Shanth Kumar, Editor, DECCAN HERALD
I think our industry has spoilt the reader to an extent that we are forced to depend solely on our advertisers. But what the reader doesn’t realize is that he is getting an inferior product as the content is sometimes compromised. I think the biggest issue faced by the industry is that we are heavily under priced.
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Published: Feb 16, 2004 12:00 AM | 8 min read
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I think our industry has spoilt the reader to an extent that we are forced to depend solely on our advertisers. But what the reader doesn’t realize is that he is getting an inferior product as the content is sometimes compromised. I think the biggest issue faced by the industry is that we are heavily under priced.Joining Deccan Herald in 1993, CK Shanth Kumar went on to hold various positions within the publication. Over the years he played the role of Vice President, Director and for a few years served as its Managing Editor. In 2001 he took over the role of Editor for both Deccan Herald and Prajavani, the group’s Kannada news daily, in addition to that of being a Director. Speaking to exchange4media’s Shubha Kumble, he shares his views on the perils of under pricing, his plans to reclaim the No. 1 position in Karnataka and more.
Q. On whether the daily is targeting a different audience Not really, we are looking at readers of all age groups, both genders, all kinds of professions, and our aim is to certainly cater to everybody by providing a wholesome product. So this has really been a fine-tuning of our paper, as readers’ needs change and their interests change. As far as the presentation is concerned, we received a lot of positive feedback. So I don’t think there is a great divide between age groups or sections. The diff is not between modern or old; I think that a good product, well designed with good content appeals to all. I think our readers recognize that and we continually strive to get better and better.
Q. On satisfying media planners In my opinion, good media planners do not look at numbers only. They look at reputation and quality of product. An advertisement, be it in any media, is impacted by the medium that carries it. The medium also has an impact on the reader of the advertisement. So when we bid to a media planner, we do so both quantitatively and qualitatively. We are also quite flexible in the options that we offer in our media.. While earlier we were traditional and inflexible, we are much more flexible now. Then again we maintain a very clear line between advertising and editorial spaces and feel that the reader needs to know that very clearly. Unfortunately that link has been weakened in a number of other media.
Q. On the definition of “good content” I think it is the values that come across. So when I said we were traditional earlier, it doesn’t mean that we dropped tradition in our bid to grow. At the same time we don’t stick to tradition for the sake of tradition. We retain the age-old values of journalism that will continue to make sense to hold on to. We believe that there should be a clear divide between opinion and news. People do want to know what is news and what is opinion and want a share of both. We offer both but show them for what they are. When these and other tenets of journalism are in place, good content will follow.
Q. On where Deccan Herald will be in the next five years While five years is a pretty long time to make predictions about, we will certainly be involved with our readers’ needs. I’m sure that the efforts we are putting in now will pay off.
Q. On the issues faced by industry today I think the biggest issue faced by the industry is that we are heavily under priced. We are giving away our newspapers at throwaway prices. As far as I know, no other country, not even those in neighbouring economies, does this or even comes close to the situation here. If we need to get away from the pressure of media planners, of course I’m not blaming them, as they have to do their jobs, we need to price our products better. I’m not suggesting an exorbitant rate, but certainly enough to cover the cost of printing a newspaper. And only then will the over dependence on advertising come down. Newspapers are so sensitive to the slightest of change in their advertising set-up that they are forced to succumb to these pressures. So even if a few publications are letting their advertising affect their content, it is wrong, but they have no choice. I think our industry has spoilt the reader to an extent that we are forced to depend solely on our advertisers. But what the reader doesn’t realize is that he is getting an inferior product as the content is sometimes compromised. I think this is a single huge problem faced by the Indian publication industry.
Q. On whether it will win back its No. 1 slot? Why not
Q. On why after being the leader for years, Deccan Herald slipped to No. 2 position We lost our leadership due to a couple of reasons. The main factor was that we didn’t adapt to changing situations fast enough. As you know, Bangalore has changed drastically over the past 10 years or so and we failed to keep up both in terms of content and marketing of the newspaper. As far as content is concerned, the interest areas of people changed and we didn’t acknowledge it. Production wise we were strong, but even there we were a little slow. Technology is changing and so is the case with politics, business, education and several other areas. I wouldn’t say that we did something wrong. The fact is that we were a traditional newspaper that didn’t change along with the change in the society.
Q. On how the daily has revamped itself The entire newspaper has changed in a number of ways - The content has changed, the presentation has changed. We are constantly trying to improve further. We’ve introduced new supplements; we look at different views and rationalize on them. We’re certainly grown more active in the market place and have a lot more plans for the future. But the details of this are something that I cannot share with you due to obvious reasons.
Q. On whether the changes include a change in focus… Not really a change of focus. It is just a modified manner of coverage. While we haven’t eliminated any area, we have in some cases added coverage like in the case of the youth. We have brought in greater coverage on education, activities and other youth centric issues. But in traditional areas like politics and economics, the same topics are covered, the same space is allocated but it is the kind of coverage that is different. For example, the way we report a budget or an economic announcement of the government used to be rather cryptic and would therefore be difficult for our non-economics reader to understand. But now we, and I think this is a common trend with most newspapers, are trying to relate these issues to common readers so they can better understand any development. Same thing applies to politics where we take the issues that are trashed out inside the assembly house or the parliament and try to decipher it for our readers. To that extent we are much more reader-friendly.
Q. On the daily’s differentiating factor I think we understand this part of the country better than anybody else be it in terms of history, in terms of culture, politics or economics. We are therefore in essence, Karnataka’s newspaper.
Q. On whether Bangalore has more than its share of players We have a host of competitors, as Bangalore is one of the countries biggest publication markets. Whether or not it is too cluttered depends on each newspaper. If a paper sets a target and reaches it, then they are not affected. But yes, there are a few too many newspapers in the market and this has led to its fragmentation. I don’t think there is space for everyone to be a large newspaper in Bangalore.
Q. On whether the direct attacks on its competition has reflected badly on its credibility As far as direct attacks on competition are concerned, we have engaged in that very little as most of it was done by our competition. We ran only one particular ad after being hit for years. But yes, I agree that it is in poor taste and unnecessary. If any publication wants to advertise, I think they can easily do so without referring to the opponent. But I don’t think our reputation was affected by the ad we ran. In fact, we were told that it was about time we reacted.
Q. On the purpose of a newspaper today I don’t think the core purpose of a newspaper has changed much over the years. I think the main purpose, that of informing the people and being a vehicle of news, has remained. But there are a lot of peripheral areas like entertainment and tidbits where people enjoy themselves. They are not necessarily being informed, but is provided for light entertainment. While a newspaper cannot survive offering only this kind of content, today it is an addition we make to the age-old content that is offered.
Q. On satisfying media planners In my opinion, good media planners do not look at numbers only. They look at reputation and quality of product. An advertisement, be it in any media, is impacted by the medium that carries it. The medium also has an impact on the reader of the advertisement. So when we bid to a media planner, we do so both quantitatively and qualitatively. We are also quite flexible in the options that we offer in our media.. While earlier we were traditional and inflexible, we are much more flexible now. Then again we maintain a very clear line between advertising and editorial spaces and feel that the reader needs to know that very clearly. Unfortunately that link has been weakened in a number of other media.
Q. On the definition of “good content” I think it is the values that come across. So when I said we were traditional earlier, it doesn’t mean that we dropped tradition in our bid to grow. At the same time we don’t stick to tradition for the sake of tradition. We retain the age-old values of journalism that will continue to make sense to hold on to. We believe that there should be a clear divide between opinion and news. People do want to know what is news and what is opinion and want a share of both. We offer both but show them for what they are. When these and other tenets of journalism are in place, good content will follow.
Q. On where Deccan Herald will be in the next five years While five years is a pretty long time to make predictions about, we will certainly be involved with our readers’ needs. I’m sure that the efforts we are putting in now will pay off.
Q. On the issues faced by industry today I think the biggest issue faced by the industry is that we are heavily under priced. We are giving away our newspapers at throwaway prices. As far as I know, no other country, not even those in neighbouring economies, does this or even comes close to the situation here. If we need to get away from the pressure of media planners, of course I’m not blaming them, as they have to do their jobs, we need to price our products better. I’m not suggesting an exorbitant rate, but certainly enough to cover the cost of printing a newspaper. And only then will the over dependence on advertising come down. Newspapers are so sensitive to the slightest of change in their advertising set-up that they are forced to succumb to these pressures. So even if a few publications are letting their advertising affect their content, it is wrong, but they have no choice. I think our industry has spoilt the reader to an extent that we are forced to depend solely on our advertisers. But what the reader doesn’t realize is that he is getting an inferior product as the content is sometimes compromised. I think this is a single huge problem faced by the Indian publication industry.
Q. On whether it will win back its No. 1 slot? Why not
Q. On why after being the leader for years, Deccan Herald slipped to No. 2 position We lost our leadership due to a couple of reasons. The main factor was that we didn’t adapt to changing situations fast enough. As you know, Bangalore has changed drastically over the past 10 years or so and we failed to keep up both in terms of content and marketing of the newspaper. As far as content is concerned, the interest areas of people changed and we didn’t acknowledge it. Production wise we were strong, but even there we were a little slow. Technology is changing and so is the case with politics, business, education and several other areas. I wouldn’t say that we did something wrong. The fact is that we were a traditional newspaper that didn’t change along with the change in the society.
Q. On how the daily has revamped itself The entire newspaper has changed in a number of ways - The content has changed, the presentation has changed. We are constantly trying to improve further. We’ve introduced new supplements; we look at different views and rationalize on them. We’re certainly grown more active in the market place and have a lot more plans for the future. But the details of this are something that I cannot share with you due to obvious reasons.
Q. On whether the changes include a change in focus… Not really a change of focus. It is just a modified manner of coverage. While we haven’t eliminated any area, we have in some cases added coverage like in the case of the youth. We have brought in greater coverage on education, activities and other youth centric issues. But in traditional areas like politics and economics, the same topics are covered, the same space is allocated but it is the kind of coverage that is different. For example, the way we report a budget or an economic announcement of the government used to be rather cryptic and would therefore be difficult for our non-economics reader to understand. But now we, and I think this is a common trend with most newspapers, are trying to relate these issues to common readers so they can better understand any development. Same thing applies to politics where we take the issues that are trashed out inside the assembly house or the parliament and try to decipher it for our readers. To that extent we are much more reader-friendly.
Q. On the daily’s differentiating factor I think we understand this part of the country better than anybody else be it in terms of history, in terms of culture, politics or economics. We are therefore in essence, Karnataka’s newspaper.
Q. On whether Bangalore has more than its share of players We have a host of competitors, as Bangalore is one of the countries biggest publication markets. Whether or not it is too cluttered depends on each newspaper. If a paper sets a target and reaches it, then they are not affected. But yes, there are a few too many newspapers in the market and this has led to its fragmentation. I don’t think there is space for everyone to be a large newspaper in Bangalore.
Q. On whether the direct attacks on its competition has reflected badly on its credibility As far as direct attacks on competition are concerned, we have engaged in that very little as most of it was done by our competition. We ran only one particular ad after being hit for years. But yes, I agree that it is in poor taste and unnecessary. If any publication wants to advertise, I think they can easily do so without referring to the opponent. But I don’t think our reputation was affected by the ad we ran. In fact, we were told that it was about time we reacted.
Q. On the purpose of a newspaper today I don’t think the core purpose of a newspaper has changed much over the years. I think the main purpose, that of informing the people and being a vehicle of news, has remained. But there are a lot of peripheral areas like entertainment and tidbits where people enjoy themselves. They are not necessarily being informed, but is provided for light entertainment. While a newspaper cannot survive offering only this kind of content, today it is an addition we make to the age-old content that is offered.
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