condolence message to the family.
Consider this response a little thoughtfully and it will dawn on you that Steve Irwin, a sensation, mainly in Australia and America for his zany stunts with some of the deadliest animal species, particularly crocodiles, has become celebrated in India only with his catastrophic death. In the course of a few hours.
No sooner did news reports from international agencies flash on the tickers informing the world about how 44-year-old Irwin died of injuries caused by the barbs of a stingray while filming an underwater documentary in north-eastern Australia, news channels in India played it up.
By evening, it refused to leave the day's major news slot. Simply because it was a perfect television story. Dare devil stunts, particularly the one when he took his month-old son dangerously close to a hungry crocodile in his abode, the Australia Zoo in Queensland, a great fan following, wife Terry away in Tasmania on a trekking expedition, the Australian Government's full support for his work towards the country's environment and tourism, and most importantly, eye-catching visuals of his spectacular acts, all combined to make an instant attention-grabber of a story. That Irwin's answering machine at the Australia Zoo reminds callers, `Remember They Rule' too came in handy. That all major newspapers gave prominent space to his sensational death the next morning looked so natural.
Not a sensation
Though "Crocodile Hunter" and the "Crocodile Hunter Diaries" have been aired on Animal Planet in India for the last five years almost everyday, the ratings of these series were never so startling here. They never got the prime time slot.
Raja Balasubramanium, Brand Director, Marketing, Animal Planet, without quoting any TRP numbers, says, "Steven Irwin had always been a popular personality worldwide. His shows have done very well across our networks." This Sunday, the channel is slated to air in all their networks worldwide a marathon tribute to Irwin featuring the "Best of the Crocodile Hunter."
A Discovery press note on Tuesday evening says the company is planning to create the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund, which it is likely to call, "The Crikey Fund" (Irwin was known as `Crikey' among his fans).
It will also rename the garden space in front of Discovery's world headquarters in Maryland as the "Steve Irwin Memorial Garden."
Coming back to Irwin's sudden posthumous media-generated fame in India, it will be interesting to check on the week's ratings. Not just of Irwin's ongoing show on Animal Planet but those that featured on our news channels.
On the death of a brave, carefree soul, it is nevertheless heartening to take in that his single window presence in the country while he was alive became multiple when death came knocking continents away.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
