PUTTING TRUST IN PROVEN TECHNOLOGY

A Journal of the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development

March 2019 | Volume 40| Issue 3| Rs 50 www.pressinstitute.in

RIND Survey

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PUTTING TRUST IN PROVEN TECHNOLOGYBennett Coleman & Co has invested in a Ferag conveyor and compensating stacker technology for the mailroom at its newly built Manesar printing plant located in Gurgaon, Haryana, which began operations last year. The double-width, single-circumference printing machine (4/1) capable of producing up to 80000 newspaper copies an hour was ordered from Japanese manufacturer TKS. It is now equipped with the proven combination of universal conveyor (seen above) and high-performance compensating stackers, courtesy Ferag. In Manesar, the bundle formation configuration has been extended by a third MultiStack that processes pre-programmed odd bundles. In addition to the partial edition of The Times of India, BCCL in Manesar also produces the English-language insert, Gurgaon Times, and the Nav Bharat Times daily newspaper in Hindi. See page 28 for more.

3March 2019 SurveyRIND

FROM THE EDITOR

Digital advertising seems to have finally come of ageDigital advertising in the US is finally bigger

than print and television. Kurt Wagner, writing for Recode, a technology news website that focuses on the business of Silicon Valley, says digital advertising businesses like Facebook and Google will be bigger in the US this year than traditional advertising businesses like TV, radio, and newspapers. He points to new estimates from eMarketer which show that US advertisers will spend more than $129 billion on digital advertising in 2019 — more than the $109 billion they plan to spend on ‘traditional’ advertising.

It would mark the first time ever, Wagner says, that the US digital ad business made up more than 50 per cent of the market. Facebook and Google are estimated to bring in a combined $77 billion in the US next year. The losers – newspapers and magazines; eMarketer estimates that print advertising will decline by almost 18 per cent next year. Print and television aren’t the only industries that have been impacted, Wagner adds. Digital publishers that rely on Facebook and Google to distribute their stories are also coming to the realisation that the two companies aren’t sharing the wealth.

Indeed, digital revenue is a key subject for discussion these days. How can publishers claim their share of digital revenues? That was the topic for a panel discussion at the WAN-IFRA Digital Media India Conference this week in Mumbai (see page 6). There is a broad consensus on the fact that while print media is in better shape in India than it is in many parts of the world, the need for publishers to grow their digital revenues is becoming increasingly crucial.

While on the subject of ad revenue, it is interesting to note that Japan’s Nordot is building a common publishing platform to unite media outlets and lower their costs. An article by freelance journalist Tim Hornyak for Slice Japan says Nordot, a Tokyo-based joint venture launched in April 2015 with backing from Japan’s biggest news companies, Kyodo News Digital and Yahoo Japan, is a common publishing platform that offers 500000 articles from

hundreds of publishers in Japan – an initiative that brings together content providers and distributors so that both can minimise costs. While major outlets can source news at no cost, smaller publishers can reach a far larger audience with both ends earning ad revenue. It is a completely new platform with no other service like this in Japan or overseas, Hornyak says. The platform has some 6 million readers and 400 publishers using it, which includes major brands such as Quartz and Huffpost. With its new English language site, Nordot is focused on growing English language publishers and increasing its presence outside Japan.

If all of that forms one side of the story (digital scoring), here is the other. Roy Greenslade has just written for The Guardian about the Metro newspaper making a healthy profit based on a simple business model: advertising revenue – 1.43m Metro newspapers were picked up by people each morning last month, thousands more than the weekday issues of the Sun and the Daily Mail, which rely on high sales on Saturdays to boost their circulation averages, he says.

The Metro, according to Greenslade, is a newspaper that sticks closely to the demands of the market.

“Most obviously, its editorial formula makes much of being apolitical. News without bias. News to use. News to amuse. Lots of content packed into cleanly designed pages, with few stories longer than 300 words. There is no investigative journalism. Metro doesn’t hold power to account. It does not serve the people with public interest news, although a case could be made that its coverage of the main events of the day is informative in itself, and all information has value. No one is forced to pick up copies from the container bins at stations and on buses throughout the land… Advertisers like it because the core readership, with an average age of 39, is far younger than that of the popular paid-for titles.” It goes without saying that we keep learning all the time.

Sashi [email protected]

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t sMarch 2019 | Volume 40 | Issue 3SurveyRIND

Cover page image: WRH Global AG / Ferag AG

How can publishers claim their share of digital revenue? 6

Building a data culture, and how 10

How Google is helping bring language publishers online 13

Who said the newspaper reading habit is dying? 15

A flavour of distinct political leanings — history of Tamil journalism 18

Industry Updates 28

General News 39

Events Calendar 41


How can publishers claim their share of digital revenue?

In the news media business, digital revenue is a tough nut to crack. Is it possible for publishers to take a larger share of the revenue pie? A panel at the Digital Media India Conference in Mumbai discussed the possibility of changing this trend. Neha Gupta was present at the venue and fi led this report

Technology giants such as Facebook and Google dominate the digital advertising space. Apple and Amazon are looking to

foray into the news space, which does not leave Paytm and Flipkart far behind in closing in on their share of the advertising pie. Start-ups have grown aggressively; Daily Hunt, a news aggregator with more than 150 million monthly unique visitors, is attempting to raise $100 million.

It is clear that traditional Indian news media faces considerable competition from other platforms and cannot bank on the luxury of print revenues for long. Outside India, a few brands seem to be riding high on the success of having zeroed in on a three-way approach to revenue.

Reader revenueThe New York Times implemented its paywall in 2011. The company clocked an overall revenue of US$ 1.7 billion in 2018, with $709 million coming from reader revenue. The brand, which has branched out into travel, cooking and crosswords, aims to reach $800 million from reader revenue by 2020. Sixty per cent of NYT’s revenue now

comes from readers, in the form of subscriptions, memberships, events etc.

Digital advertisingAxel Springer SE, the largest publishing house in Europe, which owns more than 50 brands in the areas of journalism, classifi eds, marketing media, native advertising. Based in Germany, the company is on track to declare revenues of about 3.5 billion euros. Seventy per cent of its revenue comes from digital and 85 per cent of the digital revenue is from advertising. Eighty per cent of that advertising revenue is from digital advertising. The media group’s focus is on journalism but privileges advertising substantially over reader-based revenue.

E-commerce spaceNaspers, a multinational Internet and media group based in South Africa, has journalism at its core but has also built substantial revenue streams focused entirely on digital companies and e-commerce. Although the company is on track to declare $7.5 billion in revenue, this year, news

BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA


media represents only about 20 per cent of the revenue. The brand invested in Tencent, China in 2011. The stake Naspers bought for just $32 million in 2001 is now worth $175 billion.

The panel comprised Bharat Gupta, CEO, Jagran New Media and Anant Goenka, executive director, The Express Group. It was chaired by Rajiv C. Lochan, director and CEO, The Hindu Group. The aim of news media in India is to protect journalistic integrity, said Lochan. How do the approaches differ from those used abroad? Here are excerpts from the discussion:

Bharat Gupta: How well we know our audience is where the digital journey begins. Brands need to know how the audience is consuming content and what they want to consume. We need to fi gure out a path between connecting with readers and offering them content. It becomes clear through examples of Axel Springer SE and The New York Times, that every brand offers different product propositions – do we want to reach out to a mass audience or establish a niche?

Anant Goenka: Indian news media is letting the wind blow its sails rather than carving its own path. In the long run, a truly sustainable news media set up needs to take the pressure on the business model out of the advertiser to the reader. That is the only way to future-proof oneself. Indian Express has clocked 130 million unique visitors this year. We are hoping that our investigative journalism sets us apart from other brands and helps in garnering a dedicated audi-ence, who will eventually want to pay for our quality content. We have a long way to go – in print and digital – in advertising and subscrip-tion that we don’t have the mental space for right now. Throwing things at the wall and see-ing what sticks is an ineffi cient approach. The fact that Apple News has failed twice shows every day journalism is tough. The fact that we have been dealing with journalistic content on a daily basis has created an incredible amount of goodwill and an irreplaceable brand.

Lochan: For The Hindu, digital accounts for less than 5 per cent of the total revenue but we

run it profi tably. What does digital journalism mean for your brand?

Gupta: For Jagran, display advertising accounts for the maximum revenue – about 60 per cent. Our focus, right now, needs to be there rather than jumping onto the subscriptions bandwagon. Digital provides us with about 3 per cent revenue, within which we explore the opportunities it presents. Branded content and content to commerce provide us ample room to play with. The purpose of our content is to generate reach that will be substantiated by advertising. The most exciting about the digital space is that there is nothing right or wrong and one must constantly experiment.

Goenka: Indian Express is shy of 10 per cent digital revenue, but it’s a fast growing number. It is too early to dream that it will replace print revenue one day. For content to commerce to be successful, we need to own that particular audience. I doubt IE could ever compete with a major apparel e-commerce site. BuzzFeed, Vice and Vox got a bit too ambitious, even though their ideas and products were good. There has to be some reality in your business plans, something the digital world is going to start to feel at some point. One must avoid spending too much money without seeing returns. BuzzFeed’s use of technology is incredible; they perhaps aspired to be at too many places at the same time and could not sustain.

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(From left): Anant Goenka, Bharat Gupta and Rajeev C. Lochan at the panel discussion. (Credit: @dinkaran on Twitter)


Gupta: Garnering trust is prime. A person who is visiting BuzzFeed knows they are going to see content making them try to buy a product. Over a period of time, the trust will start diluting. It is important to note that the purpose of content cannot be monetisation all the time. We need to graduate loyal users into brand lovers.

Lochan: Will Indian news media in the digital space ever get to know its audience as well as Amazon or Flipkart know their audiences? Or will we limit ourselves to knowing our consumers from a journalism stand point? Simply put, will we ever know our consumers the way advertisers want us to know our consumers?

Goenka: Publishers do four things - create content, sell advertising, distribute, and the fact that they do these three things every day, is the fourth. Since anyone with a smartphone can create content, it’s a terrible business to be in. Google and Facebook are better at advertising than anyone. Distribution wise, radio, TV and digital all fair better than print ever will. The only thing left is what we do every day – the credibility business, where the barrier to entry is very high, and we have a great head start. As long as we keep at it, advertising will appreciate and

respect it. The purpose of advertising, for over the last 50-70 years, is to make brands more human. When Section 377 was decriminalised in India, a number of brands came out in support.

Gupta: Audience analytics is the one thing we are deeply investing in. How can one target their audience to increase advertising effi ciency? Tar-geting does not mean privacy invasion; it simply means making advertising effi cient and relevant. There is not enough gravitation for language based eCPMs (a metric used to measure a publisher’s ad monetisation performance). Unfortunately, the digital ecosystem is going through what print went through. It took 70-80 years for print to reach a threshold where it started enjoying adver-tising rates that were equivalent to the national dailies or English dailies. Digital, which is a much more measurable medium, is going through the same process.

(Courtesy: WAN-IFRA / World News Publishing Focus. The writer is a multimedia journalist with

WAN-IFRA South Asia based in Chennai.)

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Faye D' Souza, Avinash Pandey, Supriya Prasad win news broadcast awardsThe 11th edi� on of the exchange4media News Broadcast Awards was held on February 16 at the Radisson Blu in Noida. The awards recognise the best in television news and rewards broadcasters and industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcas� ng in India. It also honours the people who make this industry what it is.

ABP News Network's Avinash Pandey won the pres� gious News Television CEO of the Year Award and Faye D'Souza of Mirror Now was awarded the News Television Editor-in-Chief of the Year (English) � tle, while Supriya Prasad of Aaj Tak won Hindi News Television Editor-in-Chief of the Year. India Today TV bagged the English News Channel of the Year and the Jury's Choice went to Mirror Now in the same category. Aaj Tak won the Hindi News Channel of the Year' Award, while the Jury's Choice award went to NDTV India and ABP News.

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

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Building a data culture, and howNews publishers have access to a wealth of data that sheds light on readers’ habits and behaviour. But what data points should you really focus on? How many of your decisions should be driven by data? And where is data having the biggest impact in news media companies today? To get some insight into what all of this looks like in practice, WAN-IFRA caught up with two experts, Kasper Worm-Petersen and Steffen Damborg. Simone Flueckiger, WAN-IFRA, has the story

What is today’s “starter kit”?Steffen Damborg: First and foremost you need your readers to register. Unless people are logged in they will seem like a new user to you every time they delete cookies, use private mode, change browser or visit from a new device. We all have multiple devices and delete cookies every now and then, so it is almost impossible to gain the necessary insights without establishing a more direct connection with your readers. So, we think that it is an important strategic decision to make: that we want to focus on identification and relation building with our digital readers.

Then we can start talking about the implications with regards to the needed ‘starter kit’. You need systems for identification (single-sign-on system). You need to be able to control what your users have access to (rights management system). And you need to store the data the users create while visiting your media. With these basic tools you can start crunching your data both in real time and for predictive purposes. For this, you need a data management platform and employees with the right data analytics skills.

On building a data culture and managing changeDamborg: Firstly, to create behavioural change, the transformation process must be purpose-led, experience-centric and inclusive. This requires company-wide acceptance of the need for change and a clear vision to communicate. Secondly,

you need to train your talent across departments: editorial, marketing and sales. Cases from Axel Springer Verlag and Helsingin Sanomat show that very few KPIs shared across departments can create organisational alignment and create the buzz needed when changing your business approach, and hence give you extraordinary results.

Kasper Worm-Petersen: At Ekstra Bladet, we have built a very strong data culture throughout the organisation. Our goal is to let data inform as many of the decisions we make as possible. We do not wish to be data-driven nor are we looking for full automation. We believe, especially when working with journalism, that the final decisions should be made by people, so we want our organ-isation to be data-informed. Our newsroom is constantly consulting the custom dashboards we have built for them, and they are extremely respondent to new tendencies and behaviours amongst our users, which ensures that we always provide the most relevant experience.

We divide all our dashboards and reports into live, tactical, and strategic. ‘Live’ being the dash-boards that journalists and editors consult on a minute-by-minute basis to constantly optimise the performance. The tactical level consists of dashboards and reports that provide daily or weekly evaluations to allow for corrections if we are drifting off-course and not hitting KPIs or to learn from strong performances. The strategic level is monthly or quarterly statuses where the


bigger picture is revealed, and we can react if we see a new tendency that we have not accounted for. The KPIs are aligned across the live, tactical, and strategic levels, so if we succeed in our day-to-day operations we know that we will also suc-ceed on our larger strategic goals. This provides coherence across the organisation and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals.

How is data impacting your business and opening opportunities?Worm-Petersen: We see data having great impact in every aspect of our organisation, but lately we have seen incredible results with our online subscriptions. The strategic and tactical initiatives have been based on thorough data analysis, and thanks to the agility our strong data culture affords us, we saw double-digit increases in both engagement and sales within two weeks of launching the new subscription strategy.

Obviously, the advances in machine learn-ing and AI provides new opportunities, and we are seeing very promising result from our own endeavors in lead scoring and churn prevention to name a few. However, I believe that the big-gest potential still lies in cultivating the internal data culture and ensuring that the right data is in front of the right people at the right time. It is not fancy or shiny, but it is extremely effective in driving results when done right.

On developing tools in-houseDamborg: To build or to buy? This is indeed a very important question. The rule of thumb is, if you are a first-mover and/ or your business model is so complex that no generic system with a reasonable adjustment can do the job, then you will have to build it yourself. But today, there are plenty of good data tools and visualisation tools out there sold primarily as software as a service. So, in my opinion I would buy this part of my infrastructure and use the saved money for improving my product offering. The quality of the content and the user experience is by far the most important part of a reader revenue strategy.

Worm-Petersen: We have a lot of proprietary custom-built dashboards that our editors and journalists consult. With dashboards, less is more. We only want to show data points that the editors and journalists can and should act upon. Too much noise created by unnecessary numbers generate paralysis and hinders swift action. Many of the off-the-shelf tools are so generic they fail to focus on the important numbers, so we have opted for building our own.

We also make in-depth exploratory analysis of new projects or on areas of specific strategic inter-est. But the daily content decisions are informed by dashboards to ensure a quick feedback loop and a steep learning curve.

On the implications of GDPRWorm-Petersen: We welcome it and believe that it will benefit both our readers and us as publishers in the long run. From an audience engagement perspective, the biggest change has been that we have removed all Facebook scripts and other social scripts and widgets from our site. We were already on the path of disengaging from Facebook, but GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was a convenient opportunity to fast-forward those initiatives and take back control of our audience.

As for advertising, I think the entire industry is still trying to figure out how to respond to GDPR and, so far, the changes have not been as major as one could have expected. However, we do think GDPR and the coming e-privacy directive will make publishers’ own first-party data more valu-able as third-party data tracking becomes increas-ingly challenged. So, we are focusing on further developing our first-party data capabilities.

Damborg: Most European publishers have invested heavily in being GDPR compliant from day one. The biggest challenge so far is the huge room for interpretation. When the legal experts differ in their standpoints regarding the inter-pretation of the GDPR, it is difficult and extra costly to build your new data handling flows and procedures. And, then there is the question about non-EU publishers. They must also comply when


operating in Europe, and since the Internet has no borders, almost all media are, at the end of the day, global media. So, in theory, you must comply or block traffic to your webpage coming from Europe. We have seen many publishers choosing this path in the first month after 1 May.

NOTESteffen Damborg is expert advisor, WAN-

IFRA Global Advisory. He is a digital transformation specialist with more than 10 years of experience in all aspects of running an online business in the media industry. He is former digital director and chief development officer at leading Danish publisher JP/ Politikens Hus.

Kasper Worm-Petersen is head of Analyt-ics at Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet. Previously, he served as head of Audience Engagement, and also worked as a project leader. Published by JP/ Politikens Hus, Ekstra Bladet is one of Denmark’s leading commercial news brands.

(This article had appeared in WAN-IFRA Technology Guide & Directory 2018 –

Helping Publishers Connect with Today’s Innovators.)

Statement about ownership and other particulars about “RIND Survey” the English Monthly Newspaper, Chennai, as required to be published under Section 19-D Sub-Section (b) of the Press and Registration of Books Act read with the Rule 8 of the Registration of Newspapers (Central Rules) 1956

Form IVRIND Survey - Monthly

1. Place of publication : Chennai2. Periodicity of Publication : Monthly3. Printer’s Name : Sashi Nair Nationality : Indian Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara

D112, Sangeetha Colony Ashok Pillar Road K.K.Nagar, Chennai – 78

4. Publisher’s Name : Sashi Nair Nationality : Indian Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara


5. Editor’s Name : Sashi Nair Nationality : Indian Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara


6. Names and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper/magazine and partners or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the total capital:

The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development

RIND Premises, Taramani, CPT Campus Chennai 600 113

Shareholding of more than one percent of the capital does not arise as the The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development, is a non-profit society registered under the Societies Act No. XXI of 1860.

I, Sashi Nair, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sashi Nair Publisher01.03.2019

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How Google is helping bring language publishers onlineDuring the past year and more, Google has been increasing its support for Indian language publishers to make it easier for readers to find their content in both native languages as well as English. Vikas Agnihotri, director of sales for Google India, spoke about digital publishing in local languages during WAN-IFRA's Digital Media India (DMI) Conference in Mumbai last year. Neha Gupta has the details

On the global platform, news websites get more than 10 billion clicks every month through Google, Vikas Agnihotri, direc-

tor of sales for Google India, said. More than five million hours of news content is consumed on YouTube on a monthly basis. “These numbers are only growing,” he said.

In 2012, some 18 years after the start of the Inter-net, the number of people in India online reached 100 million. Within another 13-15 months, another 100 million were logging on. Eighteen to 20 months after that, the Internet in India saw its third batch of 100 million people.

The first group of people were all English speaking; the next set was from the Indian language group.

After the Indian mobile network operator Reliance Jio hit the market, the number of Internet users in India rose to 450 million. Google estimates there will be 500 million Indian “language users” in the next two years.

Support for Indian languagesIn August, at the company's Google for India event, the search giant stated that 90 per cent of 135000 print publishers in India do not have websites, and it aims to help bring them online.

The company launched Project Navlekha in a bid to bring those publishers under the online umbrella by making web hosting smoother and easier.

Navlekha, which in Sanskrit means ‘a new way to write’, allows publishers without websites to make their offline content suitable for online pub-lishing in less than a minute.

The platform, using artificial intelligence, enables them to convert any PDF containing Indian lan-guage content into editable text, doing away with the need for expert digital knowledge.

Navlekha helps Indian writers gain more reader-ship and recognition without having to struggle to sell their written copies physically. As part of the project, publishers are offered free hosting, a branded domain for the first three years as well as AdSense support so they can start monetising their content immediately.“The majority of Internet users in India today are

Indian language users, and this number is expected

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Vikas Agnihotri.


to reach 500 million in the next two years. Smart-phones are not useful unless they work in peo-ple’s primary language and provide access to great content in their native tongues. Right now, the amount of online content in Indian languages is only one per cent of what's available in English,” said Rajan Anandan, VP, India and SEA Sales and Operations, Google, in a statement.

Google also announced a bilingual feed that curates news in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, and Malayalam – the top-consumed lan-guages on the Indian web. Furthermore, Google Go now provides audio playback for news in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu. “For Search to be truly helpful, it should bring you useful content, in all the languages you understand,” said Shashidhar Thakur, VP, Engi-neering, Google Search, at the launch.

Most Internet users mobile-onlyWhy did it take 18 years to reach the fi rst 100 million? Agnihotri attributes it to a dip in device and data prices, and technology becoming intuitively simple for people. At this point, India has 280 million people who consume news online. Of them, 106 million are from the Indian language group and 32 million only consume news digitally.

Nine out of 10 people on the Internet in India are only mobile users. Today's empowered user is curious and is increasingly becoming better informed. Our focus is thus on the art of story-telling, audience engagement, retention, growth, revenue, data and innovation,” Agnihotri pointed out.

In India, depending on the publication, the search referrals range from anywhere from 30 per cent to as high as 80 per cent. Video consumption in India has gone through the roof. During the past 2-2.5 years, YouTube has seen its monthly subscribers quadruple: from 60 million to 240 mil-lion. Approximately 80 per cent of people in India consume news on smartphones.

Ad revenueAgnihotri mentioned that Google was trying to move away from rectangular and square ads to more native advertising so that it gelled well with the content the reader was consuming. “We need to make sure people are actually reading ads and not blocking them because ads mean revenue for everyone in this industry.”

(This article appeared as a blog on WAN-IFRA’s website.)

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Gurugram to play host to WAN-IFRA ConferenceWAN-IFRA India 2019, the 27th edi� on of WAN-IFRA's annual conference, will be held on 18-19th September, this � me at Leela Ambience Hotel, Gurugram, Delhi. The conference will have two parallel sessions and breakouts, focusing on innova� on and print technologies impac� ng the industry.

The conference has currently opened its call for speakers, invi� ng speaker sugges� ons and topics. Apart from the main sessions, the conference will also off er workshops, networking dinners and business expo with limited number of booths. The expo booth booking will commence soon. Regular updates about the event will be available at www.wan-ifra.org/india2019.

Inquiries can be addressed to Suresh Babu K.R., assistant manager, Business Development; E-mail: [email protected].

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VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST

Who said the newspaper reading habit is dying?

When newspaper hawkers in Guwahati decided to stop distributing newspapers in an effort to get news publishing houses to accede to their demands, people didn’t seem keen to pick up newspapers from the stalls that had been put up temporarily in the streets. So, don’t we bother much about newspapers anymore? Nava Thakuria sent us this report

In February 2014, print journalists in Guwahati had a scare. Newspaper hawkers decided to boycott distributing newspapers in order to

press media houses to concede some demands. Printed newspapers piled up, and some media groups even erected temporary stalls in prime locations in the city so that people could get their daily paper. But there were few takers. We expected a backlash from the public.

But strangely, it did not happen. Does that mean that we are not as dependent on the printed newspaper as we thought? Even in 2014?

In the West, most media groups have experi-enced a slow but steady shrinking of circulation figures and have gone in for online editions to tap more readership. In India, the situation is yet to reach alarming proportions as Internet access remains a dream for half of our populace. So, a sizeable chunk of the population is still in the habit of buying newspapers.

The country has nearly a billion potential read-ers, and supports over 82000 registered newspa-pers with a cumulative daily circulation of 110 million. With the literacy rate going up to 75 per cent, more people are now able to read newspa-pers, even on digital platforms. Further, more and more middle-class Indians are accessing the Internet through their mobile phones.

Recently, while interacting with a group of Guwahati-based scribes through video conferenc-

ing from Australia, editor and publisher of news portal Newsblaze.com Alan Gray predicted that Indian newspapers in various languages would continue serving a huge population with news, views and analytical pieces for some more years.

Even while fighting an enormous credibility crisis, the Rs 320000 million Indian newspaper industry continues to grow. Regional newspapers, particularly, have shown promise in the recent past and the trend can be expected to continue for a few decades to come.

The newspaper has a long history in the subcontinent. Despite only 10 to 15 per cent of the Indian populace being able understand English even today, the first newspaper in India (The Bengal Gazette),was published in that language on 29th January 1780 by James Augustus Hicky during British rule. It was a two-page weekly newspaper where most of the space was occupied by government advertisements.

Then came the Indian Gazette in the latter part of 1780 and it was followed by other newspapers like Calcutta Gazette (1784), The Bengal Journal (1785), Madras Courier (1785), Bombay Herald (1789), Bom-bay Courier (1789), Bombay Gazette (1791), Madras Gazette (1795), India Herald (1796), Calcutta Chroni-cle (1811), Sambad Kaumudi (1822), Mirat-ul-Akhbar (1822), Bombay Samachar (1822), etc.

Speaking to Guwahati reporters from Paris, Reporters sans Frontiers (RSF) representative


Daniel Bastard also expressed the view that newspapers in countries like India would survive even though mainstream journalism is increasingly going online. The Asia-Pacific deskhead of RSF pointed out that with the invention of photography, many people thought painting would vanish as an art, but it did not happen.“Similarly, we thought, with the spreading of the television network, the radio will be obsolete, but the medium has bounced back in the recent past with new technology, content and presentations,” he said, adding that the newspapers today must improve quality, publishing more in-depth analytical pieces rather than competing with alternate media for mere news content.

Coming back to the February 2014 anecdote, some senior journalists called the agitating news-paper distributors to the Press Club, and requested them to resolve the issue amicably. To our relief, they acceded to our request. And we escaped an almost disaster.

A government-media partnershipThe media can play a vital role in helping the downtrodden sections of society access welfare schemes government has instituted for the benefit

of this sector, said Ansumwi Khunguri Boro, executive member of the Bodoland Territorial Council. Addressing a media interactive session in the Baksa locality of western Assam, he said “We, the government and the media alike, should ensure that people are aware of the various government programmes and schemes so that they can avail of the benefits of those schemes. There is a huge range of schemes being implemented by the government with the main objective of making the citizens’ lives better.”

Organised by the Press Information Bureau’s Guwahati office in collaboration with the Baksa District Administration in Musalpur Town, the media interactive workshop titled Vartalap was also addressed by Baksa District Magistrate San-jeeb Kumar Gogoi. “Baksa is now considered an aspirational district

and hence we have to put in extra effort in all developmental spheres so that the residents can benefit from various government schemes. Jour-nalists should play a proactive role in making the public aware of these welfare schemes,” said Gogoi.The district has been commended for its excellent coverage of government schemes, he added, and

Participants at the media interactive workshop in Musalpur.

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cited the UjjalaScheme, under which 90 per cent of Baksa households were covered, and the gas connection initiative which had achieved 100 per cent coverage.“In the fi eld of animal husbandry and agriculture

too, Baksa has achieved signifi cant success. I appreciate the initiative of media persons here because of which we succeeded in disseminating information about these policies affectively,” Gogoi said. About 50 journalists from different parts of the district attended the workshop.

K.S Dhatwalia, director-general for NE Zone in the Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry, addressing the participants, pointed out that Vartalap was an attempt to sensitise the media about the need to disseminate proper information to the common people.

Journalist Nava Thakuria emphasised the importance of a responsible and credible media

nationwide. Internet connectivity had made reporting easier, but also posed a serious threat to professional journalists, he pointed out. “The role of a journalist has simply grown with the increasing number of Internet users in India. Now the media is held accountable for every word we write or speak. So it becomes extremely important to present facts without any bias,” Thakuria said.

(The writer is a senior journalist and secretary, Guwahati Press Club.)

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For Details & Visual Inspection.

Terms and Conditions for Submission of offer will be intimated at the time of inspection.

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HISTORY OF TAMIL JOURNALISM

A flavour of distinct political leanings

(The author, a journalist-turned-media academician, presently

heads the Eastern India campus of the Indian Institute of Mass

Communication located in Dhenkanal, Odisha. Besides

teaching communication, he also writes columns and

fiction. This article is part of a series on the history of regional language journalism in India.)

Compared to many other Indian languages, journalism in the Tamil language was rather slow in growth initially. There were not many Tamil newspapers till the end of the 19th Century. The early Tamil journals were non-political and mostly promoted by missionaries who used them as vehicles for proselytising

The first Tamil journal1 Tamil Patrika (1831), a monthly, was published by the Religious Tract Society. Although it had government support, it did not survive long and closed down

after two years. Another journal of the period was Rajavvritti Bodhini (1885), which specialised in publishing news items translated from newspapers received from England. Dinavarihamani, its contemporary, was a weekly edited by Reverend P. Percival and published by the Dravidian Press. It had government support and was reputed to have had a circulation of 1000 copies, which was considered large in that age.

A British-sponsored publication was Jana Vinodhini which cap-tured public imagination by carrying a series on the Ramayana. It gave greater importance to literary and educational subjects than to current events and news. Viveka Vilasam appeared in 1865 and its main object was to counteract the missionaries’ propaganda. It was promoted by non-Christian Tamil scholars. Madras was the home of these journals and it was also the centre from where newspapers in several other regional languages were published. In 1876, nineteen journals were published from Madras (now Chennai) in four lan-guages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

The first Tamil newspaper in the real sense was the Swadeshami-tran which was started as weekly in 1882 by G. Subramania Aiyer, who was also one of the founders of The Hindu. It became a daily in 1899 and dominated Tamil journalism until 1934. It was a pioneer-ing effort for Subramania Aiyer and very soon he was equally at home in Tamil journalism as he was in English. The poet and patriot,

1. Tamil journalist and author A. Ma. Samy in his book (History of Tamil Journals - 19th Century; Navamani Pathippagam, Chennai ) seeks to establish that the first ever Indian language publication was Maasa Dina Sarithai (Monthly Chronicle of Daily Events) by Gnanaprakasam, which was published in 1812. According to Samy, the credit for the first ever Tamil publication of the composite Tamil speaking region under the British rule should be assigned to Arasaanga Varthamaani - the Government Gazette of Ceylon, which appeared in 1802.


Subramania Bharati entered the portals of journalism through the Swadeshamitran where he served as a sub-editor for a short period.

He paid this tribute to Subrama-nia Aiyer in a letter to The Hindu from Pondichery in December, 1914: “Unaided he (Subramania Aiyer) had made Tamil journal-ism a fact of the world, in spite of his very imperfect early train-ing in Tamil literature. Learn, says the Tamil aphorist, while you are yet young. In Subrama-nia Aiyer’s youth he had wholly neglected his mother tongue like most people in this country who claim to have been ‘educated’ in English schools. But his mature patriotism had to realise later on that for the elevation of the Tamil race, the Tamil language would be not only the most rational but the indispensable medium. They win who dare; Aiyer dared and he has succeeded in establishing a Tamil daily journal which with all its faults is the most useful newspaper in the Tamil country.”

After Subramania Aiyer, A. Rangaswami lyengar took over the editorship of the paper. He carried out many improvements in its format and contents and made it very influential in provincial and national politics. The Swadeshamiran became the mouthpiece of the Congress and it was also the Tamil version of The Hindu whose popularity and circulation it shared in fair measure.

However, the man who was its greatest editor and made it a household name was C. R. Srinivasan, who took over from Rangaswami Iyengar in 1928. His strongest weapon was his editorials in which in simple language and style, he explained to his readers political and economic issues which until then had remained beyond the cognitive reach of large masses of Tamil readers. In his hands the Swadeshmiran proved to be both a teacher and a leader for the Tamil literates whose political consciousness was stirred by its relentless campaign for the

social development and political emancipation of the country.

CRS, as he was affectionately known in journalist circles, was a brilliant commentator in English, too. His frequent contributions on men and matters appeared in The Hindu and were greatly enjoyed by its readers. The Swadeshamiran declined after his passing away in 1962 and folded up some years later. It was revived under another owner but did not quite pick up. The old magic was gone.

In 1917, V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar started a daily, Desabhaktan, which had a short life of three years. Its aim was to present a new and refined style in display of news and one of its editors was the revolutionary, V.V.S. Aiyer. It did not have much of an impact. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar’s weekly, Navasakhti, which was a political and literary magazine, was an instant success.

Another great name in Tamil journalism during the period was that of P. Varadarajulu Naidu, who published Tamil Nadu, a daily

(Left to right): G. Subramania Iyer, Subramania Bharati, and V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar.

Phot

os: M

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from Madras in 1926. It achieved significant success. Varadarajulu Naidu was a Congressman and an ardent supporter of Annie Besant’s Home Rule movement. He carried on a campaign against the Justice Party through his paper and it added to his popularity. Varadarajulu Naidu, however, began to waver in his support to the Congress from 1926 and his critics said he was leaning towards the Hindu Mahasabha.

Tamil Nadu closed down in 1930. Some enterprising Congressmen started a paper, India, in 1931 but it did not make much headway. Jayabharati, a tabloid priced at 3 pice, came on the scene and had some initial success. A party newspaper started by the Justice Party was the Dravida edited by J.S. Kannappar.

When Dinamani, sponsored by the Express Group, made its appearance in 1934, it electrified the atmosphere of Tamil journalism. It was a low-priced newspaper (six pice) but it was a different from its rivals in presentation of news and views. Within a month of its publication its circulation shot up and it was more than the combined circulation of all other Tamil papers.

Dinamani had originally been started by S. Sadanand who purchased the Indian Express from Varadarajulu Naidu. Both the papers later came into the possession of Ramnath Goenka. The first editor of Dinamani was T. S. Chockalingam, an ardent Congressman and a powerful

writer. With him as joint editor was A.N. Sivaraman who was later to set up new records in Tamil Journalism.

Both Chockalingam and Sivaraman were close associates even before they came to Dinamani. They had jointly produced a quarter anna tri-weekly, with news and views on the Satyagraha Movement and very critical of the government. Along with Swatantra Sanghu, another quarter-anna weekly, edited by Sangu Ganesan, it became a rage at the height of the Satyagraha movement and sold like hot cakes. Chockalingam left the Dinamani in 1943 and started a daily of his own, Dinasari, in 1944. And the burden of running Dinamani fell on Sivaraman.

Sivaraman, the most distin-guished Tamil journalist, often referred as the Bhisma of Tamil Journalism, did not have much of an education in the conven-tional sense. He passed the sec-ondary school course and joined a college in Tirunelveli but left it after barely six months. He was attracted by the Congress move-ment, especially by the ideals of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and he took it upon himself to carry out the movement started by the Con-gress.

Although he had discontinued college education, Sivaraman began educating himself through wide and purposive reading. Reading at all hours and far into the night became his habit. He was a prominent Congress vol-unteer in the Salt Satyagraha

of 1930 and went to prison. He strayed into journalism when he joined Chockalingam in produc-ing the tri-weekly Gandhi. After joining Dinamani, he switched over to its sister paper, Indian Express, for some years. He cov-ered the San Francisco Confer-ence for his paper and remained in the US for some years as its correspondent. He wrote articles on subjects like science and technology, agriculture and industry, Political science and economics in a way which the common man can easily fol-low and understand. He was a teacher and guide for his readers, whose mission was to educate his readers to be good citizens and educated patriots.

In 1942, S.B. Adiyan, a barrister and a staunch Congressman, started a daily, Dina Thanthi, in Madurai, deliberately aimed at the lower class and the semi-literate population. The paper indulged in sensationalism and its four pages were filled with stories of crime, violence and cinema, written in an easy style and language. He provided readers what they liked to be fed on and they lapped it up.

The paper’s circulation increased manifold and Adityan brought out editions from Madras and other centres. As the Dravidian parties, the Dravida Kazhagam (under E.V. Ramaswami Naicker) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazahgagam (under C.N. Annadurai) began to dominate the political scene in post-independence Madras state (before it was renamed Tamil Nadu), Adityan resigned


from the Congress and joined the Dravidian movement. His contribution to Tamil journalism was that he took the newspaper to the doorstep of the poor and downtrodden. Over the years, Dina Thanthi and its sister publications have not changed much in the type of journalism it began with. Neither has its popularity waned.

The path shown by Dina Thanthi has been followed by many other Tamil dailies. The most common features have been: a: wide coverage of politi-cal warfare in Tamil Nadu, b: dominance of crime, sex and cinema, and c: multiple editions. Dinakaran followed this path and added more good investiga-tive stories. It is published from multiple centres. Unlike Dina Thanthi, it has an editorial. It has a good circulation and one rea-son for its popularity is said to be its anti-establishment posture.

Another daily which has made its mark is Dinamalar, estab-lished by T.V. Ramasubba Aiyer, a Congressman of Tirunelveli. It was started in 1951 in Trivan-drum and played an active role in the agitation for the merger of Tamil areas in Travancore with Tamil Nadu and was very popu-lar for that reason. At one stage, the paper’s office was raided by the police and its copies were seized. This happened when Pat-tom Thanu Pillai was the chief minister of the state.

After the success of the agitation and when Nagercoil and Kanya-kumari were merged with Tamil Nadu, Ramasubha Aiyer moved to Tirunelveli where Dinamalar in 1960 concentrated on the problems of the local people and in getting the people’s grievances redressed. Its circulation went up and an edi-tion was started at Tiruchi in 1966 followed by one in Madras in 1979 and in Erode in 1984.

Dinamalar introduced offset printing in 1981 and adopted other modern techniques of printing. A feature of the paper is its photographic coverage which gives it a unique place in Tamil journalism. During the Pope’s visit to Madras in 1986, it came out with a four-page photo fea-ture of the Pope’s engagements in the city.

A Tamil daily which was the result of cooperative efforts is Makkal Kural, which appeared in Madras in 1973. It came to life on the ashes of Navaamani, founded by a cooperative soci-ety, which got into trouble with the DMK Government and had finally to close down. One of its leading journalists, Shanmuga Vel, floated the Newsmen Asso-ciates in 1972 and the Makkal Kural came into being the next year. It had an able and experi-enced editor in T.R. Ramaswami, who was formerly connected

(Left to right): The front pages of Virakesari dated August 6, 1930; Daily Thanti; and Dinamalar.


with Patriot and Link of New Delhi and with the Federation of Working Journalists. TRR, as he was known to his readers, had a powerful pen and a head for facts and figures. In 1982, it started an evening English daily, News Today.

Tamil papers outside IndiaTamil language newspapers have been published from out-side the country from the pre-Independence era. There was a Tamil newspaper titled Tamil Nesan in Kuala Lumpur, Malay-sia since 1924. It was the lone Tamil newspaper in Malaysia till Tamil Osai was launched in 1981. Later, it was rechristened Makkal Osai2, which in English means Tamil Voice. Thami-zhavel G.Sarangapani launched Tamil Murasu in Singapore on 1935. By mid 2012, it was the only Tamil language newspaper in Singapore.

Several Tamil language newspapers have been published from Sri Lanka, the best known being Virakesari. It was first published on August 6, 1930 by P.P.R. Subramanian, an entrepreneur and journalist from Avanipatti Village in Tamil Nadu. Subramanian guided the publication for over 20 years, during which the publication focused on the rights and grievances of the plantation workers, capturing the attention of the Tamil-speaking population. By mid-2012, it was the most widely circulated and read

2. http://makkalosai.com/

newspaper by the entire Tamil-speaking population in Sri Lanka. In 2005 Virakesari's e-paper was launched, which it claimed was the world's first Tamil e-paper.

Among other Tamil language newspapers published from Sri Lanka were Eelamurasu, Eeela-nadu and Uthayan (all the three papers were published from Jaffna, a Tamil majority area. Uthayan was founded in 1985 by journalist Nadesapillai Vithyatha-ran. Thinakkural was founded by Pon Rajagobal, former editor of Virakesari in 1997, and Sudar Oli was founded in Colombo on 10 September 2000 as a weekly news-paper. It became a daily newspa-per on 29 October 2001. Nade-sapillai Vithyatharan became the paper's editor in 2002.

Almost all Tamil language newspapers in Sri Lanka suf-fered heavily during the conflict beginning early 1980s. Besides Sri Lanka and Malaysia, Tamil newspapers are also published from countries like Singapore, UK, Canada, Australia and sev-eral countries in West Asia.

Leading Tamil dailiesBy end-2012, Daily Thanthi was the largest-read daily in Tamil Nadu. According to the Indian Readership Survey Q-4 2012, it occupies the seventh position in the top ten publication of the country. Hindi daily Dainik Jagran tops the list. Daily Thanthi is followed by Dinakaran and Dinamalar. Among the Tamil magazines, Kumudum is the

largest circulated. It occupies sixth position in the list of top ten language magazines of the country. Malayalam periodical Vanitha tops the list.

Newspapers across India and languages have had political lean-ings, some overtly some covertly. But an interesting feature of Tamil journalism is that it has had distinct in-your-face politi-cal leanings. Several newspapers were open and vocal about their leanings. In the pre-Independence era, it could be divided into three groups: the Dravidian Press, the Nationalist Press, the Muslim Press. Post-Independence, the trend continues; albeit with dif-ferent rallying points.

Radio: Radio broadcasting was pioneered in India by the Madras Presidency Club Radio in 1924. The Club worked a broadcasting service for three years, but owing to financial difficulties gave it up in 1927. In the same year (1927) some enterprising businessmen in Bombay started the Indian Broadcasting Company with stations in Bombay and Calcutta. This company failed in 1930; in 1932 the Government of India took over broadcasting. A separate depart ment known as Indian Broadcasting Service was opened.

The service was later desig-nated All India Radio (AIR) and was placed under a separate min-istry – the Ministry of Informa-tion and Broadcasting. AIR is controlled by a director general,


who is assisted by several deputy directors and a chief engineer. The fi rst FM broadcasting in India began in 1977 in Madras. By mid-2011, Tamil Nadu had two AM and ten FM radio stations, operated by All India Radio and private broadcasters. Chennai-based Anna University has the distinction of running India's fi rst campus community radio station, which was launched on 1st February, 2004.

Television: TV broadcasting in Tamil Nadu began in 1974 after Doordarshan set up its Chennai station the same year. Currently,

the public broadcaster runs three terrestrial television channels in Tamil Nadu - DD Chennai (DD-1), DD News (DD-2) and DD Podhigai, and one satellite television channel, Podhigai TV, from its Chennai centre. Tamil Nadu has witnessed tremendous growth of private TV channels after 1991. Major private TV networks operating in the state are Sun TV, Raj TV, Star Vijay, Jaya TV, Makkal TV, Kalaignar TV, Thamizhan TV. Chennai is the fi rst city in India to have implemented the conditional access system for cable television.

New media: Tamil Nadu was at the forefront of new media revolution. The Hindu, which has at its headquarters in Chennai, was the fi rst newspaper in India to go online in 1995. Regional newspapers made their online presence by late 90s. By early 2013, almost all major newspapers and periodicals had their presence on cyber world with several having their e-papers. There are hundreds of Tamil speaking population-focused news sites and subject specifi c websites. <

Workshop on Hindi for prin� ng studentsDepartment of Prin� ng Technology of Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi, organised a two-day workshop on Hindi for the fi nal-year Prin� ng Technology students, in two batches (picture shows a session in progress). The objec� ve was to help students equip themselves for be� er placement opportuni� es and to overcome language barriers when they are posted to North India or West Asian countries. The training will help them to get accustomed with the language immediately a� er their placement in North India and Gulf countries.

Speakers included M. Nandakumar, chairman, ISTE; A. Paramasivam, head of the Department Prin� ng Technology; and Viswanathan, director, Language Learning Centre, Madurai. Sixty-eight students from Prin� ng Technology Department a� ended.

Phot

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EXTRACT FROM KODAK CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSBILITY REPORT



Industry updates


Reliable technology for India’s growth marketBennett Coleman & Co (BCCL) is India’s largest media company. It is growing in the print market as well, having built another printing plant in 2018 to improve coverage of the Greater Delhi area. BCCL again invested in a Ferag conveyor and compensating stacker technology for the mailroom at the new location.

BCCL owns various TV and radio stations, news-paper publishers and Internet companies. Company headquarters are in the country’s two largest cities, Delhi and Mumbai. The group publishes upwards of ten newspapers, including The Times of India – the world’s largest English-language broadsheet in terms of daily circulation – and The Economic Times, the country’s largest business newspaper and the second-largest of its kind in the world. All in all, Bennett Coleman prints more than 7.5 mil-lion newspaper copies a day at 42 locations that include 14 company-owned printing plants.

Supplying a national daily is a logistical challenge in the world’s second most populous country: just the capital region around Delhi is home to around 45 million people. To better tap the market, an additional printing site went into operation last year.

Previously, the only BCCL printing site for the metropolitan region lay on its north-eastern periphery, in the Sahibabad Industrial Area of Ghaziabad. The plant has seen continuous expan-sion over the decades. The newly built Bennett Coleman Manesar printing plant is conveniently located on the other side of the region in Gurgaon, in the state of Haryana. The Western Peripheral Expressway, which runs around the Delhi area, passes directly behind the printing site.

BCCL is among the major operators who col-laborate with machine manufacturers to advance technologies. For a long time, the Indian company was loyal to one printing press manufacturer, but for the Manesar printing plant, a double-width, single-circumference machine (4/1) capable of up to 80000 newspaper copies per hour was ordered from Japanese manufacturer TKS. Keeping pace with such speeds requires seriously high-perfor-mance technology in the mailroom.

So here, Bennett Coleman once more put its trust in Swiss company Ferag and equipped the print-ing plant with a proven combination of universal conveyor (UTR) and MultiStack high-performance compensating stackers (MTS). The bundle forma-tion configuration at Bennett Coleman usually comprises two MTS machines, but in Manesar this has been extended by a third MultiStack that pro-cesses pre-programmed odd bundles.

Pictures show the new Ferag universal conveyor (UTR) and MultiStack high-performance compensating stackers (MTS).

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Industry Updates


The postpress processing lines began operating in September 2018. Management at Manesar is extremely satisfi ed with the installation and com-missioning: everything went very well, they say. Particular praise went to the support from Ferag technicians, who worked all hours of the day and night to complete the project exactly on schedule.

In the meantime, a few months after commis-sioning, the printing plant is already working two shifts. In addition to the partial edition of The Times of India, BCCL in Manesar also produces the English-language insert Gurgaon Times and the Nav Bharat Times daily newspaper in Hindi.

Ferag AG, with its headquarters at Hinwil in Switzerland, has for over 60 years been known and respected in the printing industry for high quality, absolute dependability and perfect customer sup-port. The traditional, family-owned company is seen as the undisputed market and technological leader in the development, manufacture and mar-keting of post-press processing systems.

Ferag is also a specialist in innovative conveyor and processing technology for the most varied industrial applications and goods distribution systems. For example, with its innovative Skyfall system, the company has in recent years become very successful in sectors like e-commerce and intralogistic materials fl ow. Like its affi liate company WRH Global AG with its 20 subsidiaries, Ferag is part of the WRH Walter Reist Holding AG corporate group, which employs a staff of more than 800 worldwide.

ABB retrofi t for Richmond Times-Dispatch...BH Media Publishing Solutions has ordered a drives retrofi t from ABB for two Mitsubishi presses at its print site in Mechanicsville, Virginia, US. The Times-Dispatch Hanover County production plant prints the daily Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Newport News Daily Press and an assortment of BH Media weeklies and other publications.

The two Mitsubishi presses are shafted and each currently has 11 Fincor drives, fi ve with 200 HP

and six with 100 HP. These drives are obsolete and also diffi cult to troubleshoot and repair. In order to ensure the availability and effectiveness of the production in the coming years BH Media turned to ABB for a turnkey solution.

ABB will supply the latest DCS880 DC industrial drives. These have a thyristor power platform that has been proven in demanding industries like metals, mining, pulp & paper, food and beverage and printing all over the world. The DCS880 boasts a wider power range than any other DC drive on the market. The hardware and software are designed with the user in mind. Special features make installation and confi guration simple and allow the customization of the application to customer needs.

The new drives will be commissioned on the fi rst press aroundmid-year 2019. The second press follows in 2021.

ABB is a leading automation supplier to the newspaper industry. ABB Printing delivers solu-tions that provide unique and totally integrated end-to-end control, protect existing investments and provide management information essential to improving profi tability.

... and for Centre d’Impression LausanneCentre d’Impression Lausanne (CIL), a print centre of the Tamedia Group in Switzerland, is ensuring the long-term availability of its Wifag evolution 371 press by turning to ABB for a press control retrofi t. CIL prints various Tamedia products for the French-speaking part of Switzerland, including well-known titles such as 24 heures.

The Wifag press consists of fi ve printing towers, two folders and six reelstands. The scope of the order includes the replacement of the control sys-tems on two printing towers and two reelstands and also new section control systems.

The new systems supplied by ABB are based on its highly successful AC500 PLC and will be com-missioned without taking the press out of pro-duction. The ABB concept fully supports mixed

Industry Updates


operation of old and new systems – a printing tower with the new ABB system can work together with other units that are still using the old system. This makes a step-by-step approach possible. The commissioning is scheduled to begin in October of this year.

Damian Staedeli, head of ABB’s printing depart-ment, explains the significance of the order: “This is our second order in a couple of months that sees us replacing Wifag “Platform” systems that are based on AMK Symac hardware. This order from CIE follows the one from Gannett in USA for North Jersey Media and establishes ABB as the leading supplier for ‘platform’ replacements.”

ABB is a leading automation supplier to the newspaper industry. ABB Printing delivers solu-tions that provide unique and totally integrated end-to-end control, protect existing investments and provide management information essential to improving profitability. www.abb.com/printing

QIPC delivers automation to Sanoma’s home baseTwo Sanoma printers in Finland are optimised with the systems of QI Press Controls – Engineering Automation Electronics (QIPC-EAE). QIPC-EAE, the Dutch specialist in measuring and control equipment for the printing industry, helps media giant Sanoma's printing companies work more efficiently.

Sanoma had four main reasons for joining forces with QIPC-EAE for the automation of the Vantaa and Varkaus printing plants. The most important motivation was to reduce the amount of waste. The company sees "out of image measurements" of QIPC-EAE as the best way to achieve this. "It is important for us to keep a close eye on system developments," says Jorma Kyrö, managing direc-tor of the Vantaa printing company, Sanomala Oy. "We need to be sure that we always have the most innovative solution in use.”

It was also important for Sanoma to work with a company that believes in the future of the print media and continues to invest in it. "That was a very strong argument to continue with QIPC," Jorma Kyrö agrees. "But our previous collabora-tion with EAE, which acquired QIPC, was also very convincing.” The way in which EAE previ-ously renewed the operating systems of Sanoma's Finnish printing plants created a lot of confidence at Sanoma. That process had some difficulties but the way they were overcome by EAE was satisfac-tory at Sanoma.

A visit to the printing company De Persgroep in Amsterdam, where Sanoma could see a newspaper press with QIPC-EAE automation at work, was the last reason for Sanoma to opt for the Dutch solution. "We have considered several suppliers, but we are convinced that QIPC-EAE offers us the best solution," says Jorma Kyrö. "This installation is very important to us and we believe it will improve our production and serve our customers better.”

Technical printing company Sanomala Oy gets a completely new automation solution. 24 IDS-3D

The Wifag evolution 371 press at Centre d’Impression Lausanne.

Industry Updates


cameras are installed for colour and register con-trol and 29 mRC-3D cameras for cut-off control. In addition, the print shop will have access to the IQM analysis program to optimise the operation and maintenance of the presses as much as pos-sible. In Savon Paino Oy, the

Varkaus print shop, a register and cut-off con-trol system is installed, consisting of 13 mRC-3D cameras.

Sanoma is a front-running media and learning company impacting the lives of millions every day. Sanoma provides consumers with engaging con-tent, offers unique marketing solutions to business partners and enables teachers to excel at develop-ing the talents of every child. There are operations in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Sweden. In the printing plants Sanomala Oy and Savon Paino Oy, the Helsingin Sanomat is printed, with about 250000 copies the largest newspaper in Finland and also the daily newspaper that started it all forSanoma.

Second RotaJet for Interprint, GermanyInterprint GmbH from Arnsberg, Germany, has confi rmed the success of its 2014 investment decision with the purchase of a second RotaJet from Koenig & Bauer. The new digital press will be entering production at the end of 2019. “Back in 2014, we were the fi rst decor printer to invest in wide-format single-pass inkjet technology. That was an expression of our unbridled pioneering spirit, and we have continued to contribute to

L-r: Juha Kankainen (JK Automation Ky, agent QIPC-EAE), Ari Hassinen (MD, Savon Paino Oy Varkaus), Janne Räihä (Production manager, Sanomala Oy), Erwin van Rossem (head of Sales QIPC-EAE), and JormaKyrö (MD, Sanomala Oy, Vantaa).

The RotaJet from Koenig & Bauer.

Industry Updates


further improvements together with Koenig & Bauer over the past years. For us, it was clear that we would eventually purchase another RotaJet,” says Robert Bierfreund, managing director of Interprint GmbH.

The RotaJet 4/0 for decor printing enables significant expansion of the company’s product portfolio and will help to open up new markets. The new press is to be installed directly along-side the existing RotaJet 168 at the headquar-ters facility in Arnsberg. Koenig & Bauer board member Christoph Müller: “Digital technologies are becoming increasingly important for our cus-tomers, both in decor printing and in the packag-ing sector. Shorter runs, individualised products and fast time-to-market scenarios are playing an ever greater role.”

The RotaJet series pairs high productivity and efficiency with outstanding quality. The central cylinder and superior print array design deliver optimum colour accuracy and job-to-job repeat-ability. The combination of precision engineering, latest-generation inkjet technology and carefully matched consumables guarantees constant print quality. The paper supply for 4/0-colour inkjet production is realised by a Pastomat reelstand with Patras M reel handling. An intelligent web lead and optimally matched high-performance NIR dryers safeguard a high print quality even at the fastest printing speeds.

With around 1300 employees worldwide, of whom 390 are based at the headquarters in Arn-sberg, the Interprint Group is one of the leading decor printers. The company was founded in Arn-sberg exactly 50 years ago and in the meantime counts eight production locations around the world. Every year, Interprint develops more than 100 new decors.

Rapida 75 Pro on its way to MauritiusIt is set to commence its journey at the end of March – the first Rapida 75 Pro for a printing company on the island of Mauritius. IPC

Imprimerie & Papeterie in Cassis, a suburb of the capital Port Louis, has opted for a four-colour model. The production start is scheduled for the middle of the year.

Engineered for sheet formats up to 605 x 750 mm and configured with a package of board-handling accessories, the press is ideally prepared for the processing of substrates between 80 and 450 GSM. The feature list includes switchable differential-speed drives for the dampening units, roller coatings for low-alcohol and alcohol-free printing, and CleanTronic Synchro for parallel washing processes. ErgoTronic ACR takes care of register measurements, while ErgoTronic ColorDrive measures and controls the ink densi-ties. CIP3 PPF data from pre-press can be con-verted into press presetting data via LogoTronic CIPLinkX.

The compact, space-saving design of the Rap-ida 75 Pro, its low energy consumption and the availability of a local service partner convinced the IPC management and sealed the purchase decision.

The process was kicked off at a seminar last June. DSI, the Koenig & Bauer sales partner for Mau-ritius, the Seychelles and Madagascar, presented the products of the oldest press manufacturer in the world to an audience of representatives from practically all print companies on the island. The company had taken over sales and service activi-ties for Koenig & Bauer only shortly before. As a distributor of numerous other products for the print industry, DSI can point to excellent net-working contacts. Not least for this reason, the seminar attracted considerable attention, and the contract with IPC was already signed before the end of the year.

IPC comprises a graphic design studio, print shop and finishing department, and is active in both commercial and packaging printing. In addi-tion, the company runs a shop in Port Louis sell-ing stationery and a diversity of trendy, mainly printed souvenirs.

Industry Updates


A service partnership with great potentialBadisches Druckhaus Baden-Baden is one of the fi rst printing companies to benefi t from the successful cooperation between SEM and Koenig & Bauer. Within the framework of implementing the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) regulations, in particular Regulation 3, the cooperation between the two companies went smoothly. “The entire process from the initial inquiry to the completion of the inspection went smoothly. I had my permanent contact person and everything went well,” says Paul Haas, managing director of Badisches Druckhaus.

In 2014, a Koenig & Bauer Commander CT for printing up to 48-page newspapers in Berlin format was installed at Badisches Druckhaus. In addition

to the daily title, Badisches Tagblatt, the company also produces a number of advertising journals as well as contract jobs for publishers, retailers and industrial companies.

Companies can check their own offi ce printers or PCs for example. Nevertheless, the experts from SEM and Koenig & Bauer were commissioned by Badisches Druckhaus to inspect the Commander CT. Koenig & Bauer now not only offers the lat-est press technology, but also the know-how to carry out DGUV inspections without interrupt-ing production. “This order is a good example of how our

customers can benefi t from this partnership,” says Thomas Potzkai, head of service at Koenig & Bauer. The exchange of knowledge and the use of individual data from our own systems offer customers the greatest possible degree of security and advice.

Koenig & Bauer expanded its product portfolio in 2018 in response to the expanding service busi-ness and strong customer demand. In cooperation with SEM Servicegesellschaft, Koenig & Bauer can now offer almost all services relating to printing presses.

Shortly after signing the contract (l-r): Thomas Bergmann, head of Service Management, Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed; Michael Grieswald, assistant vice-president, SEM Servicegesellschaft; Paul Haas, managing director, Badisches Druckhaus Baden-Baden; Achim Trenkner, managing director, SEM Servicegesellschaft; and Thomas Potzkai, head of Service and Project Management, Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed.

Equipment inspection at Badisches Druckhaus.

Phot

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Industry Updates


German Design Award for RotaJet Koenig & Bauer is among the winners of the German Design Award 2019, earning a Winner commendation from the German Design Council for the RotaJet digital web press. The RotaJet convinced the jury in the category, Industry, with its ultra-modern, high-class feel and clearly structured look. It already implements a new press design.

A silver and grey colour scheme characterises the outward appearance of the RotaJet, accentuated by a distinctive blue segment with an illuminated company logo and function panel. Every detail of the uncluttered operating concept is tailored to the needs of the user. “With the German Design Award, we have received a further important prize for our RotaJet,” says a delighted Dagmar Ringel, head of corporate communications and market-ing at Koenig & Bauer. “That is clear indication that we are on the right track with our modern press design.” The award jury praised the coherent design language, the clear structuring of the press sections, and the easy accessibility of all operating elements of the RotaJet.

The German Design Award is bestowed by the German Design Council, a foundation which was established on the initiative of the Federal Parliament in 1953 to sharpen awareness for the importance of design questions in industry. The message: High-tech made in Germany must be paired with an equally outstanding external appearance in order to be successful worldwide. Through its annual German Design Award, the council spotlights projects which are deemed ground-breaking for the German and international design landscape.

The most innovative design developments are celebrated in over 50 award categories in the three areas – Excellent Communications Design, Excel-lent Product Design and Universal Design. All the prize-winners have previously received nomina-tions from the technical and expert committees of the German Design Council. The complex nomi-

nation procedure ensures that the competition entries represent the very best achievements in product and communications design.

The winners of the German Design Award are then chosen by an independent jury of experts from industry, the universities and the design branch. This year’s award ceremony was held on 8th February 2019 within the framework of the leading international consumer goods fair Ambi-ente in Frankfurt am Main.

New head for manroland Goss web systems Americasmanroland Goss web sys-tems Americas announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dave Soden as managing director, overseeing operations of the equipment & services provider in North Amer-ica, effective immediately. Greg Blue, previous managing director of Dur-ham Operations, will be moving into a transition support position with manroland Goss web sys-tems Americas.

Coming to the position of managing director from his previously held position of vice-president of Aftermarket Services for Goss International, Soden brings with him experience in the printing industry that spans 36 years. Soden became a well-known industry leader in engineering and controls systems with his company, Graphic Automation and Controls, before the company was purchased by Goss International in 2017.“manroland Goss continues as the leader in

web offset equipment, service and parts. As we continue to support our customer base, the focus will be in the four areas of competency; System Solutions supplying new presses to the market, Engineered Solutions supplying enhancements and product upgrades for existing equipment of any brand, Service Solutions supplying world class service to our entire customer base, and

Dave Soden.

Industry Updates


E-Commerce Solutions, supplying a platform for vendors to provide parts, supplies and components effectively,” stated Soden.

Soden also sees the future of manroland Goss web systems Americas to be the versatility of the company’s products, providing value to presses of all brands. “The strength and direction will con-tinue in those areas, as well as taking our expertise to all makes, models and vintages of equipment. We want to be a complete solutions provider for our customers, providing solutions to fi t all their needs regardless of press type.”

manroland Goss web systems Americas LLC continues its operations from the North American Corporate Headquarters in Durham, New Hamp-shire. Subsequent to the merger of manroland web systems and Goss international in 2018, the company represents the widest range in the indus-try of web offset machinery and support products designed specifi cally for customer success.

Jan Kasten says goodbye to ppi MediaJan Kasten has been working for ppi Media since 2002 and was responsible for research and development, product management and customer service as managing director. In recent years, he was involved in repositioning ppi Media as a technologically leading service company for the digital publishing industry and initiated the transformation toward an agile organizational structure.

Hauke Berndt and Manuel Scheyda took over the company as part of a management buy-out and became joint shareholders with the Kiel-based investor Alexander Eck. The departure of Jan Kasten comes at a time when ppi’s organisational structure continues to be adjusted to market requirements. The two shareholders Hauke Berndt and Manuel Scheyda take over as the company’s managing directors.

While Scheyda will be responsible for the areas of development, product management, support and projects, Dr. Berndt will lead the accounts, sales,

marketing and administration departments in his role as CEO. Together, the two will be respon-sible for the business transformation department, which is tasked with continuously developing the company further.

ppi Media develops highly effi cient solutions and services for media companies. The software house, which is managed by its owners, was founded in 1984 and has since become the leading workfl ow specialist for automated newspaper production. Eighty per cent of all daily newspapers on the German market are produced using products by ppi Media. Media companies in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US rely on the fi rm’s solutions in their daily work and use them in the planning, production and editorial workfl ows of their digital and print products. Ppi Media also accompanies companies seeking innovation in their digital transformation process.

ppi Media’s portfolio includes the agile develop-ment of digital solutions using modern Design Thinking methods and providing innovation advice throughout the different stages of a company’s change process.

Baldwin’s key innovations at ICE EuropeBaldwin Technology Company Inc will present three innovative business segments, featuring pioneering new technology for converting and plastic fi lm at ICE Europe 2019. Baldwin offers a broad range of market-leading innovations and expertise focused on enhanced print results and enhanced economic and environmental effi ciency

Equipment for plastic fi lm extrusion processes, hot air dryer, rotor spray, Corona treatment and fi lm cylinder cleaning from Baldwin.

Industry Updates


of print production processes. ICE Europe takes place in the Munich Trade fair Centre, and Baldwin will showcase its technology in Booth 724, Hall A6.

Technology on display will include automated cylinder cleaning systems, Corona surface pre-treatment systems, LED-UV curing and IR drying systems, hot-air dryers, rotor spray systems and technologies for Color management and Defect detection. The technology presented helps unlock potential in the process through increased produc-tivity, reduced waste, safer working conditions and full control of securing flawless products.“We are very proud to show the industry how

Baldwin, through innovation and acquisitions, has created a strong product portfolio for optimisation and automation of film extrusion, flexo and corrugated printing systems,” said Peter Hultberg, CCO of Baldwin Technology. “At ICE Europe, there is an opportunity to experience our impressive range of equipment from all of the Baldwin business segments in one booth – all optimising the production systems. This truly

shows the technological strength of partnering with the Baldwin.”

Baldwin offers highly efficient IR drying with ability to increase production speed by up to 30 per cent and fully automatic cleaning systems for increased printing and extrusion process productivity and quality. The range of cleaning equipment is customised for optimal cleaning – whether in Flexo corrugated, Flexo CI, Plastic film extrusion or offset applications. Baldwin’s cleaning systems will save valuable production time and material costs while increasing the output quality, maximizing the return on investment and safekeeping the operators.

AMS Spectral UV provides world leading LED-UV and conventional UV curing technolo-gies that instantly cure or dry inks and coatings as part of printing, converting and other indus-trial processes. The business segment is known for offering seamless wide-format solutions providing the highest curing intensities and most efficient operation available today.

Ahlbrandt Systems, the pioneer of high perform-ing Corona surface pre-treatment also delivers market leading innovative web processing systems, even and precise rotor spray coating technologies and Hot-air drying solutions, bringing high-end quality in print and plastic film processes.

Baldwin Vision Systems designs the industry’s most advanced color management and inspection technology solutions for achieving print quality perfection. Automated workflows, increasingly complex requirements and exacting standards are met to dramatically reduce waste, enhance print quality and reduce customer rebates.

Nazdar Ink makes technical support even easier Nazdar Ink Technologies is marking the ongoing success of InkAnswers with the launch of a brief new video explaining how this award-winning - and completely free of charge - Q&A service works: https://youtu.be/ggo1vR3hv7w.

One of the ways Nazdar is working to provide the best technical support in the industry, Nazdar's

Film cylinder cleaner and Corona surface treatment technologies from Baldwin will be showcased at ICE Europe.

Industry Updates


[email protected] email service helps inkjet, screen, and narrow web printers worldwide fi nd solutions to their printing ink needs. A team of 22 ink technicians, scientists, and industry consultants - with combined experience of more than 300 years - fi elds questions regarding multiple print applications including graphic screen, narrow web, inkjet, pad printing and more. The diverse knowledge of the InkAnswers team allows them to quickly provide suggestions and/or product recommendations to most questions in less than an hour.

Bruce Ridge, director of Technical Service at Nazdar, explains: "Typical questions we receive are varied, wide-ranging, and span numerous print technologies. Common questions from users are for ink application recommendations, colour match formulas, and for regulatory documenta-tion for specifi c inks."This service is designed to provide technical sup-

port to busy printers and distributors that would rather email their questions from their phone or computer in order to receive a detailed response in writing (sometimes with attachments) that they can read at their convenience."

With manufacturing facilities in Europe and the USA, Nazdar Ink Technologies strives to be the most knowledgeable and dependable supplier within the graphics industry and is committed to

enhancing its full range of high-performance ink solutions with outstanding service and customer support.

Color-Logic certifi es Kernow Metalik Kernowprint Metalik silver media is the fi rst Kernow substrate certifi ed by Color-Logic for the Xerox Iridesse press. Discussing the certifi cation, Color-Logic Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geeves said: "The Iridesse Press with White Dry Ink consistently produces impressive images on Kernow Metalik silver media. The entire range of Color-Logic decorative effects, in addition to the 250 standard Color-Logic metallic colours, offer Iridesse users the ability to develop new markets and applications for their customers."

Color-Logic Chief Technology Offi cer Richard Ainge also commented on the certifi cation: "In

Nazdar's award-winning InkAnswers service helps customers worldwide fi nd solutions to their most perplexing ink questions.

A Kernow Iridesse test image.

Industry Updates


today's ultracompetitive print market, time-to-market is critical; Color-Logic tools can speed prepress throughput incredibly. Using Color-Logic, graphic designers no longer need to manually create white ink masks and can confidently create metallic special effects that heretofore required countless hours and often endless trial and error. And with the Color-Logic FX-Viewer, designers no longer need valuable press time to verify their work before going to production."

Color-Logic develops colour communication systems and software tool sets for a variety of special effect printing applications. Color-Logic provides brand owners, product managers, corporations, and their advertising agencies the ability to differentiate themselves and their clients with a simple print production process that yields dramatic results. Color-Logic decorative effects utilise the existing workflows of printers and designers, yielding dynamic results without the use of special equipment. Color-Logic supports the value of print and works with designers and printers to enhance their printed media.

Color-Logic, AxiDoc shine at C!PrintThe Xerox stand at the C!Print show in Lyon, France, was an outstanding venue for Color-Logic and Color-Logic dealer AxiDoc. Discussing the show, Color-Logic Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geeves said: "Until the 2019 C!Print show, Color-Logic had never been demonstrated at a French exposition, and feedback from visitors to the Xerox stand was amazing. The Color-Logic dealer in France, AxiDoc, was busy the entire show distributing printed samples produced on the Xerox Iridesse press using silver and white dry toners.""Color-Logic takes the mystery out of working

with metallics," states Christophe Khayat, AxiDoc Directeur Commercial - Impression de Production.

"Our specialist Valerie Belain was busy the entire show educating customers and demonstrating how accurately and quickly designers and prepress

personnel can take full advantage of the Xerox Iridesse platform offered by AxiDoc. Samples from the Irridesse speak for themselves, but actually showing clients how the Color-Logic special effects were produced really made the Xerox stand a 'must-see destination' for show attendees."

Color-Logic certifies Durst Tau label printer

Color-Logic has announced the certification of the Durst Tau 330 RSC UV label and package printer. Discussing the certification, Color-Logic Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geeves said: "The Durst Tau 330 RSC recently passed all Color-Logic certification criteria, and buyers may be assured the printer can accurately reproduce all Color-Logic special effects and metallic embellish-ments on their labels and packages."

The Durst Tau 330 RSC is a digital UV inkjet labels and packaging printer with a print width of 330 mm (13 in.) and a printing speed of up to 78 running meters per minute (255.10 feet per min-ute). This corresponds to a production capacity of 15,984 sq ft/ hr (1485 m2/ hr) at a print resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi.

Equipped with eight colors (CMYK + W + OVG) for the newly developed, highly pigmented Durst Tau RSC inks, the printer produces out-standing near-flexo print quality and achieves up to 95 per cent simulation of the Pantone color space. The Durst Tau 330 RSC works as a stand-alone printer or as a hybrid solution with the addition of conventional finishing options in the OMET XFlex-X6 series. This gives the user unlimited flex-ibility in terms of materials and a broad range of applications.

General News


Pilot programme to look at low number of women in the mediaGlobally, only 24 per cent of people heard, seen or read about in newspaper, television, and radio news are women and only 19 per cent of experts sourced in news stories are women (according to the Global Media Monitoring Project, 2015 Report). The alarming rates have changed very little in two decades. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, United for News, a global multi-stakeholder coalition of media, private industry, and NGOs, announced pilot programmes in Canada, Iraq and Ukraine to address the unacceptable deficit.

Women are unseen for their expertise and relevance in the conversations that inform and shape our daily lives. At the same time, media is undergoing a crisis in trust worldwide. From the boom in disinformation operations to the imminent spread of misinformation online, readers don’t know where to turn for balanced, objective news. This has dire consequences for the media industry’s ability to inform the public, hold governments to account and support healthy communities and economies. Changing the deficit will help build trust in the news media, by making news more reflective of the communities it serves.

United for News is working on the demand side to provide newsrooms with the resources nec-essary to increase the number and frequency of female subject matter experts that are sourced in stories. On the supply side, the coalition is work-ing to raise awareness around the issue and pro-vide support for women experts to step forward.

In 2019, United for News will pilot programmes and test approaches in Canada, Ukraine, and Iraq. In Canada, a committee of top newsrooms will launch a collaborative process, building on best practices and testing solutions that will significantly amplify women’s authoritative voice. In Ukraine and Iraq, Internews will test approaches based on a series of tools pioneered by United for News mem-

bers. The approaches will be adapted to the needs of the local newsrooms, working in a way that respects cultural challenges and constraints while maintaining a clear goal of raising women’s voices.

United for News is led by the international non-profit, Internews, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Coalition members advis-ing this work include WAN-IFRA, Bloomberg, Edelman, the BBC’s 50:50 Project and the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD).

To learn how you or your organisation can be involved or for updates on the initiative sign-up at https://www.unitedfornews.org/building-trust.

United for News is a non-profit, mission-driven coalition founded by Internews in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The coalition includes a diverse range of stakeholders from across the media and advertising industries with a shared vision of a world where everyone, every-where has access to the trusted information they need to make good decisions for themselves, hold their governments to account, and achieve their human potential.

Women in News Awards – call for nominationsWAN-IFRA has announced the launch of nominations for the 2019 Women in News Editorial Leadership Award. The award recognises an exemplary contribution of an editor to her newsroom and under her leadership, the contribution of her newspaper to society. One outstanding editor from sub-Saharan Africa and one from Middle East (West Asia) and North Africa will be named Laureates in 2019.

The Women in News Editorial Leadership Award will be awarded to two outstanding woman editors who are first amongst their peers in inspiring and paving the way forward for the next generation of leaders. The winners will possess a proven track record of success within her newsroom, have demonstrated uncompromising

Other News


editorial integrity throughout her career, and have a strong commitment to the principles of press freedom and its power to promote democracy and good governance. The deadline for nominations is 18 March.

In 2018, the award was given to Noura al Hou-rani, lead Arabic editor at Syria Direct and Barbara Kaija, group editor-in-chief of New Vision Press and Publishing Company in Uganda.

The 2019 recipients of the Women in News Lead-ership Award will be honoured during the WAN-IFRA News Media Congress in Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1-3 June. The winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to attend the World News Media Congress 2019, the premier global annual meeting of the world’s press.

Eligible nominees in 2019 must:Be based in the sub-Saharan region of Africa or • the Middle East and North African region.Hold a senior editorial role as of 1 January • 2019.Work in a news media role (newspapers, mag-• azines and digital-only). The media house can be any size from across the regions.

Anyone is free to nominate a potential candidate from their markets or indeed from other markets. However, it is strongly recommended that nominations are made by superiors, peers or colleagues in order to maintain the integrity of the nominations. For more information, visit: http://womeninnews.org/faq

I & B Ministry hikes ad rates for private TV channelsThe Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has decided to revise the advertisement rates offered by the Bureau of Outreach and Communi-cation (BOC) to private TV channels. The revised rates have been announced on the basis of a review committee constituted by the ministry which sub-mitted its report on 1st January this year.

According to sources, the revision would lead to an increase in rates of around 11 per cent over the

rates of 2017 in respect of most of the private TV channels while it could be of higher percentage for some others, as per their reach and TV ratings. Differential rate structures for news and non-news channels will be offered, depending upon their overall reach in the country. The decision will also make it easier for TV channels to be empan-elled with BOC in order to take advantage of the higher rates.


Punit Goenka is chairman, BARC IndiaPunit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprise, has been elected the new chairman of TV Viewership measurement company, BARC India, by the board at its meeting held on 29th January. Goenka will be taking over from Nakul Chopra.

Goenka was the founder-chairman of BARC India and played an instrumental role in setting up the TV Viewership measurement company. Under his leadership, BARC India established a robust measurement system that has helped the industry grow with accurate data and actionable insights.


Abhijit Bose to head WhatsApp IndiaWhatsApp has announced the appointment of Abhijit Bose as head of WhatsApp India. Bose will build WhatsApp's first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurgaon. Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small connect with their customers. He joins WhatsApp from Ezetap where he served as co-founder and CEO. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Cornell University. Bose will join WhatsApp in early 2019.


EVENTS CALENDAR


2019

March April

May

June

March 6-7, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Dubai: 14th WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference/ Middle Eastern Digital Media Awards. More information from [email protected]

March 18-22, organised by INMA, in Stockholm, Sweden: INMA Media Subscriptions Week. More information on INMA website

March 20-23, organised by FESPA, in Sao Paulo, Brazil: FESPA Brasil 2019. More information on FESPA website

March 25 – July 31, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Frankfurt: Print Innovation Awards 2019. More information from [email protected]

April 1-2, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Vienna: Digital Media Europe/ European Digital Media Awards. More information from [email protected]

April 4-5, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Bengaluru: Relaunching Websites and SEO. More details from [email protected]

May 1 – June 20, organised by WAN-IFRA: South Asian Digital Media Awards. Registration dates. More information from [email protected]

May 7-9, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Singapore: Publish Asia 2019. More information from [email protected] / [email protected]

May 13-17, organised by INMA, in New York: INMA World Congress of News Media. More information on INMA website

May 14-17, organised by FESPA, in Munich, Germany: FESPA Global Print Expo 2019 / European Sign Expo 2019. More information on FESPA website

June 1-3, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Glasgow, Scotland: World News Media Congress/ World Digital Media Awards/ Reader Revenue Study Tour. More information from [email protected]

June 1 – July 19, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Singapore: Asian Digital Media Awards. Registration dates. More information from [email protected]

June 24, organised by WAN-IFRA, in New York: North American Digital Media Awards 2019/ Digital Media North America 2019. More information from [email protected]


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PUTTING TRUST IN PROVEN TECHNOLOGYBennett Coleman & Co has invested in a Ferag conveyor and compensating stacker technology for the mailroom at its newly built Manesar printing plant located in Gurgaon, Haryana, which began operations last year. The double-width, single-circumference printing machine (4/1) capable of producing up to 80000 newspaper copies an hour was ordered from Japanese manufacturer TKS. It is now equipped with the proven combination of universal conveyor (seen above) and high-performance compensating stackers, courtesy Ferag. In Manesar, the bundle formation configuration has been extended by a third MultiStack that processes pre-programmed odd bundles. In addition to the partial edition of The Times of India, BCCL in Manesar also produces the English-language insert, Gurgaon Times, and the Nav Bharat Times daily newspaper in Hindi. See page 28 for more.

Documents

PUTTING TRUST IN PROVEN TECHNOLOGY