An 'Opinion Gag' appears to have now been put in place by some goan newspapers that claim to swear by the Goan cause. This is Goa's media crisis. Fifty years of manufacturing consent in favour of whosoever is convenient to maintain the political and caste status quo. Certain opinions in newspapers have been spoiling the party for some of the veteran political fixers that operate from the commercial hub of South Goa.
We are not new to these games. In 1991-92 a similar white washing was conducted when a journalist Arnold Pinto exposed the pollution of a polluting industry at Porvorim. All it took was a one day lunch and ....... at a Motel to publish a one column report in the centre of the front page that the industry is legal and the topic is closed. The other side of the story never appeared thereafter. That the industry was shut down after being directed to re-locate in an industrial estate was enough proof of the lies of the then chief reporter , now late, who was projected as daring and upright by his chellas in media.
Thereafter, a 20 year struggle against the corruption in Socorro Village Panchayat saw press reports sent by late journalist Umesh Mahambre landing in the dustbin in the pasting section of another newspaper. That the Sarpanch was finally removed for corruption in 1999 by the then Director of Panchayats late Mr. G.G. Kambli is history.
The massive 20-point housing scam that got unearthed in Socorro village and then exposed in other areas in South Goa was also played down by certain sections of the media that had friends and relatives who were beneficiaries of this corruption.
The massive fraud of 2 crores and more in the Serula Communidade which was unearthed by the then Administrator in 1999 was also hushed up as several government servants and relatives of media persons including media houses were benficiaries of this corruption. That letters to the editor on the recent raid on the same communidade are not being published is enough proof of the hypocrisy in the media.
A young reporter from a newspaper who wanted to know about the report of the Commission somewhere in 2001 appointed by High Court in 2 PIL's regarding violations in grant of land under Serula Communidade, just ran away after showing her the remarks of the commission in the case of a former Chief Secretary, law secretary, collector and some others. Not a word was published about the 40 such cases of land grants to government officials which were pointed out by the Commission.
That there exists a ban on publishing any news concerning Soter D'Souza in one newspaper at least because of the association with Peaceful Society which is also in the black list of the newspaper for not subscribing to the Bihari designs is yet another proof of the media games in Goa.
That conscientious news reporters slip reports without the names is all together another story and is the greatness of these reporters.
But our opinions will continue to be put out on http://sotersgoa.blogspot.com/ and on other mailing groups. Truth shall be shouted out from the roof tops.
-Soter
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