Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Media Watch

Headings for Victory

This was one election win that was tailormade for innovative newspaper headlines, with front page editors having a field day with puns and plays on words. The Aam Aadmi Party’s symbol of a broom and a sweep in the Delhi elections had headline makers drooling over the possibilities. The Indian Express didn’t stretch the metaphors that far but still managed an effective headline: “Delhivered!” which was matched by the Hindustan Times declaration: “Kejri wali Dilli”. The Times of India literally headed the field with “AAP is Bulletproof in Delhi”, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the shootings at protest sites, while The Telegraph stated: “Currentjriwal,” a sly reminder of Amit Shah’s famous speech ridiculing Shaheen Bagh. The Hindu was more prosaic with its reference to the broom symbol, merely stating: “AAP Sweeps” which was echoed by the Mumbai Mirror which headlined its lead as “Jhaadu Kee Jhappi”. The New Indian Express preferred a pun: “AAPsolute Tornado,” while even the normally sober pink papers went to town. The Economic Times op­ted for “Kaam AAdmi Party”, Mint went for “Delhi Downloads AAP 3.0” while Business Standard had another reference to Amit Shah with its pointed headline: “Delhi presses the button, BJP feels the current”.

BBC Radio Switches off

During times of crisis and media blackouts as happened during the Emergency, the most trusted source of news was a foreign broadcaster, the BBC. Its Hindi radio service, which has been broadcasting in India for many decades and attracted a great number of loyal listeners, has finally shut down, citing dwindling numbers of radio listeners and the need to divert more resources to digital platforms. The BBC’s radio service, in English and Hindi, created such stars as Mark Tully who was the most trusted voice for millions till he retired but the Hindi service was a lifeline for many in conflict zones, and in rural India. January 31, 2020, saw the last broadcast before the service went silent on radio sets. The closure is a blow to visually-impaired listeners and those in rural areas where electricity is scarce and most people cannot afford television sets.

World Class

DB Corp Limited (DBCL) is known for its Hindi and regional publications, including the newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar. Not many people know that DBCL is India’s largest print media company with an incredible 4.3 million copies in terms of combined daily circulation. Those numbers have now made the group get the title of the World’s Third Largest Circulated Newspaper. That achievement has been officially recorded by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ (WAN IFRA) latest edition of World Press Trends, 2019, Report.

The DB group trails behind Japanese newspapers Yomiuri Shimbun (8.1 million) and Asahi Shimbun (5.6 million copies). In 2013, the DB group was in the 35th position (1.6 million copies) globally and its rapid rise to third position in 2019 is a remarkable achievement.

Return of Profits

From winning the Most Trusted Companies Award 2019 from the International Brand Consulting Corporation, US, to a long-awaited return to profits, it’s been great news for NDTV. The Group’s latest results are its best Q3 in seven years, with a profit of Rs 11.25 crore. For the television business, a profit of Rs 6.66 crore represents its best Q3 in more than a decade. For the year so far (Q1 to Q3), the television business has declared its best result in the last 15 years. The Group’s digital company, NDTV Convergence, has also recorded its 14th consecutive profitable quarter. The Group’s profit for the financial year so far marks a turnaround of Rs 17.86 crore over the corresponding period for last year.

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