Will delivery of NEWSPAPER be a premium service - Dead, or as in a decade?

Abstract:

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events,

informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on
relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were
6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a day. The worldwide
recession of 2008, combined with the rapid growth of web-based alternatives,
caused a serious decline in advertising and circulation, as many papers closed or
sharply retrenched operations. General-interest newspapers typically publish
stories on local and national political events and personalities, crime, business,
entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial
page containing editorials written by an editor and columns that express the
personal opinions of writers. The newspaper is typically funded by
paid subscriptions and advertising.

A wide variety of material has been published in newspapers, including editorial

opinions, criticism, persuasion and op-eds; obituaries; entertainment features such
as crosswords, sudoku and horoscopes; weather news and forecasts; advice, food
and other columns; reviews of radio, movies, television, plays and restaurants;
classified ads; display ads, radio and television listings, inserts from local
merchants, editorial cartoons, gag cartoons and comic strips.
Introduction:

The newspaper publishing industry is facing a structural challenge in which paid

titles have seen a long-term decline in circulation volume while advertisers have
been moving from newspapers to online channels and into new formats. These
trends are forecast to continue, and structural changes are now being exacerbated
and accelerated by the global economic downturn. How can newspaper publishers
successfully address these challenges? In this report we look at consumer and
advertiser trends, and at how industry leaders in a number of countries are
responding.

Newspapers have a long-term future and will coexist with other media. However
this is unlikely to be either in the formats or volumes seen today and there will some
casualties and losses of well-known papers along the way. Consumers place high
value on the deep insight and analysis provided by journalists over and above
general or breaking news stories. Consumers see breaking news and general interest
news as commodities, but there is always a market for high value online content in
specific topics. Newspapers have been able to earn their readers' trust and loyalty,
giving them the opportunity to both lead and follow audiences as they migrate
online and into the use of portable electronic media. Indeed, with the core principles
of deep analysis and trusted editorial, the medium is secondary to the brand. Use of
video in online news sites gives the feel of a ‘TV-like’ experience (consumers’
favourite medium for news) giving newspaper brands the opportunity to secure
online audiences beyond their print readership and into the television audience
more generally. Newspaper publishers have responded to the economic downturn
by increasing their focus on cost reduction. Many are also using multiple platforms
and new technologies as channels for content distribution in order to reach their
audiences. However, many have still to fully review their existing business models to
take full advantage of the innovation in the marketplace and the demands of
consumers.
The rapid adoption of the Internet and mobile technology have created a market for
mobile devices – particularly for the 'net generation', those under 35 in age. Though
the devices give immediate access to breaking news and information, they are low
on the list of preferences for accessing information due to the difficulty of reading
content on the devices. Sustainability has increased in importance both for the
newspaper publishers and for their readers, who attach high values to a publishing
company using sustainable production methods. Some newspapers have addressed
this issue, but many have not. For advertisers, access to mass markets remains key,
so major newspaper brands with large loyal customer bases will be high on the
spending plans of advertisers. The overall shift from print to online will continue
however, so newspaper publishers must continue to develop innovative advertising
packages combining both print and online to secure the advertising spend for their
brands. Niche audiences continue to demand specialised, targeted and relevant
information. This creates both an opportunity for advertisers to reach their
consumers and for newspapers to develop 'hyper-local' or 'local-local' sites
addressing content at the neighborhood and suburban level.

Although the long-term potential for growth online is huge, print remains the main
revenue driver for newspaper publishers. The stakeholder groups that are the main
contributors of revenue are print and online advertisers, subscribers and single copy
purchasers of the print version, and online visitors. The percentage of total revenue
generated through either print or online varies per country, and is highly dependent
on the penetration level of new technologies. On average, however, between 80 and
97% of revenue was still being generated in 2007 from print sales and advertising,
down from 90 to 99% in 2003, with the balance being generated online.

Both technological and market developments influence the outlook for the
newspaper publishing market. The rapid adoption of the Internet and mobile
technology have both facilitated the introduction of new online business models and
created a large market for mobile devices. The penetration rate of the Internet and
mobile telephony is a key factor that leads to differences in opportunities for
newspaper publisher as they depend on platforms for their delivery. There is a
difference in penetration rate between the surveyed countries
The Internet penetration rate in the Netherlands, for example, is among the highest
in the world, creating opportunities for video on demand and data traffic through
mobile networks. Other national factors have an impact in this respect as well. The
oligopoly in the market for data traffic in Canada has, for instance, been argued as
being a slowing factor in the adoption of mobile technology. Swiss publishers have
only recently begun to invest in online activities as the country
has a strong print tradition. Due to the introduction of new UMTS phones in
Germany, people are spending more time online with their mobile devices, requiring
newspaper publishers to increase their focus on providing online content. As a
result of these technological developments, new devices, concepts and media
platforms have emerged, drastically changing the competitive media landscape
during the last decade. Companies such as Google, YouTube and Facebook have been
able to profit from these developments and captured media time from traditional
providers. At the same time, traditional media providers in general and newspaper
publishers in particular have found it difficult to adopt new technologies and use
them to monetise content. The world economy is moving into a major recession. The
impact on the global newspaper market will be significant, especially in terms of
reduced print advertising revenue, and most newspaper publishers do not expect
recovery to begin before 2011.
Indian newspaper industry:
The global newspaper market is forecast to decline by 10.2% in 2009 and average a
2 percent compound annual decrease to 2013. Print advertising income showed
moderate growth between 2004 and 2007, but is expected to decline by 4.5% each
year between 2009 and 2013 as the recession exacerbates the ongoing migration of
readers and advertisers to online media. Meanwhile, online advertising showed
double digit growth rates between 2004 and 2008. Although it too is expected to be
impacted by the economic downturn in 2009, that same migration means its long
term prospects are favourable While all regions are being impacted by the current
economic gloom, the mature markets in EMEA and North America face stronger
declines in circulation and in advertising income in particular.
Various strategies have been employed in an effort to mitigate these market
developments. In a number of countries, including France, the Netherlands and the
USA, price increases have offset some of the decline in circulation. For several
newspapers in the US, including the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle,
demand has proven fairly elastic, allowing overall gains in subscription revenue.
Niche papers and free sheets were able to remain profitable in EMEA and North
America in the period from 2004 to 2007, but declines in print advertising are
expected to lead to cutbacks in print runs for free dailies during the next two years.
In some countries, such as Switzerland, Sunday editions of newspapers remain
successful, and some publishers have successfully increased circulation by offering
various subscription alternatives. The historic home delivery model in the INDIA
involved the local newsagent delivering the newspaper to people's homes for a fee.
Now some INDIA newspaper groups are trying to develop direct home delivery
services of their own. Both the Times and the Financial Times have introduced
direct-to-the-home delivery services, currently restricted to London, to develop a
more loyal subscriber base.

Some newspapers have had to adopt radical measures in order to survive. The
Seattle Post-Intelligencer produced its last print edition in March 2009,
transforming itself into an Internet-only news source. The move enabled the 'paper'
to reduce its staff from 165 to 20. Staff members for the Rocky Mountain News,
which was closed in February 2009, plan to start an online news publication if they
can get 50,000 paying subscribers by April 2009. The site would offer some news
free, with advertising revenue footing part of the bill. Readers who buy subscriptions
starting at $4.99 a month for a year's commitment would get extra features,
including columns, interactive features, feeds to mobile devices and customisable
content. Many other US newspapers, such as the Philadelphia Inquirer and the
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, are in the midst of restructuring, while the Chicago-based
Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times as well as the Chicago Tribune itself,
filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008. The issues faced by local
newspapers in particular present a mixed picture internationally. Both in the US and
the INDIA, for instance, this segment is seen as being at great risk. One source
recently predicted that half of the 20,000 jobs in the local newspaper industry in the
INDIA would be lost in the next five years. In Canada though, the local newspaper
market is particularly large and still relatively healthy. Advertising is declining for
both national and local newspapers, leading to major cost reduction and
restructuring initiatives.

Contrary to the trends mentioned above, the newspaper industry is still growing in
some developing countries. In India, for example, where the economy remained
relatively buoyant through 2008, both traditional print circulation and advertising
revenue have continued a steady growth. In 2007, the Indian print media industry
recorded a growth of 16% over the previous year. Newspaper publishing, which
constitutes 87% of the segment, grew at 17% in 2007, whereas magazine
publishing, which contributes the remaining 13%, grew at a marginally lower rate of
15%.

The Indian newspaper industry is highly fragmented and regionally-dominant. India

has over 60,000 registered newspapers printed in 22 Indian languages.
Furthermore, newspapers in Arab countries showed steady growth figures in recent
years and are expected to grow further in the coming years. For a detailed analysis
of the Arab newspaper market, we refer to the Arab Media Outlook 2009-2013. A
further development is the growing importance of sustainability issues. Newspaper
publishers are increasingly aware of this, and several interviewees indicated that
they either already incorporate 'greener' solutions in their production process or
have them high on their agenda. A Canadian publisher indicated that the need for
'being green' as a publisher is partly driven by the readers who attach high values to
a publishing company using sustainable production methods.

The shift to online will mitigate criticism of paper use. This criticism is aimed in
particular at the free paper sector, due to the quantities of wastage and litter it
generates. An Australian publisher is, however, quoted as saying: As a lot of our
product is made on recycled paper, our carbon footprint is not too bad. In Germany, a
new distribution concept 'Lesezirkel' introduced a new kind of recycling process.
Readers are provided with a monthly assortment of newspapers, either as first or
subsequent readers, using the same copies several times and eventually returning
them to the subscription service.

Consumers have a willingness to pay of 62% for general online news content
compared to 100% for general print news content. The abundance of free content,
however, has an impact on demand and supply. While the vast majority of
consumers indicate that they are primarily interested in general news, a growing
segment is increasingly demanding specialised, targeted and relevant information.
In our research, newspaper publishers identify the niche approach as an
opportunity for future growth. Both consumers and advertisers have demonstrated
a willingness to pay more for high value, topic-specific publications than they would
for newspapers providing general news only. The mindset of consumers with
respect to paying for online content to change in the next few years as a result of
increased general consumer spending on the Internet. The majority of consumers
use TV and free Internet content as the main media for consuming news and
background information, closely followed by radio and paid newspapers. The
current potential for e-readers seems limited, mainly due to unfamiliarity with this
medium. Consumers are currently unwilling to pay for online content on mobile
devices. The respondents to our survey indicated that this was mainly due to the
difficulty of reading the information on screen. However, additional studies also
identify the data transfer charges made by telecom providers as a major factor.

Readers expect to be part of the intellectual debate and to be able to contribute to

'their' newspaper, both in terms of commenting on stories and in providing content.
Consumer survey were asked to indicate which media they prefer to gather news
and background information, the reasons for their preference and the type of news
content they prefer to read in newspapers. To indicate their willingness to pay for
different types of content, online and on traditional paper, and whether they would
consider buying goods and services from newspaper websites after reading reviews
of them. That television and the Internet (when content was provided free of charge)
currently represent the media mix they use most for gathering news and
background information. Nevertheless, while television and 'free' Internet were
independently the most popular media, newspapers were given a comparable
ranking to each of them if free and paid-for titles are combined Regarding the
amount of time spent each day on gathering news and information from each
medium, the consumers in our survey indicated that they spend most time on
television, free content on the Internet and paid newspapers.

Television is the most intensively used medium, with an average of around 43

minutes a day, perhaps an edition of evening broadcast news together with some
background information from more in-depth programming. Newspapers were
ranked second, with an average time spent per day of 33 minutes. Consumers who
pay for online content spend on average 20 minutes a day on the Internet, while
users of free online content spend 15 minutes. Time spent on magazines and radio
averages less than 10 minutes a day. When asked their preference in the
hypothetical situation of price not being a factor and if their choice was restricted to
paper, online, e-paper and mobile devices, however, our respondents told us that
traditional newspapers would be their first choice for news consumption. An
average of 69% of respondents across the seven surveyed countries indicated that
newspapers would then become their first choice, 29% chose online sources, with
the remaining 2% opting fore-paper or mobile devices first. The gap between
traditional newspapers and online was, however, significantly smaller for younger
respondents.

Among those respondents for whom newspapers became the first choice when price
is ignored and TV is taken out of the equation, 90% indicated that online sources
would be their second choice for news consumption. The choice for traditional
paper is relatively consistent across the seven surveyed countries. The US was the
only exception in this respect, where only 53% of respondents gave newspapers as
their first choice. While age produced marked differences, educational level and
gender had no significant impact on the first choice of medium. Of the US
respondents, 43% rated online as their first choice of news consumption. This is
10% more than the average of the Canadian, INDIA and German respondents, and
almost 20% more than the Dutch and Swiss average.
This balance between print and online illustrates the challenge publishers face
globally in satisfying significant numbers of readers across both platforms.
According to a US publisher, the ability to balance this demand will be key to the
future of his business. In addition to only 2% of all respondents rating e-paper or
mobile devices as their first choice of news consumption, mobile devices are the last
choice with regard to news consumption for 70% of all respondents surveyed. The
main reasons given were difficulties with reading and unfamiliarity. As noted in the
previous section, the situation in developing markets is often different, as evidenced
by the continuing growth in traditional newspaper circulation in India The three
main reasons respondents gave for their preference
for traditional paper were the in-depth news coverage, the ability to provide a quick
overview and its user-friendliness Older readers in particular indicated in-depth
news coverage as the main reason for their preference for newspapers.
Respondents who favoured online also mentioned that it provided a quick overview,
but the availability of video was their principal reason, as well as the ability to
customize content. It is interesting to note that the inclusion of video gives online
news delivery one of the benefits of TV as a medium. It is quite remarkable that the
desire to receive real time, up-to-date news (including breaking news) was not
mentioned by the respondents.

As such a small percentage of our respondents made e-paper and other mobile
devices their first choice as alternatives for reading newspaper content, it is perhaps
more useful to look at the reasons why these As such a small percentage of our
respondents made e-paper and other mobile devices their first choice as alternatives
for reading newspaper content, it is perhaps more useful to look at the reasons why
these were their last choice. The survey, the main reason why respondents select
mobile devices as their last choice is that these are difficult to read, leading to the
conclusion that these devices obviously do not serve their purpose. Rather than full
newspaper content, there may be a good market for headlines and breaking news on
mobile devices, but this was beyond the scope of the current survey. The main
reason for selecting an electronic paper as a last choice was unfamiliarity with this
medium. The consumer survey also addressed the respondents' preferences for
types of newspaper content. According to our research, general news is the first
choice of preferred content for the vast majority of respondents this is consistent
across the seven surveyed countries. It also remains the preferred content category
across the different age groups.

More than half of the respondents of every age group and educational level
preferred sports or entertainment content Older respondents showed a higher
preference for paid high quality finance and sports content than younger
respondents. Higher educated respondents also preferred financial content more
often. For other content categories, there appears to be no link with level of
education Examination of gender differences showed that males valued finance and
sports content more highly, whereas entertainment content was more valued by
females.

More than half of both males and females indicated a preference for sports and
entertainment content combined. The consumer survey also examined the
willingness to pay for content on the various platforms: traditional paper, online,
e-paper and mobile devices. 'Willingness to pay' is defined as the maximum amount
that respondents are willing to pay for a product. Within this amount, however, they
will choose the cheapest available product with comparable quality. To estimate the
respondents' willingness to pay, the statistical method of conjoint analysis was used,
allowing participants to express their preference on different news options multiple
times. An overview of the methodology can be found. The overall initial finding was
that respondents were only willing to pay a maximum of 62% for high quality news
content online (with the same content on traditional paper stated at 100%) This
does not mean that they would actually buy online content at this amount however.
Free content is abundant online and consumers would choose free content when the
quality was comparable or sufficient for their purpose. On average, respondents
expressed no willingness to pay for general news and background information on e-
paper or mobile devices, and they do not see them as alternatives for full
newspapers.

A breaking down of willingness to pay for high quality general news content online
demonstrates that the main target audience for this segment is the group of people
younger than 50. Older respondents are less willing to pay for high quality online
newspapers compared to high quality traditional papers. The youngest respondents
are willing to pay about 28% less for high quality general news online, whereas the
oldest group is willing to pay 55% less for high quality general news online . Note
that the willingness to pay for the different age categories is compared to the
willingness to pay for a traditional newspaper (100%). This base category of 100%
can be different for different age groups, i.e. they can have a different willingness to
pay for a traditional newspaper. Interestingly, consumers with a particular interest
in sports and financial content expressed a relatively high willingness to pay for this
content online when compared to a 100% willingness to pay for general news
content in a traditional
newspaper. Respondents preferring financial content are willing to pay a maximum
of 97% as much on average for a high quality online newspaper with a focus on
finance compared to general news on traditional paper. The average willingness to
pay of respondents preferring sports content was particularly high. They told us that
they would be prepared to pay as much as 77% of what they would pay for a high
quality traditional paper with general news for an online newspaper with a focus on
sports. It should be noted that print subscriptions for financial newspapers typically
cost around twice as much as general newspapers

Advertisers' Perspective:
Advertisers are searching for an integrated approach to achieve the best return on
investment, choosing a selection of multiple platforms to achieve their strategy.They
are looking for a constant dialogue with customers. The shift of advertising revenue
from print to online is expected to continue over the next few years. In order to
maintain overall advertising market share, newspaper publishers will have to
develop innovative advertising packages for advertisers, covering both print and
online. TV appears to remain the most attractive medium for advertisers. It is
considered to be reliable and able tor each a mass audience. In contrast to the
results of our consumer survey,advertisers and their manufacturers have fairly high
expectations of mobile devices. Developing commercially successful models for user-
generated content and social networking sites appears to be difficult. Advertisers
are still reluctant to invest in these initiatives due to the difficulty of controlling the
environment. For newspapers, however, social networking is an inexpensive
mechanism to connect to content-creating consumers.
Advertisers with a larger spend still mainly aim at mass markets, as the relative
costs are lower and the rewards are higher compared to niche targeting. Niche
content can provide an increased ROI on ad spend though, a key advantage amidst
the renewed focus on accountability in the economic downturn. Advertisers are also
looking for greater 'accountability' from the media they use, translating their mass
spend into measurable results. The economic downturn will accelerate the shift of
advertising budgets to media types that are perceived as more reliable and
measurable. Advertisers and media buyers can nowadays choose from a variety of
channels to target their desired audiences. They are looking for an integrated, multi-
platform approach in order to achieve the best return on their investment.
Historically, no platform has yet become extinct. Advertisers are tending to shift
towards the emerging platforms however. Platforms are selected on the basis of the
desired target audiences and the effectiveness, reach and costs of the channel. In
general, a combination of platforms is selected. As one Italian advertiser told us,
Communication on different platforms is key in the strategy of our company. Media
companies are currently only at the start of their transformation into organisations
that focus on cross platform selling. An Australian media buyer indicated during our
research that the cross-platform combination of newspapers and online offers
significant advantages: They are both text based and provide quick consumer
satisfaction and delivery in the search for information. The adoption of a cross-
platform approach could help newspaper publishers to capture a greater share of
increasingly fragmented advertising budgets. The global economic downturn will
cause a decline in total advertising expenditure in 2009. While it is forecast to
recover and resume its growth in 2010, largely due to increased spending on
Internet and TV, newspaper advertising is expected to remain flat at best.

Currently there is a broad consensus in the market that these figures might be too
optimistic. Although the 2009 to 2011 outlook may have deteriorated since the
forecast, the relative splits of advertising between media remain instructional.
Recent years have seen an increase in the number of free newspapers in major city
markets in many developed countries. These free papers have taken some
advertising from their paid circulation counterparts. However, since they are 100%
dependent on advertising revenue, the overall decline in advertising spend will have
an even greater impact on these papers.

While multiple studies indicate that the best strategy in terms of long-term return
on investment is to increase marketing efforts during an economic downturn, many
of the advertisers we talked to mentioned that their budget had decreased for 2009.
And some revealed that they had already substantially cut spending last year. The
economic crisis is also causing advertisers to shift their budget to media that they
consider to be more 'accountable' and 'measurable'. The significance of this is,
however, lessened by lack of consensus over the comparative value of traditional,
online and mobile metrics. Due to the increasing number of media platforms, the
trend towards multi-platform advertising and declining newspaper readership,
advertising expenditure has been shifting away from newspapers for the last five
years, and this trend is forecast to continue According to most of the interviewed
advertisers and media buyers, TV remains the most attractive medium, as it is
considered to have the highest reliability and the largest audience reach.

The increase in number of media channels in recent years has led to fragmentation,
as advertisers followed their customers to new media types. Print media in general
and newspapers in particular lost market share as a result of this shift. This trend is
expected to continue for the ext few years. Several advertisers and media agencies
expect mobile applications and, in some countries, pay TV advertising to become
more mature and gain market share, mainly at the expense of the other channels. A
perception that newspaper publishers lack innovation seems to be exacerbating the
situation for them. A Dutch advertiser told us that his company had developed its
own platforms for the Internet, and that he expected to spend more on TV and less
on newspapers in the coming five years. An Italian advertiser noted: A more
innovative approach to advertisers would attract investors back to newspapers.

Advertisers actively try to incorporate the behaviour of their customers into their
strategy and respond to this accordingly. An example is the trend for job seekers to
use the Internet rather than newspapers. Recruitment ads have traditionally formed
a significant portion of newspaper publishers' advertising revenue, but the comment
from one Dutch advertiser that they had shifted 80% of their recruitment budget to
the Internet was echoed by several advertisers in other countries. A US newspaper
publisher also told us that employment ads had led the flight of classified ad revenue
from print to online. Almost all consumer-to-consumer classified advertising has
now moved to the Internet in most developed markets. Some important differences
can be observed, however. Newspapers in the INDIA and some other countries have
lost significant classified advertising market share to online-only classified
advertising websites. Else where, newspapers have been able to move their
dominance of classified advertising from print to their own websites, placing them
in a better position when the economy recovers. This demonstrates that, providing
that they offer attractive and effective websites to advertisers and leverage their
brands, newspapers can still make money with online classifieds.
Objective of the Study:
Although there is a huge potential for growth online, print remains the largest
source of revenue generation for newspaper publishers, and will continue to be so
for some time.
Literature Review:

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.

During the last decade, unlike several developed countries, the newspaper industry
in India has shown intense competition; not only have new newspapers been
launched but also newspapers published from one city or state have
launched new editions in different cities and states. Several traditional
newspaper bastions have been successfully breached. Today, newspaper
industry in India is being described as the Sunrise Industry as against the
Sunset Industry in the rest of the world. It is predicted that in the next decade
the print industry in India will grow at a rate of 5 percent. Top dailies across
the country have seen growth in readership in the recent round of IRS.
Publishers are now looking for strengthening their brands and for new
opportunities to ride this wave.

For every business promotion there is a strong need of effective advertising so as to

make the brand recognizable worldwide. There are various means of advertising
available, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio and Internet. In India,
newspaper advertising is one of the oldest means of promotion for any product or
service. Reading newspaper is a daily practice of many people in India, and due to
this popularity of newspaper in India it is known to be a good medium of
advertising.

The success of newspaper advertising in India is due to its wide reach and visibility.
Through advertising in newspapers, you can target the Indian market on a wider
scale as well as get in contact with a large group of people. So, it would not be wrong
to say that through newspaper advertising you can advertise your product or service
at one shot among a large group of people. Another beneficial factor of newspaper
advertising in India is that it has different newspapers in different languages, and in
this way you can easily capture your target group and advertise accordingly to meet
your business objectives.

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising.

General-interest newspapers offer feature articles on political events, crime,
business, art, entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature
an editorial page containing columns that express the personal opinions of writers.
Supplementary sections mostly contain advertising, comics and coupons. A wide
range of material has been published in newspapers, including editorial opinions,
criticism, arguments, obituaries’ amusement features such as crosswords, Sudoku
and horoscopes; weather news and forecasts; advice, gossip, food and other
columns; critical reviews of movies, plays and restaurants; classified
advertisements; display advertisements, editorial cartoons and comic strips
(Wikipedia). The new ICT (Information Communication Technology) came as both
an opportunity and a risk from the point of view of the traditional printed
newspapers. As a form of computer-aided communication, the WWW (World Wide
Web) is equally a competition for the print media. Its technical potential greatly
surpasses that of the printed newspapers in a number of ways. WWW has the
advantages of being interactive, multimedia, of providing internal and external
networks and offering selection functions, the possibility of regular updates, access
to archives, rapid access to a large number of newspapers, and being paperless, thus
creating no problems of waste disposal. One advantage left to newsprint is that
reading it does not require any sophisticated, bulky technical equipment. This offers
the reader a high level of flexibility: newsprint can basically be read in any place at
any time. The reader can absorb the information offered at his own pace. Even the
fact that the reader can touch and feel the printed paper while turning the pages
may be of some importance. On the one hand, WWW presents a threat to the
traditional distribution system; on the other hand it gives publishing houses the
opportunity to offer up-to-date information, advertisements and additional services
via a further communication channel (Van Oostendorp 1998). The aim of this write-
up is to take a look on the newspapers published from different states of India and in
different languages with problems and prospects with respect to access.

History of newspapers in India

Newspapers in India started with William Bolts, an ex-employee of the British East
India Company who attempted to start the first newspaper in India in 1776. In 1780,
James Augustus Hicky started Bengal Gazette, a two-sheet newspaper that
publicised the private lives of the ‘sahibs’ of the Company. In the newspaper, Hicky
even dared to mount insulting attacks on the governor- general and chief justice, for
which he was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rs 5, 000, which finally
drove him to poverty. These were the first tentative steps of journalism in India. B.
Messink Welby and Peter Reed were workable publishers of the India Gazette, unlike
their infamous predecessors. The colonial establishment started the Calcutta
Gazette. It was followed by another private initiative, the Bengal Journal. The Madras
Courier was started in 1785 in the southern stronghold of Madras. Richard Johnson,
its founder, was a government printer. Madras got its second newspaper when, in
1791, Hugh Boyd, who was the editor of the Courier quit and founded the Hurkaru.
Tragically for the paper, it ceased publication when Boyd passed away within a year
of its founding. It was only in 1795 that competitors to the Courier emerged with the
founding of the Madras Gazette followed by the India Herald. The latter was an
‘unauthorized’ publication, which led to the deportation of its founder Humphreys.
The Madras Courier was designated the purveyor of official information in the
Presidency. In 1878, The Hindu was founded, and played a vital role in promoting
the cause of Indian independence from the colonial yoke. Its founder, Kasturi Ranga
Iyengar, was a lawyer, and his son, K Srinivasan assumed editorship of this
pioneering newspaper during the first half of the 20th century. Bombay surprisingly
was a late starter. The Bombay Herald came into existence in 1789. Significantly, a
year later a paper called The Courier started carrying advertisements in Gujarati.
The first media merger of sorts happened with The Bombay Gazette, which was
started in 1791, merging with The Bombay Herald the following year. Like, The
Madras Courier, this new entity was recognized as the publication to carry ‘official
notifications and advertisements’. Compared with many other developing countries,
the Indian press has flourished since independence and exercises a large degree of
independence (Stephens 2008). Among the newspapers from Bengal, Yugantar and
Amritbazar Patrika played a crucial role in freedom struggle. Today India has more
than 2000 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of 88 million and some of
leading dailies are The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Telegraph, Asian Age,
Indian Express, The Economic Times, The Pioneer and many more. With the
introduction of the internet, web-based ‘newspapers’ have also started online-only
publications. In India, major newspapers went online to provide latest and most
updated news from them. Some newspapers even provide e-paper which is regarded
as the digital replica of the newspaper. The demand for online newspapers has been
increasing for the past few years with the growing reach of internet. India’s
70,000,000 internet users comprise approximately 6.0 percent of the country’s
population and about 4,010,000 people in India have access to broadband internet
as of 2008 figures.

An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on

the WWW or internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed
periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspapers in presenting
breaking news in a timely manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of
well-established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers,
are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of
survival. The movement away from the printing process can also help decrease
costs. Online newspapers are much like hardcopy newspapers and have the same
legal boundaries, such as laws regarding libel, privacy and copyright, also apply to
online publications in most countries, like in the UK (Wikipedia). Some newspapers
have attempted to integrate the internet into every aspect of their operations, i.e.,
reporters writing stories for both print and online, and classified advertisements
appearing in both media; others operate websites that are more distinct from the
printed newspaper. Physically on the basis of publication policy, online newspapers
are of three types –

 Online-only newspapers – Online-only paper is a paper that does not have

any hard copy connections. It is independent web-only newspaper.

 Hybrid newspapers – There are some newspapers which are predominantly

an online newspaper, but also provide limited hard copy publishing.
 Soft-copy news sheet – A news sheet is a paper that is on one or two pages
only. Soft-copy sheets are like online newspapers, in that they have to be
predominantly news, not advert or gossip based. These sheets can be
updated periodically or regularly, unlike a newspaper. They must also like a
newspaper be regarded as a news outlet by media groups and governments.

There are some advantages of online newspapers for their users: online newspapers
are still mostly free of charge, often updated throughout the day, easily
accessible for everyone with an internet connection; and they can be visited
while working at one’s PC. As of 2009, the collapse of the traditional business
model of print newspapers has led to various attempts to establish local,
regional or national online-only newspapers - publications that do original
 reporting, rather than just commentary or summaries of reporting from
other publications.

Gazettes and bulletins

In China, early government-produced news sheets, called tipao, circulated among

court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between
713 and 734, the Kaiyuan Za Bao (Bulletin of the Court) of the Chinese Tang
Dynasty published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by
government officials. In 1582, there was the first reference to privately published
newssheets in Beijing, during the late Ming Dynasty.

In Ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or government announcement bulletins, were

produced. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places. In Early
modern Europe the increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for
information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the
government of Venice first published the monthly Notizie scritte, which cost
one gazetta. These avvisi were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political,
military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500–1700) —
sharing some characteristics of newspapers though usually not considered true
newspapers. However, none of these publications fully met the classical criteria for
proper newspapers, as they were typically not intended for the general public and
restricted to a certain range of topics.

The newspaper has a weekly circulation of more than four thousand copies, but its
offices are modest. One small room with bright blue walls houses the production
team which comprises no fewer than seven people at any given time. The adjacent
room, piled high with old editions, is the reception area hosting a steady stream of
local businessmen and women here to take out advertisements. Advertisements are
the lifeblood of this local newspaper and its pages are filled with classified postings
for jobs and services. This is in stark contrast to that of many local newspapers in
the US and the UK, which have been forced to shut down or scale back because of
diminishing advertising income. "The story in India is quite different because local
businesses are growing because of globalisation and opening up of the markets.

Despite the hold the television industry has on the country, it is the print press
which is attracting more advertisers, making up 47% of the overall share. In the past
year alone, advertising spend for print media was worth $2.86bn (£1.74bn). A recent
industry analysis from KPMG and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FICCI) suggested that the value of the Indian newspaper industry has
grown by two-thirds in the past six years.

Industrial Revolution

By the early 19th century, many cities in Europe, as well as North and South
America, published newspaper-type publications though not all of them developed
in the same way; content was vastly shaped by regional and cultural
preferences. Advances in printing technology related to the Industrial
Revolution enabled newspapers to become an even more widely circulated means of
communication. In 1814, The Times (London) acquired a printing press capable of
making 1,100 impressions per minute.

Soon, it was adapted to print on both sides of a page at once. This innovation made
newspapers cheaper and thus available to a larger part of the population. In 1830,
the first penny press newspaper came to the market: Lynde M. Walter's
Boston Transcript. Penny press papers cost about one sixth the price of other
newspapers and appealed to a wider audience. In France, EÉ mile de Girardin started
La Presse in 1836, introducing cheap, advertising-supported dailies to France. In
1848, August Zang, an Austrian who knew Girardin in Paris, returned to Vienna to
introduce the same methods with Die Presse (which was named for and frankly
copied Girardin's publication)

Categories:

While most newspapers are aimed at a broad spectrum of readers, usually

geographically defined, some focus on groups of readers defined more by their
interests than their location: for example, there are daily and weekly business
newspapers and sports newspapers. More specialist still are some weekly
newspapers, usually free and distributed within limited areas; these may serve
communities as specific as certain immigrant populations, or the local gay
community.

A lot of Indian Media houses because of their sheer might and questionable ethics
get away with very good deals for themselves and leave the partners (typically small
startups or technology providers) to eat the crumbs. An undernourished ecosystem
is as good as dead. I have seen this behavior time and again in the large companies in
India who treat smaller companies like dirt. This behavior is further re-inforced as
self funded or poorly funded startups desperate for cash who are not mature enough
to understand contracts or hire lawyers to help understand the contracts simply
sign on the dotted line. Very soon these startups die and the big Media house that
just bet its core service on this company are now looking for other small startups to
prey on. My message to startup founders is to be very vary of un-equitable
partnerships. Have the courage to walk away from a bad deal. It doesn’t matter how
big or famous the partner you are working with is.

In 2005, the total industry was worth $2.64bn dollars. This rose to $4.37bn in 2010.
It is predicted to continue to rise at an annual rate of 10% between 2011-2014. The
localisation of content and the introduction of specific pullouts, such as wedding
supplements and womens' sections, is one reason why newspapers continue to pull
in advertisers. More than 107 million copies of newspapers were circulated daily
across India in 2009, according to the World Association of Newspapers, and it's
estimated that one in every five daily newspapers in the world is published in the
country.

Increased literacy is one reason for the rise in newspaper readership in India - not
just in English language titles but in regional languages. Almost one-third of India's
579 million literate population is said to read a newspaper now, according to KPMG
analysis. Across India there are hundreds of titles in regional dialects. The country's
two top-selling newspapers are Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar, according to the
Media Research Users Council. Both are published in Hindi and continue to attract
readers and revenue.

The paper had a "virtual monopoly" in the English language newspaper market in
Chennai, but in recent years other national newspapers such as the Times of India
have started editions, associate editor of The Hindu.The paper now has a number of
regional editions, which contain national content alongside pages of localised news
relevant to the distribution area. "We're having to expand and open more editions,".
"This is a large country so you need to have multiple printing centres. More and
more newspapers are reaching out to places where they haven't before."Another
reason for increased readership is the low cost of buying a newspaper. Pricing is at
about a tenth of the price of a newspaper in America or in the UK so it's possible for
an upper middle-class family to buy two or three newspapers a day."

Internet has yet to fully penetrate the rural and less developed parts of India. While
many newspaper markets have been hit by the growth of online journalism the
outlook for Indian print media remains buoyant. The figures on the numbers of
newspapers in India vary greatly, but it's believed there is thousands rather than
hundreds of in them the country, with many more editions being added all the time.
One of the key reasons is the low penetration of internet outside large urban centres.
"India is considered among those developing countries that will last see the wrath of
digital penetration because Internet penetration is still nascent and consumer
migration has not yet happened,". In the West, the rise of the internet has been a
driving factor in the demise of many print editions. Paul Gillin, who runs the website
newspaperdeathwatch.org, says by one count he saw more than 200 weeklies close
in the US 2009 alone. While they are growing considerably and raking in the profits
of India's rapid expansion, the newspapers in the country are well aware of the
imminent threat posed by the web.

Daily:

A daily newspaper is issued every day, sometimes with the exception of Sundays and
occasionally Saturdays, and often of some national holidays. Saturday and, where
they exist, Sunday editions of daily newspapers tend to be larger, include more
specialized sections and advertising inserts, and cost more. Typically, the majority of
these newspapers’ staff work Monday to Friday, so the Sunday and Monday editions
largely depend on content done in advance or content that is syndicated. Most daily
newspapers are published in the morning. Afternoon or evening papers are aimed
more at commuters and office workers.

Leadership has a Journalism background – Most of the leadership in these

companies is tenured gray haired journalists who paid their dues in the Print
business and believe that the Internet model is very similar to the traditional print
business. There isn’t a single technology based Internet company that has had
journalists as leaders. All of us saw the case of Terry Semel, the gray haired Media
Industry Suit (not even a Journo) run Yahoo! to the ground. This breed believes in
old school journalism and don’t believe that Internet companies are all about
delivering quality journalism using the the best technology.

2. Cannot disrupt their cash cow(Newspapers) – Successful Internet companies

were created when something was disrupted for something better, faster, cheaper.
However, traditional media houses cannot even start to think of the inevitable end of
their cash cow business.

3. Lack of appreciation for technology – Since these companies are typically run by
media industry suits or journalists and not the technologists who are viewed as the
second class citizens in these organizations, all critical decision making is handled
by the the non-techie kind.

4. Inability to qualify, attract, retain talent – since the management of these

companies is so caught up in promoting their own kind (media suits or journalists),
they cannot attract good technical talent to create and run their own Internet
Service.

National

Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the whole
country: a national newspaper, as contrasted with a local newspaper serving a city
or region. Some national newspapers, such as The Financial Times and The Wall
Street Journal, are specialised (in these examples, on financial matters). There are
many national newspapers in the INDIA, but only few in the United
States and Canada. In the United States, in addition to national newspapers as
such, The New York Times is available throughout the country. Almost every market
has one or two newspapers that dominate the area. Large metropolitan newspapers
often have large distribution networks, and can be found outside their normal area,
sometimes widely, sometimes from fewer sources. The inspiring examples of
creativity and guts shining through, a sense of gloom continues to pervade the print
newspaper industry.

By contrast, the newspaper business in India seems almost embarrassingly in the

pink of health. Over the past decade, aggregate circulations have grown at over 5%
per annum and advertising revenues at upwards of 15% (despite the recent
slowdown, from which the industry has bounced back with a spirited growth of
more than 18%). Of course “yes,” but only in part. The print industry isn't merely
riding an overall economic boom. It is, in fact, growing faster than most other
industries and faster than other media, including the far younger television industry.
Over the decade, print has actually increased its overall revenue share within media!

1. Does print continue to thrive in India only because online hasn't as yet
developed enough to seriously eat into its lunch? For a large part of the
industry (especially Indian language newspapers) this is true. Yet for English
newspapers, despite over 70% of readers having ready access to the Internet,
the patronage of print continues relatively unabated. An extremely low cover
price that ranges from a mere Rs 1.50 to Rs 5 (US$0.03 to US$0.10) per copy.

2. A system of direct distribution that enables some 50 million copies to be

home-delivered on time, morning after morning.

3. A clear and palpable focus towards young readers, even at the risk of
occasionally annoying the old.

Over the next few weeks try and expand on each of these factors. But in this post,
let's start with price. Indian newspapers today cost pretty much the same as they
did 15 years ago — despite inflation of over 400% in the same time period. At under
US$0.05 (5 cents), the product is cheaper than in perhaps any other large
newspaper market in the world. In many cases, newspapers cost less than the
salvage price for old paper, making them effectively less expensive than free.

How did this happen? The trend was perhaps led by the company I work for (The
Times of India), where we came to a realisation as early as in the mid-1990s that
against the escalating onslaught from free newsmedia like television (Internet was
yet to happen!), it was important to make the cover price of newspapers a virtual
non-issue for readers. We had inherent faith that if we were able to build a large
enough readership, advertising would pay for it. We were willing to jettison the
stream of circulation revenue for the sake of maximising advertising revenue. And
this bet has clearly paid off handsomely. From time to time — such as after the
global downturn of late 2008 — several newspapers get tempted to raise cover
prices as an immediate way out of their difficulties. Given the reader loyalty which
print tends to enjoy in the short-run, this could well be argued as sound pragmatism.

Online

Virtually all printed newspapers have online editions, which depending on the
country may be regulated by journalism organizations such as the Press Complaints
Commission in the INDIA. But as some publishers find their print-based models
increasingly unsustainable, Web-based newspapers have also started to appear, such
as the Southport Reporter in the INDIA and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which
stopped publishing in print after 149 years in March 2009 and went online only.

Another popular way seen to enter into other territories quickly has been by
acquisitions, like Times of India group acquired Bangalore-based publishing house,
Vijayanand Printers to tap the southern market. The Vijay Times group was
comparatively a newcomer to the industry, with its promoters coming from the
transport business, but with good political background. Soon, Times of India group
launched its Kannada daily ‘The Times of India Kannada’ in Bangalore.

It’s really surprising that how fierce competitors join hands to form new strategies -
first it was in collective marketing campaigns and now a joint newspaper as well. As
a new marketing alliance, Business Standard has tied up with Desh Pardes Ni
AajKaal, a Gujarati evening newspaper, for advertising combination. This step has
been taken to grow the circulation of Business Standard in Saurashtra and Kutch
regions.
Hindustan Times and Times of India jointly launched a newspaper ‘Metro Now,’ a
morning tabloid targeted at the age group of 18-30 years. Metro Now is published by
Metropolitan Media; a 50:50 joint venture between HT Media and The Times of
India group. Even though the tabloids have not been very successful in the past,
specially in Delhi, but this market is now set to experience world-class changes as
three major tabloids are lined up for Delhi region alone - first it was Metro Now and
recently Mid Day group has relaunched its afternoon tabloid ‘Mid Day Delhi’ on the
same content lines as ‘Mid Day Mumbai.’ Both the newspapers are targeted at the
young readers who are regularly on the move. Besides, the Times of India group is
set to launch Bangalore Mirror, another tabloid for the IT city Bangalore. In terms of
adopting new technologies, the newspapers have realized that customer is the king
and amidst so many choices, readers would go for newspapers that are more reader-
specific, content-rich and give value for money. The blackand- white technology is
becoming passeé whether it is a mobile phone or a newspaper. Today, readers prefer
all-colour editions and more and more newspapers have come out with all-colour
editions. This has necessitated the newspaper publishers to opt for CtP technology,
which by default has improved the print quality and reduced the waste percentage.
Besides, the newspapers are also going in for makeover of their publications, in
terms of layout, font and sometimes even masthead. For this, they are spending
substantial money and are even taking help of international designers. The cut-off
size 546 mm is preferred over 578 mm, which has resulted in savings in newsprint
cost. The price of the newspapers also dwindled and some newspapers even went to
the extent of offering their newspaper at Re 1 only. The newly launched Metro Now
newspaper is also offered for a cover price of Re 1 only and provides 40 pages in
colour and 8 in black-and-white.

All these trends have facilitated a lot of business potential to press manufacturers
and consumable suppliers like that of ink, plates and newsprint. The web press
manufacturers in India have been keeping themselves busy round-theclock. Infact, a
few of these manufacturers gained presence in international markets as well. The
largest Indian web press manufacturer Manugraph went a step further by acquiring
US-based Dauphin Graphic Machines (DGM), which is a leading manufacturer of
single-width web offset presses in the 4-page segment.

Top newspapers in India are now opting for high-speed web presses like that of
Goss, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi and mailroom systems from Ferag and Muller Martini.
However, the majority of newspapers are continuing their production on
indigenously produced equipment. With this impressive growth in the industry, it is
high time that the highend manufacturers from developed countries may enter into
India either in collaboration with local manufacturers or independently to tap the
growing demand. Infact, a little bird has informed that a leading foreign
manufacturer is in talks with a local web press manufacturer to jointly set up a new
manufacturing facility in India. It would indeed be a major step in this industry and
the effect would be for all of us to see. Quality has become an important factor in the
industry and Indian newspapers are continuously investing in quality control
equipments. The demand for automatic registration control systems has increased
to the extent that leading manufacturer QI Press Controls is planning to come up
with manufacturing activities in India.

Customized

A new trend in newspaper publishing is the introduction

of individualization through on-demand printing technologies. Customized
newspapers allow the reader to create their individual newspaper through the
selection of individual pages from multiple publications. This Best of approach
allows reviving the print-based model and opens up a new distribution channel to
increase coverage beneath the usual boundaries of distribution. Customized
newspapers online have been offered by MyYahoo, I-Google, CRAYON, ICurrent.com,
Kibboko.com, Twitter.times and many others. There has been a frenzy of activities in
the Indian newspaper industry - some eye it with pleasure, some with anxiety, but
this spur of fresh developments is continuing. New editions, new titles, all-colour
pages, acquisitions and mergers, internal co-operation...these are just a few of the
happenings that have transformed the entire scenario. Undoubtedly, the newspaper
industry is in its full bloom, posing a win-win situation for everyone...newspaper
publishers, readers, advertisers, web offset manufacturers, consumable suppliers,
etc. Such is the potential of the Indian newspaper industry that come September and
Ifra is set to organize IfraExpo for the first time in India.
Newspapers shape the nation and it holds true for India as well. Even before India
got independence, newspapers played a major role in spreading the issue of
independence. Today, India has over 300 big newspapers, besides hundreds of
medium and small-sized ones. And the number is increasing almost everyday as
existing newspapers bring out new editions apart from new players joining the
bandwagon. More recently, Metro International, Sweden is in talks with ABP group
to launch their daily ‘Metro’ in India. The negotiations are on and very soon the deal
would be done. Similarly, UK based Associated Newspapers and India Today Group
have entered into a joint venture to launch the ‘Daily Mail’ in India. With such
international newspapers foraying into the Indian market, the future of the
newspaper industry at large, looks promising. Little doubt then that Ifra is set to
hold its popular event IfraExpo for the first time in India (September 4- 6, 2007,
Chennai). Till now, IfraExpo was held only in Europe.

There was a time when select group of newspapers were ruling a particular region
and they all were self-contained and did not wish to foray into other regions. For
example, Hindustan Times was confined to Delhi region, The Hindu in Chennai
region, while Tribune was dedicated to Ambala (later Chandigarh), Anandabazar
Patrika was confined in West Bengal and Bhaskar in Gujarat and so on.

But lately, the scenario has completely changed, probably marked with Times group
spreading its wings across other territories; for example, the Times of India added a
number of new editions and the recent one being their Nagpur edition. The Indian
Express group launched its Marathi daily ‘Loksatta’ in Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd launched the Chennai edition of Deccan Chronicle
and they are now planning to bring out a Bangalore edition as well. HT Media Ltd
launched a new edition in Kolkata and lately in Mumbai. Regional newspapers like
Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Patrika, Amar Ujala, etc have also started
spreading their hold over B class cities by bringing out regionspecific editions. Close
on the heels of launching its Amritsar and Jalandhar editions, the Bhaskar group
launched an edition in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh and more recently Gorakhpur, UP.
After launching its Rajkot edition, Divya Bhaskar launched its Jamnagar edition,
making it Jamnagar’s first ever Gujarati morninger. They also launched an edition in
Anand. Amar Ujala launched its Gorakhpur edition, which was followed by an
edition in Aligarh. Nai Dunia, the Hindi daily, launched its Bilaspur edition, which
will soon be followed by Jabalpur and Bhopal editions. Rajasthan Patrika launched a
Hindi paper ‘Daily News’ in Jaipur. Sahara Group launched its Urdu daily, Roznama
Rashtriya Sahara in Bangalore, which will be followed by the launch of its Srinagar
edition, besides specific editions for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Sahara
group also launched the Kanpur and Dehradoon editions of their popular Hindi daily
Rashtriya Sahara. More recently, the Hindi daily, Punjab Kesari forayed into Hisar.
Jagran Prakashan Limited launched I-next, the first bilingual newspaper in the
country, targeting readers in the age group of 18-35 years. The paper was launched
in Lucknow and Kanpur and the company has plans to launch the brand in 5 more
mini metros of North India. More recently, The Tribune launched its Himachal
Pradesh edition; it is notable that it is their fourth edition after Chandigarh, Delhi
and Jalandhar.

Business newspapers have also branched into new editions in newer territories.
Financial Express, the business daily, launched its Pune edition while Business
Standard launched its Bhubaneshwar edition. Another business newspaper (20
pages colour and 4 pages black-andwhite) launched was ‘Mint’ from the Hindustan
Times group in Delhi and Mumbai. After these two cities, HT Media plans to launch
Mint in Kolkata and Chandigarh, giving competition to Economic Times from Times
of India group. DNA Money launched its Ahmedabad edition for the Gujarati
businessmen and also a stand-alone Mumbai edition, even though it continues to be
available as a supplement along with the main paper ‘DNA’ in Mumbai. DNA Money
is planning to bring out its Jaipur edition as well. The Times Group has launched a
Gujarati language edition of The Economic Times.
Organizational and personal:

In the United States, the overall manager or chief executive of the newspaper is
the publisher. In small newspapers, the owner of the publication (or the largest
shareholder in the corporation that owns the publication) is usually the publisher.
Although he or she rarely or perhaps never writes stories, the publisher is legally
responsible for the contents of the entire newspaper and also runs the business,
including hiring editors, reporters, and other staff members. This title is less
common outside the U.S. The equivalent position in the film industry and television
news shows is the executive producer.

Most newspapers have four main departments devoted to publishing the newspaper
itself—editorial, production/printing, circulation, and advertising, although they are
frequently referred to by a variety of other names—as well as the non-newspaper-
specific departments also found in other businesses of comparable size, such as
accounting, marketing, human resources, and IT.

Throughout the English-speaking world, the person who selects the content for the
newspaper is usually referred to as the editor. Variations on this title such as editor-
in-chief, executive editor, and so on are common. For small newspapers, a single
editor may be responsible for all content areas. At large newspapers, the most senior
editor is in overall charge of the publication, while less senior editors may each focus
on one subject area, such as local news or sports. These divisions are called news
bureaus or desks, and each is supervised by a designated editor. Most newspaper
editors copy edit the stories for their part of the newspaper, but they may share their
workload with proofreaders and fact checkers.
Reporters are journalists who primarily report facts that they have gathered and
those who write longer, less news-oriented articles may be called feature
writers. Photographers and graphic artists provide images and illustrations to
support articles. Journalists often specialize in a subject area, called a beat, such as
sports, religion, or science. Columnists are journalists who write regular articles
recounting their personal opinions and experiences.

Printers and press operators physically print the newspaper. Printing is outsourced
by many newspapers, partly because of the cost of an offset web press (the most
common kind of press used to print newspapers) and also because a small
newspaper's print run might require less than an hour of operation, meaning that if
the newspaper had its own press it would sit idle most of the time. If the newspaper
offers information online, webmasters and web designers may be employed to
upload stories to the newspaper's website.

The staffs of the circulation department liaise with retailers who sell the newspaper;
sell subscriptions; and supervise distribution of the printed newspapers through the
mail, by newspaper carriers, at retailers, and through vending machines. Free
newspapers do not sell subscriptions, but they still have a circulation department
responsible for distributing the newspapers.

Sales staff in the advertising department not only sells space to clients such as local
businesses, but also help advertisers design and plan their advertising campaigns.
Other members of the advertising department may include graphic designers, who
design ads according to the customers' specifications and the department's policies.
In an advertising-free newspaper, there is no advertising department.

Zoned and other edition:

Newspapers often refine distribution of ads and news through zoning and
editioning. Zoning occurs when advertising and editorial content change to reflect
the location to which the product is delivered. The editorial content often may
change merely to reflect changes in advertising the quantity and layout of which
affects the space available for editorial or may contain region-specific news. In rare
instances, the advertising may not change from one zone to another, but there will
be different region-specific editorial content. As the content can vary widely, zoned
editions are often produced in parallel.

Editioning occurs in the main sections as news is updated throughout the night. The
advertising is usually the same in each edition (with the exception of zoned
regionals, in which it is often the ‘B’ section of local news that undergoes advertising
changes). As each edition represents the latest news available for the next press run,
these editions are produced linearly, with one completed edition being copied and
updated for the next edition. The previous edition is always copied to maintain a
Newspaper of Record and to fall back on if a quick correction is needed for the press.
For example, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal offer a regional
edition, printed through a local contractor, and featuring locale specific content. The
Journal's global advertising rate card provides a good example of editioning.

Newspapers are usually printed on cheap, off-white paper known as newsprint.

Since the 1980s, the newspaper industry has largely moved away from lower-
quality letterpress printing to higher-quality, four-color process, offset printing. In
addition, desktop computers, word processing software, graphics software, digital
cameras and digital prepress and typesetting technologies have revolutionized the
newspaper production process. These technologies have enabled newspapers to
publish color photographs and graphics, as well as innovative layouts and better
design.

Circulation and readership:

The number of copies distributed, either on an average day or on particular days

(typically Sunday), is called the newspaper’s circulation and is one of the principal
factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not necessarily the same as copies
sold, since some copies or newspapers are distributed without cost. Readership
figures may be higher than circulation figures because many copies are read by more
than one person, although this is offset by the number of copies distributed but not
read (especially for those distributed free).

A common measure of a newspaper’s health is market penetration, expressed as a

percentage of households that receive a copy of the newspaper against the total
number of households in the paper’s market area. In the 1920s, on a national basis
in the U.S., daily newspapers achieved market penetration of 123 percent (meaning
the average U.S. household received 1.23 newspapers). As other media began to
compete with newspapers, and as printing became easier and less expensive giving
rise to a greater diversity of publications, market penetration began to decline. It
wasn’t until the early 1970s, however, that market penetration dipped below 100
percent. By 2000, it was 53 percent. Many paid-for newspapers offer a variety of
subscription plans. For example, someone might want only a Sunday paper, or
perhaps only Sunday and Saturday, or maybe only a work week subscription, or
perhaps a daily subscription. Most newspapers provide some or all of their content
on the Internet, either at no cost or for a fee. In some cases, free access is available
only for a matter of days or weeks, or for a certain number of viewed articles, after
which readers must register and provide personal data. In other cases, free archives
are provided.

Advertising:

A newspaper typically generates 70–80% of its revenue from advertising, and the
remainder from sales and subscriptions. The portion of the newspaper that is not
advertising is called editorial content, editorial matter, or simply editorial, although
the last term is also used to refer specifically to those articles in which the
newspaper and its guest writers express their opinions.

The business model of having advertising subsidize the cost of printing and
distributing newspapers (and, it is always hoped, the making of a profit) rather than
having subscribers cover the full cost was first done, it seems, in 1833 by The Sun, a
daily paper that was published in New York City. Rather than charging 6 cents per
copy, the price of a typical New York daily at the time, they charged 1 cent, and
depended on advertising to make up the difference.

Newspapers in countries with easy access to the web have been hurt by the decline
of many traditional advertisers. Department stores and supermarkets could be
relied upon in the past to buy pages of newspaper advertisements, but due to
industry consolidation are much less likely to do so now. Additionally, newspapers
are seeing traditional advertisers shift to new media platforms. The classified
category is shifting to sites including Craigslist, employment websites, and auto
sites. National advertisers are shifting to many types of digital content including
websites, rich media platforms, and mobile.

In recent years, the advertorial emerged. Advertorials are most commonly

recognized as an opposite-editorial which third-parties pay a fee to have included in
the paper. Advertorials commonly advertise new products or techniques, such as a
new design for golf equipment, a new form of laser surgery, or weight-loss drugs.
The tone is usually closer to that of a press release than of an objective news story.

Impact of television and internet:

By the late 1990s, the availability of news via 24-hour television channels and then
the Internet posed an ongoing challenge to the business model of most newspapers
in developed countries. Paid circulation has declined, while advertising revenue —
which makes up the bulk of most newspapers’ income — has been shifting from
print to the new media, resulting in a general decline in profits. Many newspapers
around the world launched online editions in an attempt to follow or stay ahead of
their audience. However, in the rest of the world, cheaper printing and distribution,
increased literacy, the growing middle class and other factors have more than
compensated for the emergence of electronic media and newspapers continue to
grow. On April 10, 1995, The American Reporter became the first daily newspaper,
with its own paid reporters around the world and all-original content, to start on the
Internet. The editor-in-chief and founder is Joe Shea. The site is owned by 400
journalists. The future of newspapers in countries with easy internet access has
been widely debated as the industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices,
slumping ad sales, the loss of much classified advertising and precipitous drops in
circulation. In recent years the number of newspapers slated for closure, bankruptcy
or severe cutbacks has risen—especially in the United States, where the industry has
shed a fifth of its journalists since 2001. Revenue has plunged while competition
from internet media has squeezed older print publishers.

The debate has become more urgent lately, as a deepening recession has shaved
profits,[ and as once-explosive growth in newspaper web revenues has leveled off,
forestalling what the industry hoped would become an important source of revenue.
At issue is whether the newspaper industry faces a cyclical trough, or whether new
technology has rendered obsolete newspapers in their traditional format. Reading
newspaper print has a lower impact on global warming than reading online,
according to one of the world's leading paper-makers, because the impact of
powering computers allegedly outweighs the impact of creating newsprint. Reading
a newspaper has a lower impact on global warming than reading the news online for
30 minutes.

Future:
People believe that the printed newspapers would not be replaced by the electronic
newspapers. They believe that electronic newspapers would be supplementary to
the printed copies. But the publishers believe that both print and online newspapers
would flourish together. In general, Indian online newspapers seem to be more
optimistic about their future. The current development of web newspapers is
underlined by newspaper publishers’ desire to turn the internet into an opportunity
to help reverse the trend in declining readership rather than a threat to the print
newspaper. The newspaper industry seems to be more confident about the future
with the development of online publishing. Publishers and online editors believe
there is little chance for the print newspapers to be replaced by the electronic
version. Instead, online publishing is seen as having the potential to open up
broader prospects for the newspaper industry. The future of a new medium depends
on whether it is simply a replica of an existing one and to what extent it can add
value to it. In this regard, online newspapers clearly enjoy some advantages over the
print newspapers. First and foremost, online newspapers are gradually building up a
readership of their own. The readership of online newspapers is composed of a
special group of newspaper readers who differ from those who read the same
newspaper in its hard copy. They are more likely to be those who read more than
their local daily and need to read other newspapers but do not have direct access to
hard copies. Whatever the reasons, online newspaper readers are more likely to help
swell the ranks of existing readers rather than reduce them. Also, online newspapers
provide new services that could not be a part of traditional newspapers. The
searchable archive and classified ads can help each newspaper become an
information databank in addition to its role as a deliverer of news. The hyperlinks
have changed the newspaper from a single source of information into a hub of
information networks without a clear ending point.
Challenges:

The two-day fifth Annual South Asia Conference of INMA, held in Bengaluru on
November 7-8, was attended by eminent media personalities. The theme of the
conference was 'Roots and Wings: Strengthening Our Core Business and Exploring
New Opportunities'. The conference focussed on the opportunities in the year ahead
for South Asian newspapers that can help them achieve profits from the print
business, but at the same time, give them a head start on the rapidly changing world
in the digital market. The conference was attended by newspapers from India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where they discussed various ideas and
innovations to grow newspaper advertising, circulation and brands, across titles and
across consumer platforms.

The conference aimed at bringing together the South Asian newspapers to learn
from the best and address the issues that are common to all newspapers to make
sure that the industry remains robust and work in tandem. The welcome address
was given by Tariq Ansari, INMA South Asia president, and managing director Media
Next, and I Venkat, conference moderator and director, Eenadu. The first
presentation of the day 'New Oxygen, New Growth' by Earl J Wilkinson, executive
director and CEO (chief executive officer), INMA discussed about how it is the time
for newspapers to go on the offensive and be innovative and relevant. He shared
some of the best ideas from newspapers worldwide and looked at how consumer
perception of newspapers is changing, the role of social media and newspapers, as
well as what advertisers want from the multi-media publishers.

Jehil Thakkar, head of media and entertainment practice, KPMG India, gave an
industry overview on the challenges, growth opportunities, and new revenue drivers
for the newspaper market. He talked about the potential for the industry to address
new markets, both organically, and through mergers and acquisitions. The CEO
Roundtable, 'Have We Reached An End To Readership Growth?' was moderated by
Bhaskar Das, president, BCCL, and the panel included Sanjay Gupta, director, CEO
and editor, Jagran Prakashan; Tariq Ansari; K N Tilak Kumar, joint managing director
and editor, Deccan Herald, and Shahrukh Hasan, group managing director, Jang
Group, Pakistan. They discussed that in the era of change that the newspapers are
witnessing there is a need to navigate these changes in readership

The session titled 'The Advertising Challenge: Space selling in the age of multiple
platforms and the vanishing rate card', raised the question of how the rate card is
virtually non-existent for television and its status in the print world is debatable.
The panel included Bijou Kurien, president and chief executive, lifestyle, Reliance
Retail, Jayen Mehta, general manager, marketing, Gujarat Co-Operative Milk
Marketing Federation, Rohit Gupta, president, Sony Entertainment Television,
Bhaskar Das of BCCL, Aritra Sarkar, vice-president, strategy, ABP, and Ambika
Srivastava, chairperson, ZenithOptimedia and Vivaki Exchange.

Madanmohan Rao, research director, Asian Media Information and Communication

Centre, gave a presentation on 'Newspaper Advertising: Social media and mobile
opportunities'. He talks about the rise of social media and community reporting,
mobile media strategies for newspapers and revenue building through social and
mobile ads. The last session of the day, 'Quick Ideas from Innovative South Asia
Newspapers' had Akshay Jain, deputy GM, sales and market development, DB Corp,
discuss Dainik Bhaskar Group's readership strategy. He shared how the newspaper
in the last two years, has moved from a circulation driven company to building
meaningful reader-relationships.

The second presentation of the Quick Ideas session, 'Good editorial content and
credibility are good business also', was delivered by Harivansh, chief editor and K K
Goenka, managing director, Prabhat Khabar. He talked about how Prabhat Khabar
aims at bringing about a change in the development of Jharkhand state, and has
established itself as a top newspaper here through its pro-active editorial which
highlights readers' problems on corruption, health and education.

The second day of the conference saw Ravi Dhariwal, president, INMA Worldwide
and CEO, The Times of India, talk about the key opportunities in the media business
-- mobile, digital, advertising and community. The session titled 'Digital Opportunity
for Newspapers' was moderated by Raj Singh, managing director, 2ergo India. The
panel included Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet, Sanjeev Khaira, managing director,
UBM India, and Sachin Kalbag, executive editor, Mid-Day Infomedia.

The next session titled Community Opportunity for Newspapers, had Suresh
Srinivasan, vice-president, The Hindu Group of Publications, share the campaign by
the group. The Hindu contributed 2,75,000 books in five days to under-privileged
children with the support of its Chennai readers. Mandir Tendolkar, vice-president,
communications, Lokmat, talked about Lokmat Sakhi Manch, an initiative for women
empowerment. Anshuman Tiwari, chief of national bureau, Dainik Jagran, talked
about the Jan Jagran Campaign for Justice.

The next presentation was by Robert Whitehead, director, marketing and newspaper
sales, Fairfax Media, Australia, on 'Lessons From a Market In Transition'. South Asian
newspapers were big winners at the 2011 INMA Awards competition, and
executives of the winning newspapers gave a brief overview of their award-winning
campaigns, which included Hemant Somani, chief operating officer, Mint, who spoke
about the launch of Mint Money, Ralph Fernandez, assistant marketing manager,
Mid-Day, who shared the details of Mid-Day: Meter Down campaign, Alok Sanwal,
CEO, editor and project head, Inext, who spoke about the Inext Bikeathon, and
Ranjan Roy, associate editor, The Times of India, talked about Aman ki Asha.

RESEARCH APPROACH:

Research approached can be qualitative, quantitative or both. The selection of the

particular research approach depends on the kind of information required.
Qualitative research collects, analyzes, and interprets data that cannot be
meaningfully quantified, that is, summarized in the form of numbers. For this
reason, qualitative research is sometimes referred to as soft research. Any study
using non-structured questioning or observation techniques can be labeled
qualitative research. However, qualitative research typically studies relatively few
respondents or units. In other words, a study of a large, representative sample
would normally not be called qualitative research even if it used some non-
structured questions or observations. The non-structured and small-sample features
of qualitative research techniques have an important implication. They are intended
to provide initial insights, ideas, or understanding about a problem, not to
recommend a final course of action. Therefore, qualitative research techniques are
most appropriate in situations calling for exploratory research. Quantitative
research, in contrast to qualitative research, is characterized by more structure and
larger, more representative respondent samples. Consequently, the logical place for
quantitative research techniques (usually in the form of large-scale questionnaire
surveys or structured observations) is in conclusive research projects. A primary
role of qualitative research is to generate hypotheses that can be tested through
more formal research. In contrast, each of the situations under Quantitative
Research calls for very specific data, capable of suggesting a final course of action. A
primary role of quantitative research is to test hunches or hypotheses.

These suggest that qualitative approach is a soft research approach in which

collected data cannot be meaningfully quantified and more importantly in this
approach non-structured research is conducted. But so far as quantitative research
approach is concerned, through this approach structured research is conducted with
approaching larger respondents and the collected data can be meaningfully
quantified. As the present research required both observational information and
quantifiable data therefore both qualitative and quantitative research approaches
were put into application.

RESEARCH METHOD

The case study method is an in-depth examination of a unit of interest. By virtue of

its insight-generating potential, the case study method is a useful method of
research ,there are six sources that can be used to conduct a case study. These
sources are: documents, archival records, interviews, direct observation, participant
observation and physical artifacts. Considering the above facts, in this research case
study was conducted with the help of interviewing a Senior marketing Foreign
Direct Investment. The interview was structured in which 4 predefined open-ended
questions were put before the interviewee.

DATA COLLECTION

Research data can be collected either in the form of secondary or primary or both. In
this research both primary and secondary data were collected considering the
required information

Secondary Data
Secondary Data usually factual information can be obtained through secondary data,
that has already been collected from other sources and is readily available from
those sources. The definition and characteristics of secondary data presented above
suggest us that secondary data are data that have already been collected for purpose
other than the problem in hand. Before detailing as how and what secondary data
were collected in this research, in would be worth to examine the advantages and
disadvantages of such data.

Secondary data are easily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and quickly obtained.
Some secondary data are available on topics where it would not be feasible for a
firm to collect primary data. Although it is rare for secondary data to provide all the
answers to a non-routine research problem, such data can be useful in a variety of
ways. Secondary data can help you: Identify the problem, better define the problem,
develop an approach to the problem, formulate an appropriate research design (for
example, by identifying the key variables), answer certain research questions and
test some hypotheses and interpret primary data more insightfully. Because
secondary data have been collected for purposes other than the problem at hand,
their usefulness to the current problem may be limited in several important ways,
including relevance and accuracy. The objectives, nature, and methods used to
collect the secondary data may not be appropriate to the present situation. Also,
secondary data may be lacking in accuracy, or they may not be completely current or
dependable. Before using secondary data, it is important to evaluate them on these
factors.

Although so many handicaps are associated with the secondary data, but such data
were found useful in this research as identifying the problem, developing approach
to the problem, answering some research questions and interpreting primary data.
Secondary data was collected from reports Foreign Direct Investment. Other
secondary data sources were journals, newspapers and websites.

Primary Data
Primary data is collected for the specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand.
The collection of primary data involves various steps. Thus obtaining primary data
can be expensive and time consuming. These suggest that primary data are those
data that are collected for the particular purpose of research in hand. The
disadvantage of collecting primary data is that it is lengthy and resource and time
consuming process (in comparison of secondary data), but the advantage of primary
data is that they are first hand information and comparatively more reliable (than
secondary data).

A researcher originates primary data for the specific purpose of addressing the
problem at hand. The collection of primary data involves all six steps of the
marketing research process. Obtaining primary data can be expensive and time
consuming. The definition of primary data presented above suggests us primary
data are those data that are collected for the particular purpose of research in hand.
The disadvantage of collecting primary data is that they are lengthy and resource
and time consuming process (in comparison of secondary data), but the advantage
of primary data is that they are first hand information that are comparatively more
reliable (than secondary data).

Primary data can be collected from various sources and methods that are case
studies, observation, questionnaire survey and interview. In this study primary data
was collected through interview method that has already been mentioned above.

DATA ANALYSIS

Before analyzing a data set using sophisticated techniques, a researcher should get a
feeling for what the data are like. The purpose of preliminary data analysis is to
reveal features of the basic composition of the data collected. It can also provide
useful insights pertaining to the research objectives and suggest meaningful
approaches for further analysis of the data. Preliminary data analysis examines the
percentage on each variable in the data set. In accordance with the above
prescription of data analysis, firstly all the collected data were coded and arranged
in a systematic manner and then analyzed in accordance with the research
objectives.

Analysis:

1: By the early 19th century, many cities in Europe, as well as North and South,
published newspaper-type publications though not all of them developed in the
same way.
Out of 50 respondents 33 respondents say yes to By the early 19th century, many
cities in Europe, as well as North and South, published newspaper-type publications
though not all of them developed in the same way and 17 respondents say no to By
the early 19th century, many cities in Europe, as well as North and South, published
newspaper-type publications though not all of them developed in the same way.

2: At large newspapers, the most senior editor is in overall charge of the publication,
while less senior editors may each focus on one subject area.
Out of 50 respondents 31 respondents say yes to At large newspapers, the most
senior editor is in overall charge of the publication, while less senior editors may
each focus on one subject area and 19 respondents say no to At large newspapers,
the most senior editor is in overall charge of the publication, while less senior
editors may each focus on one subject area.

3: The future of newspapers in countries with easy internet access has been widely
debated as the industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices.
Out of 50 respondents 29 respondents say yes to The future of newspapers in
countries with easy internet access has been widely debated as the industry has
faced down soaring newsprint prices and 21 respondents say no to The future of
newspapers in countries with easy internet access has been widely debated as the
industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices

4: Although there is a huge potential for growth online, print remains the largest
source of revenue generation for newspaper publishers, and will continue to be so
for some time.
Out of 50 respondents 27 respondents say yes to Although there is a huge potential
for growth online, print remains the largest source of revenue generation for
newspaper publishers, and will continue to be so for some time and 23
respondents say no to Although there is a huge potential for growth online, print
remains the largest source of revenue generation for newspaper publishers, and will
continue to be so for some time.

5: Newspapers have a long-term future and will coexist with other media. However
this is unlikely to be either in the formats or volumes seen today and there will some
casualties and losses of well-known papers along the way.
Out of 50 respondents 23 respondents say yes to Newspapers have a long-term
future and will coexist with other media. However this is unlikely to be either in the
formats or volumes seen today and there will some casualties and losses of well-
known papers along the way and 27 respondents say no to Newspapers have a long-
term future and will coexist with other media. However this is unlikely to be either
in the formats or volumes seen today and there will some casualties and losses of
well-known papers along the way.

6: Consumers place high value on the deep insight and analysis provided by
journalists over and above general or breaking news stories.

Out of 50 respondents 42 respondents say yes to Consumers place high value on

the deep insight and analysis provided by journalists over and above general or
breaking news stories and 8 respondents say no to Consumers place high value on
the deep insight and analysis provided by journalists over and above general or
breaking news stories.

7: Consumers see breaking news and general interest news as commodities, but
there is always a market for high value online content in specific topics.
Out of 50 respondents 36 respondents say yes to Consumers see breaking news and
general interest news as commodities, but there is always a market for high value
online content in specific topics and 14 respondents say no to Consumers see
breaking news and general interest news as commodities, but there is always a
market for high value online content in specific topics

8: Consumer research indicates that consumers are willing to pay for this content,
but newspapers need to develop strategies for monetising their content and
intellectual capital.

Out of 50 respondents 41 respondents say yes to Consumer research indicates that

consumers are willing to pay for this content, but newspapers need to develop
strategies for monetising their content and intellectual capital and 9 respondents
say no to Consumer research indicates that consumers are willing to pay for this
content, but newspapers need to develop strategies for monetising their content and
intellectual capital.

9: Newspapers have been able to earn their readers' trust and loyalty, giving them
the opportunity to both lead and follow audiences as they migrate online and into
the use of portable electronic media.

Out of 50 respondents 38 respondents say yes to Newspapers have been able to earn
their readers' trust and loyalty, giving them the opportunity to both lead and follow
audiences as they migrate online and into the use of portable electronic media and
12 respondents say no to Newspapers have been able to earn their readers' trust
and loyalty, giving them the opportunity to both lead and follow audiences as they
migrate online and into the use of portable electronic media

10: Indeed, with the core principles of deep analysis and trusted editorial, the
medium is secondary to the brand.

Out of 50 respondents 44 respondents say yes to Indeed, with the core principles of
deep analysis and trusted editorial, the medium is secondary to the brand and 6
respondents say no to Indeed, with the core principles of deep analysis and trusted
editorial, the medium is secondary to the brand.
11: Use of video in online news sites gives the feel of a ‘TV-like’ experience
(consumers’ favourite medium for news) giving newspaper brands the opportunity
to secure online audiences beyond their print readership and into the television
audience more generally.

Out of 50 respondents 39 respondents say yes to Use of video in online news sites
gives the feel of a ‘TV-like’ experience (consumers’ favourite medium for news)
giving newspaper brands the opportunity to secure online audiences beyond their
print readership and into the television audience more generally and 11
respondents say no to Use of video in online news sites gives the feel of a ‘TV-like’
experience (consumers’ favourite medium for news) giving newspaper brands the
opportunity to secure online audiences beyond their print readership and into the
television audience more generally.

12: Newspaper publishers have responded to the economic downturn by increasing

their focus on cost reduction.

Out of 50 respondents 43 respondents say yes to Newspaper publishers have

responded to the economic downturn by increasing their focus on cost reduction
and 7 respondents say no to Newspaper publishers have responded to the economic
downturn by increasing their focus on cost reduction.
FINDINGS:

 The cost of starting an online newspaper is much lower than that of starting a
traditional print newspaper. For newspapers already available in a print
version, the added cost for maintaining an online version is really minimal.
Considering the limitless space provided by the internet and the increasing
cost of newsprint, online publishing is much more cost effective.

 The country’s population today has crossed 1.1 billion; out of them almost 70
percent live in rural areas. The literacy rate which was around 17 percent at
the dawn of independence, stood as 66 percent as per census of 2001 and
would have further improved since. In absolute numbers, people are
gradually rising above the poverty line and with passage of time, more
literate and educated people and economic growth are reasonably expected.
This change and progress will improve capacity to purchase and read.
Though the computer literacy rate is still very low and only 6.12 percent of
total population are computer educated. More people want to gain computer
literacy with time (Lalwani 2009). Probably in near future more people will
get accustomed to live and work in a networked environment.
 Government of India now gives emphasis on the development of
infrastructure including ICT. This will create facilitate spread of the online
newspapers.
 An online newspaper has some advantages which include:
o given the short concentration span of internet users, concise text
captures more attention;
 o forums create an environment where people entertain people, making
the media a sideshow;
o feelings expressed in the forum cannot be matched by journalistic
interpretation and writing skills;
o the internet users include an untapped generation of non-readers who
will try everything, only once, which makes scouting for them out not
worth the effort.

These advantages plus others will no doubt give online newspapers enough reasons
to stay and be further explored. Indian online newspapers can adopt these
advantages to increase their readership base.

Recommendation:

 The number one problem with online newspapers published from India is
the font problem. Basically the problem arises in the case of Indic languages.
Sometimes people need special software to read these newspapers. It is not
possible for everyone to download software for each newspaper in a
particular language. For example, one person can read Anandabazar Patrika
by downloading Bitstream’s Web Font Player software. But to read Bartaman
Patrika, he/ she have to download another software though both are in
Bengali language.

 The second problem is the presence of loud and stylistically unpredictable

advertisements on the main page. Readers don’t visit these sites to be
overwhelmed by hectic colours and dizzying arrays of advertisements.
Rather, they visit to read news and be informed. These ads distract and they
destroy the design and the layout of the pages. The worst offenders are
animated advertisements. Trying to read the headlines with one of these
animated advertisements next to it is like trying to read the headlines of a
real newspaper within a fish market.
  In almost every case the layout and design of online newspapers is very poor.
Very few online newspapers employ intelligent use of grid, colour and
content hierarchy. Most have a flat aspect with no visual clues as to how the
page and its information are supposed to be consumed.
 With most online newspapers, the site navigation is horribly confusing and
inconsistent. Furthermore, the link text on the page is often disguised, easily
confused with non–link text, and provides little or no visual feedback when
used.
 Online newspapers often have questionable typography and paragraph
configuration. Some have quite a horrible mismatch of font styles, coupled
with poor font selection. Proper typography is more important in the low–
resolution online environment than it is in the high-resolution environment
of print. Too often, online newspapers have bad line–height (leading) in their
paragraph copy, making it more difficult to read on the monitor.
 Although the internet can help online publishers save the cost of printing and
delivering the hardcopy newspaper, online newspapers have yet to generate
sizeable revenues by charging their readers.
 In India, ICT infrastructure is very poor. To access online newspaper the first
thing we need is a computer with internet connection. It has been found that
most of the villages in our country do not have any internet connection.
Electrical power supply is also erratic.

Conclusion:
New technologies can bring new opportunities as well as threats to existing media.
The newspapers play an important role in crystallizing public opinion. The forums,
chat facilities and e-mail contacts allow greater interactivity among the community
members and between the readers and editors than the traditional print
newspapers (Bogart 1985). As far as business is concerned, very few online papers
are actually making money. Compared with the print paper, the online paper is
clearly at a disadvantage in maintaining the traditional sources of newspaper
revenues - advertising and subscription charges. Newspaper advertisers are mainly
interested in local customers within their reach, but online readership tends to be
away from the local market. Only multinational corporations and companies
catering to the international market may find the online paper useful to carry their
advertisements. As a result, small local online newspapers find it hard to generate
advertising revenues. It may be still too early to conclude that advertising will not
become a major source of revenue for online papers. On the one hand, it takes time
for advertisers to assess the online readership and the effectiveness of online
advertising. On the other hand, online newspapers have to make full use of the
advantages provided by the internet to offer better services for advertisers. For
instance, the limitless space provided by the internet will allow advertisers to have
their ads carried by online papers for as long as necessary. As a result, it may be
more cost effective to advertise in online papers than in the print.

In addition, online search engines will also make it more convenient for readers to
select what they need. As far as subscription is concerned, the situation is not
optimistic for online papers. The internet culture is characterized by free
information. Some newspapers are limited to certain uses such as access to archives.
There should not be fixed means for online papers to generate revenues but papers
with a large readership base and more specialized orientation tend to be more
successful with advertising and subscription charges while smaller papers tend to
rely on Internet services for revenues. Considering the relatively small amount of
costs for online papers and the additional benefits brought about by online papers
such as promoting the print product, online papers should not be considered simply
as money losing operations by the publishers. If online publishers can focus on
turning out a value-added product rather than a replica of their print product, online
papers will become cost effective operations with the development of new
technologies and growth of the internet community. That probably explains why few
online papers have closed shop since they were started.

An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on

the world wide web or internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed
periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspapers in presenting
breaking news in a timelier manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of
well-established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers,
are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of
survival. The movement away from the printing process can also help decrease
costs. Indian newspapers have 230 years of history and the first newspaper the
weekly ‘Bengal Gazette’, also known as Hicky’s Gazette was published in January
1780 by James Augustus Hicky, an Englishman. India has more than 2000
newspapers in 21 languages with a combined circulation of 88 million, and some of
leading dailies are The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Malayala Manorama Dainik
Jagran, The Telegraph, Asian Age, Indian Express, Economics Times, The Pioneer and
many more.

Indian newspapers cater to the demand for information on local issues, politics,
events, celebrations, people and business. Information about holidays, vacations,
resorts, real estate and property together, finance, stock market and investments
reports, theatre, movies, culture, entertainment, activities and events are all covered
in Indian newspapers. In India, major newspapers went online to provide latest and
most updated news to the net savvy people. Some newspapers even provide e-paper
which is regarded as the digital replica of the newspaper. The demand for online
newspapers has been increasing for the past few years with the growing reach of
internet. India’s more than seventy million internet users comprise approximately
six percent of the country’s population and about four million people in India have
access to broadband internet as of 2008 figures. Online newspapers are much like
hard-copy newspapers and have the same legal boundaries, such as laws regarding
libel, privacy and copyright.
Reference:

www.developmentchannel.org/.../1143-indian-newspaper-industry-
www.theviewspaper.net/is-indian-newspaper-industry-flourishing-or-floun
www.crisil.com/Ratings/Commentary/.../newspaperindustry0502.pdf
www.allaboutnewspapers.com/april07/story1.htm
www.ey.com › Home › Industries › Media & Entertainment
www.asianwindow.com/tag/indias-newspaper-industry/
www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/newspaper-business-india
www.thinkindia.net.in/.../newspapers-why-indias-newspaper-industry
www.indiannewspapersociety.org/aboutins.htm
www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:mcomm
Questionnaire:

1: By the early 19th century, many cities in Europe, as well as North and South,
published newspaper-type publications though not all of them developed in the
same way.

Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

2: At large newspapers, the most senior editor is in overall charge of the publication,
while less senior editors may each focus on one subject area.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

3: The future of newspapers in countries with easy internet access has been widely
debated as the industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

4: Although there is a huge potential for growth online, print remains the largest
source of revenue generation for newspaper publishers, and will continue to be so
for some time.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

5: Newspapers have a long-term future and will coexist with other media. However
this is unlikely to be either in the formats or volumes seen today and there will some
casualties and losses of well-known papers along the way.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

6: Consumers place high value on the deep insight and analysis provided by
journalists over and above general or breaking news stories.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..
7: Consumers see breaking news and general interest news as commodities, but
there is always a market for high value online content in specific topics.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

8: Consumer research indicates that consumers are willing to pay for this content,
but newspapers need to develop strategies for monetising their content and
intellectual capital.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

9: Newspapers have been able to earn their readers' trust and loyalty, giving them
the opportunity to both lead and follow audiences as they migrate online and into
the use of portable electronic media.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

10: Indeed, with the core principles of deep analysis and trusted editorial, the
medium is secondary to the brand.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

11: Use of video in online news sites gives the feel of a ‘TV-like’ experience
(consumers’ favourite medium for news) giving newspaper brands the opportunity
to secure online audiences beyond their print readership and into the television
audience more generally.
Yes……………………….. No…………………………..

12: Newspaper publishers have responded to the economic downturn by increasing

their focus on cost reduction.
Yes………………………..