Rethinking Newspapers: The Indian Context
Writing in his blog Emergic, Rajesh Jain makes a case for Indian newspapers to reorient their strategies.
Indian media is booming. TV channels are sprouting up to cater to every niche. FM radio is coming into its own. The Internet too is showing signs of a revival. The mobile is emerging as a new alternative. And newspapers are proliferating. Flush with funds, most Indian publishing houses are expanding operations. Mumbai provides a good snapshot of what's happening: Hindustan Times entered, DNA launched, and Mumbai Mirror was created by Times of India as yet another alternative.
Yet, when I sit to read the newspapers every morning, I find fewer and fewer stories to read. And it is not just because I may have read the stories on the Internet or seen them on TV. I cannot but help thinking that, in their efforts to build (or retain) a mass user base rapidly, most newspapers have decided that they need to cater to the lowest common denominator. That means focusing on the youth, who've got limited attention span and (perhaps) prefer dumbed-down versions of stories. And that is exactly what the rest of us get. The Indian Express remains the only exception and that's why it is the paper I read first.
After reading Jeff Jarvis and Jon Fine, I started thinking about the Indian context. How can Indian newspapers improve their content so that I spend more time with the newspaper and with their brand? I may not fall in the youth category but, surely, my attention is worth something and there are plenty of others like me. How can an Indian newspaper build a compelling print and online proposition for readers like me? For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on English newspapers.
An English language newspaper in India must make the assumption that every one of its readers has access to the Internet. Considering that the largest English-language Indian newspaper sells a million copies and the Internet user base is estimated at anywhere between 25-35 million users, that is a reasonable assumption. In fact, it can also be assumed that the reader uses a mobile phone. So, that is the context in which one needs to think. The newspaper reader is not just always reachable (via mobile) but also has access to a connected computer for complementing the printed paper.
In this context, much of what Jeff Jarvis says is applicable in the Indian context also. Some of the newspaper sections can be moved entirely online with support for personalisation. The printed paper can work as a window to the various sections and stories online. For example, each story in print must have a number which allows me to easily find that story online and send it to friends or colleagues at work, and perhaps, blog it. Also, as a user, I can set up my own e-paper(or m-paper) online with preferences for different sections especially, in finance and entertainment. SMS can be used to alert me to local events and breaking stories. Taken together, these will create a much close relationship between the reader and the newspaper allowing for monetisation through advertisements which can much more tailored.
Indian newspapers could also engage their readers a lot more. One step in that direction would be to enable their journalists to blog so that stories can have discussion and follow-ups. There are times when, for space reasons, stories are edited for the print version. It would be nice to read about the writers' thoughts and experiences and that may be better done on the web than in print. In addition, newspapers can also showcase some of the writings from bloggers. There is now a growing base of Indian bloggers and the commentary is getting smarter. [To its credit, Mumbai Mirror does feature a couple blog posts daily on a specific topic.]
Taken together, a lot of these changes will make for a better product. Will it increase circulation? I don't know. But I do know, that it will make for a better reading experience every morning for many of us. India is changing and we need our newspapers to change with it for the better. Of course, the newspapers could argue that they are changing. And their real customers are not us but the advertisers who pay money to reach their reader base and those revenues are rising. What I am not sure of is how long this trend will continue. In the next 2-3 years, India will see a significant increase in both always-on and broadband Internet connections, and data-enabled mobile handsets. That is the world newspapers will have to prepare for. It is a world where search engines will rule and users will be able to subscribe to the topics(and ads) of their interest. It is a world where each of us can get our Daily Me. It is also a world of multiplying media options as video becomes a reality on the Internet and the mobile.
Despite all the futuristic talk, I still think there is a distinct charm in holding the newspaper in your hand. Or, maybe, I come from the old school where habits die hard. I just wish for the days when the newspaper would open minds and expand thinking. Or, maybe, the world of media and technology has moved too far ahead, and we better accept the wisdom of the crowds. Whatever it is, I hope to get a better product in the months and years to come, and spend more time, not less, with the newspaper. Or, maybe, that is wishful thinking. Only time will tell.
Indian media is booming. TV channels are sprouting up to cater to every niche. FM radio is coming into its own. The Internet too is showing signs of a revival. The mobile is emerging as a new alternative. And newspapers are proliferating. Flush with funds, most Indian publishing houses are expanding operations. Mumbai provides a good snapshot of what's happening: Hindustan Times entered, DNA launched, and Mumbai Mirror was created by Times of India as yet another alternative.
Yet, when I sit to read the newspapers every morning, I find fewer and fewer stories to read. And it is not just because I may have read the stories on the Internet or seen them on TV. I cannot but help thinking that, in their efforts to build (or retain) a mass user base rapidly, most newspapers have decided that they need to cater to the lowest common denominator. That means focusing on the youth, who've got limited attention span and (perhaps) prefer dumbed-down versions of stories. And that is exactly what the rest of us get. The Indian Express remains the only exception and that's why it is the paper I read first.
After reading Jeff Jarvis and Jon Fine, I started thinking about the Indian context. How can Indian newspapers improve their content so that I spend more time with the newspaper and with their brand? I may not fall in the youth category but, surely, my attention is worth something and there are plenty of others like me. How can an Indian newspaper build a compelling print and online proposition for readers like me? For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on English newspapers.
An English language newspaper in India must make the assumption that every one of its readers has access to the Internet. Considering that the largest English-language Indian newspaper sells a million copies and the Internet user base is estimated at anywhere between 25-35 million users, that is a reasonable assumption. In fact, it can also be assumed that the reader uses a mobile phone. So, that is the context in which one needs to think. The newspaper reader is not just always reachable (via mobile) but also has access to a connected computer for complementing the printed paper.
In this context, much of what Jeff Jarvis says is applicable in the Indian context also. Some of the newspaper sections can be moved entirely online with support for personalisation. The printed paper can work as a window to the various sections and stories online. For example, each story in print must have a number which allows me to easily find that story online and send it to friends or colleagues at work, and perhaps, blog it. Also, as a user, I can set up my own e-paper(or m-paper) online with preferences for different sections especially, in finance and entertainment. SMS can be used to alert me to local events and breaking stories. Taken together, these will create a much close relationship between the reader and the newspaper allowing for monetisation through advertisements which can much more tailored.
Indian newspapers could also engage their readers a lot more. One step in that direction would be to enable their journalists to blog so that stories can have discussion and follow-ups. There are times when, for space reasons, stories are edited for the print version. It would be nice to read about the writers' thoughts and experiences and that may be better done on the web than in print. In addition, newspapers can also showcase some of the writings from bloggers. There is now a growing base of Indian bloggers and the commentary is getting smarter. [To its credit, Mumbai Mirror does feature a couple blog posts daily on a specific topic.]
Taken together, a lot of these changes will make for a better product. Will it increase circulation? I don't know. But I do know, that it will make for a better reading experience every morning for many of us. India is changing and we need our newspapers to change with it for the better. Of course, the newspapers could argue that they are changing. And their real customers are not us but the advertisers who pay money to reach their reader base and those revenues are rising. What I am not sure of is how long this trend will continue. In the next 2-3 years, India will see a significant increase in both always-on and broadband Internet connections, and data-enabled mobile handsets. That is the world newspapers will have to prepare for. It is a world where search engines will rule and users will be able to subscribe to the topics(and ads) of their interest. It is a world where each of us can get our Daily Me. It is also a world of multiplying media options as video becomes a reality on the Internet and the mobile.
Despite all the futuristic talk, I still think there is a distinct charm in holding the newspaper in your hand. Or, maybe, I come from the old school where habits die hard. I just wish for the days when the newspaper would open minds and expand thinking. Or, maybe, the world of media and technology has moved too far ahead, and we better accept the wisdom of the crowds. Whatever it is, I hope to get a better product in the months and years to come, and spend more time, not less, with the newspaper. Or, maybe, that is wishful thinking. Only time will tell.
posted by Debabrata @ 3:24 PM
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