Dirty Tricks of Daily Mirror EXPOSED!
Posted on June 10th, 2010
Kumar Moses
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is no secret Daily Mirror is RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s motherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s newspaper. DR WijewardenaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s (RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s grandfather) media empire continued in the hands of Edmond Wickramasinghe (RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s father) and from there it went to the children and EdmondƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wife Nalini. This is a clear case of how media freedom meant for the consumption of the masses has been abused, robbed and exploited by dirty political elements. Using the power vested in the politicians who own it, Dayaseeli ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the editor of its Sinhala newspaper ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” was asked to resign from the post at the heat of the 2010 Presidential Election for telling the truth. Ranil threatened the journalist with ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dire consequencesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. This is how they abuse media freedom.
Given the dire condition the UNP is in, they need even dirtier tactics to salvage it. Salvaging the UNP from RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s empire is more difficult than salvaging a dead elephant from a huge cesspool.
This desperation is what we see in the conduct of Daily Mirror online newspaperƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s administrators.
For most news items, it allows readers to add comments. Readers can also say whether they like or dislike comments of other readers. It is like voting for and against othersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ comments. If a particular comment is disliked by most, it will have a negative number against it. If most readers like a comment, it will have a higher positive vote against it.
This is where manipulation comes in. Anti-government comments are favoured and pro-government comments are punished. It doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t happens in all comments but in news items with high political sensitivity it does happen or rather caused to happen.
In a properly administered vote count, it should work thus.
| IF YOU SAY YOU LIKE IT | +1 | +1 |
| IF YOU SAY YOU DISLIKE IT | -1 | -1 |
| ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ | PRO-GOVT COMMENT | ANTI-GOVT COMMENT |
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ E.g. If I like someoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s comment and click the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-likeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ button, votes should go up by +1. If I dislike it, it should go down by 1. This should happen irrespective of the comment being pro-government or anti-government.
Alas! Daily Mirror cooks the votes and this is what actually happens in highly popular news items. This was observed in a recent news item about Defence SecretaryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s factual statement that General Fonseka is a traitor.
| IF YOU SAY YOU LIKE IT | 0 | +3 |
| IF YOU SAY YOU DISLIKE IT | -2 | +1 |
| ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ | PRO-GOVT COMMENT | ANTI-GOVT COMMENT |
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ E.g. If I like someoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s pro-government comment and click the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-likeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ button, nothing happens to the number of votes! But if I say I dislike it, votes reduce (negative) not by 1 but by 2!
Then comes the most hilarious part. If I say I like an anti-government comment, the positive vote count goes up by 3 not 1. Wow! Absurdity continues unchecked. If I say I dislike an anti-government comment, instead of reducing the votes by 1, it actually adds a positive vote to the comment.
The net result is all pro-government comments are humiliated with negatives while anti-government comments are hailed with large positive votes; much higher than the real number of votes cast.
This reminds the 1982 Presidential Election where RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s uncle recorded a thumping win. It was full of irregularities. Incumbent self-appointed president JR JayawardenaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s main rival was Hector Kobbekaduwa. Hector walked toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a polling booth in the heart of Colombo early in the morning to cast his precious vote. He was horrified to learn that even at such early hours of the morning and despite it was in the heart of Colombo, his vote had been fraudulently cast by someone else!
What we have today is another extremely power hungry desperate politician and his henchmen manipulating media freedom in order to artificially elevate a bankrupt political party. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
June 10th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Infolanka.com has become the mouthpiece for the ‘Daily Mirror, Ground Views, Sri Lanka Guardian and Tamil net’. which are all severely critical of the Government but quite supportive of the UNP, DNA,TNA and the post LTTE rags. Nothing in ‘Lanka Web’ and other such papers is extracted and published. What is their hidden agenda?
June 10th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Ranil Wickremasinghe’s father was Esmond (not Edmond) Wickremasinghe.
Are you referring to Lake House or Wijeya Publishers? The beneficiary of the “empire” that D.R. Wijeyawardena built up has been the party (or the government) in power. Does anyone know who owns the majority of Lake House shares now?
I don’t think that It’s correct to say that Wijeya newspapers belong to Ranil’s mother. Rather, Ranil’s uncle Ranjith Wijeyewardena has been the force behind them. He built up Wijeya from scratch. Now Ranjith’s son is in charge.
The pro-UNP biases of the Wijeyewardene newspapers have always been evident–whther in their Lake House days or now in the Wijeya days. However, I don’t think that the owners have been behind the “dirty trick” played by the Mirror.
We should also ask the question: Has the Lake House reporting of the Opposition being fair during the recent years?
The concept of the free press has been misconstrued by the owners and editors to flaunt what they like and to lash at what they don’t like without responsibility. Freedom cannot exist without responsibility. In that sense, freedom of the press is a misnomer.
What we should be more concerned about is the people’s ability to access the press to express their views responsibly, not the freedom of owners or editors to suppress people’s views.
June 10th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Gunarat,
Apart from those cosmetic errors, the crux of the article stands. Whether it is Ranil’s mother or it is his uncle and cousin does not make any difference.
This strange phenomina is experienced by many. Given that it happens only in cases of high political sensitivity, it is clearly an enforced thing from the top.
As you correctly said, media freedom is more about people’s ability to access the press and express their views, than about media boses’ freedom to to tell what they want to the public.
Surely Mr Gunaratna with his vast experience will agree that media freedom belongs to the people, not to journalists and media outlet owners.
June 11th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
When DR Wijewardena passed away his 2nd son Ranjith was still studying. Hence Management of Lake House was taken over by eldest son-in -law Esmond Wickramasinghe (Ranil’s father) & [Esmond’s brothers was Church of England Bishop in Kurunagala] During Esmond’s period of administration those who worked during that period knows how he managed & manipulated. Finally end-up nationalizing by Mrs B and NM Perera entrusted to Public Trustee who has major role today.
It was too late when Ranil’s uncle Ranjith Wijeyewardenade took over Lake House administration from his brother-in law Esmond. By that time Esmond had done the “damaged” to Lake House.
After Nationalization Ranjith built up Wijeya newspapers from scratch at present site at Hunupitiya. Now Ranjith’s son is in charge.
Esmond ruined Lake House his son Ranil ruined UNP “like father like son”
June 12th, 2010 at 2:27 am
I do not know much about Wijewardenas family duals and conspiracies first hand but had heard enough especially about dirty tactics of Esmond Wickramasinge. Though not relevant here, can anyone tell us on that talk about JRJ giving the defunct Times to Ranjith in the eighties.
One thing I was told is that Esmond hated Buddhists. Another thing I know is that Wijaya news papers backed the evangelists to the hilt when RanilW was the Prime Minister 2001-03. If you read the Sunday Times features during that time, you will know what I mean. Wijaya published article after article that criticized the Sinhala Buddhists for mistreating the minorities. So much so, I though it was bought over by evangelists. What can you expect from them? It was Bishop Wickramasinghe, RanilW’s uncle who said at Chelvanayagam’s funeral that he is the Moses (Old Testament) to Tamils.
Anyway, those write ups had made us ashamed to call our selves Buddhists. Wijaya never published our responses. That was the time RanilW’s government instructed the police to collect finds and festooned the entire Colombo metro to rejoice 2003 Christmas as never done before. And Sinhala Buddhists we turned to Ven. Soma for Solace. And the UNP never raised its head ever since. It never will.
Read ‘the Times’ and then read ‘Lankadeepa’ you will understand the game Wijaya is playing. They are presenting two different views to two different sets of readers. Having said that, I say; I read them if I get a chance for I wanted to know what they write. But I never would buy them for I do not want to contribute for their shady schemes. I want to deprive them getting at least that money. Ruwan should be ashamed of himself for selling Senanayake name.
I agree wholeheartedly and more with Kumar Moses.
June 12th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Media abuse is not only confined to Sri Lankan media. The fraudsters at “Times Online UK” do similar tacticts. These crooks show all people are in agreement of thier lies and misinformation by publishing mostly comments that supports thier cooked up stories.
June 12th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
In the eighties J.R is a master of manipulation. During his period he made arrangement to sell defunct Times all other assets calling public Tender. But for Newspaper & Periodical publication less publicity so his nephew could buy them for “song” web offset machine passes on to ANCL. So Ranjith & Soma started publishing Times products at Wijaya.
July 29th, 2010 at 4:57 am
This is all typical tribal nationalist hogwash. Does Ranil’s uncle being a Anglican bishop count when it comes to politics??? I personally believe “Sinhala Buddhism” as greates impediment to this country’s devolopment
July 29th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
The biggest threat to the humanity comes from what they are made to believe by others under hostile conditions.
marrat2010, refer your comment, you are completely blinded by your faith imposed on you by suffering, terror and deception. First you should separate Sinhala from Buddhism. Buddhists, essentially people who got significant intellectual capabilities that are required to understand the concepts envisaged in that belief, are only the greatest impediment to their own lives and indirectly let you to keep on destructing the world by inaction. Their faith makes them blind to the fact that there are others like you who do horrible things even from the animal standards that they have no idea of, and they show the same kindness to even the worst murderers under misguided belief of compassion for all beings. The greatest impediment/danger to the world, not just country is your Jewish Christian faith that brand non-believers as evil for no reason, encourage heinous crimes including genocide by giving a false sense of assurance to wash off the crimes by confession or under the guise of religious conversions, cannibalistic rituals that appeal to your innermost animal instincts that turn you to wild beasts, and intellectual blindness by its beliefs that make you to falsely believe that everything was created by your Almighty. You do not even have a grain of brain to question who created that Almighty. That version is true if you are made to believe that it was made by itself. Poor thing, then I say that you are also made by yourself, the natural truth. Look at how those believing in your faith do harm to themselves, other humans and all the creatures at large. The bogus belief that an Almighty god created everything for your kind have made you the satanic curse of the whole word. Instead of preaching, you should dig deep and find yourselves what it has done to you and every other living being due to your blind faith.
You should enjoy the little bit of life left in you as your faith will kill you soon (the sickest of all who got the worst of all the diseases) by making you both physically and mentally ill and then by infighting. What you call is not really development, but suicidal destruction of nature and thus destruction of your own future. I am pretty sure Sinhala people will succeed as proven by history and those of you digging your own graves and licking boots of the very murderers that killed your own kith and kin will end up in the hell for the rest of eternity. Actually, what you believe in judgement day applies to your kind only and it is coming soon. Unfortunately, these forecasts that you believe as yours are not yours at all. Within next few years, you will see the wrath of the real gods who will send the believers of falsehoods to the junk yard of history.
The best advice I can give you is to stop believing in shit and discard them now if you want to have a future as a human. There was a great world long before the creator of your faith came up with the destructive and insane mind to bring humanity down. By misrepresenting words, you cannot keep on casting evil on good people and carry on satanic deeds forever. Time will tell who the real judges are. If you go back in your history, you know that your never had a chance to decide for yourself. At least try now before it becomes too late. Those of you believing in the most dangerous faith are the most abominable criminals that pose a serious threat to every living being and the future of this planet. Just try to understand it before trying to make your silly point.
July 29th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
marrat2010 is either a Tamil racist or a Colombian. Natural he hates Sinhalese, Buddhism and Sinhala Buddhists as it “gets in the way” of his/his cliques dominance.
August 10th, 2010 at 5:27 am
Hi Raju
I’m neither a Colombian ( a terms invented by a well known racist lawyer) nor a Tamil racist or other wise. I’m a Sri Lankan who is opposed to current tribal Sinhala Buddhist exclusivist culture in this country which automatically makes others look like outsiders.
By the way Colombians may be despicable but they are at least honest coz they don’t hide what they do. But patriots like Ellawaela Medhananda ( the duty free Benz issue , remember) Wimal Weerawansa who rather goes to Catholic Rome than Sri Pada are examples of seriel con artisists. I don’t want to be in the same league as these hypocrites.Hence I would rather be a traitor ( in nationalist terminology) than an ugly patriot.