Its good news that Goa’s leading English daily GOMANTAK TIMES is now online.
https://epaper.gomantaktimes.com/subscription_gt/Epaper_login.aspx A fearless newspaper with a lot of investigative journalism. A good news paper to start the day. So also is India’s national news paper THE HINDU which covers a lot of Goa related news and is also online. Freedom of Press and Freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. The Press has to be free from political, government or any other interference. In fact it is the professional duty -- of journalists to be totally independent and unbiased with no leanings towards any political party or politician. However, sadly today most of the journalist fraternity in Goa have become a mouth piece of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, patently falling prey to his strategy of carrot and stick, to cunningly manage and manipulate a large chunk of media. This is nothing new for the the Chief Minister who is very intolerant to any criticism. In fact, during his earlier tenure as Chief Minister he had served a legal notice, warning the editors of all newspapers in Goa. Not long ago he openly threatened some newspapers with stoppage of Government advertisements, to coerce them to toe his line. Journalists should not fall prey to the crumbs of Government’s largesse and return the favour with censored news. In fact the media should be reporting the news as it happens and never taking sides. The views of the newspaper on any issue should only be expressed through the editorials. Freedom of expression is one of our most precious right without which there cannot be true democracy and as a consequence it will not ensure good governance. The threat to freedom of the press in Goa hangs like the proverbial sword of Damocles. The current government cannot be boasting of respecting the freedom of the press. The press is considered to be the watchdog of democracy. Sadly, there is scant regard for this truism in Goa though ironically, our country is the world's largest democracy. Tolerance levels are declining and arrogance is all-pervasive. More often than not, political power is used to further the cause of the power-hungry rather than to serve the masses. The press, on its part, should bear in mind that freedom of the press does not mean a license to write anything that suits those in power. This freedom is precious and it has to be used judiciously and fairly. When this freedom is misused to keep those in power content, the public respect for this profession is bound to diminish. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372