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Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC) Email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- The Right Message ------------------------------- by Amit Tamba The face of politics, crime, corruption and society has changed significantly in the last few decades, but our style of journalism has remained constant. This is what the newspapers do: Collect information and disseminate the same to readers. While this methodology was certainly adequate at one point of time, I would like to argue that we need a new form of news reporting today. To anyone who has seen the glut of information available through the Internet and other media, it will be evident that the collection of information is no longer a priority. Numerous news agencies perform the task of collecting information. All that the journalist needs to do is to assemble a story from the raw bits of information that arc piped to him by these organizations. A story need not be in a classic essay format. It should, however, make its reader fully aware of the cause and the repercussions of the story. A free press is the essential element for success of a vibrant democracy. The people of the land are only privy to the political actions that are correctly analysed by their media. Over the years, the fine art of journalism has been reduced to the act of typing out the words spoken by a politician. The memory of voters is very short, but this problem is compounded when newspapers merely report raw facts. Individual incidents that occur a few months apart are quickly forgotten by the readers, and unless the journalist takes the pain to provide all references to related news, the news story holds no value to its reader. I recently wrote an article that questioned the change of heart of the government on coal power in Goa. In June '06 the discussion was closed because Dr Wilfred D'Souza claimed that coal power would cause too much pollution. Three months later, the discussion was reopened for consideration. Now, granting credit to the Environment Minister, Dr D'Souza for having a good reason to oppose the plan three months ago, wouldn't the journalist be fair in questioning why this issue had returned to the table? In addition, considering the amount of money this decision would affect, would not the journalist be justified in analysing the motives of the decision-makers? Instead of presenting this analysis, the newspapers directly quoted various ministers in articles that provided no context for the reported news. The burden of analysis was left entirely upon the readers. Journalists have a responsibility towards their readers to analyse the news and provide the readers with a well-rounded story that analyses the issues that are affected by the story in hand. I do not intend this article to be a criticism of journalists, who, no doubt, do the best work possible within the given environment. Instead, I am merely suggesting an alternative method of news reporting that can help keep the readers better informed about the happenings in Goa. ---------------------------------------------------- The Navhind Times 22/9/06 page 10 ---------------------------------------------------- ====================================== GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ======================================= _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org