59th Annual Report
on Print Media released
Signaling the need to accept the challenges put forth by the digital age
Prepared on the basis of analysis of annual statements filed by the
registered publications, the 59th Annual Report on
Print Media titled ‘Press in India 2014-15’ has recently been
released. The registered publications are required to file annual
statements giving details, including circulation figures under the
Press & Registration of Books Act 1867.
The annual report provides broad analysis of general trend
of the Indian press based on the claimed circulation.
Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Arun Jaitley and JS Mathur
releasing ‘Press in India 2014-15’ in New Delhi
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The august release of
‘Press in India 2014-15’
was held in New Delhi
in presence of Arun Jaitley,
union minister for finance,
corporate affairs and information
& broadcasting along with Col
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore,
minister of state for information
& broadcasting and JS Mathur,
additional secretary, Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting.
Talking about the new trend
sweeping into the news media
industry, Arun Jaitley asserted
that print media now need to
accept the challenges put forth
by the digital age.
“Even since the onset of internet
revolution and fast changing
technology keep surging
as a big challenge to print
media across the world, there
is sheer requirement for the
latter to maintain its presence
and sustainable growth in the
industry. However, the present
scenario in India remains an
exception wherein print media
registered growth owing to
an increasing demand and
subscriber base of regional
newspapers,” stated Arun Jaitley
in his keynote address during
the release of ‘Press in India
2014-15’ prepared and compiled
by Registrar of Newspapers for
India (RNI).
Further, Arun Jaitley mentioned
that print media had to contend
with the information flow
disseminating from electronic
media which weakened the
dividing line between news and
opinion. The emerging viewpoint
had brought certain shrillness in
the debates and discussions.
Print media, thus, had a
role to play in maintaining
objectivity and preserving
the sacred nature of news.
It was important to also
understand that emerging
viewpoints surfaced due to
the vastness of the media
universe where different
perspectives were put forth
on a given issue.
Reinvention of magazine journalism
According to Arun Jaitley,
now is the time for magazine
journalism to reinvent itself
for options to keep expanding
through alternative mediums,
such as digital and social media.
He further mentioned that
the global trends today show
many popular magazines keep
converting into online/digital
editions, showing the fact that
it’s time for instantaneous news
with fast changing world and
technology. For this reason, shelf
life of news being collated in
magazines is considered outdated.
Growing trends
JS Mathur, in his keynote address
during the release function,
highlighted an overview journey
of press in India through history,
touching upon the changes being
brought forth in the media space,
especially the print segment. Print
media registered a growth of 5.80
percent over the previous year as
a total of 5,817 new publications
were registered during 2014-
15 and 34 publications ceased
their operation. Out of the total
1,05,443 publications registered
as on March 31, 2015, the
largest number of newspapers
and periodicals registered in
any Indian language was in
Hindi with a figure of 42,493
publicat ions followed by
English with 13,661 registered
publications.
Regional records
Of the 1,05,443 registered
publications, 14,984 were dailies
and bi/tri weeklies and remaining
90,459 were of other periodicities.
State-wise analysis shows Uttar
Pradesh with 16,130 publications
on top position at the end of 2014-
15. Maharashtra with 14,394
publications and Delhi with
12,177 publications positioned
at second and third respectively.
Total claimed circulation
of publications stood at
51,05,21,445 copies per day in
2014-15 as against 45,05,86,212
in 2013-14. The number of
annual statements received at
RNI for the period 2014-15
was 23,394 against 19,755
in 2013-14, witnessing 18.42
percent increase. As per the
report, circulation-wise, Hindi
publications continued to lead
with 25,77,61,985 copies per
publishing day followed by
English with 6,26,62,670 copies
and Urdu with 4,12,73,949 copies
per publishing day.
Shedding a special spotlight on
the newspaper sector, ‘Press in
India 2014-15’ also contains
some important chapters, viz.
Ownership of Newspapers,
Analysis of Daily Newspapers,
Language-wise Study of the
Press and Analysis of Registered
Newspapers.
