Neighbourhood Newspapers:
an elixir for the publishing industry
Necessity always begets inventions.
The publishing industry is
rejuvenating with an
innovative concept,
Neighbourhood newspapers, by
breaking the bottlenecks, which
is caused due to the gust of
electronic media. Publishers as
well as readers have espoused this
new concept, which is creating waves
in major cities of India. Apollo Times is one such
largely circulated neighbourhood newspaper, in and around
Chennai. Recently, D Ramalingam from All About Newspapers (AAN)
conversed with its eminent leaders, V S Vijayalakshmi (VSV), editor,
and V Jayakrishnan (VJ), CEO, to know their success secret. Excerpts.
"We would like to call our
publication as news magazine
instead of newspaper. We have
special columns for culture, astro,
neighbourhood, career
opportunities, health, business
news, sports and general"
–V S Vijayalakshmi
|
"We shall grow definitely and
are thinking of going for
heat-set web presses,
improvement on quality, adding
contents and aiming advertisers
and target audience."
– V Jayakrishnan
|
AAN: How this new idea
conceptualized in your mind?
VJ: After completed my Chartered
Accountancy, I wanted to start
up a business. During my
matriculation, I have done lots of
surveys where I came to know that
50% of the households do not buy
any newspaper. So, one idea came
to my mind that I could do some
business with neighbourhood
tabloid. I actually thought to cater
to the readership of different
segments and advertisement
target to local areas in
different parts of the city.
So, I plunged into it.
AAN: How is the
journey? What was the
response of readers and
advertisers?
VJ: We started Apollo Times in
a humble way. Now, we have
completed six years in the
neighbourhood papers sector and
have a team of 300 people. In the
printing and publishing industry,
there is no control on prices of
consumables and materials,
especially newsprint. Advertisers
seem to be attracted with glossy
dailies but still our hard work
and cost effective steps have
started paying off and accepted
by our company. To meet the
demands of readers and
advertisers, we possess one Orient
Super 8-unit web offset press
(815 x 508 mm).
AAN: How many editions do you
have in Chennai?
VJ: We are publishing this
news magazine from fifteen
locations i.e. Villivakkam, Perambur,
Kolathur, Anna Nagar, Porur,
Tambaram, Velachery, Vadapalani,
Kodambakkam, T Nagar, Adyar,
Mylapore and also cater to
Kancheepuram, Chengalpet and
Chayyar outside the Chennai city.
AAN: Apollo Times is appearing
different locations in different days.
Is it true?
VJ: Yes, it is. We bring out the issue
at T Nagar and Porur on Sundays;
Villivakkam and Perambur on
Tuesdays; Kolattur and
Kodambakkam on Wednesdays;
Vadapalani and Mylapore on
Thursdays; Adyar, Velachery,
Kancheepuram, Chengalpe and
Chayyar on Fridays; and Tambaram
and Anna Nagar on Saturdays. There
won’t be any issues on Mondays.
AAN: What is the total circulation
of Apollo Times?
VSV: Combining all editions, Apollo
Times has a circulation of about 4.5
lakh copies.
AAN: What is your Editorial Policy?
VSV: We would like to call
our publication as news magazine
instead of newspaper. We have
special columns for culture,
astro, neighbourhood, career
opportunities, health, business
news, sports and general. Generally,
the front page of Apollo Times
carries a general topic with a
heading and not completely
covered with advertisements.
Besides, we have a separate
classified section and ads are spread
out in the issue.
We have an expert editorial team
and our reporters are capable to
shoulder the challenges. Besides,
our readers are also contributing
to enrich our editorial contents. In
fact, some advertisers come out
with articles on their products
rather than mere pictorial ads.
These are paid ads and may be a
contribution by them to the
concept of news magazine by
Apollo Times.
AAN: What’s your opinion about
the trade fairs in printing and
publishing industry?
VJ: I attended the Annual Book
Fair in Chennai. Of course, there are
areas of improvement to make it user
friendly, dividing it into different
interest areas to avoid tiredness in
walking through a huge area. I do
visit fairs like Frankfurt Book Fair,
Japanese Print Fair, IPEX and drupa
occasionally.
AAN: What is your future plans?
VJ: We shall grow definitely and
are thinking of going for heat-set
web presses, improvement on
quality, adding contents and aiming
advertisers and target audience.
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