Real winner of Aware fiasco is SPH and PAP!

[Avantas]

When two groups of women slug it out with each other openly in public, who is the biggest winner?

Well, it appears that the SPH journalists and by extension the PAP government are the only real benefactors from the recent AWARE debacle.

Few Singaporeans were even aware of AWARE’s existence previously, but given the extensive coverage given by the media on the rampant mudslinging from both sides, AWARE has found itself in a limelight which it rather not be.

The fracas first broke out in the aftermath of AWARE’s tumultuous AGM a few weeks ago which saw a group of newcomers coming literally from nowhere to seize control of the organization.

The befuddled Old Guards who found themselves squeezed out of every position contested in the exco started questioning the motives of the new leaders who had remained tight-lipped over the agenda.

The ensuing confusion allowed the media to step in to take advantage and control of the situation to milk it for maximum publicity. The journalists had a field day depicting a “cat fight” involving various outstanding prominent women in the community.

Unfortunately, what should remain as a purely internal matter ended up with both sides hanging out their “dirty linen” in public to dry for all to see which the journalists gleefully obliged.

Read rest of article here:

http://wayangparty.com/?p=8055

 

[scoopdreams]

When two groups of women slug it out with each other openly in public, who is the biggest winner?

...

The ensuing confusion allowed the media to step in to take advantage and control of the situation to milk it for maximum publicity. The journalists had a field day depicting a “cat fight” involving various outstanding prominent women in the community.

Unfortunately, what should remain as a purely internal matter ended up with both sides hanging out their “dirty linen” in public to dry for all to see which the journalists gleefully obliged.

Read rest of article here:

http://wayangparty.com/?p=8055

When news article are written, old-school journalists always like to ask this question - is this in the interest of the public, or is this of the public's interest? If it is neither, then it is not worth reporting.

Rarely does a news item falls into both categories, and this AWARE 'fracas' (rumpus?) lands smack dab in both.

It is in the public's interest because it is a cat fight, pure and simple. It is in the interest of the public because it is AWARE, the leading advocacy group for women's rights.

If you look at the run-up to the whole saga, the journos were doing their best to give a fair and balanced view on things - it is the public that took it out of proportion (us! silly!).

Then again, as my old lecturer Bruce Grundy used to tell us - "a single individual is smart and rational, a group of individuals is just a stupid mob."

And don't forget, journalists need to eat too, and copy deadlines are always just a few hours away every single damn day!

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On an unrelated note, let me quote you a funny line from one of my favorite books, Terry Pratchett's "The Truth".

“Words resemble fish in that some specialized ones can survive only in a kind of reef, where their curious shapes and usages are protected from the hurly-burly of the open sea. ‘Rumpus’ and ‘fracas’ are found only in certain newspapers (in much the same way that ‘beverages’ are only found in certain menus). They are never used in normal conversation.” ~Terry Pratchett, The Truth