Award for Stupidest Headline Featuring a Sikh-Related Article
Today I announce the beginning of a new award. It is the ‘Stupidest Headline Featuring a Sikh-related Article.” My first nominee:
“A Temple That Aladdin Would Be Proud Of”
It seems that our friends down-under in Autralia, at the Shepparton News, were reporting the opening of a new Sikh Gurdwara. The article’s first paragraph continues with the obnoxiousness:
There will be no genie or magic lamp, but Harpal Singh described the finished product of Shepparton’s first Sikh temple as something similar to the palace of Agrabah in the Walt Disney animation Aladdin.
I doubt Harpal Singh said anything of the kind. [This assumption was faulty and the author of the article did clarify that Harpal Singh did in fact make the connection. Thank you Kayla!]
In 2008 can you really get away with being this dumb as a journalist?
Do you have any other nominations?
13 Responses to “Award for Stupidest Headline Featuring a Sikh-Related Article”
"Turban Warfare"
“Turban Warfare“
You may have missed the front page headline that went with the photo of the building. Sleek, Chic and Very Sikh
Actually that's exactly what Harpal Singh said. Why else would have I said it in my story? When talking about the Gurdwara Sahib on the Hume Hwy in Melbourne, Mr Singh said "It will look similar, people say the Aladdin palace." There are plenty of people who have never seen a Sikh temple or know anything about the religion. So while this might be something very familiar to you, we are writing for people who might never have heard of the religion before opening the paper and reading my article, or know very little about it. Mr Singh knows this which is why he referred to the Aladdin animation. He was simply trying to give everyone an idea of what the building might look like.
Kayla I stand corrected. From the article, it was unclear who was stating what. When writing that Harpal Singh was describing "something similar" to Agrabah, this could be derived had he even merely suggested that there would be domes. Regardless, I, in accordance to blog protocol, have struck it out and apologize in questioning whether Harpal Singh made those comments. I appreciate you taking the time to come to our blog and correcting me.
However, I still find the headline stupid (even if it is Harpal Singh's fault), because it plays upon 'orientalist' and 'oriental-izing' notions.
You may have missed the front page headline that went with the photo of the building. Sleek, Chic and Very Sikh
Actually that’s exactly what Harpal Singh said. Why else would have I said it in my story? When talking about the Gurdwara Sahib on the Hume Hwy in Melbourne, Mr Singh said “It will look similar, people say the Aladdin palace.” There are plenty of people who have never seen a Sikh temple or know anything about the religion. So while this might be something very familiar to you, we are writing for people who might never have heard of the religion before opening the paper and reading my article, or know very little about it. Mr Singh knows this which is why he referred to the Aladdin animation. He was simply trying to give everyone an idea of what the building might look like.
Kayla I stand corrected. From the article, it was unclear who was stating what. When writing that Harpal Singh was describing “something similar” to Agrabah, this could be derived had he even merely suggested that there would be domes. Regardless, I, in accordance to blog protocol, have struck it out and apologize in questioning whether Harpal Singh made those comments. I appreciate you taking the time to come to our blog and correcting me.
However, I still find the headline stupid (even if it is Harpal Singh’s fault), because it plays upon ‘orientalist’ and ‘oriental-izing’ notions.
No worries
Well hopefully we can keep Aladdin out of the headline when we do another story later this year when the temple opens.
Check this one out http://www.grods.com/post/2376/
Wow, the Shepp News has been getting a lot of publicity on the blog front lately!
No worries
Well hopefully we can keep Aladdin out of the headline when we do another story later this year when the temple opens.
Check this one out http://www.grods.com/post/2376/
Wow, the Shepp News has been getting a lot of publicity on the blog front lately!
Thanks Kayla! See some good did come out of this exchange. Thanks for the link. It seems that you guys are quite the talk.
Thanks Kayla! See some good did come out of this exchange. Thanks for the link. It seems that you guys are quite the talk.
Thing will be like and admitted by people when it appeal to them or they find any kind of attraction in it. Likewise in case of education, people would try to get in their life only when they feel positive about it.