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.

It has always been easy for journalists to be sucked
into different political camps considering the
proliferation of politicians in the state. There are 40
MLAs, three MPs -- including one in the Rajya Sabha --
and scores of municipal/panchayat level 'leaders' for a
population of less than 1.4 million which includes the
Gulfies and shippies).

Even junior reporters easily manage to invite a
minister or two for family functions. Journalists are
also not above seeking the help of politicians to solve
problems even in their work