Oops... you might want to stay away from me then :)

Sorry to hear you've been misrespresented so many times. That's such a pain.

From the other side of the coin, well all I can say is that I personally try to get things right, but sometimes do leave out things and make stupid assumptions (I've had to ask my boss to run an apology before - I was mortified!). I've learnt to check with the person I've interviewed, that no matter how minor a detail I think it is, I can't assume and I MUST make sure it's correct.

When a piece is written, a lot depends on the "angle" the editor wants the reporter to take, and that could be why your points were left out of the NST article - it could be that the editor simply didn't want to push those particular points. (I'm just guessing here.) For example, Aiz mentioned that at INFOSOC, you tried to make the point that women have a very active and prominent role to play in the local blogging community. However, from the resulting InTech article, it sounds like the editor wanted to push the angle of blogs being a means for people to communicate thoughts & information to a wider audience. Therefore, he didn't use the other comments you or the rest of the team might have made.

As far as pictures are concerned, that decision is the editor's and the sub-editor's (the one who does the page layout). The reporter doesn't have a say in it. Pictures are subject to space constraints, so it sometimes happens that out of five people who are quoted in an article, only two get their "mugshots" printed. It's a very arbitrary decision, I'm afraid.

Once again, I do apologise for the members of my profession who have given you such a hard time...

Next time we should hand out press statements!

Actually Irene, in the presentation, I was very generic with respect to blogging mainly because I really didn't have the authority to speak on the gender aspects of it. My presentation focused on the communication aspect of blogging and how it's different from other internet-based mechanisms, idea propagation and its application in various industries (journalism, education, knowledge management etc).

Ah well...

Well, one solution is to take out an ad. That way all your comments in the purest form (according to you) comes out EXACTLY how you want it.

Eh?

And we thought biased reporting was bad.
Makes you feel like a politician right?

Always read the papers with a pinch of salt... and pepper... a little tabsco sauce would be nice too... and dont forget a sqeeze of lemon.
Enjoy your news.

Hmm. That's the same way I read blogs.

:-)

BTW, nothing is IMPLIED by the photo.

By that theory ... does that mean that if I see a photo of the PM at a dinner ... do I then assume that the DPM was not in attendance?

Not so.

1) Nothing is implied by photos
2) Perhaps your comments were not prominent enough
3) Perhaps the reporter having to cover so many talks, had to give yours a skip
4) Maybe the reporter had to go pee while you gave your talk

My point being, do not ASSUME anything and throw the first stone unless you are sure you are PERFECT and that your thoughts / speeches / words are Word of God.

The newspaper (unlike the Internet) has just limited space. It would be impossible to carry EVERYTHING.

Get real. And for goodness sake, get a life!

You don't have to be rude, you know. The fact that you're dissecting what I write point by point implies that you need to get one too. ;)

But rather than excusing the paper as a medium for not being able to carry everything, we should be concerned about what else it's not carrying. Once in a while, something like this happens to people we know, or ourselves, and it gives more insights into the lack of depth in local reporting.

Perhaps one is not too concerned because it's JUST a story on an 'insignificant' session on something most people haven't heard of. But carelessness and the lackadaisical attitude in reporting needs to be addressed, because it can too easily seep into other areas that have more impact on society.

By the way, the post IS entitled "Water off my back".

Funny you should title this "water off my back"

I was wondering about it since it obviously isn't. In which case, just take out a full page ad, or better still come out with your own newspaper.

Why do people have to be sooo touchy? Jeeez.

ouch!

Obviously, your wonderings are faulty. This is Najah's newspaper.

I seem to think that eventhough you had valid points to make but I think people will now choose to ignore you since you were being rude.

Now, while this all seems so nice of me to say all these things and with a remote chance that you may come to your senses, imagine would I be taken seriously if I ended my post with:

Why don't YOU get a life, you prick!

i've dealt with the press ever since the asiaconnect incident of 1996, and today i have had mixed blessings with them.

it all boils down to the relationship you have with the journo and the editors. experience has taught me which journos to avoid and which ones i like, ergo they get a scoop or an exclusive. i've been horribly misquoted before, enough to make me threaten legal action and at the same time, i've had journos who've taken artistic license with my quotes. both usually get an earful from me, if not their editors.

only experience will imbibe that in you, but in the end irene's comments hold. the editor usually has an angle he wants to cover and they sometimes will leave out bits and pieces if it doesn't fit any particular angle.

no point getting beaten up over it, what's important is the 100 or so people in the room that day, not what the journo wrote. like you said, it's water off your back so treat it that way.

Some of us are beginning to sound like the "I'm right-you're not" crowd that makes up the powers-that-be, the very people who we often direct our criticism against.

Najah:

"I'm never giving interviews to reporters"

But Your Majesty, how shall the commoners be informed of the good that you have, are and will do?

"...irrespective of the bad research or bad reporting that resulted in this article, all that counts is that I believe the team did good."

Is your belief, your judgement truly ALL that counts?

Sharizal:

"You prick!"

Rude pricks aren't capable of making valid points? And when they do, they should be ignored?

Am I a prick too, for saying all these things?

Slap,slap ... wake up! We are the good guys, remember? We're doing this for the people, right?

Do you think they give a damn about the article?

Najah, I would like to conduct an e-mail interview with you. I'll give you the same standard set of questions that I've given to Oon Yeoh, Jeff Ooi and Aizuddin.

I hope that you can e-mail me, because I can't find your e-mail anywhere. I hope that we can work together on this interview.

Thanks!

Nizam

Aisehman: Actually, yes, in this blog, what I believe as opposed to what the article neglected to say is what's important, just as this blog is insignificant as compared to the paper that the article is printed on. It's all a matter of context, and in the context of this blog, at the very least, my opinion counts.

Anyway, rambling again. Need sleep.

Nizam: Are you a journalist? If you are, no interviews.. hehehe :P

As the chairman of listed company during my younger days, I had to answer questions from the press after the company AGM. On one occassion, I was misquoted that made me not to invite that newspaper again.

From my experience, the least I talked the better.

Aisehman, actually I was trying to demonstrate the effect of being rude. For eg if I was civil towards affin and left out the last part maybe he would regain some sense. But if I was to be rude like he was (and hence that last line), would he have given a toot? I wasn't really saying he was a prick u know.... :)

If you were to take that whole bit out as a one liner (which it was I just formatted it differently heheh me bad...) it would have read as:

"Now, while this all seems so nice of me to say all these things and with a remote chance that you may come to your senses, imagine would I be taken seriously if I ended my post with: Why don't YOU get a life, you prick!"

As for you, you were very civil in your comments as such I would take them seriously. So, no, you are not a prick. ;)

Got it, Sharizal.

Let's all move on, huh? There are greater issues affecting the larger Malaysian community that deserve more attention.

Aisehman, ok i agree, let's move on. But I must say a little fun once in a while can't hurt can it?

He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.