If I'm counting right, it's been exactly a hundred days since I left The Malay Mail. The "old" Malay Mail. I saw the "new" one a while ago. Someone asked me what I thought about it and I said it's crap. Ah, I'm joking, Yus. Truth be told, the new malay mail (note: all lower case) looks different, feels different, is different.
But then I've just been told that they paid BBDO US$1 million on the revamp. I think the person who reported that to me must have been mistaken. US$1 million is way too much to pay for the weekend mail that I saw. Way, way too much.
If they really did pay that much, then I wasn't joking about the crap bit.
Otherwise, keep the flag flying, dear Bros in there. Keep the faith.
And start those scoops coming.
Shabas bro,and show 'em what you got maann. USD1million eh? That's alot of bread maann !!Sure could do with some myself !Are your sources on the level?
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blogsphere Rocky. Let's see some serious journalism. To borrow from you -- enought of craps. There's too much of gambling already. Maybe some investigative journalism. Those years of spent at Business Times should place you in good stead to uncloth and uncloak such mysteries as m&a of ECM Libra and Avenue Asset Resources. Is it true that there are more lucky draws by the gaming operators these days? I shall not say anything about the weekend mail. Bought my copy though!
ReplyDeleteHappy blogging.
Hullo, Rocky! Welcome to blogs. Hope Kalimullah doesn't ban your page.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your blog launch! One can feel the tremors at Jln Riong from here. U are right abt the crap bit but then again, the shitty stuff has always costly in Malaysia, eh?
ReplyDeleteCheap, infantile, outlandish…aaah, a teen’s paradise
ReplyDeleteFrom my seasoned eyes, the new Malay Mail gives a semblance of "cheapness": blindingly bright colours, amateurish layout, outlandish persona and infantilish prose, all the sensibilities experienced pros like you (the scribe included) and I would not want to see in a venerable publication.
But this is not, ha ha ha, a venerable publication, at least not the new edition of the Malay Mail. It is solely meant for teenagers and youngsters below 30, who adore all the trappings of the “cheapness” I described earlier.
If we veterans had loved or endorsed the new Malay Mail, then the fledgling rag would have quickly failed to make an impact on its target audience. (Read: it's not for old foggies above 35 like you and me so better quit whining and start criticising).
In any case, my teenage daughter loved it so much (her favourite hues are purple and pink!) and she instantly connected to the premier dope front-pager, declaring that she knew a lot of other teenagers caught in the scourge.
So, whether or not BBDO literally “stole” a US$1 million payday or not is irrelevant (though editor M. Zul and NSTP CEO Datuk Syed Faisal Albar would have to bear the disgruntled flak from NSTP shareholders for overpaying BBDO something a smart teenager/youngster these days could easily accomplish for a tiny fraction of the RM3.66 million bounty).
In the final analysis, it's the target readers’ needs and assessment that counts and, of course, the major advertisers courting the young adults’ purchasing powers. That said, I’m with you, bro, on damning the new Malay Mail, in your own sordid proclamation, as “crap!”
More power to you rocky. I was hoping you will start your own blog. Perfect timing. I have been loyal to NST because of people like you, your predecessor Fauzi, La(z).Rokk, Sam,Tony Francis,Johnson Fernendez,Zainon Ahmad, Charley Peters and Nades.I now read Straits Times for Syed Nazri's column only. The blogs give me local news of substance,NYT,HT,and BBC for international fare. I have already bookmarked your blogsite so GO FOR IT Rocky & keep brewing (pun intended) all the good stuff only the likes of you can pour out!!
ReplyDeleteI browsed a copy of Weekend Mail. Not my brew lah....replacing the Sunday Mail is like leaving your old folks at the bus stop and telling them you will pick them up later and never did, so that they will finally end up in the old folks home. Dastardly and un-Malaysian. Whats good quality paper as in paper got to do with good quality news.
ReplyDeleteRocky,
ReplyDeleteAda sebarang cerita pasai kontrak Ekowood dapat dari NSTP untuk bekal perabot?
Welcome to the club Bro! I suppose every generation needs a Fanfare or New Thrill mag...
ReplyDeleteUSD 1 millions? I am not surprised.
ReplyDeleteNST is well known on wasting money. Anyone can easily spot the inefficiency by looking at the annual reports. Compare side by side with theStar, even a primary school students can spot the different.
Hai there bro, good to see you in cyberspace. Just took a glance as the new 'the malay mail'. Hunting down or hunting for. How sure is the paper that the police are hunting down the woman? All entry and exit points are on high alert or "are put on high elert?". The China national or Chinese national? Is someone's girfriend necessarily his mistress? I stopped reading after completing psyerueb age 1. Does it worth RM1?
ReplyDeleteJust had to buy "this" Malay Mail and maann I yam damn cunfused !!!
ReplyDelete"This" paper should be sold in secondary school canteens for "50 cents"(yo bro.. thats the going price for students,right maann ?)Not that this paper can be used as a reading tool either.
So much USD for so much crap..eh!
Give me some more crap maann !!!
eh, ... atleast i learnt why pubic hair is wrinkled from the first copy of the (new) paper. other than that... er, forgot la...
ReplyDeletehey rocko,
ReplyDeletethe new mm mast head reminds me of the hornets - someone at jln riong must be a big fan of watford or they already anticipated the club's return to the premiership lah...
first off, rocky, i've missed you.
ReplyDeletesecondly, the malaymail(in lower caps as you stipulated) is now sinking into the depths of newspaper doomness. i wonder if there is a hell where everyone reads the new revamped mail.
its a pity really,the image is definately not worth a million bucks. but then again, not everything lives up to the paid price. ;-)
By the way bro, the malay mail has nothing or little to do with the malay as in melayu. Actually the orang putih, being mad sailors an all, were confused between melayu the orang and tanah melayu, their country. so they used the two interchangeably. Even today they sometimes refer to the malaysian government as the malay government. Is ekowood supplying furniture to the NST? Contra maybe. Why not deputy chairman of NSTP is chairman of ekowood. Another type of insider trading.As P. Ramlee says, hantam sajalah.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the cyberspace bro...
ReplyDeleteYou forgotten, the US$1 million also included the party they had for the launching of the new Malay Mail at the KLCC convention centre, one of the most expensive convention centre in town (wonder how much they paid for the party?) and of course, the free flow of booze....
Salam,dude..
ReplyDeleteTruth be told...TRUTH be told,local mainstream press,with very few and rare exceptions in between,ALWAYS plays it all safe and cozy,man.Their numero uno purpose for existence,raison d'etre,is to just stick to the scripts,with each play well choreographed by appointees of their respective masters....As the French expressed it so well "the more things changed,the more they stayed the same.."!
Also read somewhere in Shakespears' Ceaser,a rephrase(I think?)of the above that's even more friggin' aweseome,dudes..."we have to change now so that all things shall remain the same later..."!!
Familiar?
So,bro...to change u just got to be on the outside,say what u want,when u want.
Freedom of thought must always precede freedom of expression.How in God's name can we achieve a vibrant,creative freedom of the press when the "otak" is a mere "otak otak",instead..all shackled ,wrapped up in daun pisang?
Worse,the shackled are happy with being shackled,shrilly even with their contorted rationalizations as to why they do what they do,matey..
God Bless,bro...all the best.
saif
Assalamualaikum beb! gua baru baca lu punya blog. Syabas! satu nasihat gua mau bagi _ ini blogging perlu disiplin! Lu jangan bikin satu hari dan kemudian lu hilang.
ReplyDeleteGua pun baru dapat naskhah percuma malay mail. Gua belum baca lagi tapi bini gua kata tak sehebat mana pun. Dia kata macam surat khabar budak2. Maybe dia betul. Tapi kalau dari excitement, dua tak nampak apa2 perubahan yang ketara. Dia cuma pakai nama malay mail tapi tak ada tradisi 106 tahun seperti malay mail lama. maybe dia orang mau bikin tradisi baru. Gua harap mereka yang dari malay mail lama boleh guide editor baru yang dulu bikin magazine.
apa niche malay mail ni beb? malay dulu ada tulis banyak hal masyarakat, bikin pendedahan etc. Malay mail baru mungkin banyak buat dedah dalam dunia hiburan. Gua mau tanya - berapa banyak hiburan NSTP mau bagi pembaca hah? sebenanrnya, mreka yang mentadbir NSTP patut risau sikit. Harga saham NSTP sekarang pun dah susut sangat. Ramai pelabur mengeloh. Apa mereka mau spin tentang harga saham? Masalah mereka yang jaga NSTP ni satu saja beb - mereka syok sendiri! Mereka yang di atas tak perlu risau fasal mereka dah kaya raya. Kalau surat khabar atau syarikat lingkup, mereka dah ada insurans - duduk senang lenang, sambut birthday dgn kawan2 di tempat mewah, nyanyi karaoke sana sini, bikin business etc.
Gua ingat lu susah blah dari NSTP pun banyak baik - boleh bikin benda lain yang berfaedah. Bila kita tengok NSTP buat VSS, kita tau yang ini cara mudah nak buang orang. Gua dengar ramai yang mohon VSS tapi tak semua yang dapat. Yang tinggal ialah orang yang pucuk pimpinan mereka rasa boleh buat kerja. Mereka tak tahu yang badan mungkin di jln riong tapi jiwa dan hati di tempat lain. Semalam, satu member di jln riong bagi tau - dia tak lemas kat sana. Orang tak ada passion dan semangat. Tempat tu penuh dengan yes man!!
eheh! Sori beb, gua tercerita lebih tentang NSTP pulak. Anyway, lu lebih arif tentang NSTP kerana lu lama di sana. as for the new malay mail, kita tengok aja. Gua tak beli tapi setakat ni gua dapat free copy. Orang bagi kita ambil. Jumpa lagi beb! Keep brewing man!!
its good to hear from you brudder. i have read the new mm and it stinks.
ReplyDeleteNo time to read Malay Mail now days. Its a dying news paper. NSTP must put Zainul Ariffin as new GEIC. He is critical, witty and most importantly he is anytime better than any one else in the group. I dont think anyone in NSTP dares to challenge him?
ReplyDeletehey rocky,
ReplyDeletewow.... we have been waiting for when you would be starting to blog.
one hundred days, huh? how does it feel?
relieved? cathartic?
you may not know this but many people know about the goings-on of the nst. we all know why you left. you were given no choice, right.
but, think about it -- you don't have your name on the "new" malay mail.
USD1 million.... what a bunch of idiots... what a bunch of nimcompoops who DONT know how to spend the company's money. what a waste... hey NST gals and guys... there goes your bonus/x-gratia... kesian kesian.
its like this... Malay Mail has to look stupid for NST to look good.
i mean, it is not a better MM...it is a TOTALLT NEW product.
Hey, let me ask the NST VERY top guys -- who I've been told are were never editors beforeassuming their posts in NST -- why don't you change the NST too? Ha ha..gotcha!
we have aisehman, jeffooi, kadir jasin and now, ladies and gentleman the one and only rocky. we are now spoilt for choice. good work rocky, be brave, fight injustice, nespotism, hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteSurprised how shallow the sports pages are now. Well if these new people feel that local sports is not important, no thanks to Brendan I hear, then why bother even giving the two pages. Sitting in Malaysia and writing opinions about the teams in World Cup sure tops the CRAP list I must add Rocky. Way to go bro, keep up your good work
ReplyDeletekeep bru...ing bro, my sympathy to the 'new' malay mail...yang lama lebih bagus..
ReplyDeleteTadi saya beli 50 keping Malay Mail...mau bikin balut buah cempedak saya punya Mak punya kebun. Sebab dia punya colour banyak garang...mesti itu burung takut punya. Nanti itu cempedak masak saya hantar sama itu Malay Mail Editor satu bijik.
ReplyDeleteHello bro
ReplyDeleteFrom all the comments here I now know why Kalimullah desperately want you out.
Keep it up brother. You doing a good job. We dont need the new malay mail. We have rocky's bru for our reading pleasure.
Keep bru...ing.
The Paper That Cares now looks like The Paper That Scares.
ReplyDeleteMwahahahahahaha.....
Bro, I looked at the malay mail again today. I found nothing worth reading inside. I now conclude that it's crap, as you concluded when it first came out. It's dry, unexciting. I believe the editor running it is trying to seek an identityfor his paper. Really brother, it has no personality at all! I wonder y the NSTP people bothers to put it out at all!
ReplyDeleteWah Rocky, I only just read this and realised what a huge welcome you got when you decided to enter blogland. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteOkay, the 'new' Malay Mail...when I told my wife that the new MM was trying to target a younger readership and trying to make itself 'sexier' etc. Her response, after reading one issue of the The Paper That Scares...sorry I meant Cares...was that it looked and read like it was made by a bunch of old people trying to be young and hip.
Just thought you might want to know la. Two sen worth.
So this is where it all began...
ReplyDeletePhew, you sure have come a very long way. 30 months later, you're now at almost 8 million VISITORS.
Congratulations! And my best wishes for whatever you have in mind.
BTW I have read the various accusations and what-nots - I don't know which are true and by how much, but I'd like you to know this: DO what your heart says - Just be true to YOURSELF, for you sure can't please everyone.
Sorry for this extremely VERY late comment. As you might have guessed, at about this time, I was at Pusat Serenti Gambang, and with seven months to go. Might have sent in a comment much earlier had they given me Internet access at my Asrama Cendana:-)