Finally we have a magazine and a web-portal that will help to bring out the experiences and expectations that the citizens and voters may have from the Government. Titled GovernanceNow – it is a fortnightly magazine from Sri Adhikari Brothers Group. The magazine is also supported by a web portal www.governancenow.com that is free to access by everyone. The web portal will be updated daily with exclusive video coverage. According to a release the magazine will also draw upon the best and relevant practices of civil society, research on social sciences, societal engagement by the corporate sector as well as forward thinking by bureaucracy and political leadership to examine issues and the themes of governance in the country with a view to setting the agenda for the future.
The magazine and the Web portal was inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit through the Governance Now Forum, at an event in Delhi held on January 27, 2010. The inauguration was followed by a panel discussion on e-governance where big shots like Prasanto Kumar Roy of CyberMedia, RS Sharma (CEO, UID), Manoj Chugh (CEO, EMC), Sumanta Pal (VP – Strategic Marketing, Sahaj) and a Magsaysay Award winner and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal shared their views.
This is the second such foray into the government cetric media space. Even earlier we covered a deal wherein igovernment.in a portal owned by Goose Fish Media Ventures was bought by 9.9 Media. They too had stated that they would look at a foray into the magazine side of business at a future date. This space suddenly seems to come into focus as the media space gains more influence over India and with Indians demanding results from the government. All in all it remains to be seen how these media portals actually end up being successful businesses.
