Barista-gate

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A ToI reporter showed up to a small Delhi blogger meetup several days ago under an assumed name and did a Page Six/Page 3-style takedown of our very own TTG:

Most mainstream Indian papers are glorified scandal rags.. the active blogging community in India is a shockingly tiny group… Their preoccupation nevertheless continues to be slamming and analysing a very wide variety of things in an attempt to display their intellectual might… Their favourite pastime remains MSM (blog speak for mainstream media) bashing, often without caring to provide substantiations and taking cover behind free speech platitude…

… the 3rd annual Delhi bloggers meet just proved how big (or small) is the Indian blogosphere. Just four bloggers attended it, counting the host… ”I have booked the entire section of the restaurant,” he added, pointing at the empty sofas reserved for an army of bloggers that he had expected…

The Indian blogosphere has a long way to go before it even comes near to achieving the influence of the American bloggers… We are yet to see the Instapundit of India or an Andrew Sullivan. And this is not lost on them. ”We are the elite bloggers of India,” announced Tarun… [Link]

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p>There’s no law against snark, but the aggrieved organizer says the story is full of inaccuracies:

Barista is not a restaurant. I hadn’t booked the “entire section” of it. And there was ONE sofa, which could hold 2 people, and ONE chair that was empty…

I SAID I WASN’T one of the ELITE bloggers of India, and went on to roll off a list of all the A-list dudes…

Now I know how celebrities must feel when they see their quotes in print. Is anything in the paper the truth? [Link]

We’re familiar with being misquoted. TTG was a little frustrated at first, and amputation seems to be a running theme:

“I will slice off your penis and feed it to you”… [Link]

‘If you steal from us we will cut off your hands’ [Link]

Mmm, member flambé. Someone needs to meet Armin Miewes (very NSFW, and non-veg to boot). The real reason for his frustration will be familiar to all bloggers:

Had the journalist at least advertised our URLs, I would have forgiven him… [Link]

No linkback — ye bastards! Great Bong refocuses our attention on the real issue, crappy Indian papers. What kind of paper writes a snotty column on four people having coffee, calls it news and puts it on the front page of the Delhi section?

How do Indian newspapers (MSM) compare to US newspapers? When was the last time the New York Times had Robert De Niro’s birthday on its front page? When was the last time Washington Post debated whether Paris Hilton’s video footage is fake or not? When was the last time you opened LA Times and found at the right hand side of your screen a picture of a busty blonde in a push up with the caption “July Babes”?

Besides Tehelka, which newspaper in recent memory has shown balls to go after the real bad guys? … most mainstream news outlets… are glorified scandal rags that report on lifestyle and spicy politics and what Bipasa Basu’s future acting assignments are. [Link]

Related posts: If you steal from us we will cut off your hands, ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’, ‘Times of India’: jewel of journalism (updated), Times of India threatens blogger, ‘Times of India’ pulls a Baghdad Bob

9 thoughts on “Barista-gate”

  3. Mmm, member flambé. Someone needs to meet Armin Miewes(very NSFW, and non-veg to boot)

    Has anyone else noticed that its only amongst desis we hear about things being “non-veg”? (Or is it just me?) Wonder if its a throwback to our vegetarianism from the Motherland and compares to things being “kosher” (or “halaal” even?).

  4. PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT:

    Armin Miewes (very NSFW, and non-veg to boot).

    You ought to mention it is Non Safe For Post Prandial Browsing as well. That almost turned the halaal goat curry and rice in my stomach!

  5. The amazing story on TOI online is Extradition Bill: Rs 50 Cr for Salem’s homecoming

    Isnt that unbelievable ?? What a bunch of fucked up idiots?

    the story goes on:

    ” What you can do with Rs 50 cr – A Maybach car costs Rs 5 crore. So ten more of these luxurious babies can be bought – A fully equipped forensic crime lab costs around $10 million. So Rs 50 crore, or $11 million, can get the Mumbai Police a state-of-the-art lab. – Each new train the local suburban railway system buys sets them back by at least Rs 14 crore. So three new rakes could be put into service for harried Mumbaikars – A seven-seater Lear 60 executive jet costs $10 million. At least one of these could be bought – BAe SystemsÂ’ brand new ‘JETEYEÂ’ protection gizmo that shields commercial airliners from shoulder-launched missiles costs $1 million apiece. So 11 of our airliners could be protected – The film Devdas was made at a budget of Rs 50 crore “

    I think this was the most unbelievable shit TOI has “reported”. So what are they saying that just because it cost too much Indian govt. shouldnt extradite terrorist who was involved in India’s 9/11 (the Bombay stock market bombing) WTF ??

    On the other hand this is why life in India is cheap and will remain so. (sadly, because of the so-called intellectuals are fucking morons)

  6. Ooh, my very own 15 seconds of fame on Mutiny. sniff. Gosh…I’m touched! I never realized that sitting at your underwear and typing up a few rants could get you newspaper mentions, flames, and a mention on Mutiny! I have discovered the secret to Fame, I tell you!