To sell a few copies more

Stoking fires where even embers do not exist appears to be the way to sell news stories these days.

Sanjay Manjrekar, in his capacity as a member of the media, wrote an article wherein he wondered whether Tendulkar's recent dip in fortunes had to do with his fear of failing. The criticism leveled at Manjrekar for writing this was appalling, to say the least. Rather than questioning his statements, most of the critics attacked the man and mocked his authority to raise the issue.

Similarly John Wright, in his soon-to-be-released autobiography, raised a few pertinent points about the policies and motives of some of the selectors of the Indian cricket team. Not surprisingly, he has raised the ire of quite a few folks. Though, in the case of Ashok Malhotra, the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Sambit Bal wrote a must-read article that puts all this hoopla into the right perspective and shows us what this is all about - the need to create controversy where none exists simply because bland statements do not generate revenue these days.