Success of multi-city editions
in regional arenas
What it holds true in context of the overseas markets
may not necessarily be viable in India too. In the west,
circulations of printed newspapers begin to dip into
extinction as people in mass scale hook to online/mobile
news media devices. The scene is a bit different in India. When mild jolt of online media
hits the metros, multi-city edition newspapers are now heading to small towns.
Jyaneswar Laishram finds out how do they succeed by taking this alternative route.
Leading national dailies, which are
popular brands in metros across the
country, are now changing gear for
new business in the regional markets. Such
strategic moves help the big leaders not only
find a new demography
of readership in an
unexplored geography
but also an approach to
get rid of the ongoing
online onslaught.
Increased literacy
level in small towns
is one of the factors
that instil multi-city
edition newspapers like Hindustan Times,
The Times of India, Punjab Kesari, The
Indian Express, to name a few, to come
out of big cities. In this context, Pankaj
Bhasin, MD, manroland India Pvt Ltd rightly
points out the fact that 40 percent of the
country’s rural population are still illiterate
and it may reduce to single figure in the
next one decade, which in turn can bring
a fresh readership of printed newspapers
at the first place.
Irrespective of the online revolution popping
up in the overseas newspaper markets, India
has its own unique model—a model that
cannot die in a sudden attack from the
online news media. One can say readers
in India practically enjoy newspapers ‘free
of cost’. “Of course, people in India don’t
find it financially difficult in subscribing to
a newspaper. We get newspapers directly
on doorstep at a meagre amount, which is
on one-month credit, then sell directly to
a recycled man by month end, recovering
20-30 percent of the original cost,” explains
Pankaj picking up a key reason why printed
newspapers can be sustained.
Win-win situations
Strategic moves of the multi-city editions
to provincial domains garner an assortment
of business advantages for both newspapers
and advertisers. Of course, multi-city
editions have low print runs, offering lower
ad rates (compared to metro editions) and
these regional editions for sure attract
small time advertisers. On the other side,
local web offset press manufacturers find
a new enchantment in
the regional expansion
progresses of the
multi-city editions.
PK Bhalla, general
manager, Manugraph
keenly observes big
newspaper houses
moving into tier II and
III cities for regional
editions. According to his study, indigenously
engineered web presses are the right choice
for such low print run editions.
Indian web offset manufacturers produce
machines of minimum 25,000 cph speed, say
Manugraph Ecoline as an instance, suitably
engineered to meet the requirements of the
regional editions from the national dailies
or multi-city editions. In this regard, it’s
not the machine manufacturers but also
for domestic machine suppliers/dealers and
others in the league getting new business.
Multi-city editions also open job avenues
for journalists, engineers, desk staff and
others in the regional markets apart from
a chain of distribution network.
Relating to the current trend of multi-city
editions rushing down to tier II and III cities,
T Chattrerjee, general manager, J Mahabeer
& Company Pvt Ltd
rightly observed, “Just
take the example of
my kids who stay in a
metro city. They prefer
smart-phones over any
mediums to browse
latest news feeds.”
But the scenario in
non-metro cities and
towns in many parts of the country, as
per his further observation, is that common
people still yearn for printed newspapers
having good contents and quality prints.
Combined community feelings
Browsing international news can be done
on a smart-phone in a remote town. What
is the interest it can lend to the reader?
People in small towns love to read reports,
news stories and feature articles closely
connected to incidents, events and other
updates around the regions. This is how
local editions finally use as an ultimate
resort to please regional readers and rescue
printed newspapers.
In fact, the region-centric editions bring
closer contact between local people and
administrative bodies as well. It’s not only
news and features these multi-city editions
provide readers. These editions play a pivotal
role in spreading community feeling and
mutuality among local people who enjoy
a whole scale of news from all societal
segments, be it in connection to students,
housewives associations, local clubs, so on.
Now the verdict is that the Indian newspaper
market is swinging in its own tune. Even
when the wave of online news media hits
the urban landscape, rural geography still
opens new way of survival for printed
newspapers. Industry stalwarts forecast this
development to be remained for the next
two decades or so.
