Some men just want to watch the world burn.Shamsher's life was based around the news. Upon waking up, he immediately turned on the TV, scoured the Internet, and read every newspaper he could lay his hands on. He absorbed every news item looking for any sign of injustice meted out to (or by) a prominent person. Any insult, whether real or imagined, was filed away for immediate reference. You never knew what could trigger the next round of public outrage.
- Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark Knight
A dramatic increase in the number of media outlets competing for rating points worked in his favor. Now, every sensational item was beaten into the ground, with every media-person looking for that unique angle to grab a few more eyeballs.
The easiest way to stir up trouble was to use a part of a quote. Denials and apologies would follow in their own course, but the immediate spike in the ratings was worth the hassle. Stir up trouble, incite a few people (invariably, there would be a hitherto unknown group of folks aggrieved enough to vehemently protest the "injustice"), and let them make the newsbites for you - that was the new way of manufacturing scandals.
Burning effigies in public was the most visible way of expressing this outrage. No one knew this better than Shamsher. After all, his livelihood depended on it.
You see, Shamsher specialized in selling life-like effigies that could be burnt. And business was good.
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