CM lauds move, says Goa news will go int’l
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday lauded the content sharing agreement between Fomento Media and Free Press Journal (FPJ), stating that this would enable news from Goa to reach national and international audiences.
He was addressing a gathering at an event in Dona Paula which witnessed the content sharing agreement signed between The Goan, Goan Varta and Konkan Saad of Fomento Media and The Free Press Journal and Navashakti.
Others present on the occasion included BJP State President Sadanand Shet Tanavade, Director of FPJ Ashok Karnani, President of FPJ Abhishek Karnani, Fomento Director Govind Bene, Fomento Media Director Joe Louis, Editor of Prudent Media Pramod Acharya, The Goan editor Joel Afonso, Goan Varta Editor Pandurang Gaonkar, Goan Varta Live Editor Kishor Naik Gaonkar and Konkan Saad Editor Sagar Chavan. Government officials and leading personalities from various companies and organisations were also present at the event.
Congratulating the two leading publication houses for inking the agreement, Sawant hoped that news from Goa and efforts and initiatives of the State government would receive publicity and boost the image of the State as part of efforts to make Goa the tourism capital of India.
The chief minister claimed that during the Covid pandemic, a number of news organisations and publications suffered losses and were forced to shut down.
“At a time when businesses are down, no one is prepared to make investments. However, Fomento Media not only rose to the occasion but took up the challenge to expand its media presence by launching the Goan Varta Live and a television channel for Sindhudurg for the benefit of viewers of Goa and Maharashtra, for which they deserve appreciation.”
The Chief Minister said the newspapers of Fomento Media deserved praise for their digital editions, thereby ensuring that news reached readers not only in Goa and Maharashtra, but across the world.
He also lauded the Konkani newspaper ‘Bhangarbuim’ of Fomento Media for striving to spread the Konkani language throughout the world.
CM highlighted the role of the Free Press Journal in bringing back memories of the role played by the paper in the freedom struggle.
President of FPJ Abhishek Karnani said Goa has been developing at a fast pace and it was a huge benefit to enter into an agreement with a reputed media organisation in Goa to exchange news content.
“With this agreement, tourists from India and abroad will get an opportunity to read news content from Maharashtra and across India,” said Karnani.
Fomento Director Govind Bene expressed confidence that Goans as well as residents of Maharashtra and the Konkan region would get an opportunity to read good quality news content.
The Goan Editor Joel Afonso stressed the need to reinvent and expand beyond boundaries in the wake of changing patterns of news consumption with social media and electronic media making massive forays.
He announced that The Goan will now be a 12-page daily with a weekend edition of 18 pages, providing a variety of content ranging from business, info-tech, health, entertainment and the glamour world of Hollywood and Bollywood.
Prudent Media Editor Pramod Acharya, Goan Varta Editor Pandurang Gaonkar and Konkan Saad Editor Sagar Chavan also spoke on the occasion. Fomento Media Director Joe Louis and Goan Varta Live Editor Kishor Naik Gaonkar compered the programme.
