It has always been the aim of Herald to be the newsiest edition that hits the stands in Goa every morning. And since the first day it rolled off the press on October 10, 1983, Herald, the daily English newspaper has lived up to the aim it had set for itself. Now, 37 years after that day, the newspaper looks forward to continuing in that fine tradition of being the Voice of Goa that will go to every corner of the State to uncover the issues that plague the people and give the silent masses the voice they so desperately need.
Never one to fight shy of taking the issues of the people to the battle ground, Herald has been that bulwark that the people of Goa have been able to depend on when faced with adversity that has befallen the State times innumerable. Just in the past weeks, Herald has chronicled the people’s movements against the projects that cast dark grey clouds of uncertainty over the Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary. As a government attempts to defend these projects and the thousands of trees that will be cut, the bold reportage of the Herald pointed out exactly how this will alter the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats.
That, however, was not the only story that Herald told these past months. Early this year Team Herald walked the forests of Sattari to investigate the killing of the tigress and her cubs. Less than a fortnight ago, Team Herald also walked along the banks of the River Mhadei and showed with pictures how the water has already been diverted, a pictorial presentation that led to the government to file a contempt petition against Karnataka in the Supreme Court. In between the Herald reporters have spanned the State uncovering stories that would otherwise have remained hidden, as for instance the purchase of medicines and equipment for the COVID-19 pandemic at rates far above the market price.
Nothing can stop Herald’s reporting, not even the pandemic was able to throw a spanner into the presses that printed out the paper through the lockdown and beyond. At a time when there was an air of palpable uncertainty hanging thick in the air, Herald made sure its readers got only the truth about the COVID-19 situation in the State.
Herald, however, does not look only back and at the present, it also has its eye on the future and is always looking to present a sustainable vision for Goa. As we entered into the 2020s, the newspaper published a series of articles presenting Goa with a roadmap for the decade across various sectors in the series entitled Agenda Goa 2020-2029. Experts in the fields gave their views to Team Herald that then put together a concise and easy to understand report for the people.
An anniversary is always an opportunity to renew the commitment that Herald has made to Goa and to the Goemkar – the pledge to be the Voice of Goa – with the same high quality of journalism that has been the hallmark of the paper these past 37 years, and altogether for 120 years since its earlier avatar – O Heraldo – first reached people’s doorsteps in January 1900. We, at Herald – the management, the journalists, the administrative, circulation, marketing staff and the printers – can never forget the legacy that we have inherited from those principled men who launched a daily newspaper with an idealism that remains unmatched. Our efforts today, are a tribute to them and a fight for the people of Goa who aspire for a better tomorrow, just as the pioneers of this paper did 120 years ago. Whatever the hurdles, Herald will surmount them, for we take very seriously that catchphrase on our masthead that says ‘The Voice of Goa – since 1900’.