The common man and English newspaper – a combination that is a myth

Raking up the issue of the print media space for English vs Language has been lingering in my mind for years.

On one side there is only one leading English daily and the rest of the print industry.

In a country where 80% or more is language driven,  and we all speak of cultural and language differences is the key multiplicity and with that we show unity as a Nation, why English and that too one English daily is taken as a constant when it comes to print media advertising. I am also sure that everyone has heard the English print reader has migrated to digital space. Then why still invest in English print so heavily?

Recently if you had observed 75% of the GST, ads have gone to one English daily and a few to other English dailies.  I am also aware that there are only few (can count using only 3 fingers) and that too with highly diminished numbers as so called top dailies have stayed out of ABC. I emphasise here that the fear of opting out of ABC is the shameful numbers that they wish to hide and sell in the market based on their past glories.  It is also sad to see that agencies and clients are also willing to believe them.  If you also see the money that goes to the handful of English dailies also is not proportionate to the circulation and readership of the English print media.  I am sure that it is just not enough to create brand stories (assuming it creates) using English print media.

I leave this GST advertising issue with a question. Is the GST rate drop info or advertisement, more beneficial to the language reader or to the English reader?  I think that this should have been pushed more into language dailies rather than mostly in one English daily. 

I will use Tanishq as an example with Madison as the incumbent agency.

On the other hand, language has a lot more penetration than English does, in both circulation and readership.  However, it gets a second hand treatment. Sometimes, I feel the individual (responsible person on the client and agency side) believes in what he or she consumes, that the majority of the universe consumes.  This hypothesis needs to be corrected.

Now coming to ABC and IRS studies.  The industry wants a currency but no one wants to follow it. They use this data only against the lower rung of the dailies in both language and English to squeeze on rates. I also make an allegation here that no one knows in depth the habits and behaviour of the population the people or audience the publication caters to. In some cases they blindly follow the IRS and in cases when their negotiation power is weak they succumb to the power of the daily itself.  This is also beneficial to the top language dailies as well.  In case it is beneficial to them, they prefer to remain quiet and not fight for more use of language dailies.

Now the next most discussed topic is the pilot study of the IRS.  This combines both digital. The region of study also is maintained as a secret. My question here and now is, why IRS at all?  If agencies are going to plan the way, thinking that metro market and that too English media is enough there is no reason for a print media currency called IRS, my advice is not to even venture with this pilot study, which will have a small sample size and then tell that owners and publishers are not funding the project, for it to look like a complete mockery to the media world.  

I am open to learn more on this and will always keep fighting for more investments into language dailies across the States of India to completely cover the length and breadth of the country for the growth of clients business.  

Awaiting to hear from you.

Adimoolam, Publisher-Dinamalar, can be reached at [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.