1

What is a Newspaper?

A
newspaper is a written publication containing news, information
and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called
newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on
political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and
sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing
columns which express the personal opinions of writers. Supplementary
sections may contain advertising, comics, coupons, and other printed media.
Newspapers are most often published on a daily or weekly basis, and they
usually focus on one particular geographic area where most of their readers
live. Despite recent setbacks in circulation and profits newspapers are still
the most iconic outlet for news and other types of written journalism.
 2

Journalism: A Brief History

The Early Times
If journalism is circulation of news then it was in existence even when
there was no printing. We can say that it was in existence when even the
writing was not known. The Autrlycus of the olden times was living
newspaper, for he circulated the news wherever he went. The kings
employed ‘Heralds’, who gathered the people in the square by beating drums
and transmitted the commands of the king to them. Some kings like
Hamurabbi inscribed the commandments on the stone pillars for the people
to read. We can call them newspapers which are still in existence. In those
days mass communication was possible only with the help of the town
criers, heralds, stone pillars, stone tablets (of the Ten Commandments),
manuscripts and parchments. These were the newspapers when printing was
not known.

The First Newspapers

The Chinese were the first to bring out newspaper. They had ‘Court
Gazette’ which gave the news about the Chinese Emperor’s court. It was the
first official gazette in the world. Chinese people also knew the use of
moveable type. The mention of this gazette can be traced back to the
fifteenth century.

In Europe, the early newspapers were newsletters. They could be read

for one ‘gazetta’ (a small coin) which latter on gave them the name gazette.
This was in italy. They spread to other European countries afterwards. The
English newspapers were four pages long. These newsletters developed into
‘corantos’. By the end of 1655, ‘Oxford Gazette’ appeared’ which was
printed by the Royal Authorities.

Daily newspapers began to appear by the 18th century. The

establishment of democracy helped the newspapers to develop rapidly.
‘Daily Courant’ came out on 11th March, 1702. it could not survive but a
man called Buckely revived it.

The 18th century saw the development of Defoe, swift and Fielding as
journalists. Defoe’s ‘Review’ was popular. Dr. Johnson came up with ‘The
Rambler’ and ‘The Idler’. Johnson wrote reports of the 18th centurt. There
was politics only for the newspapers of the 18th century. There was a number
 3

of newspapers. The king imposed strict laws regarding the press. Thos
ignoring the laws were severely punished. Benjamin Harris was one such
journalist who was punished more than once. Later he fled to America and
started America’s first newspaper.

For the men of letters, the social changes, the political set-ups were as
important as their literary talks in the coffee house. They wrote outstanding
literary essays in those days.

In England the journalistic traditions are deep rooted. There are

glorious examples like ‘TheTimes’. This was started by John Walter in
1784. It was the ‘Daily Universal Register’ at that time. The times became
very popular in later days when technology was applied. It has man firsts to
its credits.

The first American newspaper was from Boston. It was edited and
published by a postmaster ‘Jhon Campbell’. The first issue of his ‘Boston
Newsletter’ came out in 1704. This contained news item from the English
newspapers. Later on many other newspapers followed. But the most
noteworthy was the ‘Sun’ which began in 1833. the new era was begun by
‘New York Times’ in 1851. from the very beginning New York Times was
for the common man. It was keen on accuracy and fairness. New York
Times gained popularity very fast and very soon became the people’s
favourite.

Joseph Pulitzer, who became a legend in the word of newspapers

started ‘Post Dispatch’ in 1878. Pulitzer guided his staff and gave new
dimension to the reportings. He wanted his men to do something exclusively
every day.

America has come a long was off since then. Now some of the papers
have more than 100 pages to their issues.

The other European countries also had newspapers. The british carried
the spirit of journalism into their colonies. ‘The Printing Press of
Guttenberg’ started a revolution which rocked the whole world and made
mass communication.
 4

Journalism in India

P ortuguese were the first to bring printing technology to India. The

Catholic missionaries used this technology to spread the message for
Christianity among the natives. They used to circulate the leaflets among
them. Although it cannot be described as journalism, it was the beginning of
a new era of mass communication.

The First Newspaper in India:

James Augustus Hicky launched the first newspaper in India. It was

the ‘Bengal Gazette’ or ‘Calcutta Genral Advertiser’. It came out on 29th
January, 1980 in Calcutta. It

retained news taken from English newspapers, letters from readers and
gossips meant for the high society of Europeans in Calcutta. Hicky, himself
used to write a column through which he talked with the readers. Hicky was
supported by a group of Englishmen, who wanted him to attach regularly
‘Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India’ Hicky mentioned
Hastings as “Mr. Wronghead’, the Dictator etc. he and his newspaper
became very unpopular with administration. All the important personalities
of Calcutta appeared in Hicky’s paper under nicknames. Hastings finally
filed cases against him. He has to suffer imprisonment. While Hicky was in
prison, the paper continued. Finally in 1782, the press was seized and hicky
was deported to England. That was the end of Hicky’s Gazette.
 5

Thereafter a number of periodicals followed. Bombay Herald, in 1791

in Bombay, Madras Courier in Madras. In the beginning most of these
newspapers stalwarts were British. One particular name among them stands
apart from the others. It was James Buckingham, who was the real champion
of the freedom of press. He came as an editor of ‘ Calcutta Chronicle’. He
gave local reporters and newsletters and brought in, the native colour in
Indian Journalism. Because of his principled views, he was deported to
London.

The first Indian journalist was Gangadhar Bhattacharya of another

‘Bengal Gazette’ of 1816. But the force behind him was Raja Ram Mohan
Roy. Ram Mohan Roy launched Samvad Kaumudi, Mirat-ul-Akhbar and
Brahminical Magazine in order to answer the attacks on Hindustan by
Serampore Baptist in their periodicals, ‘Dig Darshan’ and ‘Samachar
Darpan’. Ram Mohan Roy’s Journals were shot lived but his attacks were so
vehement that the Government had to impose restrtictons on the press by
Vernacular Press Act of 1878. Ram Mohan Roy later turned to social
reforms movement in which he was supported by the British government.

The first Marathi periodical was launched by Balshastri Jambekar,

titled ‘Darpan’. Maharashtra produced a number of journalists like
‘Lokhitwadi’, ‘Chiplunkar’, ‘M.G. Ranade’, ‘Lokmanya Tilak’, ‘G.G.
Agarkar’ etc. Some like Lokhitwadi and Agarkar devoted themselves to the
cause of social reform. Dadabhai Naoroji, the veteran leader was a force
behin ‘Stri Bodh’.

Lokamanya Tilak’s carrer as a journalist was superb. His in Marathi

and ‘Maratha’ in English were widely read. His editorials were in the
simplest
of
language
and the
literally
turned
the lives of people to nationalistic spirit. Many a times the British raided the
oress, Tilak was arrested and tried. Kesari enjoyed. Its every issue was
translated and read by British authorities to find out obletctinable material.
Kesari became the voice of the people, an organ of National Movement.
 6

‘Amrith Bazar Patrika’, started by Gosh brothers in Calcutta in 1860,

often evoked the wrath of the Govt. With a zeal, that is unmatched in
history, Gosh brothers continued the publication. They were jailed and
sentenced with heavy fines. The issues were confiscated and burnt down but
they never gave up. Amrit Bazar Patrika is still going on. The Hindu of
Madras was started in 1865. Their fight against injustice of the government
was still on. ‘The Times of India’ launched in 1838, was Bombay times in
the beginning. Because of its English Management it was pro-British. It
never praised the national leaders, but always tried to justify the actions of
the British Government. It had a consistent readership so even the national
leaders sometimes expressed their sentiments in the ‘Times’. After
independence Times of India became Indian in its outlook.

The Indian press has played a very important role in the Indian
National Movement. It was Mahatma Gandhi, who dominated the Indian
political score for a good number of years. He was a journalist. He published
‘Indian Opinion’ when he was in South
Africa (1904). After coming to India, he
conducted Navjeevan in Gujarati, Young
India in English and Harijan also in
English. He was a busy person who along
with his training of Satyagrahis wrote on a
number of subjects. He was journalist who
touched all the subjects from philosophy,
economics, politics, literature and
sociology. Because of his busy schedule,
the issues were often late but people
eagerly awaited them and then had the
power of changing the life style of people.
And after Tilak, he was another politician, who wrote in very simple
language which touched the hearts of the readers.

Jawaharlal Nehru wrote for the National Herald. His father Motilal
Nehru had been running a newspaper titled ‘Independent’, Lala Lajpat Rai
was the force behind ‘Punjabee’. Aurobindo Ghosh edited ‘ Vande Matarm’
and Dr. Annie Besant was editing ‘New India’.
 7

It is impossible to name all the newspapers that were statrted and run
by the leaders of the Indian Freedom Struggle. But in brief we can say than
the press of India was brace and fearless and although the British tried their
best to suppress the voice of the press by imposing restrictions, fining and
jailing journalists, the fight was kept on. The press tried to awaken the
people, the political, social and economic realities were put before the
people with courage unmatched in the history of the world.

After Independence:

After Independence the role of the press was different. Formally,

freedom of the country was the sole objective. Now, the task was more
difficult. Leaders like Pandit Nehru felt that the responsibilities of the press
now increased a lot. There was a lot to do. So the press had though time
right ahead.

First of all’ some journalists like Frank Morses of Times of India felt
that ‘since Nehru was virtually with no opposition in Parliament----the press
should take it upon itself to function as an unofficial opposition outside
Parliament, exercising that role with responsibility and circumspection’

Nehru who himself was appointed to decide the rights of the press.
The Press Council was established in 1965. It was having statutory
authority. It had 20 members nominated by the Newspaper organizations.
The working Journalists Act of 1956 recognized working journalists as
Industrial workers.

The declaration of emergency in 1975 by the government of Mrs.

Indira Gandhi, was an attempt to suffocate the press. A number of journalists
invited the warmth of the government. Mrs. Gandhi did not trust the press. A
worst kind of pre-censorship was imposed on the press. Some papers
literally came with blank spaces. The ‘Hindu’ could not publish its editorial.

Indian Express group of Newspapers fought gallantly and with

determination with the government during the period of Ramnath Goneka,
the proprietor of Indian Express was hailed as a hero of his brave struggle
for the freedom of the press. In the case of Express Newspapers Vs Union of
 8

India, the Supreme Court held that freedom of the press was an essential part
of the right of freedom of speech and expression.

The Regional Newspapers:

The first Hindi daily was ‘Samacha Subha Varshan’(1854). Nav
Bharat Times is the largest circulated daily in Hindi. There were 149 dailies
in Hindi upto 1964, the earliest Bengali journal was ‘Samachar Darpan’
1818. Bengali press is the third largest in the country. In 1982, the number
was 1537, the Centenarian. ‘Amrit Bazar Ptrika’ produced eight editions
daily. In Malayalam, ‘Malayala Manorama’ has done a century. It was
started as a weekly in 1890. It has played a big ole in the freedom
monement. There are around 800 periodicals in Kerala. In Marathi,
Balshashtri Jambhekar started the first Marathi journal ‘Darpan’. Veteran
journalists like G.H.Deshmukh, M.G. Ranade, B.G. Tilak, Chiplonkar,
Khadilkar dominated the scene for a number of years. Kannada journalism
started with ‘Mangaloora Samachara’ in Mangalore in 1843. ‘Sanyukta
Karnataka’ of Hubli was the voice of the people during the freedom
movement. It was started in 1929, in Telugu, ‘Andhra Prakasika’, (1885)
was the first Tamil periodical. ‘Tugluk’ by Cho Ramaswami enjoys a good
readership. Up to 1983, there were 820 newspapers in Tamilnadu.

The News Agencies:

The Associated Press (AP), United International (UPI) of United

States, Reuters of Great Britain, Tass of Russia are the big agencies which
supply news. They have a world wide network and can receive news from
all corners of the world.

There was no domestic news agency in India. Reuter’s, news cables

started coming in 1865 and its office was set up in 1866, it was K.C. Roy,
who contacted like minded correspondents and Associated Press of India
(API) was born in 1908. As it grew, Reuters swallowed it. As roy was under
financial pressure. He could not do anything to save API. So it was annexed
by Reuters.

Free Press of India News Agency, was another attempt by S.

Sadanand of Free Press. It was in 1927 but the government tried its best to
suppress its voice by imposing censorship. Newspapers were not ready to
publish news supplied by Free Press News Agency because they feared thet
it would be invoke the wrath of the British government.
 9

Another news agency the United Press of India emerged in 1933.

When FPI was in trouble one of its representative Bindhu Bhushan
Sangupta, with the support from some influential leaders started it.
Gradually, it grew. Many of its employees were form FPI. These domestic
news agencies were helpful in bringing in news of national importance.

Press Trust of India came into existence around 1946 and was
incorporated on 27th August 1947. Ramnath Goneka and S. Sadanand of
Free Press, had presented a memorandum in 1945, that there should be and
independent news agency. There was no mention of ‘API’ because they did
not want Reuter’s interference. But slowly PTI took over the operations for
API.

Now Indian Express, Times of India, Hindu and other big newspapers
have their own service. Again when the government tried to curb the
freedom of press, during the emergency, ‘Samachar’ was formed. But it was
eventually over and again the Press breathed free air.

Today, according to one international institute, the Indian Press is the

most free press in Asian countries.
 10

FREEDOM STRUGGLE AND

THE PRESS

R ight from the beginning the Indian Press has been fighting for the
national causes. James Augustus Hicky of the Bengal Gazette was not a
patriot. He had failed in other businesses so he thought of starting a
newspaper. The first issue of Bengal Gazette called itself a ‘weekly political
and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none’. Hicky
called Warren Hastings, the Governor General as ‘Sir F. Wronghead,’ the
Great Moghul. He indulged in gossips and hateful attacks on the authorities.
Hastings took action against him and Hicky was sent to jail for defamation.
Although it lived for only two years, Bengal Gazette was a sensation among
Calcutta readers.
 11

This first newspaper of India was strictly against the establishment

and set an example for many other journals which followed it. It was one
man’s battle (He was supported by some influential men in England) against
the East India Company.

The Indian Herald made an appearance and disappeared in no time. Its

editor was prosecuted by the Govt.

Surendranath Bannerjee founded and edited ‘Bengalee’. Bipn Chandra

Pal influenced the public opinion through ‘New India’ and Vande Mataram’.
Bannerjee was a moderate, but Pal was an extremist in views. Aurobindo,
Tilak and Lajpat Rai were with him. Pal was the editor of Pandit Motilal
Nehru’s paper ‘The Independent’. He resigned from that paper when
Mahatma Gandhi began to dominate Indian Politics.

In Kerala ‘Malayala Manorama’ went on fighting against the social

evils as well as the political oppressions. Kesava Menon of ‘Mathrubhumi’
did the best in conveying the message of Gandhi and creating awareness
regarding freedom movement amongst the people. Marathi journalism has a
glorious chapter written by Tilak, Agarkar, N.C. Kelkar, A.B. Kolhatkar and
others. Gujrati journalism saw Mahatma Gandhi as a journalist in
‘Navjeevan’, besides K.M. Munshi. In Kannada a number of newspapers
like Vishwakarnataka (1921) did great work during the freedom struggle.
‘Samyukta Karnataka’ was the voice of the people during the National
Movement.

The Telugu journalism had to be carried outside the Nizam’s State.

Andhra Patrika (1908) was started in Bombay. It helped in creating awarness
amongst the Telugu speaking regarding the Freedom struggle and Gandhian
philosophy.

‘Swadwshmitran’ was the Tamil version of ‘The Hindu’. C.R.

Shrinivasan was a remarkable editor, who through his editorials commented
on and educated in te political issues.

The history of journalism in India is full of instances of bravery,

courage and determination. For Gosh Brothers of Amrit Bazar Patrika, it was
a selfless mission of patriotism. Jail and fine was the lot for the nationalist
Press. For ‘Kesari’ of Tilak every issue was a trial.
 12

The pages of history cannot be written without mentioning the Indian

Press.
 13

THE NEWSPAPERS IN INDIA

The Times of India:

The Times of India was founded on November 3, 1838 as The

Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, and served the British
colonists of western India. It adopted its present name in 1861. Published
every Saturday and Wednesday, The
Bombay Times and Journal of
Commerce were launched as a bi-
weekly edition. It contained news from
Europe, the Americas, and the
Subcontinent, and was conveyed
between India and Europe via regular
steamships. The daily editions of the
paper were started from 1850 and by
1861, the Bombay Times was renamed
The Times of India. In the 19th
century this newspaper company
employed more than 800 people and
had a sizable circulation in India
and Europe. Originally British-
owned and controlled, its last British editor was Ivor S. Jehu, who resigned
the editorship in 1950. It was after India's Independence that the ownership
of the paper passed on to the then famous industrial family of Dalmiyas and
later it was taken over by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain group
from Bijnore, UP.

The Times of India is published by the media group Bennett, Coleman

& Co. Ltd. This company, along with its other group companies, known as
The Times Group, also publishes The Economic Times, Mumbai Mirror, the
Navbharat Times (a Hindi-language daily broadsheet), the Maharashtra
Times (a Marathi-language daily broadsheet).

In January 2007, the Kannada edition of the paper was launched in

Bangalore.
 14

The company has launched a controversial new business initiative,

called "Private Treaties," offering to take an equity stake in a company in
exchange for advertising.

Supplements

The Times of India comes with several city-specific supplements,

such as Delhi Times, Bombay Times, Lucknow Times, Bangalore Times etc.

Other regular supplements include:

• Times Wellness
• Education Times
• Times Ascent
• Mumbai Mirror
• Times Life

Mumbai Mirror:

Mumbai Mirror is a compact newspaper in the city of Mumbai. Its

first issue was published on 2005-05-30 by the Times Group, the publishers
of The Times of India newspaper.

The newspaper was launched at the Gateway of India by Vilasrao

Deshmukh, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Abhishek Bachchan on
2005-05-29.

The Mumbai Mirror was launched by

The Times Group after Hindustan Times and
DNA announced plans to enter the Mumbai
market. Mumbai Mirror was advertised and
publicised in its own sister media networks
like The Times of India, Bombay Times, and
Radio Mirchi.

The Times of India published a story in

its business section which said that it had a circulation of 1.5 lakhs while
Mid-day's circulation had dropped to 1.24 lakhs. This led to a counter attack
by Mid-day claiming that Mumbai Mirror was an "Unqualified flop
 15

according to industry sources". It also filed a compaint with Audit Bureau of

Circulation, (ABC) of which both Mid-day and Times are members. The
Mid-day complaint says that the Times report has damaged its business
interests.

The Mid-day report also featured a newspaper agent who claimed that
the Mumbai Mirror is being sold as 'raddi' (scrap paper) since there are no
buyers.

The Mirror's main rival is the Mid-day newspaper. Though TOI has
successfully captured Mid-day's market by offering the Mirror free with
their regular newspaper. The Times of India, of late, has itself been alleged
to be going the tabloid way by indulging in sensational journalism rather
than real news.

MiD-DAY:

MiD DAY is an afternoon newspaper in India with editions in

Mumbai (Bombay), Bangalore and Delhi. It was established in 1979 as in a
family owned newspaper in Mumbai.

MiD DAY is owned by Mid Day Multimedia Ltd., a publishing house

listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange as Mid-
Day Multimedia Limited. It publishes
newspapers in three languages:
English, Gujarati and an Urdu
newspaper called Inquilab. It also has
a special Sunday edition, the Sunday
MiD DAY. Inquilab, was the first
paper of the group in Urdu, was born
in the fervour of idealistic
nationalism in 1938. MiD DAY was
launched in 1979, in English.

The Mumbai newspaper publishes

two editions: An early morning and a
noon edition. Its slogan is, Make
Work Fun. The current editor of the
Mumbai edition is Lajwanti D'souza.
 16

Mid- Day is the very essence of Mumbai. If it is in Mid- Day then it is

happening. Unless it is in Mid-Day it is not news!! I may sound biased but
this is true for any true to heart Mumbaikar. It is an afternoon paper, and is
way ahead of any other afternoon paper in Mumbai. The supplements it has
are very informative. Mid-Day List tells you all about the events, movies
and entertainment news tec. Mid-Day Classified is an epic for job hunters
and any other type of advertisers. Mid-Day Hot-property is all about real
estate and property in and around mumbai. Mid-day caters to the suburbs of
Mumbai as well. It has Metro Mulund, Thane, Borivli, Chembur, Malad,
Bandra, Ghatkopar, Lokhandwala and Vashi. These supplements are out
once a week and have a very local, suburban flavour. The mid-day
crossword is also a fav of many. This paper is read by one and all. This is the
paper that everyone reads, that everyone quotes, that everyone is familiar
with. This paper has become a habit for Mumbaiites.

HINDUSTAN TIMES:

Hindustan Times (HT) is a leading newspaper in India, published

since 1924 with roots in the independence movement. Hindustan Times is
the flagship publication of HT Media Ltd. It has a nation wide reach in India
(barring Southern India), with simultaneous editions from New Delhi,
Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and Kolkata. It is also printed from Bhopal and
Chandigarh. The print lo cation of Jaipur was discontinued from June 2006.
HT has also launched a youth daily HT Next in 2004. The Mumbai edition
was launched on 14th July 2005.

Other sister publications of Hindustan Times are Mint (English

business daily), Hindustan (Hindi Daily), Nandan (Monthly children's
magazine) and Kadambani (Monthly literary magazine). The media group
also owns a radio channel Fever and organises an annual Luxury Conference
which has featured speakers like designer Diane Von Furstenberg,
shoemaker Christian Louboutin, Gucci CEO Robert Polet and Cartier MD
Patrick Normand.

Hindustan Times was founded in 1924 by Master Sunder Singh

Lyallpuri, founder-father of the Akali Movement and the Shiromani Akali
Dal in Punjab. S Mangal Singh Gill (Tesildar) and S. Chanchal Singh
(Jandiala, Jullundur) were made in charge of the newspaper. Pt Madan
 17

Mohan Malayia and Master Tara Singh were among the members of the
Managing Committee. The Managing Chairman and Chief Patron was
Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri himself.

K. M. Panikkar was its first Editor with Devdas Gandhi (son of

Mahatma Gandhi) also on the editor's panel. The opening ceremony was
performed by Mahatma Gandhi on September 15, 1924. The first issue was
published from Naya Bazar, Delhi (now Swami Sharda Nand Marg). It
contained writings and articles from C. F. Andrews, St. Nihal Singh,
Maulana Mohammad Ali, C. R. Reddy (Dr. Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy),
T. L. Vaswani, Ruchi Ram Sahni, Bernard Haton, Harinder Nath
Chattopadhyaya, Dr Kichlu and Rubi Waston etc.

It has its roots in the independence movement of the first half of the
twentieth century. It was edited at times by
many important people in India, including
Devdas Gandhi (the son of Mahatma Gandhi)
and Khushwant Singh. The current editor
of the newspaper is Vir Sanghvi.

The Delhi- based English newspaper,

Hindustan Times, is part of the KK Birla
group and managed by Shobhana Bhartia,
granddaughter of GD Birla. It is owned by
HT Media Ltd. The KK Birla group at present
owns 69 per cent stake in HT Media,
currently valued at Rs 834 crore.

When Bhartia joined Hindustan Times

in 1986, she was the first woman chief executive of a national newspaper.

HT has a good track record at the IFRA and has won several awards
this year.
 18

THE HINDU:

The Hindu, India's national newspaper, has the second largest

circulation for a single-edition newspaper in India, and the largest circulation
for a single-edition English-language newspaper in the country. With a
circulation of 1.17 million copies, The Hindu has its largest base of
circulation in South India, especially Tamil Nadu. Begun in 1878, it was
founded on the principles of fairness and justice. Headquartered at Chennai
(formerly called Madras), The Hindu was published weekly when it was
launched and started publishing daily in 1889.

The Hindu became, in 1995, the first Indian newspaper to offer an

online edition. The Hindu is the most circulated periodical in India with a
circulation of 1,102,783 copies, according to the Registrar of Newspapers
for India (The Sunday Times of India is second with a circulation of
1,038,954 copies).

The Hindu is published from 12 locations - Bangalore, Chennai,

Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Madurai, Mangalore,
Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
According to Indian Readership Survey 2007, Round 1, The Hindu has a
readership of 2.2 million.

Reviews

The Times, London choose it as one of the world's ten best

newspapers in 1965. Discussing each of its choices in separate articles, The
Times wrote:
“The Hindu takes the general seriousness to lengths of severity... The
Hindu which is published in Madras is the only newspaper which in spite of
being published only in a provincial capital is regularly and attentively read
in Delhi. It is read not only as a distant and authoritative voice on national
affairs but as an expression of the most liberal - and least provincial -
southern attitudes... Its Delhi Bureau gives it outstanding political and
economic dispatches and it carries regular and frequent reports from all state
capitals, so giving more news from states, other than its own, than most
newspapers in India... It might fairly be described as a national voice with a
southern accent. The Hindu can claim to be the most respected paper in
India.”
 19

In 1968, the American Newspaper Publishers' Association awarded The

Hindu its World Press Achievement Award. An extract from the citation
reads
“Throughout nearly a century of its publication The Hindu has exerted
wide influence not only in Madras but throughout India. Conservative in
both tone and appearance, it has wide appeal to the English-speaking
segment of the population and wide readership among government officials
and business leaders... The Hindu has provided its readers broad and
balanced news coverage, enterprising reporting and a sober and thoughtful
comment... [It] has provided its country a model of journalistic excellence...
[It] has fought for a greater measure of humanity for India and its people...
[and] has not confined itself to a narrow chauvinism. Its Correspondents
stationed in the major capitals of the world furnish The Hindu world-wide
news coverage... For its championing of reason over emotion, for its
dedication to principle even in the face of criticism and popular disapproval,
for its confidence in the future, it has earned the respect of its community, its
country, and the world.”

Supplements:

* On Mondays
Metro Plus
Business Review
Education Plus
* On Tuesdays
Metro Plus
Education
Book Review
* On Wednesdays
Metro Plus
Job Opportunities
* On Thursdays
Metro Plus
Science, Engineering, Technology & Agriculture

* On Fridays
Friday Features covering cinema, arts, music and entertainment
Young World,

* On Saturdays
 20

Metro Plus and Property Plus.

* On Sundays
Weekly Magazine covering social issues, art, literature, gardening,
travel, health, cuisine, hobbies etc.
Open Page
Literary Review, every first Sunday.

THE INDIAN EXPRESS:

The Indian Express is an Indian newspaper owned by Ramnath

Goenka. It was started in 1931 by Chennai based Veradharajulu Naidu. After
his death the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two
with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while
the old Indian Express name was retained in the northern editions based in
Mumbai with a prefix "The". It is published in all major Indian cities.

The Indian Express is owned by the Indian Express Group, which also
owns other newspapers in India such as the Financial Express, a newspaper
focused on the Indian economy, stock markets, and fiscal policies. The
group has other publications such as Screen weekly, the Marathi-language
daily Loksatta, and the Hindi daily Jansatta.

Indian Express was started by an Auyurvedic doctor and Congress

Party member Varadarajulu Naidu in 1932 at Chennai (then Madras)
published by his “Tamil Nadu” press. But soon under financial difficulties
he sold it to S.Sadanand, founder of the Free Press Journal, a national news
agency.

In 1933 The Indian Express opened its second office in Madurai and
launched the Tamil edition Dinamani. Sadanand introduced several
innovations and reduced the price, but was later forced to sell part of the
stake in form of convertible debentures to Ramanath Goenka due to financial
difficulties. Later when the free press journal collapsed in 1935 Sadanand
lost the ownership of Indian Express after a long controversial Court battle
with RNG, where blows were exchanged between some of the parties.
Finally a year later RNG Ramanath Goenka to buy the rest of the 26% stake
from Sadanand, and the paper came under Goenka's control who took the
already anti-establishment tone of the paper to greater heights. Also at that
time it had to face stiff competition from a well established The Hindu and
 21

the Mail besides other prominent newspapers. In late 1930s the circulation
was no more than 2000.

In 1939 it also bought out Andhra Prabha, another prominent Telugu

Daily. Later it gained the name Three Musketeers for the three dailies. In
1940 the whole premises were gutted by fire. The Hindu, its rival, helped
considerably in re-launching the paper, by getting it printed temporarily at
one of its Swadesimithran’s press and later offering its recently vacated
premises at 2, Mount Road later to become the landmark Express Estates.
This relocation also helped the Express obtain better high speed printing
machines, while some claimed the Goenka had deliberately set fire to escape
financial embarrassment.

In later years Goen ka started the Mumbai edition with the landmark
Express Towers as his office when the Morning Standard was bought by him
in 1944. Two years later to become it became the Mumbai edition of The
Indian Express.
Later on editions
were started in several
cities like 1957 the
Madurai edition, the
1965 Bangalore
edition, and the 1968
Ahmedabad edition.The
Financial Express was
launched in 1961 from
Mumbai, Kannada
Prabha (Kannada
Daily) from Bangalore in
1965 and a Bangalore
edition of the Telugu
Daily Andhra Prabha, and Gujarati dailies Lok Satta and Jansatta in 1952,
from Ahmedabad and Baroda.

The Delhi edition started was when the Tej group's Indian News
Chronicle was acquired in 1951, which from 1953 became the Delhi edition
of Indian Express. In 1990 it bought the Sterling group of magazines, and
along with it the Gentleman magazine.
 22

After Ramanath Goenka’s demise in 1991, two of the family members

split the group into Indian Express Mumbai with all the North Indian
editions, while the Southern editions were grouped as Express Madurai Ltd.
with Chennai as headquarters.

The group also runs the Business Publication Division. This division
publishes and prints out of its headquarters at Nariman Point in Mumbai a
series of B2B magazines such as Express Computer, Express TravelWorld
(formerly called Travel and Tourism), Express Pharma (formerly Express
Pharma Pulse), Express Hospitality (formerly Express Hotelier & Caterer),
the IT-focused Network Magazine and Express Healthcare Management.

The Business Publications Division (BPD) has also ventured into

organising events and exhibitions such as Express World. The event is a mix
of hospitality, travel and healthcare. BPD also conducts events on IT and
organises exhibitions for other parties. In September 2006, BPD's Express
Travel World organised the exhibition for Travel Agents Association of
India (TAAI) 55th annual convention in Hyderabad.

The Screen Awards, initiated by Ananya Goenka, are focused on films

in India. The awards attempt to position themselves as India's first awards
that are given by the film fraternity to the film fraternity by way of a jury, as
opposed to the other "popular" awards such as Filmfare and Zee Cine
Awards.

The newspaper saw falling profits between the years 2000-2002 but
did not change its policies and the nature of content it carried. The
organisation subsequently posted profits of Rs. 45 crores (Rs. 450 million)
in 2004. This financial turnaround has been used as a case study in India's
highly regarded Indian Institutes of Management in Ahmedabad.

DNA:
Daily News and Analysis (DNA) is a daily English newspaper
published from Mumbai, India, launched on July 30, 2005. Targeted at a
young readership, it is Mumbai's fastest growing newspaper in any language.
It is also the fastest growing English language newspaper in India.

A high-profile advertisement campaign with the tagline ‘Speak up, it’s

in your DNA’ preceded the birth of DNA, and was countered by
 23

advertisement campaigns by competitors.[1][2] The hype led to high

expectations and at least for Dance with Shadows, the initial edition of the
paper did not contain enough to stand out from other papers, such as big
stories or high production values. The newspaper competition around the
time of the launch of DNA was fierce, with price cuts, hiring of staff from
rival newspapers, and other competitive activity.

DNA is owned by Diligent Media Corporation, a joint venture

between media industry majors – the Dainik Bhaskar Group and Essel
Group.

DNA is the first daily newspaper in

India to introduce an all-colour page
format.

The paper is brok en up into

sections. The main section includes an
interactive Speak Up page, and City,
Nation and World news pages. There is
also an Editorial page, and a technology
page (Evolutions).

The other sections include Sports

and After Hours. The latter section is a
10 page section with news from
Bollywood, classifieds, and other such
topics.

There are also two zone-targeted supplements for West Coast and
Navi Mumbai.

The daily pullouts special sections include JobSmart, Glory, Bricks 'N'
Mortar and Life 360. The Sunday edition features two magazines - a
women's magazine called Me, and a children's magazine called YA! Young
Adults.

According to the National Readership Study (NRS 2006) findings

released in August 2006, DNA’s readership in Mumbai city is 518,000 in the
February-May 2006 period.
 24

In March 2006, the Indian Readership Survey determined DNA’s readership

to be 402,000. The NRS numbers show that DNA’s readership has increased
by 1, 16,000 over the April IRS figures.

On February 11, 2007, DNA announced that its paid circulation has
crossed 400,000. It had crossed 300,000 in October 2006. In May 2006,
DNA authorized Ernst & Young to certify its circulation figures. E & Y
submitted its report in July, putting its paid circulation at 270,000.

Meanwhile, the readership figures released by NRS 2006 show DNA

had the largest increase (29%) for any general English newspaper in
Mumbai, and indicates that DNA was by far the fastest growing newspaper
in that city, giving it the second largest circulation among Mumbai
newspapers.

Amar Ujala:

Amar Ujala was launched on the 18th of April 1948 from Agra, as a
4 page newspaper with a circulation of 2576 copies with an objective of
promoting social awakening and introducing a feeling of responsibility
among the citizens of a recently independent India. In keeping with these
objectives that the publishers had set for themselves, the kind of news
published was basically revolving around political and social issues and
crime.

Starting from that modest

beginning, 20 years later Amar
Ujala achieved a circulation of
20,000 copies and was servicing
over 14 districts in Western Uttar
Pradesh. Growing slowly, but
steadily, the turn of the century
saw Amar Ujala a s one of the top
10 dailies of India. Not only has the newspaper shed the barriers of Western
Uttar Pradesh and spread itself across the entire state, but has also ventured
into other neighbouring states as well.

Today, Amar Ujala has a staggering circulation of over 1,400,000

copies and a readership of over 7.3 million in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal
alone. Additionally Amar Ujala is now also a leading newspaper in
 25

Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Currently, Amar Ujala publishes a 16 page daily issue with more colour
pages in every edition. In addition to this, Amar Ujala also has in offering
for readers four colour magazines, namely

a) Career Plus - Turning Point: A weekly career magazine for youth every
Wednesday.
b) Teen World - Total Masti: Fortnightly lifestyle magazine for youth on
Saturday.
c) Rupayan - Aapki Personal Friend: An all new weekly magazine for
women every Friday.
d) Rangayan - Bole to DIRECT Bollywood se: A completely new look film
magazine every Sunday.

Not ever deviating from the objectives with which the newspaper was
originally started, even today Amar Ujala continues to be a completely
unbiased newspaper with a thrust on political and current events and
developments in all fields across the nation and beyond.

Over the years, a lot has changed in Amar Ujala. Using the latest state
of the art technology and equipment, Amar Ujala is now being printed from
13 editions. Also in keeping with today's fast paced life, all printing centres
are connected by V-sat technology to enhance speed of news dissemination.
To ensure quality of material and content, Amar Ujala has a regular
membership with AFP and AP. The latest photographs are therefore part of
every edition.

Amar Ujala has grown dramatically and has evolved with the
changing times. The newspaper is known for some ground breaking
journalism and even in today's cut throat competition; Amar Ujala is still
selling Authenticity, Honesty and Trust.
 26

BUSINESS STANDARD:

Business Standard is the country's most respected business daily,

being the first choice of serious business readers. It is published in colour
from seven centres in India - Mumbai (formerly Bombay), New Delhi,
Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), Bangalore, Chennai (formerly Madras),
Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

The

newspaper believes in free, fair and independent journalism and strives to

inculcate these values in its editorial staff. The journalism practised by
Business Standard lays equal stress on quality, credibility and accuracy. The
Financial Times of London has taken an equity stake in BSL.

Business Standard has the country's best economic journalists and

columnists working for it. It is edited by T.N. Ninan, perhaps India’s best-
known business journalist, who had earlier undertaken a complete and
highly s uccessful revamp of The Economic Times and was responsible for
its phenomenal growth.

Among the other senior journalists in the team are A. K.Bhattacharya,

former editor of The Pioneer and associate editor of The Economic Times,
and Shyamal Majumdar, former resident editor of The Financial Express.

Business Standard’s stable of specialist contributors includes some of

the sharpest minds in economics and business. Among them: Shankar
Acharya, former chief economic advisor, government of India, Subir
Gokarn, chief economist, Crisil, Deepak Lal, professor of economics,
 27

UCLA, Bibek Debroy, director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary

Studies, Suman Bery, director-general, National Council of Applied
Economic Research, Alexander Nicoll, assistant director, International
Institute for Strategic Studies, and Arvind Singhal, chairman, KSA
Technopak. The newspaper’s columnists include Surjit Bhalla, TCA
Srinivasa-Raghavan, Sunil Jain and AV Rajwade.

The company sees content creation, content processing and content

management as its core competence. It offers complete outsourcing solutions
for organisations which want to bring out in-house or private publications
but lack the people and/or resources to do it cost-effectively.

Business Standard Motoring is one of India's oldest and most passionate

magazines dedicated to cars, motorcycles and all kinds of other interesting
vehicles. And we are the most fun to read too. The standalone
print edition goes out to 35,000 people every month and
covers testing, comparison tests, interest stor ies, motorsport,
features, classics, travel, Indian news and international
news/events. A condensed version of the print edition also
goes out to 1,00,000 people every month with the Business
Standard, India's finest business newspaper. Business
Standard Motoring also appears on the Weekend Business
Standard as the last page with more news oriented content,
plus our popular interactive section, Which Car?

The paper sells 143,000 copies daily, and has a reputation for
responsible journalism and for its stimulating editorial page. It has pioneered
the ranking of the wealthiest Indians (in the Billionaire Club), and offers
along with the paper free monthly magazines on motoring and aviation. The
paper recently started its Sunday edition from three publishing centres.

The newspaper's website is business-standard.com. BSL also publishes

several periodicals, including BS Motoring, Indian Management, the Asian
Management Review and Routes: the Gateway Magazine.
 28

DANIK JAGRAN:

Dainik Jagran is a Hindi daily newspaper. It is principally published

in Northern India.

It was Established in 1942, Dainik Jagran was the brainchild of a

revolutionary Indian Freed om fighter, Late Shri Puran Chandra Gupta. Late
Mr Narendra Mohan took the paper to meteoric rise. The first Edition
launched was from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh in 1942. In 1947, it shifted its
headquarters to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and thus launched its second edition
– the Lucknow Edition.

Currently, "Dainik Jagran" has 32 editions and the only daily to print
over 200 sub-editions, each one customized in content to the needs of the
readers in different geographical areas. Today, Dainik Jagran has 29 Printing
Centers in 10 States, with over 200 sub-editions. Presently, it is published
from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana,
Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh; Footprint
states : West Bengal.

According to NRS-2005 DAINIK JAGRAN,is the highest read

National Daily across all languages (including English) in India with a
phenomenal readership of 21.24 Million Readers .

The 1st Indian publication to cross the 20 million mark. An ABC

certified Net paid Sales of over 2.4 million copies
(Source: ABC Jan-Jun 05).
 29

DANIK BHASKAR:

Dainik Bhaskar is a Hindi-language daily newspaper of India. It first

started in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Currently it is published from many
cities of North India. Its current editor is Ramesh Chandra Agrawal . Dainik
Bhaskar Group publishes a magazine called 'aha zindgi' a magazine based on
highlighting the positive features of life.

D B CORP Ltd. has rocketed on to one of the top print media industry
in India with its flagship Hindi newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar, which achieved
leadership position in Madhya Pradesh in 1992.

Sustaining its
leadership
position in MP, the
newspaper
forayed into the
Rajasthan
market in 1996. The Jaipur edition was launched in December the same year
and six other editions were launched in the state in quick succession --
taking the daily to the No. 1 slot in Rajasthan as well. The launch and
ascendance of the newspaper in Jaipur has since become a subject of study
for leading Indian business schools.

Dainik Bhaskar was launched in Chandigarh in June 2000, a market

that had till then not opened up to Hindi or regional language dailies. Today,
Dainik Bhaskar is the largest-read newspaper in Chandigarh.

Subsequently, the group launched its edition in Haryana and the

newspaper is presently the No. 1 daily in the state with a circulation of
approx 2.6 lakhs per day. Go-Getter, the new in–flight magazine of GoAir,
has been launched by the Bhaskar Custom Media Publications, a part of
Dainik Bhaskar Corp. L imited.

RAJHASTHAN PATRIKA:
 30

Rajasthan Patrika is a Hindi language daily newspaper published

from Jaipur,Jodhpur,Udaipur,Kota and other cities of Rajasthan and form
major Indian cities such as Banglore,Surat,Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata
and Hubli.

Rajasthan Patrika was founded by Karpoor Chandra Kulish on 7

March 1956. Rajasthan Patrika is one of the leading newspapers of
Rajasthan. Rajasthan Patrika is the initiator in the development of
'Journalism in Rajasthan'. It is committed to provide reliable, authentic, and
apolitical news, to educate the masses and give voice to issues that concern
their lives.

The success story of Patrika from a local quarter-size double-sheet

evening daily (1956) to a full-fledged sixteen page newspaper has been an
epitome of hard work, determination. Its current editor is Gulab Kothari.

Today the group is providing media solutions through various means.

It touches the lives of people in Rajasthan and other places every morning
through its morning dailies: Rajasthan Patrika, Daily News; evening daily:
News Today; FM radio: 95 FM Tadka.. The Solid Radio; Education: Patrika
in Education.. the NiE wing, The Mindpool School of Management, The
Mindpool School of Journalism; Jan Mangal Trust.. a public charitable trust;
events and fair; publication of books; messaging service 56969; The largest
yellow pages of Rajasthan - Find It; an advertising agency: Jaipur Publicity
Centre; Outdoor Advertising: Planet Outdoor, Production houses: Patrika
TV, Taal Music, Channel 24 News Cable TV and providing complete media
solutions, events management.

Rajasthan Patrika, the top of the line Rajasthan daily, is the brainchild
of Mr.Karpoor Chandra, a pioneering figure in the world of journalism.
Instituted in the year 1956, it went on to become the vanguard of Rajasthani
journalism.

Formerly a journalist with the Rashtradoot, Mr.Chandra’s vision

aspired to cater to the needs of the common man. Since its early days, this
newspaper giant has endeavored to mirror the socio- political reality of the
times. Statistics serve as the yardstick of success and failure in this world of
cut-throat competition and Rajasthan Patrika boasts of an enviable track
 31

record. The fifty year old institution of intrepid journalism, with a lion’s
share of the readership pie, has won several accolades over the years.

The newspaper has championed many a public cause. Fearless

reporting coupled with fiery articles penned by the editor, has contributed to
its stature. Reputation and readership bolstered the infrastructure of the
organization. A part of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the newspaper
amassed huge popularity during the period of Emergency that lasted
between 1975 and 1979. Dauntless journalism pegged its circulation at a
whopping seventy five thousand.

The post emergency period saw the shifting of bases to Kesargarh. It

scaled newer heights with its circulation reaching one lakh. The year 1981
served as t he launch pad of the edition for
Jodhpur region. In the coming years,
subsequent editions for Udaipur, Kota,
Bikaner, Bhilwara, Sikar, Sriganganagar,
Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Surat were instituted.
The National Readership Survey, conducted
in 1995, pegged the readership percentage of
the Rajasthan Patrika at ushered and with the
starting of Udaipur Edition a new milestone
was achieved. All the three editions got the
national awards for printing and designing. In
March 1986 Kota Edition and in August 1987
Bikaner Edition were added to the newspaper.
Patrika's grand success continued and
increased day by day. In 1995 National Readership Survey, showed that a
staggering 84.68%.

In keeping with the times, Rajasthan Patrika has also floated its online
version.
 32

Can small and regional daily

newspapers survive?

M edia grew simultaneously with the freedom movement in India. It

mobilised popular opinion during the freedom struggle. Many
freedom fighters were associated with one newspaper or the
other. Now corporates want to have a finger in the media pie.
IN INDIA, the media has
grown along with the freedom
struggle. It has played a
pivotal role in creating
awareness amongst the
masses, mobilizing popular
opinion during the freedom
struggle and spreading the
message of great leaders.
Leaders like Tilak and Gandhi
chose the media to spread
their message to the masses
and mobilize support for the
various struggles launched
against the foreign rulers.
Newspapers were mostly brought out by people associated with the freedom
fighters. Many prominent freedom fighters were directly associated with one
newspaper or the other.
In the post-independence phase too, media earned a name for its
fearless reporting, unbiased editorials and for building public opinion
through dissemination of information. As a credible pillar of Indian
democracy, it has championed press freedom. The advent of information
technology has given fresh impetus to the growth of the media. Particularly,
the vibrant growth in the regional language readership occasioned by the
spread of literacy and education has led to a growing demand for medium
and small regional newspapers.
According to the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI), there are
2,130 daily newspapers in the country. RNI claimed a combined circulation
 33

of 8.89 crore copies for the year 2005-06, an increase of more than 13%
compared to the year 2000. As on March 31, 2006, there were 62,483
registered newspapers, including magazines, on RNI records, as against
20,413 on March 31, 2005.
There are 214 large dailies, 906 medium dailies and 1,047 small
dailies. Their circulation accounted for 3.83 crore copies, 3.85 crore copies
and 1.27 crore copies, respectively. Newspapers owned by individuals had
the largest share in circulation, viz., 55 %, followed by those owned by joint
stock companies, at 39 %.
This analysis proves that small and medium daily newspapers have
been in-creasing their circulation in a big way. However, in the post-
liberalisation phase, corporate houses started cornering the limelight in the
newspaper industry. Now, most of the corporate houses are vying for a share
of the media pie. This has led to a major shift in the field of journalism.
`Marketability’ and not `mission’, has become the cornerstone of Indian
journalism.
Now, most of the major newspapers are bent on increasing their
market share and business by focusing on the ills that plague society. The
media has also become so powerful a weapon that it can influence
government policies in such a manner as to suit industrial houses or as to
suit its own (media’s) income-generating activities (like advertisements).
Serving the cause of the masses has taken a back seat.
It may be recalled that the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S
Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is brining out a daily
newspaper in Telugu (19 editions). He has invested a massive Rs 400
crores plus to ensure that all the pages of the newspaper are printed in colour
from Jan 1, 2008. Likewise, he is also planning to bring out a news channel
soon.
In such circumstances the very survival of small and regional daily
newspapers is at stake. Piratla Venkateswarlu, editor of Krishna Patrika,
launched during the freedom struggle, feels that the advantage for the
regional dailies was the freedom of reporting and editing, as these
newspapers were controlled mostly by reputed journalists. No more do
journalists of major newspapers enjoy such freedom of expression, as they
are bound to serve the business interests of their corporate house-bosses,
rather than the people.
 34

Keeping in view these developments, Krishna Patrika is organizing a

national level workshop on the “Role of Small and Medium Daily
Newspapers in the Indian Democratic Polity” in Hyderabad on October 6
and 7. Venkateswarlu said that about 500 delegates from all over the country
are expected to participate.
The AP Governor, N. D Tiwari, its Chief Minister, Y. S Rajasekhara
Reddy, and its opposition leader, N Chandrababu Naidu, besides many
Central and State ministers and eminent journalists will participate in the
workshop. The workshop will discuss the various problems being faced by
the country’s small and medium daily newspapers and their role in the
democratic polity, ethics and other related issues.
 35

Tabloid and Broadsheet

newspapers
What’s the difference?
You will have a copy of the front page of two newspapers for the
same day. It does not matter which paper you start with: just make sure that
you put the headings given. When you have written about both papers,
answer the questions at the end (‘Reporting back’) which compare the two.

Tabloid

Describe the appearance of the front page: what catches your eye
first? Why?
Describe in detail what is in the top part of the page:

 How much space is taken by the masthead and the information

about the stories inside? Estimate (e.g. half a page, a third, a
quarter?) or, better, measure and calculate a percentage.

 Describe how the title of the paper is printed (the style of

printing, or typeface, and its size).

 How much does this paper cost?

 What other information is there at the top of the page, apart

from details of stories inside?

 What are the contents about (that is, the items advertised at the
top of the page)? Say what you think each item is about. (For
example, are they about politics, sport or famous people in
entertainment?).

 How many news stories are there on this page? (Don’t count the
ones advertised at the top of the page.)

 Are there any advertisements?

 36

What is the main headline?

 How the headline is printed (what kind of TYPE - the printing

style)?

 What is the main story about? Sum it up in one sentence. What

kind of a story is it? (Is it about politics, sport or famous people in
entertainment?)

 How many words are there in the story on this page (not
counting the headline)? Is there more about this story inside?

 How easy to understand is this story (easy, quite easy, difficult

in places, very difficult to understand)? Explain why you say this.

 Is there a picture to go with this story? Describe it.

 Did this story interest you? Explain your answer (e.g., did you
know about the person in this story?).

What other news story is there on the front page?

Write out the headline. Do you notice anything about the way the headline is
written? What is the story about (one sentence)? How many words in this
story?
 Is there any more about this story inside?

 Is there a picture? If so, describe it.

 What does the caption (the words under the picture) add to the
picture?

Did this story interest you? Explain your answer (e.g., did you know about
the person in this story?).
 37

Thinking about the front page

 What kinds of stories are there in this paper, both on the front
page and inside?

 What does this tell about the interests of people who would
want to read this paper?

 Would you be interested in reading this paper? Explain your

answer (e.g., you might want to read a few of the stories but not all
of them).

Broadsheet

Describe the appearance of the front page: what catches your eye first?
Why?

Describe in detail what is in the top part of the page:

 How much space is taken by the masthead and the information

about the stories inside? Estimate (e.g. half a page, a third, a
quarter?) or, better, measure and calculate a percentage.

 Describe how the title of the paper is printed (the style of

printing, or typeface, and its size).

 How much does this paper cost?

 What other information is there at the top of the page, apart

from details of stories inside?
 38

 What are the contents about (that is, the items advertised at the
top of the page)? Say what you think each item is about.

 What are the stories inside (that is, the ones advertised at the
top of the page) about? Say what each story is about and also what
kind of a story you think it is (e.g., is it about politics, sport or
famous people in entertainment?). What can you learn from the
bottom of the page?

How many news stories are there on this page? (Don’t count the ones
advertised at the top of the page.) Are there any advertisements?

What is the main headline?

 How the headline is printed (what kind of TYPE)? What is the

main story about? Sum it up in one sentence. What kind of a story is
it? (For example, is it about politics, sport or famous people in
entertainment?)

 How many words are there in the story on this page (not
counting the headline)? As this may be a long story, estimate the
number by counting the number of words in a line and multiply this
by the number of lines in the story on the whole page. Is there more
inside?

 How easy to understand is this story (easy, quite easy, difficult

in places, very difficult to understand)? Explain why you say this.

 Is there a picture to go with this story? If so, describe it.

 Did this story interest you? Explain your answer (e.g., did you
know about any of the people in this story?).
 39

What other news story is there on the front page?

Write out the headline. Do you notice anything about the way the headline is
written? What is the story about (one sentence)? How many words in this
story?
 Is there any more about this story inside?

 Is there a picture? If so, describe it.

 What does the caption (the words under the picture) add to the
picture?

Did this story interest you? Explain your answer (e.g., did you know about
the person in this story?).

Thinking about the front page

 What kinds of stories are there in this paper, both on the front
page and inside?

 What does this tell about the interests of people who would
want to read this paper?

 Would you be interested in reading this paper? Explain your

answer (e.g., you might want to read a few of the stories but not all
of them).
 40

Looking at Newspapers
Reporting back

From your work with at least two newspapers, explain the major
differences between the kinds of newspapers you have examined. Make
clear which papers you have studied.

You may find it helpful to organise your answer around these questions:

1. What are the main differences in appearance? Think about size of

page, number of pages, and the amount of space given to pictures.
You will probably find it simplest to concentrate on the front
page of each paper.

2. Is there a difference in cost?

3. How much space is devoted in each kind of newspaper to the

different kind of news (politics, sport, TV, entertainment and
films, finance and features such as motoring, cookery,
horoscopes, etc)?

4. How does each paper attempt to gain the attention of its readers?
Think (and write) about the headlines, pictures, etc. (Example:
What is the effect of this kind of headline: “TV star stole my
sister’s rabbit”?)

5. Can you tell what kind of readers each paper is aimed at? Give
reasons for your answer – look, for example, at the kinds of
stories which each paper prints, the kinds of pictures, the
advertisements, etc, as well as at the kind of language each paper
uses.

6. Can you detect any bias in either of the papers? You will need to
explain which story or stories you have read which you think
show bias, and how it is biased. Pick out a few words from the
story to show this.
 41

7. Assuming you could afford it, which paper would you be more
likely to buy on a regular basis? Which do you think offers better
value for money? Give your reasons.

They’ve got it covered!

(a) How two papers report the same story

Choose a story of major importance which has been covered in both

a tabloid and a broadsheet newspaper on the same day.

Think about the following questions and make notes about your
answers:

1. What differences can you see in the ways that different

papers handle the story?
2. Do any of the newspapers have information that the others
do not have? If so, what kind of information is it and from
where might the paper have got it?
3. Which headlines are statements of fact?
4. Which headlines use the most dramatic words? (Write
down some examples.)
5. Can you explain why different papers have tackled this
story in different ways?
6. Choose one newspaper’s story. Can you find any of these
elements in it:
• an eyewitness account?
• an expert opinion?
• a brief summary of events?
• a political comment?
• historical background?
• reaction from public figures?
• an official statement?
 42

Tabloid & Broadsheet

The terms tabloid and broadsheet come from the traditional sizes of
the newspapers but now that most newspapers are in 'compact' format, it is a
little harder to tell the difference at a glance! Studying the stories they cover,
they way they cover them, the language they use and the way the pages are
laid out reveals significant differences.

The most striking difference between tabloid and broadsheet

newspapers is their language. Below are two checklists of tabloid and
broadsheet language.

Tabloid

• Informal
• Use of puns
• Use of alliteration
• Exaggeration for effect
• Slang
• Colloquial language (chatty)
• Informal names used
• Short, snappy sentences
• Heightened language (over the
top)
• Brand names
• Adjectives often carry sexual
overtones
• A focus upon appearance
• Frequent use of elision e.g.
won’t, don’t. This is another
informal technique
 Broadsheet

• More formal
• Metaphors rather than puns
• Rhetorical questions
• More complex sentences (look for sentences separated by lots of
commas, semi-colons etc.)
• Puns sometimes used, although more subtle
• Statistics
• Descriptions of people tends to relate to personality or position in society
• Politician’s comments often included, with a commentary by the
journalist
 Dwindling Readership: Are
Tabloids The Answer?

A s consumers have increasingly turned to television and the Internet

for news, the circulation of paid newspapers has declined?by 2 to 4
percent annually for more than a decade in most developed markets.
The trend is set to continue, particularly as growing broadband penetration
encourages the wider use of online media. In addition, free commuter
tabloids, available in many big European and US cities, have lured away
some paying customers. As a result, the revenues and profits of traditional
newspapers are under intense pressure.

Newspapers have fought back with free subscription trials and other
promotions, with advertising platforms such as new or expanded feature
sections, and with better home and newsstand distribution. But struggling
publishers often seek the quickest method to cut costs and increase
circulation without harming ad revenues. Many, particularly in Europe, see
their salvation in changing formats: they believe that switching to a more
compact one, such as the tabloid format, may lift circulation by attracting
disaffected newspaper readers, particularly teens and women. Higher
circulation, in turn, stimulates demand for advertising, so newspapers can
raise their ad rates. In some cases, the price of the newspapers can rise as
well.

Several important broadsheets across Europe have recently converted

themselves into tabloids, and the format has proved popular, with circulation
rising by an average of 6 to 8 percent in the year following the
transformation. The Independent? the first of two quality morning papers in
the United Kingdom to convert itself into a tabloid? is a particularly
successful example, having increased its circulation by 18 percent within six
months of the format switch.3 Market research also indicates that tabloids
enjoy above-average circulation growth among younger and female readers,
whom advertisers covet.
 But changing the format of a newspaper carries big risks. Despite the
potential for a quick up tick in circulation, churn among one profitable
category of readers?subscribers?may rise because of their reluctance to
accept the change. At newspapers that rely on subscriptions rather than
newsstand sales, subscriptions may fall by 3 to 5 percent as longtime readers
switch to other broadsheets or content themselves with other media. And
most newspapers see an initial drop-off in advertising revenues when they
make the change. These problems, as well as resistance by employees, can
derail the process.

To carry out a format change

successfully, newspaper publishers must manage
and mitigate all these risks. A change-
management effort is necessary to ease the
employees' concerns about the impact of the new
format. Publishers must also find ways to keep
advertisers and subscribers happy while
extracting the maximum economic benefit.
Ultimately, the process of changing the format
benefits newspaper publishers by inducing
managers to look more closely than ever at
business processes throughout the organization.

The risks
When publishers change formats, they count on reducing costs, but in this
respect they may be disappointed. Although newspapers sometimes save
money on newsprint, other printing costs are fixed if capacity is located in-
house, as it often is. Distribution costs are generally negotiated on a per-
copy basis rather than by size.

Cost savings may therefore do little to offset the most important

negative impact of format change: lower advertising revenues. No matter
how well executed the change; the great majority of newspapers initially see
them fall, for several reasons. As the pages shrink, so do the ads (a full-page
ad is only half its previous size), and advertisers may be unwilling to pay the
same price for what they see as less consumer exposure and recognition.
They may also be concerned about placement? worried, for example, that an
ad in the back pages of a 100-page tabloid will have far less impact than an
ad in the back of a 50-page broadsheet. And newspapers sometimes use a
format change to introduce a new advertising rate card, meaning potentially
higher rates and the end of previously negotiated discounts. Such increases
are unlikely to be received well by advertisers, but publishers can present
them with a convincing case for the change.

Another reason for the decline in ad revenues involves the public

perception of tabloid newspapers. Broadsheets are associated with serious
news coverage, tabloids with more frivolous content. Advertisers
accustomed to the kind of reader associated with the broadsheet format may
see the change as a reason to take their business to other broadsheets or to
alternative media.

A poorly executed transition can therefore be disastrous. One national

European newspaper lost almost 50 percent of its advertising revenue per
page when it converted itself into a tabloid. While the losses vary, we
estimate that a format change puts as much as 20 percent of a newspaper's ad
revenues at risk. Even though it can recoup some of this loss by raising its
price per column centimeter as circulation increases and it reaches new
reader segments, advertising revenues tend to suffer a net reduction of 10 to
15 percent. Losses are typically recovered after a couple of years, however.
Le Matin, a Swiss newspaper, lost 13 percent of its advertising revenue after
the conversion but recaptured its losses in about two and a half years. Much
of that success was attributable to a readership increase of 12 percent.

A third risk of format change arises from a newspaper's workforce.

Editorial staff members, always influential, typically don't see the value of a
format change. Garnering their support requires a substantial managerial
effort. No newspaper makes format changes primarily to please editors, of
course, but they are crucial to the success of the project. Many staff
members will have spent their whole careers with the newspaper. They may
be concerned about the perceived deterioration of editorial quality, changes
to the paper's internal culture, the impact on the way they work, and possible
layoffs? Particularly as the newspaper reconfigures itself and perhaps
reduces the amount of content it publishes.

Getting it right
one leading European quality newspaper had promising results while
converting itself from a broadsheet into a tabloid: readership immediately
increased by 22 percent among teens and young adults and by 16 percent
among women? Higher than the average among other newspapers that
changed formats. Some regular readers were lost, but there was a net
increase overall. The short-term decline in advertising was limited compared
with the experience of other newspapers that changed formats. The
newspaper was able to raise its prices per column centimeter and even
enjoyed higher advertising revenue in the medium term.

The newspaper succeeded where others lagged behind because its

leadership implemented a program to manage and mitigate risk. As a starting
point, the publisher decided that the desires of the readership would be the
driving factor throughout the conversion process. This priority might seem
obvious, but not all publishers adopt it. The newspaper made efforts to
understand the needs and wants of its readership and, in particular, to
identify underserved but desirable segments. What types of content do
readers like and dislike? When and where do they want to read their
newspaper? Market research found, for example, that younger men wanted
more sports and that younger women wanted more articles about home and
health issues. These were segments highly desired by advertisers but hard to
reach through most print media, particularly newspapers. In response, the
newspaper redesigned its content to appeal to young urban readers. Although
such research may be time-consuming, it is essential.

Progress must be measured if it is to be sustained. Before introducing

the new format, publishers should prepare key performance indicators
(KPIs) for the entire organization. These might include editorial KPIs for the
readership's view of the newspaper's quality (as measured by surveys),
printing KPIs that measure the waste of paper, advertising KPIs that monitor
responses from important advertisers, and distribution KPIs that set cost
targets (Exhibit 2). Using these metrics, management can make midcourse
corrections, even as the new format attracts fresh readers and encourages
advertisers.

Format change must be carried through in a conscientious way that

gets and keeps everyone on board. Meanwhile, the newspaper must adopt
best practices in its advertising sales and pricing. Our work suggests three
areas of focus.

Building consensus
As with other change-management programs, an important part of managing
the risk of a format change is to build consensus within the organization.
Managers must outline to employees the financial and competitive situation
of the newspaper as frankly as possible, explaining and communicating the
need for change and the potential for growth once it has taken effect. A
failure to reach at least some level of understanding will jeopardize the
format-change program.
 With the broad outlines made
clear, managers must convince the
various stakeholders that change is
required in view of the challenges facing
the newspaper?declining circulation and
adverting revenues, for example. Each
department should present its
perspective on the proposed changes,
relating its outlook to the work it
performs and outlining the actions
required to make the transition
successful. Managers must prepare
carefully and keep the tone positive and
constructive, since these conversations
can be difficult. Although they are
sensitive, they are essential to securing
the all-important internal buy-in.

In particular, the commitment

of the editorial team is critical; these
workers are both mobile and vocal, and
they play a substantial role in the
transition's ultimate success. They may
find it hard to accept the need to adjust
the newspaper's editorial content, layout,
and style in order to capture readers. But
at some newspapers, editors have lost
touch with certain elements of the
readership. Reconnecting with such
readers is difficult but essential to
success.

To build support from the

editorial team, newspapers have used
timing and information: Most of them
introduce the tabloid style (shorter
articles, for example) gradually. Providing factual information about what is
actually happening in the marketplace might also help to counter established
beliefs within the organization. Given a newsroom's ingrained mistrust of
the publisher, there's no guarantee that this approach will work, but the
sharing of information improves the chances for mutual understanding. The
process might also include an effort to build pressure by getting the more
senior department heads on board.
At one European newspaper, the publisher wanted to introduce what it
regarded as no-regrets business changes in anticipation of a format
conversion. These initiatives were based only on guesswork; management
had no facts to justify them in discussions with employees, so the
newspaper's staff?particularly the editors?opposed them. Management,
unable to back up its arguments constructively, abandoned the proposed
efficiency initiatives.

By contrast, management at another European newspaper based the

process of format change on broad market research that examined not only
the readership's perception of the editorial content but also other marketing
considerations, including distribution, layout, and where and when the
newspaper was read. The results gave its management concrete arguments
that persuaded stakeholders that it had to change. It went on to implement
efficiency initiatives that increased its earnings before interest and taxes by
10 percent and eventually introduced a new format.

Well-planned marketing to advertisers

Success requires a coordinated approach that communicates the benefits of
the format change to readers and advertisers alike. Market context is
paramount: publishers in niche markets with limited competition have an
outlook and approach different from those of publishers facing a number of
competitors that advertisers can pick and choose at will. In either case,
newspapers must be able to supply facts that demonstrate the virtues of a
new format: they must, for example, prove that display advertising will get
as much recognition in a tabloid as it would in a broadsheet. They also must
show what kinds of readers will be attracted to the new format.
 A first step is to segment the advertisers; while segmenting the
readership is a familiar idea, fewer newspapers segment them. Grouping
advertisers into logical, manageable categories makes it easier to analyze
how format change will affect them and how they will respond. Among
ways of categorizing advertisers, two are typically important: the size of
their advertisements and whether they are local or national companies.
Segmenting for ad size is important because bigger usually means more
revenue. Local versus national matters because a local advertiser that buys
full-page ads could turn to direct marketing to achieve similar results. The
idea is to be able to anticipate the advertisers' responses to a format change,
to develop an action plan for all types of advertisers, and to see whether they
will accept an increase in the price per column centimeter.

Once newspapers have segmented their advertisers, they must build an

effective rate structure tied to these categories. The structure should give
advertisers incentives to stay and, ideally, to increase their spending. It
should also take into account the elasticity of the demand of different
advertisers; for example, they may be willing to pay the same amount or
more for large ads but insist on lower prices for smaller ones.

At the same time, newspapers must deal with their existing rate cards.
As the circulation of newspapers has declined and their negotiating position
has weakened, they have typically worked out individual deals with any
number of advertisers? Deals allowing ever-greater discounts or rebates,
often indiscriminately. A format change is the optimal time to present each
advertiser with a new rate card and to work hard to make the adjustments
sustainable by gaining agreement on a clear and favorable rate plan. To do
so, a newspaper must communicate the new format's value as compared with
that of alternative media options and, at the same time, work out the details
of the new rate card with the goal of increasing overall revenue.

At first, advertisers are likely to be skeptical; many will question the

new format's impact. To address such concerns, publishers can deploy a set
of fact-based tools. Examples include "ad-track" surveys (test groups note
the ads they remember from tabloids and broadsheets) and the "eye-track"
approach (independent researchers measure how much time individuals
spend looking at an ad or a page). Both approaches indicate that quarter-
page and smaller ads in tabloids do indeed get less attention than similar ads
in broadsheets, but full-page and half-page ads attract about as much? Or
more? Attention.

One European newspaper used these approaches as a basis for

introducing a new rate card. Advertisers initially reacted negatively to the
proposed significant increase in the price per column centimeter. Then they
heard the facts. The newspaper was able to increase prices by up to 100
percent on most large ads. It obtained smaller price increases for ads of one-
quarter page and under.

In another European example, however, the publisher neglected

discussions with advertisers. As a result, they didn't acknowledge the new
format's advantages, so the publisher had to keep the price per column
centimeter constant. This decision implied a big loss in advertising revenue
when the size of a page fell by almost 50 percent.

Reducing reader churn

Publishers must do what is necessary to retain readers during the
changeover. Subscribers, in particular, offer publishers many benefits,
including, most obviously, a consistent stream of cash. They also enable a
newspaper to have a more predictable and efficient distribution system, as
well as better data for the advertising sales force, and it may be possible to
sell them other products and services too.

Some readers are more valuable than others? For example, by virtue
of how long they have subscribed or their attractive demographics.
Accordingly, it is important to introduce a structured approach to avoid
losing the most valuable readers during a format change. One way is to get a
perspective on their overall customer lifetime value by analyzing dimensions
such as acquisition and maintenance costs, the length of subscriptions, the
advertising potential, the cost to serve, and the possibility of selling other
products. When the newspaper has identified its most important subscribers,
it can determine their particular needs through market research surveys and
use the findings as the basis for an outreach plan.

Leading newspapers have used these customer-lifetime-value

programs during format changes. One such program helped a European
newspaper not only to retain virtually all of its most valuable subscribers but
also to cut subscriber churn as a whole compared with the levels prevailing
before the format change. The reduced churn resulted from effective,
consistent communication with readers about the benefits of the new format.

Six of the top 10 newspapers showed a decline in readership,

according to the IRS 2007 Round 2.
The four newspapers that showed an increase were Danik Bhaskar,
Rajasthan Patrika, The Times of India and Ananda Bazar Patrika.

However, Dainik Jagran continues to be the top of the heap with an average
issue readership of 1.65 crore despite a decline in AIR by 3.5 per cent since
the previous round.

Jagran's close competitor Dainik Bhaskar was at number 2. It registered a

2.4 per cent growth in AIR. Its readership stood at 1.28 crore.

The others in the top 10 are:

3. Malayala Manorama: It experienced negative growth. Its AIR has

declined from 88.37 lakh to 86.62 lakh.

4. Hindustan: Saw a maximum decline of 5.5 per cent in readership among

the top dailies. It has slipped one rank with a readership of 85.51 lakh down
from 90.52 lakh in Round 1, IRS 2007.

5. Amar Ujala: declined by 2.1 per cent to an AIR of 80.75 lakh.

6..Daily Thanthi: Its readership declined by 5.2 per cent to 79.1 lakh.
7. Rajasthan Patrika: Has shown an increase in readership by 6.5 per cent
the highest among the top 10 dailies. It readership has increased from 69.46
lakh to 74.02 lakh in the current round.

8. Eenadu: Has registered a decline in readership by 4.34 per cent with its
readership at 69.19 lakh.

9. Ananda Bazar Patrika: increased its readership by 4.84 per cent, taking its
readership to 68.55 lakh

10. Times of India: Increased its readership 0.69 per cent to 68.28 lakh
readers’ .ABP and TOI are new entrants to the top 10. Mathrubhumi and
Lokmat, which were at eighth and 10th positions in the last round, have
dropped out of the top 10.

Disappointed by the findings of the Indian Readership Survey, the

Indian Newspaper Society, a nodal body of all print publications, may
launch its own readership survey at a cost of Rs 7-8 crore within the next
four months.

Last year, the INS had threatened to walk out of the National
Readership Survey conducted by the National Studies Research Council.
The grievances were more or less the same -- in an era of growing
population, literacy level and circulation of print publications, these surveys
show declining readership.

Now, INS has mooted a proposal to set up an independent research

body that will only look at the readership of newspapers and magazines,
unlike the IRS or NRS that also looks at the viewership of television
channels, the time spent, demographics and psychographics and other
parameters.

"Today, along with population growth, literacy is growing too. Also,

the circulation of all print publications has gone up compared to last year. In
such a scenario, understanding the findings of the IRS are difficult; so we
may go in for our own survey," Paresh Nath, vice-president, INS, and editor
and publisher, Delhi Press, told Business Standard.

This may mean that the money being spent by INS members on both
IRS and NRS is diverted to the proposed new body which will conduct the
readership survey.
 In its latest report, the IRS survey shows a decline in readership for all
newspapers, magazines and periodicals, a fact that has not gone down well
with INS, which has over 990 dailies, periodicals, magazines, and bi-dailies
as its members.

The IRS survey is conducted twice a year by Media Research Users

Council with funding from media owners and advertisers.

"Even the Audit Bureau of Circulations tells us that the circulation of

most print publications has increased; therefore, we cannot understand how
the readership of all print publications can decline," Nath said.

ABC is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation that audits the

circulation of member newspapers.

The IRS survey released on March 21 says the readership of

publications across the country declined by 4.5 per cent to 17.1 crore in the
last six months of 2006, in comparison with the first six months.
DATA ANALYSIS
AND
TABULATION
The following is the list of questions included in the survey.

Do you read newspapers?

o Yes
o No
o Occasionally

Do you prefer news on Television or in a Newspaper?

o Television
o Newspaper

Which paper do you read in the morning?

o The Times Of India

o The Hindustan Times
o Mid Day
o Others _______________________________

When do you read newspapers?

o At Home
o While Traveling
o At Office
o At Library
o Others ______________________________

What do you look for in a newspaper?

o Business News
o Entertainment News
o Sports News
o Political News
 o Others_______________________________

What do you prefer more?

o A Tabloid newspaper ( Mid-day, Mumbai Mirror, etc)

o A broadsheet newspaper (The Times of India, Hindustan Times, etc)

What is the reason of your preference?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________ .

Would you prefer your morning paper to be…?

o A Tabloid
o A Broadsheet

Would you prefer your afternoon paper to be…?

o A Tabloid
o A Broadsheet

Would you prefer content to size of a newspaper?

o Content
o Size

Do you really feel the difference on size counts for a newspaper?

o Yes
o No

Should a tabloid cover serious news?

o Yes
o No
According to these questions, the following interpretation has been made on
the topic.

DATA ANALYSIS 1:

Question 1

Do you read newspapers?

o Yes
o No
o Occasionally

Analysis:

Options % of readership
Yes 78%
No 6%
Occasionall 16%
y 16%

From the above analysis we can see that out of 100, 78% read
newspaper, 6% does not read newspaper and 16% read newspaper
occasionally. From this we can say that majority of the population read
newspaper on a daily basis and there are very less percentage
6%
of the
100
population does not
90 read newspapers at all.
80
70 yes
%of 60
readership 50 no
40 ocassionaly
30
20
10
0
1
DATA ANALYSIS 2:

Question 2

Do you prefer news on Television or in a Newspaper?

o Television
o Newspaper

Analysis: P referen ce

Preference % of people
Television 54%
Newspaper 46%
From the above
Television News paper

analysis we can see that the preference of watching the news in television is
54% while reading the news in a newspaper is 46%. Hence we can say that
people prefer watching news on the television rather than reading it in a
newspaper. This preference may be because of the speed at which the news
is transferred through the television medium and also the improved
presentation techniques. Preferences

100
90
80
70
60
% of people 50
40
30
20
10
0
Television New spaper
DATA ANALYSIS 3:

Question 3

Which paper do you read in the morning?

o The Times Of India

o The Hindustan Times
o Mid Day
o Others _______________________________

Analysis:
P referen c e

Newspapers % of readership
The Times of India 60%
The Hindustan Times 12%
Mid Day 12%
From the above analysis
Others 16%
we can see that the preference
of The Times of India is 60%, that of Mid-Day and The Hindustan Times is
The Tim es of IndiaThe Hindus tan Tim esM id Day O thers
12% and that of other papers are 16%. Hence from the data it is clearly seen
that The Times of India has the maximum readers. The preference of people
for the other newspapers had Mumbai Mirror, DNA and some regional
newspapers.
Pre
ference

%o
fre
ade
rship

1
00

7
5
6
0

5
0

2
5 1
2 1
2 1
6

0
T
heT
imesof T
heH
in
dusta
n M
idD
ay O
the
rs
Ind
ia Times
DATA ANALYSIS 4:

Question 4

When do you read newspapers?

o At Home
o While Traveling
o At Office
o At Library
o Others ______________________________

Analysis:
At Home W hile Traveling At Office At Library

Options % of people
At Home 66%
While Traveling 22% From the above data analysis
At Office 8% we can see that out of 100, 66% of
At Library 4% the people like to read newspaper
Others Nil sitting comfortably in their house,
22% like to read while traveled,
8% like to read sitting in their office cabin and 4% like reading in the
1
00

library. From this analysis we can say that people like to read newspaper in a
90
80
70
60

place which is convenient and more relaxed.

5
4
0
0
30
20
10
0
A
tHo
m e W h
ile A
tOffic
e A
tLib
rary
T
ra
velin
g
P
lac
es
DATA ANALYSIS 5:

Question 5

What do you look for in a newspaper?

o Business News
o Entertainment News
o Sports News
o Political News
o Others_______________________________

Analysis: B u s in es s N ew s E n terta in m e nt newSsp orts ne w s

P o litic a l n ew s O thers

Options % of people
Business news 12%
Entertainment news 46% From the above data, we come
Sports news 16% to know that 46% are interested to
read Entertainment news, 18% are
Political news 18%
interested in Political news, 16%
Others 8%
are interested in Sports news, 12%
are interested in Business news and 8% are interested in reading other news
like local news, general news etc. So from this we can say that newspaper is
B
usin
essN
ews E
nte
rta
in
m e
ntn
ews S
por
tsn
ews
P
olitic
aln
ews O
th
ers

now mainly considered as a source of entertainment rather than a source of

1
00
90

news/knowledge/information.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

DATA ANALYSIS 6:
Question 6

What do you prefer more?

o A Tabloid newspaper ( Mid-day, Mumbai Mirror, etc)

o A broadsheet newspaper (The Times of India,
Hindustan Times, etc)

Analysis:

Types of % of
Newspaper preference
A Tabloid 58%
Newspaper
A Broadsheet 42% Tabloid newspaper Broadsheet newspaper

newspaper

From the above data analysis we can see that 58% of newspaper
readers prefer to read a tabloid while only 42% of newspaper readers prefer
to read broadsheet. This clearly shows that the tabloids have taken away the
market from the broadsheets. This is all because of the use of yellow
journalism in the tabloids.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Tabloid newspaper Broadsheet newspaper

DATA ANALYSIS 7:
Question 7

Would you prefer your morning paper to be…?

o A Tabloid
o A Broadsheet

Analysis: A Tabloid
A Broadsheet

Types of % of Preference
Newspaper
A Tabloid 34%
A Broadsheet 66%

From this data analysis we can see that 66% of the readers prefer to
read broadsheet newspaper in the morning while there are only 34% of
readers who like to read tabloid newspapers in the morning. This analysis
shows that in spite of the increase of yellow journalism and in spite of
tabloids taking over the broadsheets; people prefer to read hard news before
they start their day.
A Tabloid
A B roads heet

100
90
80
70 66
60
50
40
30
34
20
10
0

DATA ANALYSIS 8:
Question 8

Would you prefer your afternoon paper to be…?

o A Tabloid
o A Broadsheet

Analysis:

Types of % of
Newspaper Preference A Tabloid A Broadsheet

A Tabloid 78% From the above analysis, we can see

A Broadsheet 22% that 78% of the newspaper readers prefer
a tabloid as their afternoon paper where
as merely 22% of the readers would like their afternoon paper to be a
broadsheet. This shows that most of the people want entertainment and more
of local news from their newspaper in the afternoon time.

A Broadsheet

A Tabloid 100
10

20

60

70

80

90
30

40

50
0

DATA ANALYSIS 9:

Question 9
Would you prefer content to size of a newspaper?

o Content
o Size

Analysis:
Content
Size

Options % of Preference
Content 80%
Size 20%
The above analysis shows that
80% readers prefer content to size. That means the size of the paper hardly
maters to the readers. It is the content of the newspaper that catches the eyes
of the readers. Hence it can be said that readers are much more interested in
the content of a broadsheet or a tabloid and the size of the paper does not
come in to the picture.

100
90
80
70
60
50
80
40
30
20
20
10
0
Content Size

DATA ANALYSIS 10:

Question 10
Do you really feel the difference on size counts for a
newspaper?

o Yes
o No

Analysis:

Options % of readers
Yes 38%
No 62% Yes NO

From the above data we can see that 38% of the

newspaper readers believe that the difference in the size of a
newspaper does count while 62% of the readers feel it dose not
make a difference.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes NO

DATA ANALYSIS 11:

Question 11
Should a tabloid cover serious news?

o Yes
o No

Analysis:
NO
20%

Options % of readers
Yes 80% Yes
80%

No 20%

From the above figures we can clearly see that 80% of the
newspaper readers want the inclusion of more serious and hard news. As per
this data, it can be said that people are expecting few things from the
tabloids and hence the tabloids have a great future ahead.

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes NO

Conclusion
 From the data analysis the following conclusions can be made
regarding the topic:

 Maximum of the population read newspaper on a daily basis.

 The number of people watching the news on television is more

than that of people reading news in a newspaper.

 The Times of India is the leader as it has the maximum number

of readership in India.

 Maximum people prefer to read newspaper sitting comfortably

at their own residence. There are a few who like to read a
newspaper while traveling or at office.

 The numbers of people who like to read tabloids are more than
that of people who like reading broadsheets.

 People like to read a broadsheet in the morning and a tabloid in

the afternoon.

 For the majority of the population, the size of the newspaper is

not as important as its contents.

 Maximum of the population want the tabloids to carry more of

serious news rather than carrying all un- important news.

Hypothesis Vs Conclusion
Hypothesis 1:
People prefer Broadsheet to Tabloid.

This hypothesis was proved wrong by the data acquired by

surveying the people. According to the data analysis, 58% of the population
prefers tabloids where as only 42% of the population prefer reading
broadsheets. But form the same data analysis we can also see that 66% of the
population want their morning newspaper to be a broadsheet and 78% of the
population want their afternoon paper to be a tabloid. This shows that people
like to all serious kind of news in the morning and they want entertainment
in the afternoon.

Hypothesis 2:
People like to read the news instead of watching it
on any news channel.

This hypothesis was also proved wrong after the data analysis
acquired by surveying the people. According to the data analysis, 54% of the
population prefers to watch the news on the television while only 46% of the
population prefers to read the news in a newspaper. This shows that now-a-
days, the readership of newspapers in reducing due to the increase in the
number of news channels. The viewers of news channels are increasing
because of the instantaneous news provided by them.

Hypothesis 3:
The size of a newspaper is an important factor.
 This hypothesis was also proved wrong after the data analysis
acquired by surveying the people. According to the survey conducted, 62%
of the population thinks that the size of the newspaper does not help in
choosing a newspaper or helps in its circulation. Hence from this we can say
that the sale of the tabloid is not because of its size but because of its
contents and the type of presentation.

So from these conclusions we can say that the battle between tabloids and
broadsheet is a very tough one and will go on for ages. As per now we can
say that the tabloids have a great future ahead as they are taking away the
market form the broadsheet. The tabloids have completely changed the
culture of journalism in India. The competition amongst the newspapers in
increasing and as a result the tabloids are increasing in the market.
 BIBILOGRAPHY
http://literaryindia.com/Literature/Literary-Criticism/tabloids.html

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/oct/17irs.htm

http://www.bangaloreone.gov.in/public/images/newspapers.jpg

www.timesofindia.com

www.mid-day.com

www.google.com

www.wikipedia.org

Reflections on Journalism (Prof. Raghupati Bhat)