A SUMMER TRAINING REPORT IN

MARKETING STRATEGY OF INDIAN EXPRESS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONJAGANNATH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL, VASANT

KUNJ

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF: SUBMITTED BY:

DR.HAKIMUDDIN KHAN SUNAKSHI CHANDOLA

ENROLLMENT NO. 15821401710

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Sunakshi Chandola of Jagannath International Management School successfully completed the minor project report on Marketing Strategy of Indian Express as per the requirements of GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY,DELHI

This project is original and has not been submitted elsewhere.

Dr. HAKIMUDDIN KHAN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity with much pleasure to thank all the people who have helped me through the course of my journey towards producing this report. Behind every fruitful endeavor lie the advice, guidance and inspiration of all the people directly or indirectly involved with the report. We wish to express our gratitude to all the people involved in the completion of this report. I am thankful to all of them for their help and encouragement throughout the Completion of the term paper. They have been a constant source of support for us. At the onset, I would like to thank my institute "Jagannath International Management school" for giving me the opportunity to undergo this project. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mrs. Hakimuddin Khan providing her guidance and support throughout the project. I will also like to thank my batch mates, for taking out their precious time and helping in the completion of the project.

SUNAKSHI CHANDOLABBA(G)15821401710JIMS-2010

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

INDIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

EXECUTIVE SUMARRY

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

COMPANY PROFILE

OUR BRANDS

SWOT ANALYSIS

MAJOR COMPETETERS OF INDIAN EXPRESS

WEAKNESS AND LIMITATIONS OF COMMERCIAL MEDIA

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE INDUSTRYINDUSTRY PROFILE

The structure of the Indian print industry is highly fragmented with around 1907 daily

newspapers as on march 2003 (sitsce office of registered of newspapers for India)

leadership, which consist of respond and who has read look not a publication in its

periodicity (i.e yesterday for a daily, in the last seven days for a itekly, in the last two

itecks for a fortnightly and a last month monthly) Is useful bench mark for advertisers

as it shows how many people may read and advertisement

Set forth below a table showing a breakdown of the media industry by number of

readers and percentage of persons 12 years or older in India who read the particular

publication as per IRS 2005 round 1

Particulars Urban +

Rural

Urban Rural

Million % Million % Million %

Base population * 739.6 220.7 519.0

Any publication 173.9 23.5 94.4 42.6 79.8 15.4

Any daily 160.4 21.7 88.6 40.2 71.8 13.8

Any English daily 16.8 2.3 15.2 6.9 1.6 0.3

Any

hindi daily

59.2 8 33.5 15.2 25.7 4.9

Any magazine 57.0 7.7 35.6 16.1 28.0 5.4

(*)numbers of person 12 years and older. As per IRS m

agazines readership in 2005 round 1 was 57.0 millions down from 74.9 million in

2000 and newspaper readership 16.4 million in 2005 round 1 up from 141.3 million in

2000 it believes that daily newspapers is increasingly being bought for their analysis

of the news and current affaires and in this context, newspapers gradually taking on

the role of magazine, thereby adversely impacting the magazine segment.

1

THE INDIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

2

The Indian newspaper industry can be primarily segmented across three categories:

English

Hindi

Vernacular newspapers

There is approximately 1,907 daily newspapers published in India of which

newspapers in the vernacular language comprise 49.0% of the total newspapers,

foliated by Hindi (42.1%) and English (8.9%). (sitsc: office of RNI)

Most of the vernacular and Hindi newspapers has a regional focus. Historically the

English newspaper industry in India has been fragmented with each newspaper having

a regional focus such as the Deccan Chronicle in Hyderabad , Indian express in

Mumbai, Hindustan times in Delhi, Hindu in Chennai, telegraph and statesmen in

Kolkata, Deccan herald in Bangalore, Gujarat samachar in Ahemdabad. In recent

times however the larger english language newspapers has been expanding their

geographical, and it believe the english language segment Is moving towards

consolidation

According to IRS 2005 round 1, 5 of the top ten newspapers by readership is Hindi,

fits is vernacular and one is English. Vernacular newspapers have a multiple of

circulation to leadership of 7 to 8 times compared with English newspapers of 1 to 2

times. This is primarily due to higher cover price of non English newspaper compared

with English newspapers and the fact that the reader of non English newspapers is

generally from a lower socio economic segment then that of English newspapers.

READERSHIP AND CIRLCULATION DRIVERS

The following are drivers of readership and circulation:

3

Quality of content: this covers the width and depth of coverage and the belief

of the reader in the independence and integrity of reporting and analysis.

Quality of product: this covers the design, layout and quality of newsprint and

printing.

Level of advertising, particularly classified, tenders and local advertising.

Pricing and incentives: circulation can be influenced by the price of

newspapers and incentive and promotional campaigns including corporate

brand building.

Relationship with distribution network.

Literacy levels.

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Overall economic growth leading to growth in the media advertising industry:-

The Indian economy has shown sustained growth over the last several years with real

GDP growing at 8.2% in fiscal 2004, 4.0% in fiscal 2003 and 5.6% in fiscal 2002.

According to industry estimates compiled by TAM Adex India, media has been one of

the fastest growing sectors in India, expanding by 13.4%, 9.5% and 8.1% in fiscal

2004, 2003 and 2002 respectively. If the historical rates of GDP continue, we expect

the media advertising industry to continue to grow.

Potential for increased Ad- spend as a percentage of GDP:-

Alhough the media industry is one of the fastes growing sectors in India in terms of

Ad-spend as a percentage of GDP, India lags behind other countries . the chart below

shows Ad-spend as percentage of GDP for 204 in selection of countries across the

world and suggest that Ad-spend. In India as a percentage of GDP has the capacity to

grow from its current level.

4

PRINT MEDIA INDUSTRY IN INDIA

What is a Print Medium?

It is a medium which disseminates printed matter. It is printed, as distinguished from

broadcast or electronically transmitted communications. The print media include all

newspapers, newsletters, booklets, pamphlets, magazines, and other printed

publications, especially those that sell advertising space as a means of raising revenue

WORLD TRENDS

Newspapers were 400 years old in 2005 and in 2006 continue

to develop as a massive global media. Over 1 billion people

read a newspaper every day and almost eight thousand daily

newspapers were published worldwide in 2005. The world

leaders in most categories have remained the same as in 2004.

The United States of America leads in the number of daily

newspaper titles and advertising revenues; China leads in circulation and in the

number of top 100 dailies; and the leader in number of titles per adult population

remains San Marino, a country with 24,000 adults where two daily newspapers are

published.

5

Japan has succeeded Norway as number one in paid-for circulation per adult

population, after years of Norway’s leadership in this category. In both countries,

average circulation has declined year-on-year. The decline in Japan was smaller.

Iceland has emerged as number one in paid-for and free daily circulation per adult

population, due to its almost 800 free copies per thousand adult populations.

The emergence of the daily free newspaper as a component of the global reach of

newspapers has become increasingly important. While many traditionalists may still

be concerned at the comparison of daily frees and paid titles, there is no doubt that

consumption of free newspapers is helping to reach new newspaper readers all over

the globe and maintain, and in some cases increase, the reach of the daily newspaper.

The total number of paid-for and free dailies altogether increased by more than 9 per

cent over the last five years, and by 0.3 per cent year-on-year in 2005.

The total number of paid-for dailies increased by more than 8 per cent over last five

years, followed by a marginal year-on-year decline of -0.3 per cent in 2005. None of

these figures take into account dynamically growing numbers of registered titles in

India, thousands of which cannot be included in this survey because relevant specific

information about them is not available. The figures about numbers of daily

newspaper titles represent 148 countries; figures on circulation are available for 70

countries. The total circulation of paid-for and free dailies altogether increased by 4.5

per cent over five years, followed by a marginal year-on-year decline by -0.1 per cent

in 2005.

The total circulation of paid-for dailies in the world increased by 2.8 per cent over

five years, followed by -0.7 per cent year-on-year decline in 2005. Global advertising

expenditure in newspapers increased by almost 9 per cent over last five years, and by

4.4 per cent in 2005 compared to the previous year gives the details.

6

INDIA TRENDS

General economic situation

If the economy continues to grow at 7.5-8% per year, at least a 15% growth in

advertising revenues can be expected, which will drive circulation growth at 8%. As a

result, total newspaper industry turnover can be expected to grow by 12.5% in 2007-

08. India continues to be a young country with ~ 64% of population in the age bracket

of 15-64 yrs

Table 2-31: Population by age and sex (2005-06)

Ownership

Traditionally, most companies in the print media in India were privately held. Out of

7,225 newspapers that submitted their annual reports, 5,680 were owned by

individuals, 973 by joint stock companies, 157 by trusts, 134 by societies and

associations, and 167 by firms and partnerships.

The newspaper industry in India is governed by the Press & Registration of Books

Act, which was enacted in the aftermath of the 1857 mutiny. The Act was designed to

empower a foreign administration to crush anything that had politically subversive

potential.

7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Print Media is a medium which disseminates printed matter. It is printed, as

distinguished from broadcast or electronically transmitted communications. The print

media include all newspapers, newsletters, booklets, pamphlets, magazines, and other

printed publications, especially those that sell advertising space as a means of raising

revenue

The present study revolves around the following broad objectives: To study about the

print media industry in India, To study the business as well as financial profile of

Indian expresses (Express Group) and the marketing methods followed in this regard

and To identify and study about the key players in this industry. The study has been

carries out using primary as well as secondary sources of data.

In all, we can see that Indian Express has always been an aggressive player in terms

of using and applying marketing strategies. It can be seen through various strategies

discussed in the report. But as the print media is also getting more cluttered and more

players are getting into the sector with advanced professionalism , so the time ahead

will be easy time for any player in this sector.

8

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The present study revolves around the following broad objectives:

To study about the print media industry in India

To study the business as well as financial profile of Indian expresses (Express

Group) and the marketing methods followed in this regard.

To identify and study about the key players in this industry.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Marketing research is the process of collecting and analyzing marketing information

and ultimately arrived at certain conclusion Management in any organization need

information about potential marketing plans and to change in the market place.

Marketing research includes all the activities that enable an organization to obtain the

information. This research is very important in strategy formation and feedback of

any organizational plan.

There are many type of research some are conceptual, empirical, descriptive,

explorative etc. each research type is being used for various purpose. In this research

I have used descriptive research to describe what are the factors which affect the

business plan of INDIAN EXPRESS

In this project we have followed descriptive method of study.

Research instrument

Here project analysis is made by collecting secondary data from different websites,

journals, etc.

Secondary data’s are pre published and research data’s collected from different

websites, journals, newspapers, company research papers.

These documents and data’s are very useful for the theoretical, conceptual and

organizational background analysis.

Detailed analysis of data’s is made by plotting different graphs and tables which can

be easily understandable.

Then by observing these graphs we have made our conclusions and recommendations.

10

COMPANY PROFILE

ABOUT THE GROUP

The Indian Express Group was the unifying voice behind India’s struggle for

independence. Today, it is the leading light in the battle against corruption as well as

empowering the people of India.

The Indian Express began its journey in 1932. Since then, the Group has grown from

strength to strength. From a single edition to 35 national editions, 14 publication

centers and 7 language dailies that reach over 19 million people across the country.

For the millions of readers, the name "Indian Express" evokes a feeling of faith and

trust in the belief that ‘their Express’ will provide the true picture of India and the

world at large. Published from 21 centers across the country, the newspaper has been

identified with credible and fiercely independent journalism in India. One of the most

influential newspapers of the Indian subcontinent, The Indian Express has been the

watchdog for the Indian people, fiercely treading the terrains of investigative and pro-

active journalism.

Some of the most shocking stories in the history of Indian journalism are credited to

this newspaper. For instance, it showed how slavery existed in 20th century India

when an Express reporter actually bought a woman from the market and wrote the

famous story of Kamla. When the Press was muzzled and gagged and democracy kept

in prison in 1975 during the Emergency, The Express was one of the few papers to

stand up and speak out against the anti-democracy moves of the government, it was

the loudest voice and the strictest critic to bring the guilty to account, at the highest

levels of power wielding authority, and enable the return of freedom to the people of

India. Express, virtually single-handedly, overthrew the then government by forcing it

to hold a free and fair national elections.

Now, adapting to the changing world are the brands of the Group that cover every

sector one can conceive of. The aggressively independent The Indian Express, the

11

courageous style of The Sunday Express, the supremely analytical nature of The

Financial Express, the indomitable Loksatta, the insightful Lokprabha, the sprightly

Screen, the breaking-news-at-breakneck-speed providing Express Online and the

comprehensive Business Publications Division throw light on a range of topics such

as Indian politics, economy, business, society and culture. As India evolves, you can

be sure that the Indian Express Group will evolve too, to keep pace with whatever

tomorrow will bring in an unending effort to arm India with the knowledge to deal

with an uncertain future and ensure it remains the champion of freedom for the world

at large.

Turn the above into reality, The Indian Express Group boasts an extensive

newsgathering and marketing infrastructure as well as a state-of-the-art

communications network that is one of the best in the Indian publishing industry.

THE FOUNDER: RAMNATH GOENKA

For Ramnath Goenka, the founder of the Indian Express Group, a newspaper was not

just another business. It was a mission, a vocation and a calling. The running of The

Indian Express was, for him, not a matter of profit and loss but a vehicle of national

empowerment.

Two elements made him a true original. His sense of history and his instinct of

patriotism.

He was one of the few who preferred to stay away from the corridors of power,

watching, counseling and cautioning instead. From the 1960s, when he felt that the

country's leadership had strayed from the moorings of the nation's founders, he led a

relentless campaign against corruption in public life.

12

The persecutions he suffered in the process have since become a part of journalistic

folklore. In the process, he scripted a new chapter in the history of India. That of

Journalism of Courage . It is this pioneering, intrepid spirit that drives the Group

even today.

Ramnath Goenka matters because he was the first to conceive of one newspaper

covering the whole of India. Functioning as a beacon for all those who wanted to

know the true and right path .

CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR: VIVECK GOENKA

An Engineer by qualification, a newspaper publisher by profession and a socially

committed citizen by choice, Mr. Viveck Goenka is the Chairman & Managing

Director of Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd., one of the most widespread

newspaper publishing groups in India.

He is also a Director of the United News of India. He has been Director of The Press

Trust of India (PTI), a Council member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC),

and was one of the youngest past presidents of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS).

He continues to be an Executive Committee Member at the INS.

His commitment to the progress and development of media had led him to be a

Council Member of the National Readership Studies Council and was on the Board of

Governors of the Media Research Users Council, two leading organizations providing

research data on media in India. He is a member of the Advertising Association, India

Chapter. He was also a member of the International Advertising Association Inc.,

New York.

He has developed several business publications like Express Computer in imparting

information in development of modern technology. One of his initiatives, a North

13

American edition of “The Indian Express”, is a reflection of his commitment to

disseminate information about India to the millions of Indians living abroad.

In a country where most media, especially print is closely held, and does not believe

in professional management, Mr Goenka has actively supported, nurtured and

encouraged professionals not just in management but also in editorial. He has created

an atmosphere of freedom and independence for editorial teams of all Express

publications. His only stipulation, be just, be free of bias, be dauntless in the spirit of

the Express founder Ramnath Goenka and live up to the Express ethos of “Journalism

of Courage”. It is his commitment to editorial independence that has made the

Express Group the first choice of editorial professionals across the country.

As a concerned citizen of India, Mr. Goenka has set up various Trusts to help the less

privileged in some of India's most backward areas. His personal beliefs also found

expression in the group publications which are always at the forefront in taking up

socially relevant causes.

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SENIOR EDITORS: SHEKHAR GUPTA

Shekhar Gupta is the Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express, a newspaper at the

forefront of investigative and public-affairs journalism. He leads the nation’s largest

network of award-winning journalists whose work has effected change in several

areas, including government policy and legislation.

Shekhar, known as a reporter’s editor, has some of the significant newsbreaks in

contemporary Indian journalism to his credit. At 26, as a reporter with The Indian

Express, he exposed the horrific Nellie massacre in Assam that marked a watershed in

the North-East’s ethnic conflict. As a reporter, and then an editor, with India Today,

India’s largest newsmagazine, he uncovered LTTE training camps in India, nailed the

lie of official intelligence agencies in a spy scandal that falsely implicated scientists of

the Indian Space Research Organisation. And seven years before 9/11, travelled

across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Germany, the US and the UK, to report extensively on

the threat from Islamic fundamentalism, including its links with Osama bin Laden.

His weekly column called National Interest, now in its ninth year, has become a

touchstone for new ideas in politics, governance, society, business and sports. He also

hosts an interview-based programme Walk the Talk on NDTV 24x7, India’s most

watched and respected English news channel.

A regular guest speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos and its India

summits, Shekhar has authored Assam: A Valley Divided and India Redefines Its

Role, published by the Oxford University Press by the International Institute of

Strategic Studies, London. His newspaper won the Vienna-based International Press

Institute’s first India Award for Outstanding Journalism in the Public Interest.

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR: RAJ KAMAL JHA

Raj Kamal Jha (b. 1966) is the author of The Blue Bedspread, which won the

Commonwealth Writers' Prize, 2000, for Best First Book (Eurasia region) and was a

New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His second novel If You Are Afraid of

Heights was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2003.

Jha was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He attended the Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur where he studied Mechanical Engineering, and the

Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (USC)

where he received his M.A. in 1990.

Jha was an Assistant Editor at The Statesman in Kolkata, a Senior Associate Editor at

India Today Magazine, New Delhi, and is currently Executive Editor of The Indian

Express, group of newspapers in New Delhi. The newspaper won the first India award

of the International Press Institute, Vienna, for its coverage of the Hindu-Muslim riots

in Gujarat.

Jha was recently a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was

also a fellow at the prestigious Yaddo Residency in Saratoga Springs, New York, in

2005.

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EDITOR OF THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS: SANDIPAN DEB

Sandipan Deb is Editor of The Financial Express. An alumnus of the Indian Institute

of Technology, Kharagpur, and the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta,

Sandipan spent three years in corporate India before shifting to journalism. He has

been Executive Editor of A&M (Advertising and Marketing) and Senior Editor at

Business Today. He was part of the team that launched Outlook, the weekly

newsmagazine, and was Managing Editor of Outlook from 2002 to 2005. He is also

the founder-editor of Outlook Money, India’s first personal finance magazine.

Sandipan joined The Indian Express group in August 2005.

Sandipan is the author of The IITians, the first book on India’s premier engineering

institutes and its alumni.

17

CHIEF EDITOR: KUMAR KETKAR

Chief Editor, Loksatta, the leading Marathi Daily of the Indian Express Group.

Earlier, Editor-In-Chief, Lokmat and also Maharashtra Times, of The Times of India

Group. Resident Editor, Daily Observer, of the Ambani Group, Reliance, (1990-93)

Before that Special Correspondent, The Economic Times, The Times of India Group.

Reported from US, Soviet Union, UK, Germany, China, Israel, Vietnam, Hong Kong

on.

1. Collapse of Soviet Union, 1991

2. Integration of two Germanys, 1990

3. Hong Kong’s integration with Mainland China

4. Four Presidential elections in US-1988, 1992, 1996, 2000

5. Israel's fiftieth anniversary

6. Transformation of China's economy.

7. New Vietnam

8. UK elections in 1987 and 1992

Recipient of Awards:

1. Padmashree. Government of India's Republic Day award in 2001

2. C.D Deshmukh award for excellent writing in economics

3. Acharya Atre award for bold editorials.

4. Giants International award for reporting world events.

18

EDITOR OF JANSATTA: OM THANVI

Om Thanvi took his post graduation degree in business administration and joined the

mainstream hindi journalism in 1980.He is editor of Jansatta, a prestigious daily of the

indian express group.He is Secretary General of Editors Guild of India.

Before joining Jansatta in Delhi, he had worked in Chandigarh for ten years (1989-

1999) as its resident editor. These were the years when Punjab was in the grip of

terrorism and all the institutions of democracy, including the press, were under severe

attack. Jansatta remained the only major paper that did not succumb to the "Code of

Conduct" imposed by the terrorists on press.

Prior to joining Jansatta, Om Thanvi had edited Itwari Patrika (1980-1987), a hindi

literary and cultural weekly and had also worked as editor-in-charge of Rajasthan

Patrika in Bikaner (1987-1989), the widely-read daily of Rajasthan.

He is known for his social and cultural concerns. He has personally been engaged in

theatre, literature and environmental activities. Has keen interest in history and

anthropology; particularly in music, cinema, painting, architecture and language.

20 years ago he took the c.s.e. fellowship and studied the conventional water

harvesting traditions of Rajasthan which later became a much talked and researched

subject among the environmentalists all over. The Times of India interviewed him on

front page: an unusual occasion in journalism when one journalist was interviewing

another.

Om Thanvi is a recipient of the prestigious Haldighati Award for Journalism,

constituted by the Mewar Foundation, Udaipur.

19

OUR BRANDS

Today, the Indian Express Group boasts an extensive news gathering and marketing

infrastructure as well as a state-of-the-art communications network within the Indian

publishing industry.

From a single edition to 35 national editions, 14 publication centres and 7 language

dailies that reach over 19 million people across the country.

As dynamic and multi-dimensional as the communications industry itself, the Group

is constantly evolving to keep in touch with tomorrow. Technology is being

constantly updated. Innovative ways of doing business are explored. Expansion plans

into newer areas of communication are under way.

Adapting to the changing world are the brands of the Group that cover every sector

you can think of. The courageous style of The Indian Express, The Sunday Express,

the supremely analytical nature of The Financial Express, the indomitable Loksatta,

the insightful Lokprabha, the sprightly Screen, the Express Online and the Business

Publications Division throw light on a range of topics such as Indian politics,

economy, society and culture.

As India evolves, you can be sure that the Indian Express Group will evolve too, to

keep pace with whatever tomorrow will bring.

20

INDIAN EXPRESS PRODUCTS:

21

ACCOLADES

THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE (IPI) AWARD

Presented to The Indian Express in 2004

The Indian Express received the first International Press Institute (IPI) India Award

for Outstanding Work in Journalism, for its fearless and comprehensive reporting of

the Gujarat riots and their aftermath, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

presented the award - a trophy worth Rs 2 lakh, with a citation - to The Indian Express

at an awards ceremony on February 23, 2004, in New Delhi. Read more info

THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS (IFJ)

Journalism for Tolerance Prize Presented to: Sweta Ramanujan from The Indian

Express in 2004

Sweta Ramanujan (India) won the prestigious International Federation for Journalists

(tolerance) award for "Mill On The Loss", which appeared in The Indian Express on

November 30, 2003. Mill On The Loss is an incisive report on the economic basis of

communal hatred. This piece explores the socio-economic roots of communal tension

in certain areas of Maharashtra. Read more info

“SANSKRITI” AWARD FROM THE SANSKRITI PRATISHTAN

FOUNDATION

Presented to: Muzamil Jaleel  from The Indian Express in 2004

Jaleel has been noted for his discerning stories on the psychological cost of violence

in Jammu and Kashmir, impact of violence on the children and on the state’s

literature, visual arts and the society in general. Read more info

“7TH POLESTAR”   AWARD PRESENTED BY THE POLESTAR

FOUNDATION

Presented to: Stavan Desai from The Indian Express in 2005

The Indian Express reporter Stavan Desai was given The 7th Polestar Award for

Breaking News in 2004. Read more info

22

“CHAMELI DEVI” AWARD

Foundation: The Media Foundation Presented to: Sonu Jain from The Indian

Express in 2004

The Indian Express special correspondent Sonu Jain, whose coverage of environment

and agriculture in this newspaper - from illegal mining to CNG, Bt Cotton to melting

glaciers - touched off judicial intervention and policy debates, has been awarded The

Media Foundation’s 2003-04 Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman

Mediaperson.

“PREM BHATIA” AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING ON

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Foundation: Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust

Presented to: Jay Mazoomdar from The Indian Express in 2005

The award for environmental reporting went to The Indian Express senior assistant

editor Jay Mazoomdar for his series on missing tigers in India’s national parks,

beginning with Sariska. Mazoomdar’s stories forced the government to form a ‘Tiger

Task Force’ headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“PREM BHATIA” AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN POLITICAL

REPORTING & ANALYSIS

Foundation: Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust

Presented to: Varghese K George from The Indian Express in 2005

The Indian Express Principal Correspondent Varghese K George received the Rs 1

lakh Prem Bhatia award for excellence in political journalism for his exposes on how

government officials siphoned-off crores of rupees meant for flood relief in Bihar

23

EXPRESS SPECIALS

From cleaning up ancient rocks to getting our POWs back, from putting the

whistleblower mechanism in place to ensuring pure drinking water in Pune, The

Indian Express has been doing what it is committed to: making a difference.

THE ECHO OF THE WHISTLE

The story on the death of an upright engineer in Bihar awakened the nation’s

collective conscience. Amitav Ranjan had obtained a letter written by Satyendra

Kumar Dubey, an IIT-trained engineer working with the National Highway Authority,

to the PMO, complaining of corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral project. But his

request that his name be kept secret went unheeded. He was killed on November 27,

2003 in Gaya, Bihar.

THE DYING ROAR

The beginnings of 2002’s biggest expose were innocuous enough. On July 21, Rakesh

Sinha and Dalip Singh reported how then Petroleum Minister Ram Naik tinkered with

selection committee rules to allot petrol pumps and LPG dealerships to friends and

family-members of the BJP and its allies, drawing severe strictures from the Supreme

Court. Sustained old-fashioned investigative reporting by Express correspondents all

over the country showed how far the favours extended: Every day for more than a

week, the paper listed names of petroleum product dealers who had acquired their

allotments since January 2000—and their connections with the BJP.

PUMP UP THE JAM

The beginnings of 2002’s biggest expose were innocuous enough. On July 21, Rakesh

Sinha and Dalip Singh reported how then Petroleum Minister Ram Naik tinkered with

selection committee rules to allot petrol pumps and LPG dealerships to friends and

family-members of the BJP and its allies, drawing severe strictures from the Supreme

Court. Sustained old-fashioned investigative reporting by Express correspondents all

over the country showed how far the favours extended: Every day for more than a

24

week, the paper listed names of petroleum product dealers who had acquired their

allotments since January 2000—and their connections with the BJP

BIHAR'S BLOODLESS MURDER

In August 2002, 10 days after the country celebrated the 35th anniversary of its

independence, Sankarshan Thakur’s report on 40,000 Bihar government employees

who had not been paid for at least 10 years shook a nation out of complacency.

Beginning with The Sunday Express on August 25, 2002, Express correspondents

began putting humble, middle-class faces to this tale of desperation. There was

Paritosh Bhattacharya, a clerk with Bihar Agro Industries, who had not been paid his

Rs 6,000 salary for 10 years and whose son set himself on fire on Independence Day.

The Bihar government washed its hands of the ‘Bloodless Murder’, claiming,

‘‘Paritosh Bhattacharya’s salary is not the responsibility of the state government’’

because Bihar Agro was under liquidation.

RAPE OF THE ROCK

Along the Manali-Rohtang Pass, Express reporter Jatin Gandhi spotted something that

hundreds of eyes had passed over without thinking. Rockfaces millions of years old

were plastered with paint for advertisements for MNC brands and small-time

entrepreneurs. In his first report on August 11, Gandhi quoted outraged geology

experts, who confirmed that the rocks were part of an ancient ecosystem, which was

threatened the moment the chemicals were slapped on. Even as Pepsi and Coke head

offices passed the buck to their local franchisees, the MBD Books general manager

claimed there was no pollution caused at all.

THE GREAT INDIAN BANK ROBBERY

In December 2002, Samar Halarnkar, Ritu Sarin, George Mathew and Sucheta Dalal

contributed to a series that shook the Indian economic establishment. Through

painstaking, old-fashioned newsgathering, they compiled a list of India Inc defaulters

who pleaded penury when it came to returning loans to banks and financial

institutions, but led caviar lifestyles away from the media glare. The Mardias,

Mafatlals, Lloyds Group, Modern Group, Parasrampuria Group and sundry other

captains of industry together owed Rs 110,000 crore, a humungous figure that would

25

inevitably affect the man on the street’s home loan and savings. ‘‘This is loot, not

debt,’’ said then Finance Minister Jaswant Singh.

THE BIHAR FLOOD SCAM

In April, Verghese K George, Express’ Patna correspondent, sniffed out possibly the

biggest scam of 2005. Money and flood-relief material worth nearly Rs 13 crore had

disappeared down a black hole. Sustained investigation indicated the complicity of

then Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami and some local politicians. Over 10

days, reports revealed how funds went to a firm with a similar acronym as the official

relief supplier, how a small-time politician amassed a fleet of cars and how the relief

material found its way into a local politician’s block, which wasn’t even flood-hit.

how a small-time politician amassed a fleet of cars and how the relief material found

its way into a local politician’s block, which wasn’t even flood-hit.

THE RESCUE OF A CITY

Once the country’s biggest global brand, Bangalore’s downslide caught up swiftly

with its strides. Bangalore Crumbling was a five-part series beginning December 5,

2004. Samar Halarnkar went deep into the city’s underbelly, digging out the facts

behind the fall. And there were many. The Bangalore International Airport, despite

getting a clearance, was grounded. The roads were in a shambles and PWD minister H

D Revanna (Deve Gowda’s son) deflected the blame by strangely accusing the IT

industry of not fixing them. Worse, the state government routinely ignored the

Bangalore Agenda Task Force, the city’s unique urban task force, headed by Infosys

CEO Nandan Nilekani

26

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Credibility - claims to report and detail stories and issues "as they are"

without any conditioning or partiality dictated by external factors.

Inexpensive – cost effective for users (readers)

Convenience –of print is unmatched

WEAKNESSES

Expensive - very expensive to start and run a newspaper

Omnibus – Print tries to be everything for everyone, to cover all subjects, to

be too much without excelling at nothing. No key focus and thus no strong

loyal audience

Not real time - newspapers are release only once a day.

OPPORTUNITIES

Convergence of Print & Digital

Globalization – FDI in Print sector in India

THREATS

Internet – Google, You tube, Blog sites

Television

27

MAJOR COMPETITORS OF INDIAN EXPRESS

TIMES OF INDIA

The first edition of The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, later to be called

The Times of India, was launched in Bombay in 1838. After several years of change,

evolution and growth in the paper's character, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (the

proprietors of The Times of India Group) was established with the principal objective

of publishing newspapers, journals, magazines and books.

Today The Times of India Group has emerged as multi-edition, multi-product

organization, and a clear leader in the segment it operates. Some of the brands owned

by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. are The Times of India, The Economic Times,

Femina, Filmfare, Navbharat Times, Sandhya Times, Radio Mirchi, zoom and Times

now news channel.

“The Times of India”, Newspaper does not need any special introduction. The Times

of India is just not a paper it’s a brand. The Times of India is the number one English

daily in India and also has the highest circulation in the world in English daily.

THE TIMES OF INDIA

India's most widely circulated English daily and the group's premier mega-brand. The

Times of India is rated amongst the world's six best

newspapers and attracts a daily circulation level of more

than a million copies. The Times of India is published from

Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and

Patna.

28

29

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

India's most widely circulated financial and business daily,

which is the second largest financial daily in the world. It

has become the essential reference document on Indian

business, polity, economy and finance. The Economic

Times is published from Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Madras, Hyderabad

and Ahmedabad.

NAVBHARAT TIMES

The leading national Hindi daily, undoubtedly the

most influential opinion maker in the central

heartland. The voice of resurgent India, Navbharat

Times has the ability to gauge the social, political

and intellectual needs of its audience and is attuned

to India's mainstream hopes and aspirations.

Navbharat Times is published from Delhi and

Mumbai.

SANDHYA TIMES

A Hindi language evening daily offering a host of

information on day-to-day events.

30

HINDUSTAN TIMES

The Hindustan Times is a leading newspaper in India. It has its roots in the

independence movement of the first half of the twentieth century. It was edited at

times by many important people in India, including Devdas Gandhi (the son of

Mahatma Gandhi) and Khushwant Singh.

Hindustan Times (established in 1924) is the flagship publication of HT Media Ltd. It

is has a nation wide reach in India (barring Southern India), with simultaneous

editions from New Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Kolkata. It is also printed from

Bhopal, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ranchi. HT has also launched India's first youth daily

HT Next in 2004. The Mumbai edition was launched on 14th July 2005.

Other sister publications of Hindustan Times are Hindustan (Hindi Daily), Nandan

(Monthly children's magazine) and Kadambani (Monthly literary magazine).

Vir Sanghv is the editorial director.

Hindustan Times has a significant online presence:

http://HindustanTimes.com (Online edition of Hindustan Times),

http://HindustanDainik.com (Online edition of Hindustan),

http://HTCricket.com

http://HTTabloid.com

http://HTClassifieds.biz

UK Edition

http://HTTenders.com

http://HTPace.com

http://HTNext.com (Online edition of HT Next)

HT Media as part of its aggressive expansion plans, went for an IPO, made its

foray into Mumbai, launched its radio channel and decided to kick off a new

business newspaper.

It is not as if we do not have enough business newspapers now. India must be the only

country to have so many business newspapers clamouring for roughly the same

audience. The No.1 slot is taken by BCCL with Economic Times, followed by

Business Line from Kasturi & Sons, Business Standard from Business Std Ltd and

Financial Express from the Indian Express group. The former No.5 in business print

media, The Observer of Business and Politics (OBP), shut shop in 2000.

31

Mint raised high hopes, especially given the ultra-high secrecy that preceded its

launch. The newspaper's name was not revealed till immediately before the launch.

Staffers temselves did not know the name or launch date of the paper. According to a

staffer who has just breathed a sigh of relief, "we did not know what we were working

for. I am so relieved."

Founded in 1924 when its flagship newspaper Hindustan Times was inaugurated by

Mahatma Gandhi, HT Media (BSE, NSE) has today become one of India's largest

media companies.

With a combined daily circulation of 2.25 million copies and a readership base of

14.49 million readers, Hindustan Times (English) and Hindustan (Hindi) enjoy strong

brand recognition among readers and advertisers, and are produced by an editorial

team known for its quality, innovation and integrity.

HT Media operates 15 printing facilities across India with an installed capacity of 1.5

million copies per hour. HT’s internet business, under the HindustanTimes.com

portal, is primarily a news website with 2 million unique visitors and 50 million page

views per month, with a significant share of the traffic coming from outside India.

As part of its expansion into electronic media, HT Media, through its subsidiary HT

Music and Entertainment Company Ltd., has entered the FM radio market in key

Indian cities through a consulting partnership with Virgin Radio. The channel, Fever

104, is one of the most vibrant on the airwaves and is currently available in Delhi and

Mumbai.

HT Media has also launched a national business newspaper, Mint, with an exclusive

agreement with Wall Street Journal to publish Journal branded news and information

in India.

HT Media reported 2006 annual revenue of $186 million. For the fiscal first quarter

ended June 30, 2006, the company reported a 33% increase in revenue to $54 million

and a tripling of profit after tax (PAT) to $7 million from the year-ago quarter.

HT Media Limited is a major player in the print media in India. It has a leadership

position in the English newspaper market in North India and the second position in

the Hindi newspaper market in the North and East. The group now intends to

consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse through strategic

partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a consumer focused approach.

32

Hindustan Times, the flagship publication from the group, was inaugurated by

Mahatma Gandhi in 1924 and has established its presence as a newspaper with

editorial excellence and integrity. Today, Hindustan Times has a circulation of over

1.2 million and is the fastest growing mainline English newspaper in terms of

readership. Hindustan Times, Delhi, is India’s largest single-edition daily. In July

2005, Hindustan Times made a successful entry into the commercial capital of India –

Mumbai.

Hindustan, the Hindi daily from HT Media, is one of the leading Hindi dailies in the

country with a readership in excess of 10 million. This makes it the fourth largest read

daily in India.

The group's news portal HindustanTimes.com, with over 2 million unique visitors and

50 million page views per month, is one of the largest news portals in the country. It

has consistently been ranked amongst the top 10 news sites in the world by Forbes

and offers in-depth coverage and analyses to its users.

As part of its expansion into electronic media, HT Media, through its subsidiary HT

Music and Entertainment Company Ltd., has entered the FM radio market in key

Indian cities through a consulting partnership with Virgin Radio.

HT Media also plans to launch a national business newspaper, with an exclusive

agreement with Wall Street Journal to publish Journal-branded news and information

in India.

33

THE HINDU

The Hindu, started in 1878 as a weekly, became a daily in 1889 and from then on has

been steadily growing to the current circulation of over 1000,000 copies and a

readership of over 3 million.

The Hindu's independent editorial stand and its reliable and balanced presentation of

the news have over the years, won for it the serious attention and regard of the people

who matter in India and abroad.

The Hindu uses modern facilities for news gathering, page composition and printing.

It is printed in twelve centres including the Main Edition at Chennai (Madras) where

the Corporate Office is based. The printing centres at Coimbatore, Bangalore,

Madurai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Vizag, Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada,

Mangalore and Tiruchirapalli are connected with high speed data lines for news

transmission across the country.

The Hindu is the only newspaper which brings out supplements on all days of the

week.

On Mondays

Metro Plus

Business Review

Education Plus

On Tuesdays

Metro Plus

Education

Book Review

On Wednesdays

Metro Plus

Job Opportunities

34

On Thursdays

Metro Plus

Science, Engineering, Technology & Agriculture

On Fridays

Friday Features covering cinema, arts, music and entertainment

Young World, an exclusive children's supplement.

Quest, a supplement by children for children, appears once a month.

On Saturdays

Metro Plus

On Sundays

Weekly Magazine covering social issues, art, literature, gardening, travel,

health, cuisine, hobbies etc.

Open Page

Literary Review , every first Sundary

Apart from The Hindu, the group includes the following publications:

The Hindu Business Line - Business Daily

The Sportstar - Weekly Sports magazine

Frontline - Fortnightly features magazine

Survey of Indian Industry - An annual review on Indian Industries

Survey of Indian Agriculture - An annual review on Indian Agriculture

Survey of the Environment - An annual review of the Environment

Indian Cricket - An annual record book on Cricket

The Hindu Index - Monthly and Cumulated Annual

Special Publications under the series THE HINDU SPEAKS ON Libraries:

Information Technology, Management, Education, Religious Values, Music,

Scientific Facts.

Special Publication under the series FROM THE PAGES OF THE HINDU:

Mahatma Gandhi - The Last 200 days.

35

READERSHIP COMPARISON IN METROS

TOI-The Times of India

HT-Hindustan Timea

NIE-New Indian Express

STAT-The Statesman

IE-Indian Epress

DH-Deccan Heraid

HIN-The Hindu

TEL-The Telegraph

MD-Mid Day

Oth-Others

36

WEAKNESSES AND LIMITATIONS OF COMMERCIAL MEDIA

Mass media are inherently corrupting. A small number of owners and editors

exercise great power over what is communicated to large numbers of people. Mass

media should be replaced by participatory media organised as networks, such as

telephone and computer networks.

Strategies to supersede mass media include:

changing one's own media consumption patterns

participating in alternative media

using nonviolent action against traditional mass media.

Complaints about the mass media are commonplace.

To begin, there is the low quality of many of the programmes and articles. There is

the regular portrayal of violence, given an attention out of proportion with its

frequency in everyday life. More generally, most of the mass media give much more

attention to crime, deaths, disasters, wars and strife than to harmonious communities,

acts of kindness and win-win conflict resolution.

The mass media frequently create unrealistic fears about criminals, foreign peoples

and mass protest.

"News" often is more like entertainment than information or education. News

reports, especially on television, are typically given without much overt context. The

latest events are described, but there is no explanation of what led up to them or

caused them.

Consumers of the media consequently hear a lot of facts but frequently don't

understand how they fit together. "Context" is the result of the assumptions behind

37

the facts, and this context is all the more powerful because it is neither stated nor

discussed.

Even the "facts" that are presented are often wrong or misleading. Powerful

groups, especially governments and large corporations, shape the news in a range of

ways, such as by providing selected information, offering access to stories in

exchange for favourable coverage, spreading disinformation, and threatening

reprisals.

Advertising is another powerful influence on commercial media.

Advertisers influence what types of stories are presented. But more deeply,

advertisements themselves shape people's views of the world. They are a pervasive

source of unreality, fostering insecurity and consumerism.

There are indeed many problems with the mass media

But some media are much better than others, judged by the criteria of accuracy,

quality and independence of special interests. Most media critics seem to believe that

it is possible to promote and develop enlightened, responsive, truly educative mass

media. Efforts at reform can be worthwhile, but have intrinsic limits.

The problem is not with media in general, but with mass media, namely those

media that are produced by relatively few people compared to the number who

receive them. Most large newspapers, television and radio stations fit this description.

Mass media by their nature give power to a few and offer little scope for

participation by the vast majority.

The power of the mass media is corrupting.

The only surprise is how responsible some mass media are. Given the corruptions of

power, reform of the mass media, although useful, should not be the goal. Instead, the

aim should be to replace mass media by communication systems that are more

participatory.

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The usual approaches

Most analyses of the media assume that there are just two choices, either state control

or a free market The problem with control by the state is that control is centralised.

The media of military regimes and bureaucratic socialist states are notorious for their

censorship. The defenders of the "free market" argue that government-owned media,

or tight regulations, are similarly noxious even in liberal democracies.

The problem with “free market” media is that they give only a very limited freedom,

namely freedom for large media companies and other powerful corporate interests.

Everyone is "free" to own a publishing company or television station.

The limitations of the mass media in liberal democracies are not always easy to

perceive unless one has access to alternative sources of information. Fortunately,

there are some excellent books and magazines that expose the incredible biases,

cover-ups and misleading perspectives in the mass media. The magazines Extra!, Free

Press, Lies of our Times and Reportage give eye-opening accounts of the ways in

which the English-language mass media give flattering perspectives of business and

government, limit coverage of issues affecting women and minorities, cover up elite

corruption, promote government policy agendas, and so forth.

The book Unreliable Sources gives examples of the conservative, establishment and

corporate bias of US mass media on issues such as politicians, foreign affairs,

environment, racism, terrorism and human rights. Intriguingly, conservatives also

believe that the media are biased, but against them. [George Comstock, Television in

America (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1980), pp. 50-56, reports that about equal numbers of

viewers believe that US television is biased towards either liberal or conservative

viewpoints.]

The analysis that underlies these exposés is simple and effective: corporations and

governments have a large influence on the mass media, and the mass media are big

businesses themselves.

These factors appear to explain most of the problems.

39

The power of the western mass media is especially damaging to the interests of

Third World peoples, being an integral part of contemporary cultural imperialism.

[See especially the now classic treatment by Ben Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly

(Boston: Beacon Press, 1993, 4th edition).

Two hard-hitting attacks on corporate domination of information and culture,

focussing on the US, are Herbert I. Schiller, Culture, Inc.: The Corporate Takeover of

Public Expression (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989) and Gerald Sussman,

Communication, Technology, and Politics in the Information Age (Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage, 1997).

In terms of how the dominant influences on the media operate, one can choose

between a propaganda model as given by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky,

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York:

Pantheon, 1988)--based on the five filters of ownership, advertising, sourcing from

powerful organisations, attacks on unwelcome programmes, and anticommunism--or

a model involving organisational imperatives and journalistic practices as given by W.

Lance Bennett, News: The Politics of Illusion (New York: Longman, 1988, 2nd

edition) and Rodney Tiffen, News and Power (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1989),

among others. For the purposes here, the differences between these analyses are not

important. For many other sources, see James R. Bennett, Control of the Media in the

United States: An Annotated Bibliography, (Hamden, CT: Garland, 1992]

Yes, the media are biased. What can be done about it? Jeff Cohen, of Fairness and

Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), has a strategy. He says

be sceptical of media stories

write letters to media companies, make complaints, join talk-back radio

don't advocate censorship, but instead advocate presentation of both sides on

any issue

use public access TV

hold meetings and pickets

use alternative media

40

This is a good grassroots approach. But the goal is "fairness and accuracy," namely

the balancing of news. There seems to be no larger programme to replace

undemocratic media structures.

A sophisticated treatment of these issues is given by John Keane in his book The

Media and Democracy. He provides an elegant critique of "market liberalism," the

approach by which governments reduce their intervention in communication markets.

He notes that unregulated communication markets actually restrict communication

freedom by creating monopolies, setting up barriers to entry and turning knowledge

into a commodity. He also points out several trends in liberal democracies that seem

to be of no concern to supporters of a free market in communication: the use of

government emergency powers, secret operations by the military and police, lying by

politicians, advertising by governments, and increasing collaboration between elites in

government, business and trade unions. The increasingly global reach of

communication corporations is also a significant problem.

The traditional alternative to commercial media is "public service media," namely

government-financed media (such as the ABC in Australia, BBC in Britain and CBC

in Canada) combined with government regulation of commercial media. Keane

favours revived public service media, with guaranteed autonomy of government-

funded media, government regulation of commercial media, and support for non-state,

non-market media, a category that includes small presses and magazines, community

radio stations and open-access television stations.

Keane's model sounds very good in theory. He gives an imposing list of things that

should be done, but he doesn't say who is going to make it happen--the government,

presumably. More deeply, Keane doesn't say how the state itself will be controlled.

He wants a new constitutional settlement with enlightened and progressive

government media, suitable government controls on commercial media, and

promotion of the "non-state, non-market media." But why should "the state" do all

this? Why won't it keep doing what it is already doing, as he describes so well?

LIMITS TO PARTICIPATION

41

In principle, the mass media could be quite democratic, if only they were run

differently.

Editorial independence could be guaranteed, minimising the influence of government,

owners or other special interest groups. A range of viewpoints could be presented.

The power of advertisers could be reduced or eliminated. Opportunities for citizen

input into content could be opened up. These are worthy goals.

But there are inherent limits to making mass media truly democratic.

Consider, for example, an alternative newspaper with a substantial circulation and

reputation. The editors may be highly responsive to readers, but even so some

editorial decisions must be made. Choices must be made about what stories to run,

which advertisements to accept (if any), which events to publicise, which submissions

to accept, what policies to make about language, and so forth. There are innumerable

"policy" decisions to be made. Even spelling can be controversial. Should the paper

be open to the debate about spelling reform? What about letters to the editor? Should

everything be published, or should some selection be made on the basis of topic or

quality?

If there are only a few active contributors, then everyone can be involved who

wants to be, and all submissions published. But this is extremely unlikely when the

circulation becomes large and the publication is seen to be important. Then lots of

people see an opportunity to raise their own favourite issues.

These problems are far from hypothetical. They are quite apparent to anyone

dealing with alternative magazines with circulations in the tens of thousands, or even

just thousands.

Not everyone who wants to can have an article published in Mother Jones, New

Statesman and Society or The Progressive. Such magazines are "high quality" because

they are able to select from many potential offerings. But being able to select also

means that the editors have a great deal of power.

Being able to define and select "quality" also means being able to make decisions

about content.

42

Of course, from the point of view of the owners and editors of such magazines, they

are hard pressed just to survive. Make some wrong decisions and readership may drop

off or financial benefactors may be less generous. (Most "alternative" magazines

depend heavily on contributions to supplement subscription fees.)

Practising "democracy" within such a magazine, if this means publishing letters

from all and sundry or letting readers vote on policy matters, would be a prescription

for financial disaster.

These comments are a bit unfair to the alternative media. By definition, even the

largest of them is still a small player in the media game. Furthermore, a diversity of

perspectives is available through the different alternative media. There are more small

magazines available than anyone can read.

My point is not to criticise the alternative media, but to point out that participatory

democracy is virtually impossible in a medium where a small number of owners and

editors produce a product for a much larger audience.

The futility of seeking media democracy becomes even more apparent when the

scale is increased: audiences of hundreds of thousands or millions.

Photo credit: Bartlomiej Stroinski

This is the domain of major newspapers, television stations and wire services. It

requires only a little analysis to find that the larger the audience, the more powerful

are the key decision-makers in the media organisations and the less effective are any

mechanisms for participation.

The very scale of the media limits opportunities for participation and increases the

power of key figures. The way in which this power is used depends on the relation of

the media to the most powerful groups in society. In liberal democracies, governments

and corporations, and media corporations in particular, exercise the greatest power

over the media.

The large scale of the mass media is what makes it possible for this power to be

exercised so effectively.

43

1. Emergencies

The mass media, especially radio and television, can come in handy in emergencies:

messages can be broadcast, reaching a large fraction of the population.

But the mass media are not really necessary for emergency purposes. Fire alarms, for

example, do not rely on conventional media. Furthermore, network media, including

telephone and computer networks, can be set up to allow emergency communications.

Actually, the mass media are a great vulnerability in certain emergencies:

military coups. Because they allow a few people to communicate to a large population

with little possibility of dialogue, television and radio stations are commonly the first

targets in military takeovers. Censorship of newspapers is a next step. This connection

between coups and mass media also highlights the role of mass media in authoritarian

regimes.

Military strength is no defence against a military coup, and indeed may be the cause

of one. To resist a coup, network communications are far superior to mass media. So,

from the point of view of preparing for emergencies, mass media are bad investments.

Media talent

The mass media allow many people to enjoy and learn from the efforts of some highly

talented performers and personalities, including actors, musicians, athletes, journalists

and commentators. True. But even without mass media, it is possible for people to

enjoy and learn from these talented individuals, for example through audio and video

recordings.

Furthermore, the mass media limit access to all but a few performers and contributors.

Those who are left out have a much better chance of reaching a sympathetic audience

via network media.

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A force for good

The mass media are undoubtedly powerful. In the right hands, they can be a powerful

force for good purposes. Therefore, it might be argued, the aim should be to promote

a mass media that is overseen by responsible, accountable people.

This sounds like a good argument. What it overlooks is how easily power corrupts.

Whoever has power in the mass media is susceptible to the corruptions of power,

including power sought for its own sake and for self-enrichment.

Larg resources

The mass media command enormous resources, both financial and symbolic. This

makes it possible for them to pursue large or expensive projects such as large-budget

films, special investigative teams and in-depth coverage of key events.

Actually, large-scale projects are also possible with network systems. They simply

require cooperation and collaboration. For example, some public domain software

(free computer programs) is quite sophisticated and has been produced with the help

of many people. In centralised systems, far-reaching decisions can be made by just a

few people. In decentralised systems, greater participation is required.

These four possible arguments for retaining mass media, in some reformed and

improved form, actually turn out to be arguments against mass media.

The mass media are not necessary for emergencies and are actually a key

vulnerability to those who would take over a society. The mass media are not

necessary to enjoy and benefit from the talent of others.

Power exercised through the mass media is unlikely to be a force for good since it

tends to corrupt those who exercise it. Finally, although the mass media can undertake

large projects, such projects can also develop through network media, but in a way

involving participation rather than central direction.

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CONCLUSION

In all, we can see that Indian Express has always been an aggressive player in terms

of using and applying marketing strategies. It can be seen through various strategies

discussed in the report. But as the print media is also getting more cluttered and more

players are getting into the sector with advanced professionalism , so the time ahead

will be easy time for any player in this sector.

The Indian Express Group is one of the nation's largest media conglomerates with a

wide selection of publications and a network of offices spread across the length and

breadth of the country. Growing in strength from a single edition to 29 national

editions and 3 language dailies that reach over 5 million across the country. The

Indian Express group publications include the Indian Express, The Financial

Express, Loksatta and the highly respected Bollywood weekly - Screen among

others. Today, the Indian Express Group boasts an extensive newsgathering and

marketing infrastructure as well as a state-of-the-art communications network within

the Indian publishing industry.

The Group is also the pioneer in launching niche business and trade publications

exclusively managed by its strategic business unit: Business Publications Division

(BPD). The Division is the largest and fastest growing niche publishing house in the

sub-continent covering all major sectors - Hi-Tech, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism,

Pharmaceuticals, and Business Trade.

In all, we can see that Indian Express has always been an aggressive player in terms

of using and applying marketing strategies. It can be seen through various strategies

discussed in the report. But as the print media is also getting more cluttered and more

players are getting into the sector with advanced professionalism , so the time ahead

will be easy time for any player in this sector.

46

BIBLIOGRAPHY

NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALS & MAGAZINES

Business World

The Economist

Economic Times

Marketing Management by Phillip Kotler

Positioning: The Battle for your mind by Al Ries & Jack Trout

TAM’s AdEx report 2005

WEBSITES

www.indianexpress.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

The_Bombay_Times_and_Journal_of_Commerce#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hindustan_Times

http://www.timm.indiatimes.com/examples/timm/allpubl.html

www.exchangemedia.com

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