SAKAL... BUT IT'S STILL NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH

Guys… the newspaper/s which we did not do justice to during the run up to the last assembly elections was Dainik Gomantak and The Gomantak Times (taken over by the Sakal group sometime back). One of the major reasons is its virtual absence on the web. And the absence of a scanning machine made it difficult to put things up. In fact, their ready availability on the web, is one of the reason why we are so regular with posts on The Navhind Times and Herald.
Flashback… a political storm looming. And a lot of our journo brethren and the newspaper owners alike, are all ready on their respective terraces stretching out their lungis, loincloth, shirt fronts, all ready to harvest the windfall that should come their way any moment. Herald had already grabbed the pole and had begun the stripping act by publishing political ads under the BY HERALD REPORTER byline. The Navhind Times had followed suit, using a similar bylines.
The jingling tornado had already reached the doorsteps of the building that houses both the Dainik Gomantak and The Gomantak Times offices in St Inez, Panaji. And these guys didn’t just join in, they jumped in with a very San Joao fervour. Instead of pushing in those drab anonymous bylines, Dainik Gomantak chief reporter Sadguru Patil went the whole hog. Advertorial plugs which appeared in The Gomantak Times and the Dainik Gomantak carry Sadu’s bylines. This is the header of a plug on Vishwajeet Rane… (we’ve translated it from Marathi) Vishwajeet! ‘Top-class leadership’… You wanna know how the lead up to the interview went…
Here goes…
--‘Vishwajeet Rane is the altar of hope to the youth of Sattari. With his special skills he has managed to harness the youth to strengthen the hold of the Congress in the region. That is why the pradesh Congress has given him the responsibility of general secretary. He has done justice to this office. Now he is contesting as an independent candidate. He claims he will win from Valpoi. He also assured that he would work hard for the Congress in Bicholim and Sattari taluka.’

-- And here's how Sadu goes about setting the mood for the Manohar Parrikar interview...

--He has been referred to as the chief minister in waiting -- all set to take over the reigns of the state in just a matter of days. The countdown has begun! Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, in a free wheeling interview with Sadguru Patil highlights the achievements of his government and plans for the state.--

This is not journalism. This is prostitution with identity cards pinned to the chest. Its small mercy, that The Gomantak Times carried a small little ‘sponsored supplement’ tag to save them the blushes. Dainik Gomantak did not. But does a ‘sponsored supplement’ (check out the size of this caution on the scanned image with Parrikar’s pic) tag help? It may even have helped, had the story been credited to a name that has nothing to do with journalism. Some amateur enthusiast. But when a chief reporter’s byline (or that of a staffer associated with the newspaper family) claims ownership to such an article, it is just not healthy.

Contact nos
Chief reporter (Gomantak) Sadguru Patil: 9823312963/0832-2422701-04 (Gomantak board numbers)
Editor Dainik Gomantak, Sanjay Dhavalikar: 09822129348
Editor Gomantak Times, Derek Almeida: 09850209604
Gomantak Times board numbers: 0832-2422701-04