the trump card of Newslaundry has always been it’s tone and style. While your substance is augmented by the integrity of your business model and your constant stress on diverse reportage, what sets you guys apart is the way you present yourselves. In articles, videos and podcasts it is clear that you guys take the news far more seriously than yourselves. This self effacement, extended of course to other organizations when you critique them, is refreshing. While at one hand I am fed up of the narcissistic solemnity of old media, I find myself increasingly disillusioned by the cynicism of the “Jon stewart school of satire.” (Not a big fan of the clothesline btw, leave it to AIB would be my advice). In you, I dare say that I have found an aesthetic balance. Serious news and opinion presented with the right balance of professionalism and irreverence. Something which on most days I find to be intellectually engaging without forcing me to emotionally detach myself.
A special word on hafta now. My consumption of Newslaundry revolves around your weekly podcast. While I do read your articles when I come across them on my Facebook and Twitter feed, listening to your hafta is a weekly ritual. I remember as a kid, the newspaper’s editorial was the first thing I would open. The lead and oped pieces would then set the parameters of my news gathering. Nowadays though, due to the multiplication of news sources and an arguably general decline in media credibility, my appetite tends to be chaotically eclectic. News laundry hafta, at least when it comes to national news(or more accurately-north Indian news), is one of the only editorial influences which I trust enough to bring some sort of order in this disarray. I rely on you guys to sum up the week’s newscycle.
This does not imply that I only have praise to offer. The most recent hafta, which discussed the surgical strikes was in my opinion the worst in weeks. While the jingoistic cheerleading of arnab and co was expected, I thought you guys would be slightly more wary. I had expected the incorporation of alternate, more circumspect opinion in your discussion, something entirely absent in the rest of the media, but was left thoroughly disappointed. If this were a story about anything apart from a military action, the gaps and inconsistencies would have raised more trimmed journalistic eyebrows. At the risk of coming off as an armchair military analyst, the sequence of events have conveniently worked out perfectly for both the governments. Both can now placate opinion at home and abroad with vitriolic rhetoric and their own versions of reality loyally parroted by their respective journalists. In the debate between nation-first and journalism – first, truth seems to be a casuality. Surely in light of the chalcot report, news organizations must think twice before accepting government national security briefings as gospel.
This hafta was also beset by another problem that irritates me now and then. While I understand that the format is that of a gabfest and requires a certain informal conviviality, you guys sometimes digress too much into conjecture and anectodes, causing the discussion to lose its integrity. Abhinandan please be advised that the only justification for humour must be hilarity. And no, the annoying forced self congratulatory chuckle doesn’t count.( I must insist here that the swearing doesn’t bother me at all. I hope abhinandan continues to do it. Who doesn’t like some good old ribaldry.)
Abhinandan, btw, is my favourite. I used to watch HOMP religiously and was thrilled when I came to know that he had produced it.( I remember the doon school episode now when rocky pulls him in front of the camera!).
I must admit that I once only knew madhu as dr Trehan’s wife who happened to be a journalist. Then after watching her on newslaundry, I discovered old newstrack episodes on YouTube. As someone who wasn’t born then, it was educational to see the babri masjid newstrack clip. Her recent interview on rstv was superb. With India today, newstrack, aaj tak and newslaundry she has been a serial pioneer.
Anand’s pockets must be bulging with all the cherries he incessantly picks. I often find myself disagreeing with him which tends to be especially infuriating because his arguments are so thorough. As a fellow student of science, I understand his insistence on data but I hope he makes an effort to appreciate paintings as parts of the galleries instead of concentrating on the brush strokes.
I think manisha is a great reporter. I make it a point to read everything written under her byline. Her “criticles” with their focus on news media are newslaundry’s unique strength and at a core of what you guys do.
With my weakness for Bengali accents, I thought deepanjana was a great addition to the hafta team. She has by far the most clarity amongst all of you and does a great job of putting her opinions across succinctly. I also think she would be better suited to host the hafta.(sorry abhinandan!).
In conclusion I wish you guys well in your endeavour to keep news free. And yes, I promise to subscribe.
Cheers,
Sai Krishna Vadlamudi.
