Behind the News: Voices from Goa\'s Press by Various
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Various >> Behind the News: Voices from Goa\'s Press
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Just imagine a user-driven economy in which the user
has to only pay attention; absolutely nothing else.
This improbable scenario has arrived in an increasingly
consumerist society with the birth of the 'free sheeter
', now making their presence felt in Goa too.
Unlike the mainstream broad-sheet and tabloid
newspapers, the user can take home a free-sheeter free
of cost and with no obligation, save the ethical one to
read it. There is no fine print to this free offer. The
offer does not read 'Do not pay anything for it now'
nor 'Nothing free'. The reader obtains a copy of the
free sheeter absolutely free of any financial
consideration, present or future.
There is also a greater freedom of expression in a free
sheeter since the publication is not tied to the apron
strings of a business house or interest group with
vested interests. The degree of freedom available to
the editor is almost boundless, though within the
limits of decency, propriety and libel laws. The editor
cannot be allowed to declare freedom from good sense
and decency. This is possible only because of the
multifaceted funding base that finances the free
sheeter and, often, the dedication of the editorial
team. A free-sheeter does not have to toe a line that
many of its bigger cousins make their way of life.
What is a free-sheeter?
A simple description of a free-sheeter is a periodical
(daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly) that is made
available to its readers at no financial consideration
whatsoever in terms of price, subscription, membership
or donation. (I will attempt no further definition and
I do not know is a proper definition exists for a free-sheeter.)
The lowest frequency expected of a free-sheeter is an
issue a month. Frequencies less than that tend to
render a free-sheeter irrelevant and it cannot sustain
its readership. It is the readership that justifies the
existence of a free sheeter and helps to draw funds to
finance its publication. The existence of the
readership is the raison d'etre of a free-sheeter.
News Content: People do not lose interest in issues
just because the mainstream newspapers and tabloids do
not carry them on their front-pages. There is always an
interest in the 'positive' things happening around us.
There is as much interest in the fisherman who saved
six persons from drowning as there is in the one person
that drowned while swimming at a beach side resort. The
drowning hogs the headlines in the mainstream
newspapers and tabloids. There is 'space' in the
free-sheeter to portray the hero of the event, the
humble fisherman who saved six lives. People want to
read about him even if he saved them simply because of
an impulse, or just because he could not bear to see
them die! Bravery and courage do not need to be
pre-qualified or rationalized. Brave deeds have a
readership in the land of Rana Pratap, Rani of Jhansi
and Shivaji, just as in the land of Napoleon Bonaparte
or George Washington or Nelson Mandela or Winston Churchill.
Local news is another 'blind spot' in mainstream
newspapers. This is often the result of the need to
make the newspaper meaningful to a wider readership.
You cannot focus on details when using a wide-angle
lens in your camera. The same holds good for a
newspaper. The free-sheeter, on the other hand, can be
like the 'camera lucida' and put local issues under the
microscope and draw out all the minute details.
While the newspaper only sees a fine air-conditioned
restaurant with a fantastic menu, the free-sheeter can
note that the cook uses the same broom to sweep the
floor and also to dispense oil on the king-sized hot
plate for making your favorite 'dosa'. A good
free-sheeter can give you the details that most
newspapers have no access to. In the local context, a
free-sheeter has an advantage.
The editorial team of a free-sheeter normally comprises
of local people. It is, thus, in a better position to
understand local nuances, culture and tradition. For
example, a woman who is topless may cause a riot in our
metropolitan cities; in some tribal areas, remote
Polynesian communities or the beach-front from Hawaii
to the Riviera, a topless woman may not even cause
anyone to raise an eyebrow, except if she is
exceedingly beautiful! The local perspective makes a
free-sheeter interesting to the local readership
because they can identify with it.
Local issues are of great interest to local readership.
What is being done about the water pipeline leak is
important to those living on the first floor of
buildings in the locality. Poor pressure in the
pipeline means that the water will have to go to a sump
and then be pumped up. Besides the cost, time and
effort, this could also lead to increased contamination
of water. A small pipeline leak in a neighbourhood has
no news value to a mainstream newspaper. It means the
world to the people in the locality that is affected.
Such issues have local news value and, hence, the
justification of a greater emphasis on local
readership. This is where a free-sheeter can step in.
Editorial Content: The right place to express one's
views is in the editorial and in the feed-back column.
It may be regarding the news or current issues or some
other matter of importance to the readers at that point
of time. The fact that a significant section of the
readership skips reading the editorial should make the
editors sit up and assess the relevance of the
editorials they write, or get written on their behalf.
Just as the front page is the 'face' of the periodical,
the editorial should be its 'heart', not a vestigial
organ like the appendix.
In the free-sheeter context, it would be appropriate to
put the editorial through the 'Four Way Test': "1. Is
it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will
it built goodwill and better friendship? 4. Will it be
beneficial to all concerned?" The editorial is about
opinions. The editor's views should not create ill-will
between possible groups in the local milieu. It can
have disastrous consequences for both, the readers and
the publishers.
Advertorial Content: The term 'advertorial' is fairly
new to me. It is the presentation of an advertisement
'outside the box'. The advertorial content of many
periodicals, both free and paid, has evolved so rapidly
that it is sometimes difficult it to separate it from
the news items. The 'lakshman rekha' (sacrosanct
dividing line) between the two has even blurred further
and some journalists palm off advertorials as 'news'.
The 'line of control' may have to be redefined before
newspapers become like the souvenirs issued at various
social events -- comprising almost entirely of
advertisements. This is specially true for a
free-sheeter that depends solely on advertising to
finance its publication. The temptation is great. Yield
to it with open arms and you will perish.
Advertisements: Front page advertisements vie with the
news items for space. Sometimes, the fascination with
the ear panels diminishes the prominence of even the
mast-head, the very name of the publication. Since the
cost of a front page advertisement is double (or more)
that of one on the inside pages, the temptation is to
accept maximum number of front page advertisements. It
is a constant battle between funds and readability,
between wealth and credibility. It is not rare to see
Mammon win the battle and it shows on the 'face' of the
free-sheeter that has two-thirds advertisements and
just one-third news content on page one.
Mast-head: The mast-head is the name-plate of the
periodical. Unlike the name of a person, whose traits
we do not know at birth, the name of a newspaper is
indicative of its purpose or focus. (For example, the O
Heraldo was the harbinger of news in Goa during the
pre-Liberation era and continues to this day with a
Goan accent; the Navhind Times brought in more national
level -- and nationalist -- news after 1961 ,while the
Gomantak Times has more of a state level flavor.)
Among the free-sheeters published in Goa, Vasco Watch
keeps a watchful eye on the happenings in Vasco while
the Plus group sheds 'positive light' on Mapusa,
Panaji, Margao and Ponda. A lot of thought goes into
condensing of the 'mission statement' of a newspaper or
periodical into two or three, easy-to-remember words.
The name seems easy in hindsight, but requires
considerable foresight and thinking to arrive at.
The mast-head must not only be good, it must look good,
too.
Proper designing of the mast-head, including the
selection of the font, is imperative. Ideally, the
mast-head should not be changed during the lifetime of
the periodical, even if the page design and layout is
changed to increase its visual appeal. The mast-head
must be the single-most prominent item on page one. All
attributes of the publication must be associated with
its mast-head. Once you see it, you must remember its
worth, its credibility and its readability.
Footer: The footer of a newspaper or free-sheeter comes
in fine print at the bottom of the last page. It is
inconspicuous to the casual reader. It gives the
details of the publisher, editor(s) and printer. This
is mandatory by law. In libel and defamation cases,
these names become the 'defendants' along with the
correspondent under whose by-line the news was
published. The Advertisements Standards Council of
India (ASCI) also knows who, besides the advertiser, to
go after for violation of the law. The footer also
gives the registration number of the newspaper with the
Registrar of Newspapers (RNI). Every free-sheeter has
to apply for registration through the District
Collector. The organization distributing and issuing
the free-sheeter is not free from responsibilities. The
footer is an acknowledgment that it knows its business
and how to mind it.
Organization: A free-sheeter is not like a
free-wheeling collection of articles and news reports.
Like any periodical it has to be organized into
sections like current news, issues, campus and club
news, entertainment, competitions, brain teasers, and
the like. Such a grouping of information makes it
easier to find the item one is looking for. A person
will first glance through the page that is likely to
contain information of interest to him or her. If it is
interesting, the copy will be picked up. Free-sheeters
are generally not 'delivered' at home; so each issue
has to pass the clinical test of reader's interest.
Layout: A tasty dish that is not presented well may be
left untouched on the buffet table. The same is the
case with a free-sheeter at the news stands or
distribution counter. It is not a monopoly. People who
have a choice exercise it. A good blend of visuals
(photos, illustration, and the like) and text makes a
copy appealing. Even advertisements can be used to
achieve this. If the publication has access to a layout
artist, it helps.
Advent of Free sheeters in Goa
Perhaps the first free-sheeter to hit Goa was Vasco
Watch, edited by Cmdr (Retd) A. Narayanan who is
associated with the group Citizen's Watch. His attempt
at Margao News was not half as successful, basically
because there was no significant local involvement and
input in Margao. Local involvement is the essence of a
free-sheeter. Perhaps, the Salcete News spread the
'local' context too wide and did not do too well, either.
Coming to North Goa, the pioneer was Panjim Pulse. In
my opinion it did not place its finger properly on the
pulse of the citizens in this thriving town and its
municipal council (now corporation). Its readership
should have crossed the ten thousand copies mark by
now, but the Panjim Pulse is nowhere to be seen. It
does not have a 'presence' that is so important for
survival. More than a year later came Panjim Plus,
which is doing reasonably well as a monthly
newsmagazine. Obviously, it could do better. Panaji is
such a 'happening' place that a weekly free-sheeter
could grow comfortably covering the cultural events,
exhibitions, sales, educational scene, etc. Perhaps,
the would-be journalists from the non-formal courses in
journalism at the Mushtifund Institute and elsewhere
will 'jam-up' to fill this void sooner rather than later.
The Plus series began with the Mapusa Plus on July 04,
2001, first as a fortnightly and later, after crossing
the quarter-century mark, as a monthly newsmagazine.
The trigger for this paper was a college student,
Rohini Swamy, who made a foray into journalism like a
meteor. She did so, before moving off as quickly, after
moving through a couple of local newsrooms. (Rohini is
back reporting for an outstation TV network, posted in
Goa.) It was Sapna Sardesai who sustained Mapusa Plus
production, while her co-directors in Wordsworth Communications
Ltd. led by Lester Fernandes generated the revenues by
'marketing' advertisement space. This writer have been
associated with this free-sheeter as its consultant
editor and mid-wife from the very first issue. Two
years and a little re-structuring later, the labour
pains are visible in Mapusa Plus, but, after 35 odd
issues, I do not know whether the issue will be
delivered or aborted. There is little that a midwife
can do if there is a congenital complication.
The Plus group also entered the Margao area
simultaneously with Panjim in December 2001. The Margao Plus
is as robust as its publisher, Roque Fernandes. From
August 2003, he has fathered the Ponda Plus through a
new partner, Diamond Publications. The Ponda Plus is
the first free-sheeter to start off with glossy art
paper and colour printing, not the humble black
printing on grey newsprint paper of all its
forerunners. It has got no competitors in its class in
Goa. The Ponda Plus has raised the ante. It has got
class, it has got good readership and it is still free.
Hard work pays, hard sell pays better. Roque is doing
both: hard work and hard sell. The results are visible
in black and white -- and in colour! The challenge now
is to do better than that and still be free.
What makes a free-sheeter tick: Ask any good physician
and he (or, as per the recent trend in MBBS graduation,
she) will tell you that one's circulation must be good.
Whether it is blood, air or free-sheeter, your health
depends on its 'circulation'. There is no other way. A
well produced free-sheeter is easier to circulate
because it is free. Once it has attracted the attention
and reached the hands of a potential reader, it will be
glanced through even if it is not read in detail.
That is a wonderful way to deliver a well-designed
advertisement to a potential buyer of any goods or
services. It makes more sense for a local shopkeeper or
institution to advertise in a 'local' free-sheeter than
a state-wide newspaper with ten times bigger
circulation (and, subsequently, far higher advertising
rates). Most free-sheeters have a circulation of 3,000
to 5,000 copies, a figure which ranks better than some
mainstream newspapers in Goa. A free-sheeter is a
better vehicle, less expensive and less bothersome to
handle than a 'flier' inserted in a newspaper for local
distribution. A flier is often discarded unread. Not so
with a free-sheeter. It pays to advertise in a
free-sheeter. The advertisements pay to keep the
free-sheeter alive and free.
Miguel Braganza Consultant Editor & Horticulturist,
Mapusa Goa.
Chapter 15:
Journalism in Goa: An outsider looks in
Shiv KumarShiv Kumar is a Mumbai-based journalist who
occasionally para-drops into Goa for some sun, sea and
opportunities to tilt at a few windmills there. A
journalist, a freelance and subsequently as a
full-timer since 1992, Shiv Kumar was the Goa
correspondent of The Indian Express from 1998 to 2000.
After moving back to Mumbai, he is with the Indo-Asian
News Service (IANS).
Today, happily there is a vast talent pool of
journalists among the Goan Diaspora that is making its
mark in news media across the world. The movement of
journalists from Goa to newsrooms across the globe is
perennial. The Middle East and the West are popular
destinations but then so is Mumbai: a popular stepping
stone to this peripatetic breed. Reporters, deskies,
the butterflies flitting through the features pages...
one can count first generation migrant Goans everywhere.
As a rookie reporter in Mumbai in the 1990s, lesson one
was about Goan journos fresh off the boat (the
Bombay-Goa steamer was a recent memory then) gladly
beginning at the bottom despite having done duty in one
of Goa's three English-language newspapers. Editors
marveled at the `material' coming out of Goa with
well-rounded exposure in a city where people are
quickly slotted into different 'beats'.
At first, one wondered why someone with several years'
experience in the profession was willing to take the
bullshit dished out by preppies all for a measly six
grand gross monthly. And just when we got used to
seeing their bylines, off to the Gulf the Goenkars went.
The penny dropped much later when one moved to Goa on
assignment. Poor pay and lousy working environments
surely could not make up for Goa's fabled joys of life.
But then Mumbai's charms too quickly faded in the face
of the daily grind one had to endure. So it was only a
matter of time before the Goans pulled up their posts
and set sail Westwards, to the Middle East and to other
uncharted territories.
One doesn't have to go too far -- only till the Goajourno
Mailing List
(http://indialists.org/mailman/listinfo/goajourno) --
to figure out how far the hack pack from Goa go. They
are out there in Bangkok bringing out a jumbo newspaper
for a community that can barely read English. In Fiji,
from where the Indian population flees after every coup
d'etat, journos of Goan origin move in the reverse
direction. In Stockholm, it was a Goan journalist who
found himself on the headlines while trailing the
killers of a Swedish Prime Minister.
So why do journalists from Goa bloom only on alien
terrain?
A conversation I had with the venerable Lambert Mascarenhas
comes to mind. Just settling in for a long chat at
someone's house at Dona Paula, Mascarenhas asked me why
I was not trying my luck outside. I told him about the
variety of experience I enjoyed as a journalist, the
wide range of stories I could do and the opportunities
to travel though the profession paid only slightly more
than my earlier employer, the government.
Free Goa's first English-language editor sighed, nodded
his head wisely and told me no newspaper in Goa would
ever send out a reporter even to cover a major event.
"And the money is so much better... the Gulf newspapers
pay so much more," Mascarenhas told me. Perhaps
Mascarenhas would have thought differently had
newspaper owners in Goa exhibited more commitment to
professionalism. Just browsing through the back issues
of Goa Today edited by Manohar Shetty proved to be an
eye-opener on what could have been.
With Devika Sequiera and others, the old Goa Today
turned out to be a delightful surprise. Well researched
and crisply written stories like the ones on the
protests against charter tourism in the early 1990s
were a joy to read long after the magazine became a
pale shadow of itself.
One saw similar flashes of the classic fire in the
belly kind of journalism during the agitation against
Meta Strips metal recycling plant four years ago. But
matters have since slipped back into the safe routine
of old. While mediapersons elsewhere in the country are
agitated over the loss of substance to the infusion of
style and gloss in the age of colour, it's prolonged
siesta time in Goa.
The English-language newspaper market ensures that the
readership is carved equally among both the players.
Just 2000 copies separate the number one daily oHeraldo
and the runner-up Navhind Times as per the latest Audit
Bureau of Circulation survey. But with neither of them
aiming to break out for total dominance there is little
investment either in editorial or in printing technologies.
Though tourism is major contributor to Goa's revenues,
the newspapers offer little to a visitor. The colour
and vitality of the tiny state simply does not reflect
in its English-language newspapers. Though it is the
beach belt that draws all the tourists, there is very
little coverage from these areas in the local
newspapers. As one senior journalist remarked to me,
Goa moves simultaneously on two parallel lines. And the
beach belt is a whole world away from the hinterland
that provides all of Goa's journalists. So the hotels
and the party scene appear rarely on their radar, and
that too only when disgruntled politicians in the area
rake up environmental or other issues.
There is a thriving party scene on the beach belt that
could have been happening on some other planet going
strictly by the newspapers in Goa. Purely as a
marketing play, newspapers here should be allocating
resources to ensure adequate coverage of the tourism
sector. There are any number of marketers eager to tap
the floating tourist population and the newspapers here
missing out on big opportunities.
But then even the coverage of day to day issues in
Goa's English-language newspapers leaves much to be
desired. During the two years I spent in Goa, I can
remember barely three or four memorable stories from
the state's three English-language newspapers. The
regional language newspapers, on the other hand, have
stolen a march over their English-language counterparts
as publications of record. A comprehensive coverage of
Goa, aided by a network of stringers spread all over
the state, ensured that the Marathi Tarun Bharat was a
newspaper of choice for anyone looking for a bird's
eye-view of Goa every morning.
Tarun Bharat's strategy to topple existing market
leader Gomantak by investing in people and technology
makes an interesting case study in the newspaper
business. With very little marketing muscle on the
lines of the Times group or Dainik Bhaskar to speak of,
the newspaper simply worked at reporting from the
grassroots to capture a leadership position in the
market. That Tarun Bharat has still not found favour
among Goa's Marathi-speaking intelligentsia is another story.
On the other hand, Goa's English-language newspapers
have sold out to petty politicians and the mining
lobbies as weightier examples from other contributors
to this e-book indicate. Lethargy runs so deep that
there is little coverage of even the staples like
society, courts, crime and health that form the
backbone of newspapers all over the world. Owners of
English-language newspapers here are so indifferent
that the photographers on the rolls have to bring their
own cameras to work -- something unheard off in the
mainstream media.
So the big stories in Goa are buried in two-para
dispatches from the mofussils. I still cannot figure
out why the dispute between a section of gaunkars in Cuncolim
and the Catholic Church received poor display in Goan
newspapers. Here was a big story of unresolved caste
conflicts that transcended religious conversion and
economic prosperity spread over half a millenium. Let
alone dwell on the academic angles in the edit pages,
Goa's English-language newspapers, barring the Herald,
downplayed the story. Even Herald's reportage consisted
of allegations and counter allegations from interested
parties with out any indepth coverage. I am happy to
say that my then newspaper, The Indian Express played
up my stories on the episode prominently as the anchor
on the front page nationally. Unfortunately even after
the national and international media picked it up,
there was little improvement in the coverage by the
local press.
Another story played out as a farce in Goa's
English-language newspapers: when former chief minister
Shashikala Kakodkar's estranged husband passed away,
the news received prominent display in all the major
English-language newspapers. Only the lady's
relationship with the deceased was suppressed in the obit!
With complete censorship, voluntary or otherwise, Goan
journalists seem to exist in a blissful state of
non-competitiveness. Trained to break stories and score
one on the competition, I was amazed at the unofficial
news pool system that operates at the Press Room at the
Panjim Secretariat. The twice-daily 'edit meets' at the
Adil Shahi palace ensures that only the very junior
reporters intimidated by the Press Room circle break
stories of any importance. One could depend on the
juniors at The Herald and Gomantak Times (under Ashwin Tombat
) to put out at least one readable story a day.
Understandably, Goa's newspapers survive on a staple of
political verbiage all generated from the safe confines
of the Press Room. Unverified allegations that would
not pass muster with even a trainee in a national
newspaper find play on the front pages. With no
facility to train journalists in the state, trainees
here look towards the Press Room as some kind of a
finishing school!
Over the years, the Press Room crowd have attached
themselves to the camps of different politicians. It's
a temptation common to journalists in every small town
and Goan journalists have fallen neck deep in it. With
nothing exciting enough, politics becomes the
all-consuming passion for 'senior journalists'. So the
current storm over journalists accused of obtaining
favours from the current BJP-run dispensation comes as
no surprise.
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