Results matching “india the mumba”

The alternative weekly publications of the New Mass. Media group, the Hartford Advocate, New Haven Advocate and Fairfield County Weekly have outsourced all of their editorial content to freelance journalists in India.  

The first editions to have been created in this way will be released this Thursday.  And rather than trying to bury the use of these potentially problematic methods of journalism, the publishers are courting the controversy.  The cover of each paper will be emblazoned with the statement: "Sorry, we've Been Outsourced. This Issue Made In India."

A California daily has formed "The Oakland Press Institute for Citizen Journalism," in response to the "changing face" of the industry, according to an editor.

The Oakland Press is looking to its readers to help "tell stories better, quicker and more completely," according to executive editor Glenn Gilbert, by offering instruction in news writing, videography, basics of reporting for news and sports, and still photography.

Instances of citizen journalism are increasing throughout the industry and around the world, from small local news additions to large-scale updates on such instances as the Mumbai terror attacks, which used social media, fueled by citizen journalists, to help cover the events.

The saturation of news by Indian media during the Mumbai terrorist attacks is now a subject of debate for the country's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who are charging that the intensive live coverage may have helped the terrorists.

Citizen journalists, who used the Internet to post updates and criticisms on services such as Twitter and Flickr, made the realm of Internet reporting an unparalleled sensation.  Traditional media were "too slow and inaccurate," citizen journalists said.

"Relentless" media coverage of the terror attacks in Mumbai has sparked a strong backlash from the public, according to Global Voices, who has been following the story.

The mainstream media's approach of "shock and shake" can lead to unverified rumors being reported as fact, Global Voices reports, and the blogosphere has monitored the coverage with a mounting anger.

The series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Indian financial capital Mumbai have gained worldwide attention, and the speed with which Internet users were able to read first-hand reports within hours of the initial attacks is proof of a revolutionized way that information reaches an audience.

Although mainstream news coverage has dominated headlines thus far, social media has been a major outlet for news at the scene and around the world.  Internet users are sharing news and information for updates and reactions.

On October 2, Nai Duniya was launched in New Delhi by Nai Duniya Media Ltd, the regions second largest newspaper group.  The newspaper will have an initial circulation of 180,000-200,000 copies.

According to Vinay Chhajlani, chief executive of Nai Duniya, "In Delhi, we want to be the clear number three player within the next three years and will strive to have a pan-India presence very soon."

Nai Duniya will focus on legal reportage, there will be a "full-page on legal news and education, among others and will give a definite edge to our content," stated Chhanjlani.  

The paper will be priced one rupee below market leaders Navbharat Times and Hindustan in an effort to gain more readers.

Nai Duniya Media Ltd. plans to launch a new weekly magazine across nine locations including Mumbai. They also plan on looking into developing partnerships with Hindi television news channel.

Sources: Afaqs

Indian media house, NaiDunia Media, has announced that it will roll out the Delhi edition of its newspaper, NaiDunia, which is currently one of the leading players in Central India.

The media company will also launch a weekly newspaper and magazine combo, Sunday NaiDunia, in nine state capitals. The weekly newspaper will target Lucknow, Dehradun, Patna, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bhopal, Raipur and Mumbai.

Daily Thanthi, the second largest circulated daily in Tamil Nadu, is launching a Mumbai edition on September 5.

This new edition is the third one to be published outside Tamil Nadu; the paper is also circulated in Bangalore and Pondicherry. Daily Thanthi will have an initial print run of 50,000 copies in Mumbai.

Daily Thanthi is planning a high-profile marketing campaign for the launch.

Skandraaj, Chief Operating Officer of Malar Publications, the publishers of Daily Thanthi, said; "This is our first edition outside South India, and unlike Delhi, where the Tamil speaking population is scattered, Mumbai has some pockets and reaching the Mumbai Tamil speaking audience in the commercial capital is also very easy. We see a good revenue potential here."

Skandraaj also reported that the Group has no plans to launch an edition in Delhi. Exlaining his reasoning behind this issue, he said "We are sending around 3,500 copes to Delhi everyday to reach out to our readers there. As far as Delhi is concerned, the cost of reaching out to our target audience is very high."

According to ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) report for the period January-June 2008, Daily Thanthi had a circulation of around 969,000 copies, an increase of around 50,000 copies against the 917,000 net paid copies during ABC January-December 2007.

Source: Exchange4Media.com via IFRA Executive News Service

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) announced today that starting from June 20 it will be printing its 4-page world business section inside India's Financial Chronicle (FC).

In a news release, IHT said that this would provide FC readers with "daily news and analysis on what is happening in companies and deals and in the financial markets around the world, alongside the latest business news in India."

Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCH) has published FC in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore since April 16. The IHT release date was chosen to be on the same date as the first FC release from Mumbai.

According to Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, IHT publisher, the development is "exciting" because India 's market has "tremendous potential". By teaming up with DCH, "a dynamic partner with a proven track record", the "appetite for high quality content" will be met.

DCH will be advertising the FC/IHT partnership in Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad through "billboard, television and print" while the IHT will be selling international ads.

Other examples of the West teaming up with the East include the daily paper Mint, a partnership between the Wall Street Journal and Hindustan Times. The Financial Times is also investing in India's business media market by planning for an Indian version of its daily.

Source: iht.com

During the seventh session of the 15th World Editors Forum, Raju Narisetti's, Managing Editor at Mint, India, asked the question, "Can ethics sell papers?" using the story of his recently launched paper as the answer.

Mint is a business newspaper which launched in February 2007, in a market that already had five national business papers. How was Mint suppose to survive this competition and establish itself in the market and among the readers? The answer was ethics.

Before the launch of Mint, Mr Narisetti and others working at the newspaper to be, spent six months talking to potential readers. According to their findings, readers noted the lack of credibility and clarity in Indian newspapers as their biggest problems.

So Mr Narisetti and Mint set out to change this by bringing transparency and accessibility to Indian news media. Policies were created, an extensive code of conduct written, all viewable on the website. Mistakes were corrected and analyses of how those were made was published at the end of the year in the paper. Adverts are always clearly depicted as that and nothing else.

So how has Mint managed in a competetive market? In only a year and a half the paper sells 120,000 copies a day. 87% of these are subscriptions. It has become the second biggest business paper in Dehli, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Launched in February 2007 as a joint venture between Hindustan Times Media and The Wall Street Journal, Mint, India's English-language business daily, has quickly grown its circulation (from 80,000 at launch to 122,000 copies) and readership, and soon plans to launch new editions in Delhi and Mumbai.

However, according to Managing Editor Raju Narisetti, Mint has had to develop several quality editorial practices in order to distinguish itself from the average newspaper market in India, where some standards of editorial independence and quality reporting lack - and paid editorial content is common practice.

Narisetti will describe Mint's doings at the upcoming World Editors Forum to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from June 1 to 4.

To face these ethical dilemmas, Mint implemented several strategies, including publishing a clearly stated corrections policy and code of conduct, easily accessible on the website.

Recently Narisetti wrote an editorial that recapped the number of errors that had been made (mostly factual: gender, titles, dates...). "A lot of papers make errors, we are the only ones who are honest enough to admit it," he said.

"The credibility of media is pretty low in India," said Narisetti. "One of the largest media companies in India actually has a rate card where you can buy coverage."

Some companies, partly held by equity stakes, openly publicize their owners' brands in their publications.

So how can Mint, and the Indian press as a whole, revamp its credibility?

"I'm sorry to say that, but the general consensus in India seems to be that readers don't care, so it doesn't matter."

"Until Mint came along, nobody covered media as an industry, he said."

"There was a gentleman's agreement that you won't write about another newspaper, so that allowed a lot of people to get away doing whatever they want."

Despite his skepticism, Narisetti said: "one of the hopes is that as a lot of western companies form media partnerships in India... that they will also bring in standards and ethics."

No doubt this hope is partly fueled by his own experience. Prior to editing Mint, Narisetti had a 14-year stint at the Wall Street Journal, where he became Editor of Wall Street Journal Europe.

Thanks to this heritage, he remains confident Mint's emphasis on quality will pay. "It's not an easy sell per se, but it's worth doing it because I think long term credibility of the industry is much more important than taking shortcut measures."

Source: Raju Narisetti, Managing Editor, Mint

The Times Group of India launched on April 6 the Pune Mirror, a compact morning daily targeted with a younger crowd in mind.

The new publication is designed to cater to India's the "new breed of attention-thin teenagers accustomed to snappy, colorful, and image-rich media," reports Publicitas.

Modeled after the popular Mumbai Mirror (see photo, click for larger image), the paper will run at 48 pages long, and aims to blend the content of a broadsheet with the visual look of a tabloid. The Times Group chose Pune as the ideal site for the launch thanks to its large student population.

Source: Publicitas Promotion Network

The Independent retraces a recent trend, which isn’t likely to end: European press publishers are increasingly turning towards India to launch new publications and create new revenue streams, in today’s most promising newspaper market.

ePaper leading firm Pressmart and mobile distribution firm IMImobile announced they have developed ‘mPaper’. The technology is supposed to enable newspapers and publishers to tap into the – still undeveloped - mobile news market.

Britain’s Independent newspaper recently announced its intention to publish an Indian edition. In the wait of the approval from the government, the paper is to be printed on the presses of Jagran Prakashan - India’s largest newspaper company - 20,8% of whose capital is hold by The Independent’s Indian associate Independent News & Media plc (INM).

With 25 million in circulation worldwide, free dailies are booming — just not in India. Indian newspapers are the cheapest in the world, according to Indian advertising, media and marketing site agencyfaqs!, meaning the country’s newspaper industry is following a business model very different from the one taking hold in the West.

Last year two English dailies: the Hindustan Times and the Daily News and Analysis (DNA), were launched in Mumbai to compete with The Times of India’s stronghold of the market. Recent survey numbers show that neither of these two papers have really made a difference in the general market but when the Mumbai Mirror becomes a paid-for separate paper from The Times of India, the Mumbai market may turn into a completely different battleground.

After two new English dailies, the Daily News & Analysis and the Hindustan Times, launched in Mumbai about one month ago, Mumbai's advertising industry welcomes the new level of competition. Due to the so called newspaper war in Mumbai (see former posting) the Times of India, which has been a virtual monopoly before, faces concurrence. As rediff.com reports, "the story is going around that an advertising agency professional kept a Times of India ad sales executive waiting for 30 minutes! The story is told with relish, as for years the reverse (ad agency executives invariably waited to see TOI's response team) was true of the Mumbai market."

Although circulation figures are still missing, industry estimates suggest sales between 75,000 and 100,000 daily copies for the Hindustan Times and 150,000 to 225,000 copies for the Daily News & Analysis, reports rediff.com. The Times of India sells about 510,000 copies. Success of the new papers may also be due to lower prices: Daily News & Analysis is sold for Rs 2, the Hindustan Times for Rs 2.50 and the Times of India, now together with a free copy of Mumbai Mirror, a new tabloid of the same group, for Rs4.

The competition even seems to have improved the quality of the Times of India. Sandip Tarkas, head of Media Direction, said on rediff.com: "The Times of India is refreshingly different from what it was six months ago. Other than more colour and a free 48-page Mumbai Mirror thrown in, it's become more readable." So it seems that the reader is a winner of the newspaper war.

Source: rediff.com

It's getting ugly. Amidst multiplying circulations and conversely, increasing salaries and advertising sales, Indian newspapers have also been experiencing betrayal, and overall, mud-slinging in Mumbai. An article in the Asia Times Online paints the scene, showing that most of the diatribe is aimed at the Times of India (TOI). Agencyfaqs! has declared that the Times' response to the popular tabloid Mid-Day entitled Mumbai Mirror, has been a failure. A former employee of the Times who was the genius behind a very successful marketing campaign has defected to Direct News & Analysis (DNA), a rookie English publication set to knock TOI off its pedestal. Abhijit Bannerjee, owner of Wavelength Communications which is booked to print DNA said, "The most important development is that the Times of India monopoly is being broken." Vir Sanghvi, editorial director of Hindustan Times, which is also trying to push into the Mumbai market, commented on the Times' apparent arrogance with, "Readers in India's most prosperous, cosmopolitan and modern city... are tired of being taken for granted and treated like morons." Whoa! Maybe TOI, who just published an article saying that it's the biggest selling English broadsheet in the world, should call for reinforcements. The Asian Times article, which makes TOI out to be the villain, also warns against the possible decline in journalistic quality and a financial bubble which could be inflating around the industry. If it pops, many of the journalists now enjoying irregularly high salaries may soon be out of work.

Source: Asia Times Online

It's getting ugly. Amidst multiplying circulations and conversely, increasing salaries and advertising sales, Indian newspapers have also been experiencing betrayal, and overall, mud-slinging in Mumbai. An article in the Asia Times Online paints the scene, showing that most of the diatribe is aimed at the Times of India (TOI). Agencyfaqs! has declared that the Times' response to the popular tabloid Mid-Day entitled Mumbai Mirror, has been a failure. A former employee of the Times who was the genius behind a very successful marketing campaign has defected to Direct News & Analysis (DNA), a rookie English publication set to knock TOI off its pedestal. Abhijit Bannerjee, owner of Wavelength Communications which is booked to print DNA said, "The most important development is that the Times of India monopoly is being broken." Vir Sanghvi, editorial director of Hindustan Times, which is also trying to push into the Mumbai market, commented on the Times' apparent arrogance with, "Readers in India's most prosperous, cosmopolitan and modern city... are tired of being taken for granted and treated like morons." Whoa! Maybe TOI, who just published an article saying that it's the biggest selling English broadsheet in the world, should call for reinforcements. The Asian Times article, which makes TOI out to be the villain, also warns against the possible decline in journalistic quality and a financial bubble which could be inflating around the industry. If it pops, many of the journalists now enjoying irregularly high salaries may soon be out of work.

Source: Asia Times Online

"It's a boom-time for the press in India. And with six out of ten people now literate, it's only going to get bigger," said Chetan Chauhan and Jonathan Brown of The Independent. "The Hindustan Times began life as a family-owned newspaper in 1924, from a small office in Connaught Place. Now selling 900,000 copies a day, it is bucking the trend seen in Britain, where, with a few notable exceptions, circulation is firmly downward. The HT is on the rise: in the past five years circulation is up 30 per cent. Trends are similar for its rival paper, The Times of India. Professor Dinesh Sharma, of Delhi University's department of sociology, says that India has seen a massive surge in its media market in the past seven years. "Both newspapers and television are growing. With the population of the cities rising abnormally, the circulation of most English-language papers will increase," says Professor Sharma. That ties in with the growth of the Indian middle class, driven by technological expertise in rapidly developing urban areas such as Delhi and Mumbai. The average annual income in cities is now close to $12,000, as opposed to the $4,000 in rural areas."

Source: The Independent through IFRA

According to Business Standard, "Bennett, Coleman & Co, which publishes The Times of India and a clutch of other newspapers and magazines, has bought a 6.15 per cent stake in Mid Day Multimedia, the Ansari family promoted Mumbai-based company that publishes the afternoon paper Mid-Day and is the holding company for an FM radio channel, a television channel and an outdoor advertising division... According to Mid Day Multimedia, negotiations are still on with Bennett, Coleman for the company to acquire a larger stake in Mid-Day Multimedia."

Source: Business Standard

From AgencyFaqs, India: " Evidently, the competition in the English newspaper markets in Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) is just about heating up… . Hindustan Times has a bullish pricing strategy for Mumbai – our reliable sources inform us that the newspaper will price its Mumbai edition at Rs 1.50. Currently, The Times of India sells at Rs 3.50 in Mumbai, whereas in Delhi, both dailies sell at Rs 1.50. Interestingly, there is speculation that the Sahara Group is also planning to launch a newspaper in Mumbai, priced at Re 1." It seems similar to the price war instigated by The UK Times in the nineties.

Source: AgencyFaqs.