The pro-government newspaper, Daily Observer is no stranger to throwing insults and criticisms at the online media, but they might have recently punched out of their league when they picked a fight with What’s On-Gambia.
In the weekend edition of Observer Light, the country’s biggest daily newspaper suggested they would launch legal action against the famous online magazine for using the name of their weekend column, What’s On.
Daily Observer will apparently be fighting a losing battle, for there’s a world’s difference between What's On, a column and the online news magazine What's On-Gambia (WOG).
Yet, it seems Managing Director Momodou Sabally and his easy-to-manipulate boys have found a new enemy to taunt, belittle and mock. They claimed the online magazine’s co-founder, Alieu Khan, is an “introvert” who doesn’t personally have too many fans.
Responding to the publication, Alieu said: “Daily Observer is a twisted company full of twisted people. They promised to publish a “part 2”, let them go ahead. We are ready to roll in the mud with them. Instead of helping Jammeh to win voters, they are busy picking fights with pretty much everyone.
“According to them, I have no fans. Ridiculous, isn’t it? I am not a braggart that spends 24/7 on Facebook trying desperately to remain relevant. What Daily Observer did is akin to a child knocking on a neighbour’s door and running away. But we wouldn’t let them run away like that. Their boss once told a friend that he can damage anyone he wants because he now runs the ‘Gambia’s paper’.”
Laughing off their threat to sue them over the use of the name What’s On, the Sweden-based publisher, said: “There is an American newspaper columnist that once wrote: “If you operate under the assumption that helium is heavier than the air around you, you're going to lose your balloon. If you're smart, you won't lose many balloons before you change your assumption. If you don't change your assumption, you're going to keep losing balloons and start to look pretty stupid in the process. My friendly advice to the Gambia’s pen is: cut the crap! Bahna daal!”