RIND Survey - pressinstitute.inpressinstitute.in/file-folder/rindsurvey/RIND February 2015 24th... · At the Malayala Manorama Group, ... February 2015 RINDSurvey 1 ... published

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

Februay 2015 | Volume 36 | Issue 2 | Rs 40www.pressinstitute.in

SurveyRIND

NEVER FORGET TO COMMUNICATE TO READERSGetting close to readers is crucial for any news medium to be successful. At the Malayala Manorama Group, it’s part of a credo. Mariam Mammen Mathew, COO of Manoramaonline.com, says local is the new global. At the same time, Manorama Online connects to its readers across the globe to make them feel at home. It even follows a ‘digital maturity curve’. Manorama Online, 17 years old, has more readers than Malayala Manorama, 126 years old. That’s the kind of success that would make any publisher proud (please go to page 4 for the full story).

1February 2015 SurveyRIND

FROM THE EDITOR

A need for restraint and dignityIt was horrendous. The attack against French

satirical publication Charlie Hebdo that has left many dead, in France and elsewhere. The killing of innocent schoolchildren in Peshawar was barbaric and the world was yet to come to terms with that episode when the chilling attack took place in the heart of Paris, in the heart of the free world. If the bloody massacre in Peshawar was randomly executed out, the one in France’s capital was methodically carried out. The two heavily armed men apparently called out the names of the journalists to make sure they were the ones they wanted before shooting them. Millions walked through the streets of Paris a few days after the incident, in a show of unity against the attack. It was not just freedom of expression that had been violated; it was an attempt to instill fear, to destroy the human spirit. Despite the courageous show of strength, and Charlie Hebdo coming up with a special ‘survivors’ issue’ that flew off the shelves and sold millions of copies, journalism may never be the same again, at least for a long while. Indeed, as a statement issued by WAN-IFRA says, “It is not just an attack against the press, but also an attack on the fabric of our society and the values for which we all stand. This should be a wake up call for all of us to counter the rising climate of hatred that threatens to fracture our understanding of democracy.” It must be noted, however, that the incident was not the first on Charlie Hebdo. In 2011, an arson attack had destroyed the publication’s then headquarters, also in Paris. Threats notwithstanding, editors of the magazine have remained defiant in continuing its critical satirical line.

In some ways, the Charlie Hebdo incident in Paris and that which played out in Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu about a week later have similar echoes – it is freedom of expression that’s facing the guillotine. Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, the author of Madhorubhagan, after receiving threats and under duress, decided to issue a statement offering an “unconditional” apology for having hurt the sentiments of a certain section of people and withdrawing all his books, asking publishers not to sell copies anymore. The writer in him was dead,

he proclaimed. Murugan’s book, incidentally, was published in 2010 and all was quiet since. Resentment against written material has surfaced in the past, too. For example, Ulysses (by James Joyce) was declared by government officials in the UK in the 1920s to be

“unreadable, unquotable and unreviewable”, according to The Economist. Thanks mainly to the final chapter in the book which none other than D.H. Lawrence felt was “the dirtiest, most indecent, obscene thing ever written”. Copies of the book were burnt on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, of course, Ulysses is considered one of the best of modernist fiction of the 20th Century.

When I was a student of Journalism more than two decades ago, one of the lecturers encapsulated good writing by these words: simplicity, clarity, brevity and dignity. My lecturer’s words found echo in what Pope Francis said a few days ago while on his way from Sri Lanka to the Philippines. He said there were limits to freedom of expression and that following the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris “one cannot make fun of faith”. He added that freedom of speech was a fundamental human right but “every religion has its dignity”, and “man had slapped nature in the face”. It’s the discretion we use – to write, to publish. For example, Sky News took an editorial decision not to feature the cover of the ‘survivors’ Charlie Hebdo issue. So did the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, Sun, Mirror, ITN and Press Gazette. However, the Guardian (online only), Times, Financial Times, the Independent and BBC decided otherwise. Websites Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and Yahoo News published the Charlie Hebdo front page. Has Charlie Hebdo been crossing limits over the years? The question can be debated endlessly and there will be no clear-cut answer. But what appears clearer at the end of all this is that journalists will have to exercise restraint and bring some amount of dignity to their work, else they will have to be prepared to fight their own battles. Even as other battles are likely to be played out in the public space.

Sashi [email protected]

2 February 2015SurveyRIND

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Cover page photo: A slide from Mariam Mammen Mathew’s presentation at the WAN-IFRA India Conference in Delhi.

‘Nobody delivers Kerala better’ 4

How workflow software controls centralised production 8

How the perfect binder changed post-press operations 10

Building on the brand 14

The Amazon factor: Publishers no longer needed 21

Industry Updates 22

A gentleman crusader on a cycle: Remembering B.G.Verghese 34

Other News 36

Events Calendar 38


DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT MALAYALA MANORAMA

‘Nobody delivers Kerala better’Nobody delivers Kerala better, across age groups, genders, geographic borders, interests, mediums and languages, says Mariam Mammen Mathew, COO of Manoramaonline.com. Multi-channel management across platforms, reader interest areas, social media and blogs and emails are the paths taken to achieve digital transformation at Manorama. The process of digitalisation, she says, is spearheaded by a small team, powered by great ideas and a willingness to take risks. More, from Susan Philip

“We have grown as big and as strong as our mother brand Malayala Manorama in just 17 years of existence. Now, Manorama

Online has got more readers than the mother brand which has got a legacy of 126 years,” said Mariam Mammen Mathew, proud COO of Manoramaonline.com. Speaking at the 22nd annual conference of WAN-IFRA in South Asia in New Delhi last year, Mariam took her audience on a quick tour of the digital transformation of the Malayalam daily. “Nobody delivers Kerala better, across age groups,

genders, geographic borders, interests, mediums and languages, she said, adding, the group now

has a 360 degree media presence. The online portal, www.manoramaonline.com, was launched in 2001, realising the huge potential that the market held. Being a pioneer in transitioning to the HTML era, the group had the first-mover advantage, Mariam said, adding, gradually, as reporters realised that they were being read, not only by a national audience but by an international one as well, “they warmed up to the web.”

Language held the key to connect Kerala on the web (the portal is bilingual) and diversity was the entry path used. With over 20 channels, the portal caters to a wide range of needs and gets closer to

the readers. If GulfManorama.com and USManorama.com provides ‘hyper-local’ news to those far away from home, chuttuvattom (literally, neighbourhood) is hyper-local for the locals. Nattu Vartha (news of the land) provides exclusive news from 14 districts in the state while Ente Vartha (my news) encourages citizen journalists. The portal also offers a platform for small and medium advertisers and has a classifieds section.

The portal has enriched and multimedia content. m.manoramaonline.com for mobiles had apps for all needs, and had one million active users and counting for its news apps, Mariam

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Mariam Mammen Mathew stresses a point during her presentation.


said in her presentation. There is even a Lutappi app linked to the popular cartoon strip Mayavi in Balarama, a children’s magazine owned by the group. Value shopping needs (entedeal.com), marriage (m4marry.com), home needs (hello address.com) and information needs (Quickerala.com) are all addressed.

Manoramaonline is also big on innovation. For instance, e-pookalam and e-vishukanni contests (linked to Onam and Vishu, two of Kerala’s most important festivals) are held. "We connect to our readers across the globe to make them feel at home,” she explained. Talking of the focus on social media, Mariam, a member of the governing council of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, said every post in social media was treated as a campaign “as it's driving traffic to our site.”

And the portal goes beyond content, organising events and CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes with an eye to the environment as well as to nurturing earth-friendly habits in young minds. With viewers’/ readers’ best interests at heart, there’s also an Online OP and Health Calculator.

Describing the process of digitalisation, Mariam said it was spearheaded by a small team, powered by great ideas and a willingness to take risks. Best back-end technology, fast and flexible delivery of content across any platform, a utility computing model and trusted cloud computing service providers formed the backbone of the transformation, she said. Multi-channel publishing supported via CMS, responsive design and an AEM digital publishing platform were the hallmarks of the process.

Multi-channel management across platforms, reader interest areas, social media and blogs and emails were the paths taken to achieve digital transformation.

Harnessing big data and segregating it into smaller packets was another aspect, said Mariam. The thrust of all this is customer experience optimization, she stressed.

Today, www.onmanorama.com is for the global young Malayali on the move every second. It has a responsive design aimed at making every event and news break exclusive, with special editorial properties. It provides a great data visualisation experience to readers.

So, is it lights off for newspapers? If Ross Dawson’s 2010 blog was to be believed, it was, said Mariam. Dawson had predicted that newspapers as we know them would cease to exist in the US in seven years’ time, in Britain and Iceland by 2019, in Australia and Hong Kong by 2022, in Japan by 2031 and in India and China in 2040. But the Manorama Group disagrees, Mariam told the WAN-IFRA Conference. The group feels that newspapers are here to stay – but, they will undergo changes not only in content but also in form and delivery channels.

The Malayala Manorama Group is one of the largest publishing companies in India with more than 40 publications. Established in 1888, Malayala Manorama is India’s third largest circulated daily newspaper with more than 1.7 million copies. Manorama Online is the new media arm of the group. Manoramaonline.com was launched in 1997 and then re-launched in 2002 as a comprehensive portal. With more than 500 million page views a month, it is one of the largest websites in the country. The group also runs Manorama News, a 24-hour news channel, which is the number one news channel in Kerala, and the Radio Mango FM station in Kerala.

The digital transformation impact

Consumer aspect: Reader to commentator/ • contributor (User-generated content)Delivery aspect: News on the go• Lead time aspect: First to deliver• Medium point of view: Integration across • mediumsCapability point of view: Demanding newer • skill sets

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A graphic that gives an idea of Manorama Online's presence.


Piping hot news and in your palm, tooMumbai-based entrepreneurs develop an app, Pipes, that customises news of your choice

In the era of online media, news reading has gone digital. There is an information overload with multiple sources providing news. While news consumption has become unlimited, it has also become cluttered. This is where Pipes, a news app developed by a team of Mumbai-based entrepreneurs, makes the difference. Vinay Anand, co-founder and CEO, Pipes, says, “There is always the wish to get only the news that ‘we want’ about someone, something that we love.” Pipesis the app for people who want to customise the news updates that they get.

The app lets users select ‘pipes’, or topics they wish to follow. For example, if the users want to follow a football team, a leader, a business house or a celebrity, they get all updates around the world about only that person or subject. “Our intention is not to compete with the mainstream media. In fact, it is the media that provides what we serve to the users,” Vinay adds.

The app does not update the news from Google, according to him. The company has Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in two APIs (application programming interface) – ‘Bread’ that draws the news feeds, and ‘Toast’ that summarises the news for easy reading. Users get push notifications as alerts about the latest on the topic they follow.

Siddharth Goliya, co-founder, says, “The push notifications are based on the location, and are time zone-specific. This is to ensure the user does not get disturbed at odd hours with notifications.” This app provides the option of choosing between getting trending top stories and news about the followed ‘pipes’. News sourced from Twitter, too, is available.“The idea is basically to be a one-stop shop. One need not visit a business website for financial news

and a Page 3 website for entertainment news. You get all the news on a single platform,” says Goliya. Pipes has over one lakh users globally in 46 countries, with close to 95,000 of them from the sub-continent.

Given the response it got on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store, the company has monetised it by leasing out the API ‘Toast’. There are three clients to whom it has been leased out, and the company is looking for funds. The basic function of the ‘Toast’ is to clear the clutter on the news space, which refers to advertisements and promotional videos. Only the news should be visible for reading sans distractions, says Vinay.

The venture, they say, started with a capital of Rs 5 lakh, from their previous venture Doodle Creatives. “As of now, our funding remains on the lines of leasing Toast and charging royalty. However,

we will look for other sources, when the time comes,” says Goliya.

Goliya and Vinay are management graduates from Mumbai, who were keen on entrepreneurship since college days. The idea struck them, according to Vinay, because of their passion for the internet. They were not particular about a news app, but the “dire need to personalise news they get”. Therefore, they had always been keen on starting something on the web platform.

(Courtesy: BusinessLine)

Trending stories: (from left) Tushar Cheulkar, chief technology officer; Vinay Anand, co-founder & CEO; Natasha Agarwal, operations in-charge; Preyansh Vora, product head; and Siddharth Goliya, co-founder, Pipes.

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How software controls centralised production Sun Media Corporation, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc, is currently Canada's largest newspaper publisher based on the circulation of paid and free newspapers. It currently prints over 15.1 million copies each week. To remain competitive it became clear however that its print production had to become more efficient. The group therefore began a project to rationalise its production from a central hub based at its modern Islington Printing facility in Ontario

The Toronto Sun has been using ProImage NewsWay workflow software since 2005 and Mark Hall, Sun Media’s Regional Prepress,

Manufacturing & Distribution director, saw its potential for helping to centralise and automate the group’s entire printing operations.

He developed a press-map of all the configurations possible for all of the group’s presses and worked with New ProImage America, Inc in order to create a single automated workflow management and control solution based on the many printing options available.

The system now enables the company to provide from its modern Islington Printing facility both tabloid and broadsheet pages to remote print sites around the country, most of which are using different presses with different cut-offs, and also have different CTP devices.

Says Mark Hall, “We initially moved to consolidate print operations in Islington for a region that covers an approximate 300-km radius from Toronto. At the

time we serviced three dailies and 12 weeklies. That has now increased to 16 dailies and 64 weeklies plus about 25 commercial jobs each week and, in addition, we also service from Islington four of the six remote print sites across the country.” The current remote sites are situated in

Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta and North Bay and Islington in Ontario, additional sites will be in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Leduc in Alberta and London Ontario. A geographic area three time zones and 3,000 kms apart.“The real challenge has been to create editions on

short notice and on different press configurations with varying cut-offs and page sizes,” adds Hall.

NewsWay, a critical part“With NewsWay, now our remote sites and

publications are able to see their editions coming together as the PDF pages are submitted to the central system, providing us all with a transparent view of progress, all of the time. ProImage NewsWay, which seamlessly integrates with our custom front end edition planner and order submission system, has been a critical part of this achievement,” states Hall.

After initially looking at all the key aspects of the workflow required, Hall realised that if he could provide a detailed press-map configuration library that could be used by NewsWay to automatically create and output the editions, he would have created a streamlined “just in time” imposition for each publication’s edition. So this is exactly what he did.

This now enables prepress staff to focus on job throughput including file traffic management and plate output - somewhat like air traffic controllers at a major airport - rather than spending time creating job setups from limited information from publications.

Initially, Mark Hall provided the concept and sample press-map XMLs to ‘the smart people’ in the ProImage development team who were then able to customise and provide a working solution that was

Mark Hall – Regional Prepress, Manufacturing & Distribution director.

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tested, modified and improved before being rolled-out. Today, NewsWay automates everything from the XML press-map, and transmits plate ready TIFFs to the various CTP devices and various presses across the group.

It provides automated page pairing for the varying press configurations and although at present most pages are sent to NewsWay complete, the software can stitch together the bitmaps of advertising and editorial content enabling, for example, late ads to be automatically placed onto pages

The edition formats currently being processed are tabloids with variable cut-offs and page heights, broadsheets, and combinations of editions that consist of integrated broadsheet and tabloids in both straight and collect formats. Notably, this is achieved without use of traditional edition templates. The press configurations include one around single width, two around single width, and two around double width formats and each print site has the ability to select the imposition scheme they require for press production.

Importantly the press-map file contains page colour information. This is significant because each page can be built in colour, however, if it is going to be in a black-and- white position on the press it will be sent to a black and white queue on the RIP and be automatically converted to grayscale. Doing this allows the newspapers’ digital and mobile editions to be displayed in full color even though the print edition is mono.

Optimised plate-making, reporting

The NewsWay system automatically delivers complete colour corrected page images ready for plate-making. It burns a barcode onto the plate for automatic plate sorting plus a dynamic barcode is burnt for plate tracking beyond the CTP device.

In Islington, the NewsWay system optimises throughput by load balancing the RIPs centrally. Some of the RIPs have been upgraded to Harlequin’s Dispersed Screening (HDS). This eliminates moiré, has better definition than conventional screening, and registration is said to be less critical.

Meanwhile, at the print sites, NewsWay controls and separately load balances the various CTP devices. In order to maintain colour integrity all separations for a page are locked to the same CTP device. In addition, NewsWay calculates ink coverage by column per page and forwards the computed results in CIP3 format to Sun Media’s PECOM ink setting system.

An important feature of the system is its enterprise-wide production management reporting. From data within NewsWay, the system reports on production issues such as when pages are scheduled, their deadlines, released, approved for output and RIPed

- and any authorized user can access this information from anywhere that has an Internet connection, and act upon any potential problems.

Explains Hall: “By streamlining our production processes and by sensibly using some great technology we are able to serve our customers better by producing a better quality product and also enabling them to make later changes - and we can do this with a third less staff managing the production compared to a few years ago.”

Stephane Vandal – IT Technical Support manager and (on right) Chris Terry – Prepress technician. <

Our Journals


THE PERFECT BINDER

How it changed post-press operations

With the development of cold glue around 1921-22, book manufacturers and publishers started thinking of ways to find an automatic process of binding that was time-saving and hassle-free. In 1928-29, adhesive/ perfect binding was developed on an experimental basis -- a process of applying cold glue to sewn or stitched book blocks ready for application of the pre-folded cover. The automatic process of binding was used initially for the mass production of magazines and directories. As a result, paperback books evolved based on new adhesive binding technology. Som Nath Sapru traces the growth of perfect binding

Flexibilised animal jelly glue was used for traditional binding and at initial stages of ‘perfect’ binding as well -- but the concept of

perfect binding really became viable only after the development of synthetic resin dispersion technology. However, as this consisted of 40-50 per cent water, in-line finishing machines had to be large and, therefore, expensive, in order to incorporate drying facilities such as high frequency drying or hot air carousels

The plastics industry was a great contributor to binding technology – in 1948-49, it developed hot-melt glue which was a perfect and accurate binding solution for ‘perfect’ binding and the adhesive binding process became more cost-effective and more widely used. The use of hot-melt as opposed to polyvinyl acetate (PVA) allowed much faster setting of glue as the adhesive sets a few seconds after leaving the glue tank. The advent of hot-melt gluing permitted high-speed in-line finishing and trimming on automatic large binding systems and also the development of more modest adhesive binding machines in terms of cost-effectiveness and production.

Based on authentic sources and after deliberations with cross section of publishers across India, it is confirmed that besides magazines and periodicals more than 1000 million hot-melt adhesive bound books are produced in India alone. This clearly highlights domestic as well as worldwide growth

and the importance of the adhesive-binding process, which is further emphasised by the fact that today, in addition to paperback books and magazines, more than one third of all case bound books produced in western countries are also perfect bound as opposed to conventional thread sewing.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a flood of high-speed offset-press installations in India – with the result in-press production increased at a high speed and bigger volume,, at the same time post-press production slowed down which was mostly manual except folding and trimming part. Naturally, mass-production printers looked around for a matching post-press production operations and methodology. In the early 1980s, number of perfect binding machines for section-sewn books (with speeds of 3000-3500 books per hour) and high-speed centre-saddle stitching machines (with speeds of 6000-7000 per hour) for centre stitched publications with in-line three-knife trimmer and reject ejector were imported by major printers across India. The machines proved accurate and matching answer to catch-up with in-press production speed. High volume printers, even today, are importing both used and brand-new perfect binding and automatic centre saddle stitching machines to meet timely customer requirements. Such imports are proving detrimental to the growth of domestic post-press manufacturing industry.

Som Nath Sapru.


To cater to printers and publishers in order to

meet confirmed and particular requirements of the market (school text books, etc), during the late 1980s, perfect binding systems continued to improve and become more specific and specialised in materials handling aspects from one operation to another. In the mid-1990s, domestic post-press machine manufacturers contributed their bit by offering cost-effective domestic version of medium speed book-binding machines with quick change over facilities to minimise downtime between varied short-run jobs -- like magazines, text books, periodicals, telephone directories, note books, etc. Short-run book-binding for comparatively low qualities and quantities of manuals, technical reports, conference reports, etc, as commonly produced in printing units across the country.

Why perfect bind?The success of perfect binding in recent years has

been due to the availability of India-manufactured high-speed folding, collating/ gathering machines and a wide range of adhesives suitable for binding most types of paper stocks, automation, perfection and the development of machinery to make this method a quick, reliable and cost-effective and profitable activity for printers and trade binders/ finishers and, of course, its continued cost advantage over traditional sewn books. Furthermore, the use of hot-melt adhesives means that books can be trimmed almost immediately with modern three-knife trimmers, rather than waiting for a day as was necessary with cold adhesives.

Compared with saddle stitching or side-stabbing, a perfect bound book has a better finish and appearance.

A perfect bound book has a square back on which a title can be printed and each page is equally strong-there is no weak central page in each section. Perfect binding is a ‘prestige’ product, chosen by publishers of quality magazines, financial reports and manuals, etc. Compared with comb or spiral binding, widely used for internal documents, each individual sheet is more strongly bound and there is no unsightly bulging at the spine.

Perfect binding is also far cheaper than mechanical bindings basically due to the fact that binding is labour-oriented and encompasses a large work area; moreover, manual labour involved is expensive. Perfect-bound books are easier to handle and package.

What a printer looks for is how to keep book production cost-effective and how to go for domestically manufactured perfect-binding machines. Even if he looks for a single-clamp machine he will make sure that the machine has an easily adjustable book clamp besides a milling station with cutter, notching teeth and a powerful dust extractor. For gluing, various options should be available; there must be a cover-nipping station with facility to control the nipping pressure, timers for adjusting feed-in time, cover-nipping duration and delivery. Reason being that wide range of jobs can be done with easy job change over with the machines having these facilities.

At a glance, the advantages of perfect binding are:An attractive product with a flat, square back and • tight, sharp cornersEach page is equally strong• Cheaper than mechanical binding• Modest capital outlay on equipment• Savings on labour • The books are easier to handle and package• A far greater range of sizes and formats can be • handled by one machine with minimal set-up requirementsNo special skills are required by machine • operatorsHigh output due to rapid set-up times •

Advantage to trade binderMany of the restrictions inherent in saddle-stitching

are avoided in perfect binding. Up to 70 mm thick books can be produced, using any combination of folded signatures, single sheets or smaller sized inserts. The very quick set-up on perfect binding machines means that it is economical to bind as few as 20 or 30

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copies. The same machine can be used for covering sewn or wire-stitched book blocks, for making pads at a much faster rate than traditional hand methods, and for making glued book blocks prior to punching and 4-side trimming. The smaller machines are ideal for use as back up equipment to larger, high-speed lines or for preparing samples, where setting up of larger equipment would be uneconomical.

Advantage to commercial printerIn addition to the benefits mentioned above, there

are numerous advantages in having the binding facility in-house, including control over quality and delivery, ability to do samples, no unnecessary transportation of work between factories, and no arguments over short deliveries or excessive waste. Moreover, it avoids the common problem of high prices for binding short runs.

Advantage to in-plant printerThe benefits of perfect binding is maintaining

‘trade secret’ jobs, no time loss between printing and binding, no transportation cost, binding quality, speed and massive saving of labour cost involved in traditional binding operations.

How to perfect bindHereunder are few essential tips to get the best

results from your perfect binder and to produce books of the highest quality.

Grain Direction: For the best appearance and easy opening of the book, ensure the paper fibres of the sections are parallel to the spine (long grain). A long-grain cover will give sharp corners at the spine, where-as a cross grained cover may give a rounded cover and reduced strength, unless the covers are scored.

Spine Preparation: To give the maximum surface area of fibres for glue adhesion, the spine preparation unit should incorporate following steps:

A multi-toothed cutter to remove folds from the • signatures and roughen the fibresAn adjustable height notching unit to give V-shaped • notches 6-8 mm apart and 0.5 - 0.75 mm deep to increase surface area on coated papers.Dust removed by brushing and vacuum suction.•

Application: The adhesive must be applied at the right temperature so that it flows into the notches and remains liquid until the cover is applied. A separate

pre-melt compartment ensures an even temperature throughout the tank. The optimum glue thickness on most books is about 0.5mm by setting the glue applicator roller at 1 mm from the spine, and the reverse spinner at about 0.75 mm away.

Cover application: The nipping unit applies the cover to the back of the book and forms sharp, square corners over the spine. Cover scoring may give better results when using heavy or cross grained covers, and is necessary when a hinged cover is required.

Adhesives: The importance and correct use of adhesives in perfect binding can never be over emphasised. It is strongly recommend that you deal with a reputable manufacturer, preferably one with its own R&D facilities, which has the knowledge and experience to recommend the grade of glue most suited to the paper stock used for your specific type of work and equipment.

Once you have selected the most appropriate glue and your equipment is set up in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, care should be taken to ensure that the adhesive is heated to the right temperature. If not adhered to, this can result in varied problems. If the glue roller and spinner are set correctly and the glue temperature is right, an even layer of glue will be applied to the prepared spine allowing the best possible adhesion of the cover to the book block.

Coated papers: Coated papers and art stock, especially heavier weights, are the most difficult to bind. Excellent spine preparation is essential as there are fewer fibres available for glue adhesion, therefore

The 10-clamp perfect binder.


notching is absolutely vital to maximise fibre presence and enable the maximum possible bond of the adhesive. Testing should be carried out to determine the notching pattern which is most effective the page pull and flex tester is ideal for this purpose. The dust produced when roughing the spine must be removed by means of brushes and efficient waste extraction, as any particles left on the spine will produce a barrier between the block and the adhesive.

Drawn-on covering: Some heavy coated materials are not suitable for one-shot adhesive binding, and in these cases the best alternative is to sew the sections and then to draw the cover, on which is effectively perfect binding without the spine preparation.

Side stitching and drawn on covering is a cheaper alternative if a flat opening book is not essential. This can be done with the use of side-gathering machine with in-line stitcher. In this instance, stand alone three-knife cutter unit is the ultimate combination to achieve 90 degree square trimming of the product.

Testing: When setting up the Perfect Binding

machine, always test the samples prepared for strength and quality of glue application. When the glue is cold, the cover should be torn off and the spine examined to ensure the glue is even and cover adhesion is regular. When pages are pulled out from the centre of the book, notching should be even. It is advised to check periodically at random strength of adhesive binding and its tearing strength as well.

(The writer, better known as just Som Sapru, has a master’s degree in Print Technology & Management. He served 33 years with the USIS

(United States Information Service) at the American Embassy in New Delhi as chief of publications. During 2005-2011, he headed IPAMA

as CEO and was editor of the IPAMA Bulletin. He then moved on to Pramod Engineering, part of the Delhi Press Group, publishers of

Caravan, Sarita, Woman’s Era and Alive as general manager.)

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World News Publishing FocusYour Guide to the Changing Media Landscape

BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

Building on the brandCEO Jim Moroney maps out how A.H. Belo and its flagship daily, The Dallas Morning News, are diversifying their product portfolio and revenues without abandoning the core brand. Brian Veseling, WAN-IFRA’s senior editor, has the story

Dallas Morning News publisher and CEO James Moroney III has long been recognised as a strongly proactive publisher. Named Editor

and Publisher magazine’s ‘Publisher of the Year’ a decade ago, Moroney isn’t resting on any laurels. Like many publishers around the world, he is busy looking for ways to diversify and grow revenues for his newspaper and its brand.

Published and owned by A.H.Belo, of which Moroney was named Chairman/CEO last September,

The Dallas Morning News helped its parent company reach a watershed moment recently: During a second-quarter earnings report call in late July, Moroney delivered the news that the company’s total revenue during that quarter increased 0.2 percent, “the first year-over-year quarterly growth since our spin-off in 2008,” he said.

The spin-off he was referring to is one very much like the one Gannett recently announced. The former parent company, then called Belo Corp, was split

into two companies, one that retained the Belo Corp name and was made up of 20 TV stations across the United States and their related websites, and which was acquired in full, by Gannett, as it happens, last year. The newspaper company that was spun out kept the heritage name of A.H. Belo.

As Poynter’s Rick Edmonds noted in mid-August: “Last quarter A.H. Belo achieved a landmark of sorts. It was able to offset continuing print ad revenue losses with revenue growth in its digital marketing and contract printing activity. That is a key first step in any industry turnaround, and credit ‘orphan’ A.H. Belo for being one of the first to get there. If

A.H. Belo chairman, president and chief executive officer Jim Moroney has helped his company extend the scope of its operations and revenue streams to include events and digital marketing services.

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Wall Street seems not to be giving the industry much love, it has at least been rewarding the changes at A.H. Belo (and Gannett too) with a lot of likes. The company’s shares are up 40 percent in the last six months to US$ 11.23, have more than doubled in value over the last two years and show even more dramatic appreciation from a 2009 low of $ 0.71 a share.”

During the past few years, Moroney has been working to create an environment that is aimed at what he calls “sustainable innovation.” The goal is to grow the company’s revenues by expanding into areas he sees as natural extensions for DMN and its brand. The Dallas Morning News is doing this by launching new companies or new products; extending current products; and improving current products that can drive incremental revenue.

Part of that strategy has involved selling some of its other newspapers, most recently The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, California) and The Providence (Rhode Island) Journal. This has allowed the company to focus on its home market in Dallas. The Dallas Morning News also publishes The Denton Record-Chronicle, a daily news paper about 40 miles from Dallas; Briefing, a free distribution boundsheet (stitched) newspaper distributed to 200,000 homes on an address-specific basis four days a week; and a free distribution Spanish-language paper, Al Día, distributed twice weekly to 100,000 homes on an address-specific basis.

The company’s roots run deep in Dallas: The Dallas Morning News was founded nearly 130 years ago, in 1885, by George Bannerman Dealey, who was sent to the city to establish the paper by the company’s namesake, Alfred Horatio Belo. The newspaper has won nine Pulitzer Prizes, most recently in 2010.

“We’re not declaring victory,” Moroney told us in our telephone interview. “We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I really do believe that if we can make two or three smart acquisitions and continue our sustaining innovation process, these acquisitions

and new products will lead to even better financial performance.”

Digital revenues won’t be enoughWhile Moroney says he thinks digital obviously

offers a bright future for potential revenues, media companies must diversify to maintain their scale of operations. “We’re working hard to grow digital advertising revenues, and we’re growing digital-only subscriptions via our e-edition. However, if your whole strategy to grow revenue is built on [those activities], I don’t think you are going to be able to stabilise your revenue for a considerable period of time – or get it growing again – because for the next five to seven years, I think the decrease in print advertising will likely be greater, on a year-after-year basis, than the potential increase in revenues from digital advertising and digital-only subscriptions,”

Growth areasBelow are types of companies that Moroney says

The Dallas Morning News is actively investigating, with the aim of making a few acquisitions in the near future.

■ Outdoor advertising. “Particularly what I call newer outdoor wallscapes – kiosks and digital boards,” he says.

■ Direct mail: Especially direct mail that is built on digital printing equipment.

■ Hispanic media: While the company already has a twice-a-week Spanish-language broadsheet newspaper called Al Día, published since 2003, Moroney says he would like to expand in this area.

■ HTML5 / app development: Moroney says he is wants to find a company that would do development for DMN, because it has many customers with those needs.

■ Analytics: “I think that’s a huge issue for all of us. I would love to find a company that could not only help us be smarter in data analytics, but help our customers that are looking for help with data analytics as well,” he says.

■ Television production: “Not full-on commercial production for television, but if a real-estate agent wants to showcase homes and have a video tour, you could do that.”

“We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I really do believe that if we can make two or three smart acquisitions and continue our sustaining innovation process, these acquisitions and new products will lead to even better financial performance.”


he says. “That’s why we’re going out and trying to build or acquire additional ways to grow revenue.”

Building a portfolioHowever, Moroney isn’t looking to jump into just

any business venture. “We’re not going to get into any business that isn’t related to what we do, or one to which we can’t bring some of our resources to bear in order to improve the acquired company’s competitive position in the marketplace,” he says.

“What we’re trying to do is basically build a very extensive portfolio of marketing channels through which our customers can reach their customers.”

One of the businesses DMN has started is called Speakeasy. DMN owns 70 per cent of the company, which came about organically, Moroney says. “We were getting a lot of requests from our customers to help them with social media, with content marketing and the like.”

Recognising a market need for agency expertise, he met with Owen Hanney, the founder and owner of a Dallas-based, full-service agency called Slingshot – and ended up partnering with him to create Speakeasy, which launched in September 2012.“We had our first break-even month in December

2013,” Moroney says of Speakeasy. “Today, as we get close to the two-year anniversary, we have more than 70 clients. We are profitable. We have around 30 employees, and we are adding employees as we add customers. We serve local, regional, even som national brands,” he says. “The heart of what we do is content marketing for those companies.”

Another recent venture is 508 Digital, a licensed version of the Local Edge product from Hearst. 508 Digital launched in spring 2012 and sells social media marketing services to small and medium-sized businesses. These are generally smaller than Speakeasy’s potential customers. “We have more than 350 clients today that are each doing an average of about $ 1,200 per month per client in revenue with us, and these are almost all new customers,” Moroney says. Those figures translate to roughly $ 420,000 a

month in revenue, or approximately $ 5.0 million a year (roughly 3.76 million euros).

Festivals and event offeringsAnother relatively new business is CrowdSource,

DMN’s event marketing company, which runs a variety of events, including two very recent acquisitions: Untapped, a craft beer/ indie music festival (bought in June) and Savor Dallas, an annual weekend festival launched a decade ago (and purchased by CrowdSource in late July), which brings together top chefs from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and also focuses on wines, spirits and beers.

In addition to those and other festivals, CrowdSource owns or licenses additional events, such as offerings from the One-Day University, which Moroney describes as a way of bringing together people for either a half or full day of instruction from college professors who are not only specialists in their fields but also skilled at making learning enjoyable. These one-day courses can treat a variety of topics such as What makes genius?, What would have happened if U.S. President John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated?, and so on. He says the events typically draw 350-400 people for half-day sessions and as many as 750 people for the full-day sessions. “We'll do eight of these this year — and that's just straight consumer revenue that comes,” he says.

‘We’re not trying to find the next Google’Moroney admits the road of innovation isn’t an

easy one, and while everybody starts out with good intentions, it is all too common to get side-tracked.

“Your resources get drawn off to something else that apparently has a higher priority at the time,” he says. In terms of DMN’s own efforts, “I would say we struggled with it,” he says. “We’ve done it in bursts. In 2012, we started up three new companies. Then we were working on getting those to be successful – and the energy and effort around trying to create some other new things began to fall off. We’ve now dedicated ourselves to putting into place a sustaining innovation process. It’s different from disruptive innovation. We’re not trying to find the next Google.”

As part of that, the company has four teams, each working on different types of innovation.“Our plan is to have at least two or three initiatives

coming out of this work, probably decided by

“I believe that newspaper companies’ greatest asset is their brand. Their brands still have tremendous value in their marketplaces.”


September-October. Those would be things that we would launch in 2015.”

Print economics needed for transitionAlthough Moroney is a major proponent of the

printed newspaper (he served as chairman of the Newspaper Association of America in 2012–2013), he fully acknowledges that print is in decline, and cites that very fact as the starting point for DMN’s innovation strategy. Yet he is not ready to throw in the towel – far from it. “I would encourage every larger metropolitan

news paper to do everything it can to diversify its sources of revenue and decrease its reliance on print, because print is in decline,” he says. “But it’s the print economics that are providing the runway to transition the company. “Some people would say ‘The reason you’re not moving faster is because you have the print product.’ I don’t believe that,” Moroney says. “I believe that you can innovate and change your company from what it was to what it has to be over a period of time. “It is not a binary ‘on-off ’ type of equation. It is a

very complicated, simultaneous equation of moving your brand, and the perception of your brand, from one built on news and information distributed through print to one built on news and information distributed digitally. “And the same thing has to be done with your

advertising customers: transitioning them from thinking about you as only a print advertising channel to the multi-channel marketing company that we are, to an extent, today, and we will become more so through both organic growth and acquisitions,” he says.

One trend in the USA that he adamantly opposes is cutting back on publishing frequency. “I believe that newspaper companies’ greatest asset is their brand. Their brands still have tremendous value in their marketplaces. However, as soon as you stop publishing your newspaper seven days a week, you have just basically affirmed the ‘death of the newspaper narrative’ in your marketplace, and you have done, I believe, irreparable harm to your newspaper brand,” he says.“Print is still an integral part of our financial

structure,” Moroney continues, “and while it will continue to diminish over time, there is no way that cutting out print by four days a week or down to one day a week is a financially better situation for the Dallas Morning News. I don’t see the discontinuation of the print edition being the case for the next five to seven to 10 years. I think you’re still going to be printing a paper. It may become a higher-price,

Jim Moroney■ Chairman, president

and chief executive officer of A. H. Belo Corporation, a position he has held since September 2013. Before that, he served as executive VP of A.H. Belo since November 2007. He continues to serve as publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News, a position he has held since June 2001.

■ He began his career with Belo as a sales trainee at WFAA-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth. In 1985 he became local sales manager for WFAA and later that year was promoted to general sales manager of KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He returned to Dallas in 1989 as Belo’s controller. Moroney was promoted to president and general manager of KOTV in Tulsa in January 1993. In November 1993 he became a VP of the Broadcast Division.

■ In January 1997, Moroney was promoted to president/Television Group in charge of operations for all of Belo’s television stations in 15 markets across the USA. In June 1998 he was named executive VP of Belo, with responsibility for finance, treasury and investor relations. Moroney served as president of Belo Interactive, Inc. from its formation in May 1999 to June 2001.

■ Moroney graduated from Stanford University in 1978 with a bachelor of arts in American Studies. In 1983 he received his MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

■ Moroney served as chairman of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) from 2012-2013, and has served on the Board of Directors of the International News Media Association (INMA).

■ In April 2004, Editor & Publisher selected Moroney as Publisher of the Year for his accomplishments at The Dallas Morning News.


almost niche-type product, but I think it can be done profitably.”

Print and distribution dominationPart of the print economic strategy has led

the company to take an aggressive approach to maximising its printing and distribution facilities, Moroney says. “We said we’re going to try to print and distribute every broadsheet paper in the Dallas area. We picked up The New York Times and we picked up The Wall Street Journal. We already had USA Today,” he says.

More recently, DMN started printing the paper of its neighboring city, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It also distributes it in areas where both papers have distribution but where the Morning News has greater penetration. Likewise, The Star-Telegram distributes the Morning News in areas where it has greater penetration.

Another aspect of maximizing print revenues took shape about five years ago, when the Morning News substantially increased its cover price. The paper made the move in May 2009, when the sky seemed to be falling on newspapers. Most publishers in the USA, and elsewhere, were trying to hang onto every single reader they had.

However, the price increase was far from a reckless “go-for-broke” scheme, he says. An outside company was engaged to find out just how far Morning News subscribers could be pushed to pay more. The gamble paid off. As Moroney explains: “We did it in May of 2009, took the price up 40 percent across the board, and lost 12-14 percent of the volume. So, if rate times volume equals total revenue, a 40-percent rate increase on a 14-percent decline in volume is a big gain in total revenue.” And he recently

raised t he daily single-copy price again. The Morning News now carries a price of $ 1.50, up from $ 1.

Total redesign of digital platformsOn the digital side, the company is aggressively

pursuing new developments and experimenting with different products and business models. The newspaper has run some experiments with paywalls, most recently with a “premium model.” But last October, the company pulled the plug on it.“We just weren’t getting the uptake that made sense to

keep putting resources behind it. We are now focused on making a better free experience,” Moroney said in an earnings report call. “If we find a general-interest major metropolitan newspaper – and I’m excluding The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times – if we find one that’s having real success, and I mean something in excess of 10 to 15 percent of their print subscriber base, if they’re doing better than that on the digital subscriber base, and not basically giving it away for $ 2 a month, we have a paywall meter that’s been installed on our site and we can go and turn it on,” he said.“I’m just not seeing today, a real upward, and a

sustainably upward, trajectory on the major general-interest metros for online-only subscriptions. It seems to be getting into the low double-digit range and then beginning to slow down dramatically. So we’re going to try to put more of our resources through an open website, drive greater traffic, and see if we can’t do a better job of monetising it at higher CPMs,” Moroney said.

About the time that DMN unplugged its premium model, the company also began a total redesign of all its digital platforms, starting with smartphones.

“We’re starting not only where the traffic is going,

Speakeasy and 508 Digital are two of the content-marketing companies that A.H. Belo has started in the past couple of years.


which is to the smartphone, even much greater than to the tablet, but we’re also going to start with the smallest of the screens and design for that and then build out as the screen gets larger, which is a much better way to approach design than to start with something large and try to cram things down into the smaller screen on the smartphone,” Moroney said during the earnings call.“We think this is going to take as much as 18 months

to work through the principal three screens. So starting with the smartphone some time around first quarter, maybe early second quarter next year, we’ll have that completed, then we’ll move to the tablet, then we’ll move to the desktop. …“I think this will be a really very different design than you’ve seen from us and also to some degree that you’ll see from, say, what

most of the newspapers today still do, which tends to have a somewhat similar look and feel.”

Stand out from the crowdIt will be interesting to see how this digital design

strategy pans out. The DMN is obviously going for a strategy to stand out from the crowd, something totally necessary to connect with today’s increasingly fickle digital audience.

As Moroney says, “This is not a time to declare victory.” Nonethless, the company’s recent strategic and tactical measures certainly deserve a bow.

(This article was originally published in the September-October 2014 edition of World News Publishing Focus, the bi-monthly magazine

published by WAN-IFRA.)

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Several interesting sessions in store at DelhiDigital Media Conference

Raghav Bahl, journalist, entrepreneur, and media baron will deliver the opening keynote at Digital Media India 2015, which will be held at New Delhi from Feb 10-11. Kalle Jungkvist, senior advisor to the CEO of Schibsted Media, one of the most successful media companies in Europe, will deliver the keynote address on the second day of the Conference.

The DMI conference will have sessions on - Content and tools to reach the digital audience- Retooling the traditional newsroom for digital news delivery- Deciphering audience data for better editorial products and business- Digital revenue modelsTrushar Barot, the Apps editor for BBC World Service, will share findings of the editorial experiments

carried out by BBC News during the last Indian general election. The rise in chat apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat and Line over the past year has lead to a revolution in the way people are communicating with each other and sharing news. According to Trushar, "These instant messaging platforms give us an additional distribution method to potentially penetrate markets that we may not be able to do through more conventional means."

IndianExpress.com was redesigned and relaunched in early 2014. Around the same period Express also shifted gears on social networks to package its serious content for the non-serious audience. They had a amazing experience and response with the new tools and formats that helped package content specifically for social. Nandagopal Rajan, New Media Editor at Indian Express will sum this up in his presentation "Tapping social for IndianExpress.com".

Matt Lindsay, an economist who specialises in revenue analysis and pricing strategies, will share his approach to revenue maximisation from digital publishing and present examples of how publishers should analyse their data when determining an optimal meter level. Not to be missed is the experiences of verrnacular dailies in digital news publishing. The case of the Telugu language daily, Sakshi, one of the youngest in the region, will be presented by Divya Bollareddy, president IT and Digital.

On 9th February, there will be two have pre-conference workshops on Digital Content Strategy and Pricing Strategy for digital news publishers. <


BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

The Amazon factor: Publishers no longer neededPeter Resele, managing director, Comyan, and his brother Wolfgang developed one of the first digital newspapers as early as 1992. The special feature of that digital edition was that it was created fully automatically from the native sources of the print editorial system. Today, Comyan is a leading provider of e-paper solutions. Here, Peter Resele shares his thoughts on Amazon’s impact on news publishers

Recently, newspapers reported about an imminent settlement between some of Germany’s largest book publishers and

Amazon. As in the USA, Amazon had threatened to stop selling those publishers’ books on its website if they didn’t agree to Amazon’s terms. Those terms? A 50-percent margin for the selling of eBooks on Amazon’s platform. Publishers had offered 30 per cent, and there were rumours they would agree to 40 percent and a multi-year deal.

To me that is quite incredible. Forty percent of the purchase price of all e-books goes to a company that, in fact, does not do anything – not writing them, or editing them, or marketing them (not really). It is not even moving the books from the shelves to the post office; they are completely in the computers. Purely digital, and no man or woman ever touches anything.Like it or not, it is all about the technology

Publishers could do it themselves, but they simply don’t have it, probably because a lot of people told them for many years that “there is no money yet in digital” – while Amazon simply invested (though it was far from the first company to do eBooks – my first eBook reader was a Rocket eBook in 2000, but publishers were “not interested”).

Amazon gets 40 percent and more for its technology and its market position. It is in a

place that is, in military terms, a strategic position between the author (far away from the reader), the publisher (which used to be the link to the reader), and – you and me. You can guess which link in that chain is the most replaceable, and, yes, Amazon readily gives you the answer: At [https://authorcentral.amazon.com] you can publish your book yourself – without a publisher. Technically, I guess it would take me a few days to format and publish my first eBook, and lots of authors – promoted by Amazon – are making good money already.

Amazon’s cut? Well, the same, of course – Amazon gets somewhere upward of 40 per cent (forget that marketing claim that Amazon gets only 30 per cent – there are all sorts of surcharges that are added, including a download charge, etc. – which is in contrast to Apple, where the author at least really gets 70 per cent). But even if the author got 50 per cent, that is far, far more than any publisher would give you. So both the author and Amazon are winning. The loser? You as a publisher. Maybe this is the time to think about investing a bit more in technology. (And, please, please: Do not reinvent it. You will spend millions and never finish before the game is over.)

(This article was originally published in the November-December 2014 edition of World News Publishing Focus, the bi-monthly magazine

published by WAN-IFRA.)

Peter Resele.

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Industry updates


Goss, Innotech give NYT super-size capabilities

Goss International has completed a press enhancement project with Innotech involving the installation of full-color panorama gatefold capabilities for The New York Times. The new formats allow the publisher to offer advertisers innovative placement opportunities to create maximum impact.

Completed to a tight schedule of around 20 weeks from initial order to the first test run, the project involved retrofitting each of two existing Goss Colorliner press lines with a custom-configured Innotech Panorama Gatefold System.

According to Dan Picco, regional sales manager at Goss, the project called on the full and combined expertise of all parties involved: “Obviously, for a publisher operating on the scale of The New York Times, there is no time to lose and there can be no disruption to ongoing daily production. We had to establish failsafe processes from the outset and make sure we achieved the highest level of teamwork. The fact that The New York Times is already enjoying the benefit of the new capabilities testifies to our joint success.”

The gatefold system now running at The New York Times enables the Goss Colorliner presses to produce an additional four-page wide centerfold or a separate eight-page pull-out section, up to a maximum format of 48 x 22 inches (1219 x 559 mm). In addition, it is possible to make smaller gatefolds or coupon folds at one or both edges for special promotions providing new display areas for advertisers. It is also possible to make gatefolds in the cover page or have the gate folded section as a wrap around the main section. The new capabilities have already been used to maximum effect by select advertisers in The Times.

Says Vinod Kapoor, president at Innotech, “Goss and Innotech engineered a solution that gave The New York Times ultimate flexibility with regard to the positioning of specialized sections within the newspaper, without the need to purchase a new press.”

Innotech, a New York-based manufacturer of press auxiliary equipment, has been building customised equipment for commercial and newspaper printers

for the past 25 years with installations in America, Europe and the Far East. Panorama System uses Innformer, the geometric air bar plow, for high speed folding with no set-up time. Innotech has installed many such systems in China, India, Germany and Colombia. Most of the systems were retro-fitted on existing presses.

RotaJET L and VL inkjet off the reel

The new, highly flexible KBA RotaJET L digital press platform will dominate Koenig & Bauer’s (KBA) presence at the Hunkeler Innovationdays

The custom-configured Innotech Panorama Gatefold System now running at The New York Times allows the publisher to offer advertisers innovative placement opportunities to create maximum impact.

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An operational KBA RotaJET 76 made a spectacular debut at the Hunkeler Innovationdays in 2013. The new KBA RotaJET L platform and RotaJET VL press series for industrial printing will be a hot topic of discussion at the KBA stand in February in Lucerne.

Industry Updates


from 23 to 26 February in Lucerne. This follows the debut of an operational KBA RotaJET 76 inkjet web press at the same show in 2013. Experts from KBA will be manning a stand in Hall 1 (Booth No.15) also providing information on the latest and future RotaJET VL applications in industrial digital printing.

The modular RotaJET L platform is available in five different web widths from 895 to 1300mm (35.2 - 51.1in) and can be upgraded to the maximum printing width and colour content at a later date. Additionally, it can be flexibly configured to suit all fundamental application areas in the high-volume digital printing segment. Retrofitting future generations of printing heads is also possible. Users can thus react quickly and economically to changing demands without needing to invest in entirely new kit.

Along with the new 89-130 series based on the RotaJET L platform and the RotaJET 76 (max. printing width 781mm/30.7in) unveiled at drupa 2012 for book, commercial, magazine and newspaper printing, KBA has built the RotaJET VL inkjet range with a printing width of over 1.60m (5.2ft) or even over 2m (6.6ft) for industrial applications. The prominent press manufacturer benefits from its wealth of know-how in web guidance and substrate handling accumulated over many years. Decorative printer Interprint therefore recently fired up the first KBA RotaJET VL with a printing width of 1.68m (5.5ft).

The partnership between HP and KBA announced at the end of September 2014 for the development and production of a digital press for corrugated printing is based on Koenig & Bauer’s unique experience in precision mechanical engineering for a host of print applications and processes.

New CEO for XaarXaar plc, the inkjet printing technology group

headquartered in Cambridge, UK, has announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer. Ian Dinwoodie will retire from the company in 2015 after serving as CEO since 2003. Following an extensive international search process, the company has announced that Doug Edwards will join the board as CEO.

Doug joins the company from Kodak (Eastman Kodak Company) where most recently he was

president, Digital Printing and Enterprise, and has been a member of the executive board since 2006. He started his career in the UK in a variety of technical roles with Ilford Limited, ICI, Zeneca and International Paper before moving to the US 14 years ago with Kodak Polychrome Graphics (a joint venture company between Sun Chemical Corporation and Kodak). Doug holds a BSc in Chemistry and a PhD in Conducting Organic Materials from London University.

Says Phil Lawler, chairman: “I would like to express my thanks to Ian for his significant contribution to Xaar since joining the Company in 2001. His (Doug’s) appointment will strengthen the board, providing the experience necessary to lead the company through its next stage of development.” Doug Edwards had this to say: “It is a privilege to be asked to lead Xaar through this next phase of the company’s development. Excellent progress has been made by the company over the last decade but the future opportunities ahead of the company in the world of digital printing are substantial, and I am pleased to return to the UK to take up this challenge.”

Doug Edwards.

New appointments at KBA‘Change’ is a key word for KBA in 2015. A substantial

general strategic realignment of product lines and the organisational structure has been in place since the introduction of KBA’s Fit@All programme at the end of 2013, whereby KBA is to push ahead with new market orientation more actively while enhancing and optimising core businesses. KBA will focus more on digital printing, packaging printing, flexographic and specialty printing, among others. It is without a doubt that this project will bring more innovative ideas to China’s printing enterprises and help provide better products and services.

As KBA’s largest single market, KBA Greater China is of the utmost importance. KBA has experienced rapid growth of its printing machinery market in Taiwan in recent years, marked by the establishment of KBA Taiwan Co in October last year. Taiwan is a vibrant market with high demand for KBA’s highly

Industry Updates


automated and efficient sheetfed presses. It is also an important backbone in the business development of KBA Greater China.

In order to cope with growing customer demands, Joseph Kwan, former general manager of KBA (HK) Co, has been appointed general manager of KBA Taiwan Co and will switch his focus

to the new team and new business opportunities in Taiwan. With his outstanding managerial competence, rich industry experience and enthusiasm, he and his team will provide KBA customers in Taiwan with innovative technologies and professional services.

In order to strengthen KBA’s leading market position and sustainable development in the Greater China region further, KBA announced the appointment of Eric Wong as general manager of KBA (HK) Co. He succeeds Joseph Kwan in managing the overall operation and marketing activities in Hong Kong and South China on 2nd January.

Eric Wong has devoted himself to the printing industry in Greater China for more than thirty years. He has witnessed various development stages in China’s printing industry since the 1980s, from its inception to the take-off in the past decade. Having been with manroland for 32 years, joining the young and ambitious KBA Greater China team is a new and promising challenge in Eric’s professional career.

Walter Zehner, CEO of KBA Greater China, congratulated Joseph Kwan and Eric Wong on their appointments and extended the warmest welcome to Eric Wong on joining the KBA family. “I believe that Eric with his over three decades of excellent managerial and marketing experience as well as his

amazing ability to respond to the great challenges in China's printing industry will strongly contribute to increasing the market share of KBA Greater China. After Joe Kwan’s outstanding contribution to gain a firm and sustainable foothold in the Greater Chinese market, Eric Wong is now in a

position to make dreams come true for our customers by providing the latest technology and application platforms engineered by KBA,” said Zehner.

Eric Wong, new general manager of KBA (HK).

Joseph Kwan has been appointed general manager of KBA Taiwan.

Niedermayr invests in control systems

‘Printing house’ no longer does justice to the range of services offered by Niedermayr. The Regensburg-based company is not only at the cutting edge of printing technology, but has also developed into a highly versatile provider of media services in recent years with 65 employees working solely in photography and agency and online services. With a Rotoman press installed in 2002, an 80-page Lithoman and a 96-page Lithoman S, Niedermayr has boosted its daily production capacity to 200 million A4 pages. This is the equivalent of 250 to 350 tons of paper printed on a daily basis. Permanent, automatic Inline measurement and control by well-chosen and fully integrated control systems are an indispensable factor in the media house’s success.

At Fr Ant Niedermayr, the current colour control solution was installed as a retrofit on an existing Rotoman system. Together with several additional Inline Control systems, the start-up of the new control system could be accomplished in record time. The cut-off register control InlineCut Off Control and color register control InlineRegistration Control were integrated in the process.

On both the integrated version and standalone version of InlineDensity Control, full spectral measurement can be easily added to expand the system into the InlineSpectral Control solution. This allows high-precision, resilient colour locus measurement at full running speed. Printed signatures can thus be checked automatically to see whether they match the relevant process standard for offset (PSO). Along with numerous other functions, integrated continuous materials testing of ink and printed paper can also be performed.“We were surprised at how quickly the InlineDensity

Control was installed on our Rotoman,” says Johannes Helmberger, managing director at Fr Ant Niedermayr.

“The system was running at 100 per cent after just one day. “Our press operators trusted the system immediately and are now able to devote their energy to other segments of the production process. We

Industry Updates


have now implemented our strategy of consistently standardised and reproducible production processes on our Rotoman as well. With the reductions in waste we have achieved, the system will quickly pay for itself – and that’s even before we factor in consistently improved printing quality. We chose InlineDensity Control from Grapho Metronic and manroland web systems because it has the greatest speed, stability, and precision in the market,” says Helmberger. “Integrating Inline Control systems in the control console technology from manroland web systems provide unique advantages in terms of efficiency, as well as operating comfort and effort. Now, we can’t imagine production without them. Plus, all newly installed products are fully integrated in the Tele Support Service (TSC).”

Inline Control systems at a glanceInlineDensity Control: The high-precision and • fully automated control system determines true ink density values in a single measurement across the entire width of the web, and optimizes the print process while minimising wasteInlineRegistration Control: The colour register • control is the basis for optimum printing quality and precise colour registersInlineDampening Control: Depending on the • plate cylinder temperature, it meters out the required quantity of dampening solutionInlineTension Control: The control function • ensures uniform web tension, and thus reliable production and excellent quality during startups and production runsInlineCutoff Control: The cut-off register • control uses a camera for high-frequency control of the exact cutting position via draw and register

rollers, thus ensuring the quality of the finished newspaperInlineFanout Control: Provides additional non-• contact compensation for fanout, a main cause of color register deviationsInlineRibbon Control: Controls the lateral • deviation of partial webs and ribbons

The colour density control solution InlineDensity Control sets standards in tempo, stability and precision.

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All set for Printpack India 2015

The countdown for the 12th Printpack India 2015, has begun. The Indian Printing Packaging & Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) is organizing the event at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida from February 11 to 15. More than 400 exhibitors from India and abroad have booked space for displaying the latest machinery and equipment. The exhibition area will cover more than 50000 sq m.

Xerox, HP, Canon, Heidelberg, Komori, Mitsubishi, Konica Minolta, Fuji Film, Kodak India, Lineomatic, Manugraph, Wellbound, Pressline, APL Machinery, Fivestar Machinery, Joy D-Zine have confirmed their presence and will be displaying the latest technology. Two events to look out for: the NPES ICC Colour Conference and a seminar on the Web Offset Printing Industry.

IPAMA has organised over 40 promotional meets, which include road shows, press conferences and participation in exhibitions. About one lakh business visitors are expected to attend. There will be free shuttle services from Botanical Garden Metro Station, Noida to India Expo Centre at frequent intervals. IPAMA will provide transport for exhibitors and business visitors in groups from hotels.

Ventura MC 160 at PrintpackWorldwide and in India, there are several Ventura

MC 200 machines installed successfully. At Printpack 2015, the special focus will be on the newly launched entry-level thread-book sewing machine model Ventura MC 160. Also on display will be the new Gatherer model 3692.

MM Services was a tremendous success at the drupa 2012. Muller Martini will also present the MM Services module. This would be of great interest to existing

Industry Updates


and prospective customers of MM equipment – be it new, old or pre-owned machinery; in terms of:

Optimising operating and investment costs• Securing productivity, quality and added value• Providing reliable investment protection• Maintaining and increasing the profitability of • existing equipment

The company is offering spare parts and service support for Heidelberg post-press customers. A release says all customers with Heidelberg saddle stitchers, perfect binders or thread-sewing machines are welcome. Following an intensive transfer phase, Muller Martini has assumed global service and spare parts responsibility for the above production lines. That will strengthen Muller Martini’s core print finishing business and its global sales and service activities.

A view of the Muller Martini book-sewing machine, Ventura MC.

Digital print finishing, focus at Hunkeler

Between February 23 and 26, 2015, Hunkeler Innovationdays 2015 will be opening its doors in Lucerne. Together with more than 80 partners, Hunkeler will once again be welcoming several thousand international visitors to the industry event. At Hunkeler Innovationdays 2015, practical solutions for print on demand, computer centre applications, direct mail production, web finishing and paper disposal will be showcased within a concentrated area in an interdisciplinary context.

A release pointed to some key trends marking

progress in digital print finishing:Book production solutions in a wide range of • workflow alternatives. From nearline solutions with the highest level of flexibility to highly automated book production lines.Laser finishing for perfect security printing. Highly • dynamic punching, perforating and engraving for the production of counterfeit-proof documents.Quality control and document tracking in various • production systems that conform to the latest standards for reliable production monitoring.Expanded production solutions with even higher • functionality and production speeds for dynamic perforating and punching of payment slips, coupons, mailings and security applications.Different standard offset and digital printing • papers are processed in a wide range of applications. The new Primer-Coater coating module allows conventional papers to be printed using inkjet methods or to be enhanced with gloss effects after printing.Digital newspaper finishing with new folding and • collating modules provide even greater production efficiency for tabloid and broadsheet formats – also very well suited for producing supplements.Efficient production of digitally printed brochures • with dynamic content and sheet count.New latest-generation unwinding/winding • modules with fast roll replacement and production speeds exceeding 1000 ft/min. Hunkeler has now expanded its POPP6 and POPP7 post-processing lines with the POPP8-W for web widths up to 30 inches.

New 3D printing curriculum from Stratsys

Stratasy, a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, has introduced a new 3D printing curriculum for educators. The full-semester, 14-week course is aimed to help prepare secondary and post-secondary students worldwide for careers being transformed by 3D printing. Learning materials are free to educators and include a curriculum guide, supporting presentations, 3D models (STL files) and grading tools. Focused on academia community engagement, the content may be

Industry Updates


continuously refreshed with the help of participating educators."We notice a strong demand coming from the

industry for a curriculum focusing on 3D printing," says Shelly Linor, director of Global Education for Stratasys. "Educators around the world now have an opportunity to make a big impact by using and contributing to our curriculum. They will also be able to better prepare their students for future careers as 3D printing is becoming an intrinsic part of the design and manufacturing processes in leading companies," Linor says.

The beginner course, Introduction to 3D Printing: From Design to Fabrication, explores 3D printing in terms of its history, established applications, forward-looking trends, and potential social and economic impacts. Through project-based learning, students will experience 3D printing's impact on the design process firsthand. Centered on the course's theme Make Something That Moves Something, a variety of projects guides students through the process of designing and 3D printing a fully functional moving part in a single build.

Students will become familiar with the advantages of various 3D printing technologies in terms of precision, resolution and material capabilities. While Stratasys recommends FDM and PolyJet 3D printing technologies for this course, any technology platform and any CAD software with STL support may be used. Completion of the beginning course should enable graduates to:

Demonstrate knowledge of key historical • factors that have shaped manufacturing over the centuries.

Explain current and emerging 3D printing • applications in a variety of industries.Describe the advantages and limitations of the • main 3D printing technologies.Evaluate real-life scenarios, and recommend the • appropriate use of 3D printing technology.Identify opportunities to apply 3D printing • technology for time and cost reduction.Discuss the economic implications of 3D printing, • including its impact on startup businesses and supply chains.Design and print objects containing moving parts • without assembly.

Schools in Singapore and the US have led the process of implementing Stratasys' 3D printing curriculum.

"The introductory material on 3D printing that Stratasys offers, from the slide presentations to the videos, were impressive," says Chee Feng Ping, a lecturer with the Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore.

"The students enjoy the hands-on activities especially the design process with 3D printing."

Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston also uses Stratasys' 3D printing curriculum. "There are going to be many instructors out there who would love to teach a course in 3D printing but who simply do not have enough time to do the detailed research and to prepare professional level presentations," says assistant professor Steve Chomyszak. "Stratasys has now made it much easier for any instructor to offer a college level course on the subject."

Students at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore learn the basics of 3D printing, using Stratasys’ education curriculum.

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Digital flatbed printer driven by SAi software

SA International (SAi), a leading provider of solutions for the professional sign-making, large format digital printing and CAD/ CAM for CNC machining industries, has announced that its award-winning PixelBlaster print-to-finish production software has been bundled with the world's largest digital flatbed printer, the Dip-Tech AR18000 digital ceramic in-glass printer. Dip-Tech, the world's leading provider of digital ceramic in-glass printing solutions, has set a new world record for printer size with the Dip-Tech AR18000 - an achievement officially recognized by Guinness World Records under the category of "largest digital flatbed printer".

Industry Updates


The Dip-Tech printer stands at an impressive

18m (59ft) in length - more than double the length of Dip-Tech's next-longest printer - and can print a single pane of glass with a total area of up to 64m2 (688.89ft2). Typical applications of digital ceramic printing include color-printed architectural glass for exterior projects, as well interior usage and transportation glass.

Covering pre-flight to production, SAi's PDF-based PixelBlaster is a genuine end-to-end software that is designed to reduce bottlenecks, streamline workflows and increase profitability for users. SAi and Dip-Tech already enjoy an established collaboration, which saw SAi develop the exclusive PixelBlaster Dip-Tech Edition software to specifically address certain unique characteristics and challenges of Dip-Tech's in-glass printers. As Dip-Tech's technology uses naturally pigmented ink and therefore doesn't use the CMYK colour set (instead using orange, red, blue, green, black and white, as well as any required special spot color), PixelBlaster is used to match the designer or architect's CMYK files into language the Dip-Tech printers understand.

The SAi PixelBlaster Dip-Tech Edition software comprises a PixelBlaster RIP, colour management

and full colour workflow support and is bundled with all of Dip-Tech's in-glass printers, which offer six-colour plus spot colour capability to the architectural and transportation glass market. The special edition software was also developed to deliver the higher level of control needed for the opaque ceramic inks used on Dip-Tech in-glass printers. Printing on transparent glass and applying colours with varying levels of opacity demand a special level of control that SAi engineers incorporated into the software.

Another challenge for SAi was to develop a way of controlling the application of white ink in the way Dip-Tech needed it. White is important when it is used as the base colour onto which other colours are applied; it is a means of controlling opacity, but at the same time, designers need to be able to use a reliable white in their designs. The SAi PixelBlaster Dip-Tech Edition software enables different levels of white to be applied so that this control exists. As well as fulfilling these specific requirements, the SAi PixelBlaster Dip-Tech Edition carries out the more standard jobs of SAi PixelBlaster software, including tiling, step-and-repeat, and colour library functions.

Typical applications of digital ceramic printing include colour-printed architectural glass for interior projects.

The world’s largest digital flatbed printer, the Dip-Tech AR18000, is driven by SAi’s PixelBlaster print-to-finish production software.

Color-Logic certifies Epson SurePress

Color-Logic has certified that the Epson SurePress L-4033AW digital press, when supplied with the iSi MaxPrint RIP, fully supports the Color-Logic file

Industry Updates


Metallic separation tool released

Color-Logic has released Image-FX, a software plug-in that automatically creates a metallic ink separation for conventional printing or a white ink separation for use with metallic substrate. The Photoshop plug-in is available to Adobe Creative Cloud users and produces images particularly effectively in wide-format and UV printers.

formats required to produce the widely used Process Metallic Color System. Confirming the certification, Color-Logic director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geeves said: "The Epson SurePress L-4033AW digital press with the iSi MaxPrint RIP-available in Asia -enables printers to produce the Color-Logic process. Asian printers using the press can offer their customers complete access to the striking metallics and special effects available with Color-Logic."

Developed for brand managers, product managers, corporations and advertising agencies, the Process Metallic Color System gives licensees the ability to differentiate themselves and their clients from the competition by simplifying the design and print production process and implementing eye-catching decorative effects into their branded products and associated collateral. The Color-Logic system is compatible with offset, inkjet, flexography, digital presses, screen printing, and gravure processes. It is ideal for packaging, pouches, direct mail, point-of-purchase material, signage, postcards, literature, booklets, labels, shrink sleeves, calendars and much more.

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 utilize 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 Chief Technical Officer Richard Ainge,

commenting about the introduction, says: "The Color-Logic Image-FX plug-in analyses photographic images and automatically calculates the required metal effect for different tonal regions. This automated tool eliminates the costly and time-consuming hit-or-miss approach of integrating metallics into an image. In conventional printing, metallic ink is used only where required, thus cutting ink consumption. When printing on metallic substrates, the tool eliminates the tedious task of cutting white ink masks. Designers requiring vector treatment of their images, or any of the other dramatic Color-Logic special effects, can upgrade to the full Color-Logic Design License at any time." The Color-Logic Image-FX tool may be downloaded from the Color-Logic website, www.color-logic.com, for $699 per year, or $75 per month.

With the Color-Logic Process Metallic Color System, brand managers, product managers, corporations, and advertising agencies can differentiate themselves and their clients from the competition. Color-Logic tools simplify design and print production, creating eye-catching decorative effects for use on branded product packaging and associated collateral. The Color-Logic system is compatible with offset, inkjet, flexography, digital presses, screen printing, and gravure. It is ideal for packaging, pouches, direct mail, point-of-purchase material, signage, postcards, literature, booklets, labels, shrink sleeves, calendars and much more.

Color-Logic develops colour communication systems and software tool sets for a variety of special effect printing applications. It 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.


KBA-France celebrates 20 While the parent Koenig & Bauer looked back in November 2014 at the 200th

birthday of the first cylinder press (the so-called Times press) developed by its founders Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer, subsidiary KBA-France based in the suburbs of Paris celebrated its 20th anniversary last September. Managing director Michel Faust, who has successfully stood at the helm of this French subsidiary for over 10 years, looks back at the last 20 years and ventured to provide KBA Report with an outlook for 2015.

Question: Mr Faust, how did it all begin at KBA-France 20 years ago?Michel Faust: KBA-France was founded in September 1994 with eight employees in

Tremblay-en-France, where its headquarters are situated today. We were proud to be the first subsidiary of a German press manufacturer in France. However, the beginning was anything but easy for us. The takeover of Planeta by Koenig & Bauer in 1991 scared away numerous longstanding Planeta users. Many turned their backs on what then became KBA-Planeta. When KBA-France was founded in 1994 only six Rapidas from Koenig & Bauer had been installed in France ‒ two Rapida 104 and four Rapida 72K.

Question: What is KBA-France’s market position like today?Michel Faust: At the end of 2014 our active press fleet consisted of approx. 200 Rapidas, 50 per cent

of which are implemented in commercial printing companies and 50 per cent in packaging printing. Half of all the presses we have sold since 1994 were to new customers. We are particularly proud that over 90 per cent of our existing customers remain loyal to KBA. After success in medium and large format over the last two decades, we will now focus more on the half-format segment. We are confident that we can secure a reasonable market share with the completely revised Rapida 75 even in the 50 x 70cm format sector. In 2014 two new Rapida 75 were fired up at printing houses in France: a Rapida 75-4+L at Bruno Calonne Imprimeur in Noeux-les-Mines, northern France and a Rapida 75-4 went to the Parisian hospitals in Charenton-le-Pont.

Question: Which trends can be identified in the French market?Michel Faust: We are seeing increasing demand for individual solutions with long and complex

configurations in the high-end segment of the packaging market. Tailored solutions are specialty of KBA. Packaging operations with high print runs predominantly bank on high-speed Rapidas with non-stop systems and logistics. There is a clear trends towards HR-UV and LED-UV technology in the commercial market. This is particularly true of longer presses with and without perfecting.

Question: What do you expect from 2015?Michel Faust: We are feeling optimistic despite

the difficult economic situation in France at the moment. Thanks to KBA’s innovative role as technology leader in packaging it is our goal to hold onto and increase our market share in the crisis-ridden commercial printing sector.

Michel Faust has stood at the helm of Koenig & Bauer’s French subsidiary as m a n a g i n g director for over 10 years.

Phot

os: K

BA

The team from KBA-France celebrated its 20th company jubilee and thanked customers and partners for their longstanding trust in the firm. <


A SON REMEMBERS HIS FATHER

A gentleman crusader on a cycle

My father B.G. Verghese, known simply as George – and to his extended family in Kerala as Boobli (or baby) – passed away on 30 December, 2014, ending a rich and remarkable life lived ‘without regrets’. Growing up, I rarely saw him. He belonged to that post-Independence tribe of nation builders for whom ‘family’ meant every underprivileged and disenfranchised person in the country.

Buried under newspapers each morning as he scribbled notes and circled incorrect text, he was a formidable man to approach and one of few words. The most he seemed to say was, “Hmm,” which animated my mother no end. He led by example rather than verbose instruction and we watched carefully for clues. Yet he was always accessible – and to all.

My father believed in joint responsibility and, as children, both my brother and I got our hands smacked for the other’s misdeeds. Truly was I my brother’s keeper. And he mine.

There were no arguments at home. The one time I got a modest spank was for borrowing a superhero comic when I was 10. This went against his injunction, ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be,’ but I believe it had more to do with his fear that comics would corrupt my English entirely and reduce my vocabulary to Thwack, Pow, and Wham!

He had a wry wit and chuckled when he found my brother and I in his rattling cupboard one evening,

apparently headed for Mars. The nascent Indian Space program was alas dismantled and my father’s Cambridge ties preserved for posterity.

Simplicity was his credo. So when he contested the elections post-Emergency in 1977 he chose as his emblem, the humble cycle. He brushed aside

my collegiate attempts to build a ‘brand’ for him. After all, this was the common man’s transport. While at the Indian Express, he sometimes cycled to work, often in tar-melting Delhi summer heat, causing cars to screech to a halt as startled junior journalists scrambled to give him a lift. He would have none of it. When I headed off on my first teen date, he saw me off, on a cycle.

I asked him once who the most formative people in his life were and, without hesitation, he rep-lied, his grand-father Dewan Bahadur Dr V Verghese, much loved and feted by the Mahajarah of Cochin, and great patriarch of a vast Syrian Christian family.

Then there was Arthur Foot, the first headmaster of The Doon School who decided that the crisp Himalayan air and wooded valleys offered the perfect setting in which to fashion young souls steeped in their own culture but brought up in much the manner of an Eton or a Harrow. And it was Doon that really created the man who was to become my father with his eclectic blend of Gandhian principles, Christian values, Buddhist abstemiousness, spirit of adventure, and the best of liberal democratic traditions.

He aimed high but kept a low profile, he outlined bold strokes but explained them in simple terms, he fought the good fight with righteous indignation but never raised his voice in anger or malice, and he never compromised on his integrity.

In the Sixties he toured the country to see firsthand the emergence of modern India as seen through its Nehruvian ‘temples’ of industry and mega dams. The results of this pilgrimage were contained in his 1965 book Design for Tomorrow. I asked him what his main takeaway from this exercise was and he said, simply,

“The enormous diversity of India.” It was something he fought lifelong to preserve and protect. It was the core DNA of a united India.

Vijay Verghese.

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: VV

The legendary B.G. Verghese.


Quoted in a recent BBC interview on The Doon

School, he said Foot reminded the boys they were an elite but there was no place for elitism as they were committed to the “service of those less fortunate than you.” No doubt following this exhortation, at Hindustan Times he had the paper adopt the village Chhatera as a novel experiment in developmental journalism.

Humble and self-effacing, he practically wrote himself out of his memoir and I had a struggle on my hands to convince him to run his portrait on the cover.

So understated was he I may well have ended up with a different father. When my mother was offered a scholarship to the USA, my father moved his courtship into high gear by asking her, “Have you considered any other alternatives?” “Like what?” she enquired. “Like me,” he blushingly responded. And that was the beginning of a great friendship and union that lasted unbroken for over 60 years. They were inseparable, my mother always distinct with a colourful flower in her hair, her sense of drama and fun a wonderful counterpoint to my father’s quiet resolve.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Veteran journalist B.G. Verghese was a regular contributor to Vidura. As editor of this journal, I established contact with him about four years ago, requesting him for a piece. He promptly replied, attaching a copy of one of his columns that had appeared in a mainline newspaper. He would occasionally send articles without me asking. Once, in Chennai, after an hour-long speech at an evening programme, I walked up to the stage to meet him and get him to sign his book (First Draft: Witness to the Making of Modern India) I had bought. He was visibly tired and any opportunity I had of a reasonably long conversation was gone. The following morning, I received from him an email with a copy of his speech for use in Vidura. He generously gave advice when I sought it. But more than anything, he would always reply to every email I sent. Right till the end. A month or so before he passed away, he responded saying he was still unwell. Here (extracts only) is how The Indian Express recorded his death:

“Journalism for him is zestful,” wrote the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation in its citation for the 1975 award to B.G. Verghese. “Yet his sense of public duty is strong.” One of the most widely respected editors and an inspirational figure to several

generations of journalists, Boobli George Verghese died at his Gurgaon house Tuesday. He was 87. He is survived by his wife Jamila and sons Rahul and Vijay.

Distinguished journalist, prolific author, unwavering activist, Verghese donned many hats during his illustrious career that began in 1949, even serving as the Information Advisor to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1966 and 1969. He was the editor of Hindustan Times from 1969 to 1975 and that of The Indian Express from 1982 to 1986. After that, he had been associated with the Centre for Policy Research and writing books and articles for several publications.

Verghese was recovering from a bout of dengue but had been severely weakened, according to his son Rahul. He was not active in the last few days and breathed his last around 5.30 pm Tuesday. Verghese was admired for his work as well as conduct. His journalist colleagues recall how he would walk in with a copy of the newspaper marked red all over. Done with the morning post-mortem examination of the paper, he would dictate “Notes” on the day’s edition listing errors for an internal circulation later.

Tribal uplift and the emancipation of women

concerned him greatly as did the socio-economic liberation of the Northeast. While down with dengue and recovering at home he awoke, fevered, at 5am one morning and bemoaned the plight of women in the country. This far outranked the searing joint and muscle aches.

He was not a hugely religious person but was a man of Faith with unshakeable moral certitude. He had a rich baritone, forged at the Trinity College Cambridge choir that gave beautiful shape to gospels, Paul Robeson classics, and his signature ‘Danny Boy’ that we hope sends him on his way…

And I shall hear tho' soft you tread above me And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be For you will bend and tell me that you love me And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me

(This article by Vijay Verghese was written for Doon School’s Rose Bowl magazine and sent to this journal for publication by Rahul

Verghese, his brother. Vijay Verghese is a journalist and publisher who has lived in Hong Kong for the past 30 years where he now runs the

online Dancing Wolf Media. He started with The Times of India, Delhi as a reporter and moved East to work on various newspapers and

magazines.)

<

Other News


Malini Parthasarathy is editor, The Hindu

The Board of Directors of Kasturi and Sons, publishers of The Hindu and Group publications, at its meeting on January 20, unanimously appointed Malini Parthasarathy as the editor of The Hindu effective February 1, 2015. Malini Parthasarathy will be in charge of all editorial operations, and be the editor responsible for selection of news under the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act.

N. Ravi, wholetime director, will step down from his role as editor-in-chief of The Hindu on January 31, 2015. The Board noted that Malini Parthasarathy had the rare distinction of being The Hindu’s first woman editor.

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

Attack against Charlie Hebdo condemned

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum condemns today’s attack against French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo that has left 11 dead and at least four seriously injured. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this outrageous atrocity and stand together with the Charlie Hebdo team and the entire journalistic community in France in demanding justice for the victims,” said WAN-IFRA CEO, Vincent Peyrègne.“With 61 journalists killed in 2014 and the New Year

beginning under such horrific circumstances, we are reminded that an attack of this nature strikes at the heart of the very freedoms that the press in France so passionately defends. It is not just an attack against the press, but also an attack on the fabric of our society and the values for which we all stand. This should be a wake up call for all of us to counter the rising climate of hatred that threatens to fracture our understanding of democracy.”

According to early reports, two heavily armed men entered the offices of the Paris-based weekly satirical magazine and opened fire. Shots were reportedly exchanged between the attackers and police as the two

men made their escape. French President Francois Hollande has since confirmed that amongst the dead are journalists and police officers.

The incident has been officially called a terrorist attack and the French capital remains on high alert, with armed police guarding the offices of news organisations across the city. Today’s incident follows an arson attack in 2011 that destroyed the publication’s then headquarters, located in Paris’ 20th arrondissement. The magazine has been defiant in continuing its critical satirical line despite subsequent threats.

News media leaders for Washington summit

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), which is bringing its annual summit meeting of the world's press to Washington, DC in June, has announced the first confirmed speakers for the event, and it reads like a Who's Who of the global newspaper and news publishing world. The 67th World News Media Congress, the 22nd World Editors Forum and the 25th World Advertising Forum, to be held from 1 to 3 June at the Washington Hilton, will include:-- Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington

Post, who oversees The Post's print and digital operations. Under Baron’s leadership, The Post newsroom won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2014, including the prestigious public service medal for a series of stories based on classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden that exposed the National Security Agency’s massive global surveillance programs.-- Andrew Miller, the CEO of the Guardian Media

Group in the United Kingdom, which announced a major transformation programme to change from a print-based organisation to one that is digital-first in philosophy and practice;-- Torry Pedersen, the CEO and editor-in-chief

of Verdens Gang, the leading news site/ newspaper in Norway that is among the most profitable news organisations in Europe;-- Eric Harris, executive vice-president for Business

Operations of Buzzfeed, who has been a key figure

Other News


in developing its business model, new ventures, and growing the site’s relationships with publishers and brands;-- Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital

Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, whose speech to the Reuters Institute last year was nothing less than the year's most definitive statement on the future of journalism;-- Vivian Schiller, former president and CEO

of National Public Radio and former global chair of news at Twitter and one of the world's most compelling executives at the forefront of media and technology;-- Marta Gleich, executive editor of Zero Hora, the

leading newspaper of the South of Brazil, known for its digital innovation and for opening space for its readers;

More than 1200 publishers, CEOs, chief editors, managing directors and other senior news publishing executives are expected to attend the Congress, editors forum and advertising forum, which will also include a World Media Policy Forum for the first time to look at the issue of internet governance and other issues of growing concern. The 2015 events are organised in cooperation with the Newspaper Association of America.

WAN-IFRA, which has organised these events since 1948, changed the name of the World Newspaper Congress to the World News Media Congress for the 2015 events, to better reflect the digital transition and multiplatform reality of the industry."We must come together as an industry to collectively

address the major challenges facing independent news publishing," said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA.

Kiran Vadodaria is INS presidentKiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro was elected

president of the Indian Newspaper Society for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting held in Delhi. He succeeds Ravindra Kumar of The Statesman. P.V. Chandran (Grihalakshmi) is the deputy president, Somesh Sharma (Rashtradoot Saptahik) is the vice-president, and Mohit Jain (The Economic Times) the honorary treasurer for 2014-15. V. Shankaran is the secretary-general.

(Courtesy: exchange4media)

Deepak Lamba to head WWMDeepak Lamba, president at Bennett, Coleman

and Co (Times Group) will be taking additional responsibility of heading Worldwide Media (WWM) as the CEO. He will be replacing Tarun Rai who was the CEO since 2008. WWM that initially began as a 50:50 joint venture between the Times Group and BBC Worldwide in India was later on bought over in October 2011 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bennett Coleman and Co. It currently has 13 magazines, including Femina, Filmfare, Lonely Planet, Top Gear and Good Homes.


Jwalant Swaroop is CEO, Sakal Media

Jwalant Swaroop has been appointed as the CEO of Sakal Media Group. He will be heading one of the largest independently owned media businesses in Maharashtra. Swaroop joins from Oshoyana Consultants where he was CEO for a period of two and a half years. Earlier, he was the COO at Lokmat Media for more than a year. Sakal is a Marathi-language daily newspaper by Sakal Media Group and is its flagship newspaper.


Dainik Bhaskar Group’s revenues rise

DB Corp has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ending December 31, 2014. The consolidated 9M FY 2014-15 total revenues increased by 8.3 per cent to Rs 15400 million from Rs 14214 million. The advertising revenues shot up by 7.8 per cent to Rs 11623 million against Rs 10778 million during the corresponding period last year. The consolidated Q3 FY 2014-15 total revenues witnessed a growth of 6.1 per cent YOY to Rs 5574 million in Q3 against Rs 5256 million of Q3 last fiscal. Revenues from advertising reported a growth of 6.2 per cent YOY to Rs 4283 million in the current period from Rs 4035 million in Q3 last fiscal. The company publishes seven newspapers -- Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and Divya Marathi and 199 sub-editions in four languages across 14 states in India.


EVENTS CALENDAR


February

March

April 20-22, organised by WAN-IFRA, in London: Digital Media Europe 2015. More details from [email protected]

April 28-30, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Bangkok: Publish Asia 2015. More details from [email protected]

February 10-11, organised by WAN-IFRA, in New Delhi: Digital Media India 2015. More details from [email protected]

February 11-15, organised by IPAMA, in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR: 12th Printpack India 2015. More details from [email protected] / [email protected]

February 12, organised by IPAMA, in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR: NPES ICC Color Management Conference 2015 (Manufacturing Success with Color Management).

March 15-18, organised by Newspaper Association of America, in Nashville, the US: NAA MediaXchange 2015. More details at http://www.naa.org/mediaXchange/Program.aspx

March 19-20, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Stockholm: DagsVara 2015. More details from [email protected]

April

May

May 18-21, organised by WAN-IFRA, in London: Study Tour – World Editors Forum – Lean, Mean and Digital. More details from [email protected]

2015


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Yes, digital publishing is here to stay

Tablets might still be a niche market in India, but they are a rapidly growing and promising new media channel for newspaper publishers. Digital publishing to tablets is another step in the ongoing evolution of the media industry. This change forces publishers to define an effective multi-channel publishing strategy, enabling them to effortlessly address any channel and to monetise new channels such as tablets successfully. A special report by Stefan Horst >>> more

Dinamalar surges forward on the new media front

A 60-year-old newspaper has adapted and moved with the times, and moved quickly. Its Web site attracts more than two million unique visitors and more than 190 million page views a month; its iPhone, iPod and iPad applications have recorded a substantial number of downloads and page views, with various apps being made available on the Android platform as well. All run and managed by a small team that is highly focused on delivering value to users as well as clients, and it has paid off well. Sashi Nair reports on the Dinamalar new media success story

>>> more

Director & EditorSashi Nair

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Assistant EditorSusan Philip

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Published by Sashi Nair on behalf of The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development, from RIND premises, Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113 and printed by V.B.S. Moni at Print Shop Private Limited, 4/310 Gandhi Street, Kottivakkam, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai 600 096. Editor: Sashi Nair

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

Februay 2015 | Volume 36 | Issue 2 | Rs 40www.pressinstitute.in

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NEVER FORGET TO COMMUNICATE TO READERSGetting close to readers is crucial for any news medium to be successful. At the Malayala Manorama Group, it’s part of a credo. Mariam Mammen Mathew, COO of Manoramaonline.com, says local is the new global. At the same time, Manorama Online connects to its readers across the globe to make them feel at home. It even follows a ‘digital maturity curve’. Manorama Online, 17 years old, has more readers than Malayala Manorama, 126 years old. That’s the kind of success that would make any publisher proud (please go to page 4 for the full story).

Documents

RIND Survey - pressinstitute.inpressinstitute.in/file-folder/rindsurvey/RIND February 2015 24th... · At the Malayala Manorama Group, ... February 2015 RINDSurvey 1 ... published