Ajit Randeniya

The Sunday Leader, if you havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t heard about it yet, is the practitioner of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Yellow JournalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in Sri Lanka: it presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead, gives vent to just malicious grumbling of its backers, uses blaring headlines and sensationalised stories of non-news. It generally resorts to scandal-mongering in an unprofessional and unethical fashion.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Expecting to read rational, reasonable commentary and analysis on the governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s performance in this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”newspaperƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is like expecting a busker in a western city square to play Bach’s St Matthew Passion on a ukulele: it is not going to happen.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The grudge this writer has is that it does not seem to even stick to the rules of yellow journalism laid down by its founder, Joseph Pulitzer, the Hungarian whose guiding principle of poisonous false propaganda that passed for ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”journalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it and picturesquely so they will remember it.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

The editor of the Sunday Leader has a few problems in all these areas: she uses far too many words to say precious little, there is no risk of anyone ever ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”appreciatingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ her stuff, but more importantly, she often seems to attempt to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”enrichƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ her writing with inappropriate or irrelevant quotations, and now with mixed metaphors!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The editorial on this SundayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s edition was a classic in this regard: Jansz entitles her editorial by referring to the Sri Lankan voter as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”The frog in the wellƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and starts her write up with ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”an old tale about a frog in a pot of water being boiled’. Then it gets worse! She goes: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sri Lanka is actually a perfect fit for the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”boiled frogƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ metaphor. We are literally a small pond where everyone thinks theyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢re a big fish.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What? This writer has had enough. The reader needs to send Frederica Jansz a message in the language she can understand: we canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t turn a cold shoulder and a blind eye to this; itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s time to step up to the plate and lay oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s cards on the table. Here we go.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Frederica, you seem to be watching the government like it was a hawk, determined to get it by hook or ladder. You seem to be always thinking ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”there’s something fishy here and I smell a ratƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You could sit there and write until the cows turn blue, but looking for something sensible in your editorials for us is like looking for a needle in a hayride. You may be burning the midnight oil from both ends trying to make Sri Lanka look like a place where people are dying like hotcakes, thinking that the fan is going to hit the roof when people read your editorials. But your vile remarks seem to only manage to leave the reader in a state where you could knock him or her over with a fender.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The problem is that the average Sri Lankan voter can read you like the back of their palm and they wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t take your opinion with a ten-foot pole. You are certainly not shooting the wind out of the presidentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ saddle because your lies stick out like sore throats.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You should also note Frederica, that a loose tongue spoils the broth. We know that you are a little green behind the ears and feel a bit like a duck out of water being the editor of even the Leader. But we also know that you canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t change the spots on an old dog. You and others at the Leader also have a lot of black sheep in your closet.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Having announced that your paper made a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”management decisionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to support Sarath Fonseka, you had egg all over your face from head to toe. You also seem to be having trouble in getting all ducks on the same page.

When you decided to character-assassinate Mervyn Silva a couple of weeks ago, by grabbing the bull by the tail and looking him in the eye in your inimitable ways, you also murdered the QueenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lingua franca. Through expressions like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”the quintessential cowardƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, patronising with ease members of the underworld, and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”of average intellectƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, you tried to show that Merwyn is a wolf in cheap clothing. That last bit about the intellect was like a pot throwing stones at the kettle, wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it Frederica?

And then you called Mervyn ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”a product ofƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Mahinda Rajapaksa! We thought it wouldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ve been a biological miracle because they are roughly of the same age!

Your slander of Mervyn not backed by any evidence is the gorilla in the room that’s going to come home to roost. You could be the one with your ass in a noose if Mervyn decided to go to court. If you clock up a huge damages bill, Lal Wickramatunga, the Hulugalles and other church backers might ask you to take a flying hike. You canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t go in there cold turkey with egg on your face, can you? Falling from editor to tea lady could be as easy as falling off a piece of cake. But then again, you might say ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”We’ll burn that bridge when we come to itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

It is not that we are watching everything you do with a fine-tuned comb, but you are like the old lady who said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”These hemorrhoids are a real pain in the neckƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You can be happy because you have at least one ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”happy camperƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in your ranks, not just because the Conservatives won in the UK, but because David Cameron is a Pukka Sahib, Eton and Oxford educated (and his wife is a daughter of a viscount!) considered a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”toff.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But then again, wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t he the man who was mightily impressed by Dharmeratnam Sivaram?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚