I picked up one of the leading
national newspapers from Delhi while leaving the hotel to catch a flight. I was
horrified at the size of the newspaper (82 pages) as the
cash starved airline would
definitely charge me for carrying excess weight. But I could finish the
newspaper within a few minutes on my way to the airport. That was because it
hardly contained any news! More than 80%
of the content was advertisements, advertorials and other paid stuff (It was
not a Sunday newspaper, which normally carry many extra pages). It was foolish for the advertisers to presume
that most readers would decide on their purchases based on the size of the advertisements.
They are in fact irritants for many readers. None buy a newspaper to read
advertisements. Some would be eager to see the classified advertisements, if
they are particularly looking for a ‘match’, property, or a movie. Newspapers
need to carry some news also!
People have become habituated to reading
the leading news on the front page of the newspaper in spite of knowing them in
advance through TV or internet. But when they see full page advertisement on
the first two pages, they are not very patient to read that and quickly move to
the page where the main news is printed. The companies who had spent huge money
to get their advertisements released on the entire front page should understand
the reality that people won’t take them seriously. Sensible advertisers will
ask only an exclusive space in the front page along with the leading news. They
know that readers would spend more time on the front page if there are
important news items on that page.
The whole lot of qualified
advertisement consultants and managers need to understand the psychology of
readers and the sociology of markets. Some guys chose to have a customized half
sized page exclusively inside for their advertisements. People won’t be comfortable
to read such pages as they can’t flip the pages easily. Same is the case with
magazines that contained a few thick advertisement pages and post cards in
between making it difficult for readers to flip the pages easily.
When you pay peanuts, what you can expect?
It is true that readers need not be worried much
on the size of the paper because they don’t need to pay anything extra for
that. In fact, if there is no advertisement, the price would definitely go up. There
are many newspapers like the
New York Times (printed paper) which contain almost 55%
advertisements. The pages in the Sunday newspapers in United States and many
other countries are about five times more than the one on a weekday. For some
Indian newspapers, advertisements are for survival and not for making profits. Price
of newspapers in US is between to $ 0.70
to $2.5. In UK the maximum price is around 2 pounds. Similar trend is seen elsewhere
also. Price of Indian newspapers range from Rs 1.50 to Rs 5 (not the Sunday
newspapers).
To get ‘real’ news, we need to pay
Most people of this generation,
in spite of the internet and news channels in Television, continue their habit
of reading a printed newspaper along with a steaming cup of coffee. This is
true with even younger generation who is exposed to TV channels and internet
along with the daily newspapers from their childhood. I could see many of them
glued to the printed news in the morning. Yes, print media is still a center of
attraction for people. Even when you knew the news headlines through the TV or
from mobile alerts or from the online source, you would still like to read
about what happened in your region, nation and across the globe from the
printed paper. However, they get annoyed seeing the overemphasis for
advertisements, sponsored news, and ‘paid’ views in their daily newspaper.
Only way we can ensure ‘real’ news
in our newspapers is by showing willingness to pay a higher price for the
newspaper. Are we willing to pay at least Rs 10/- for the newspaper? This
could reduce the over-dependence of newspaper companies on advertisers, and they
would possibly focus on disseminating news and less of sponsored stuff. A cup
of coffee from a street vendor would cost you more than that these days. Even the
entry fee for the ‘public toilets’ is Rs 5/- in many public utility centres in
India!
There are many leading newspapers
who are interested in increasing the circulation prices due to the dwindling
advertisements revenue. New York Times,
after incurring huge loss, has
increased the circulation prices and became less
dependent on advertisement revenue. Advertisers increasingly use the TV
Channels and internet for releasing their ads and newspapers and started
demanding less tariffs and more space.
The newspaper prices in many
countries are governed by state regulations. In India the relevant law is ‘The
Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956’. This is an Act to provide for the regulation
of the prices charged for newspapers in relation to their pages and of matters
connected therewith for the purpose of preventing unfair competition among
newspapers so that newspapers may have fuller opportunities of freedom of
expression. At that point of time when the Act was passed, the purpose was
mainly to create a level playing field in the business of print media.
The Act stated as follows:
If the Central
Government is of opinion that for the purpose of preventing unfair competition
among newspapers so that newspapers generally and in particular, newspapers
with smaller resources and those published in Indian languages may have fuller
opportunities of freedom of expression, it is necessary or expedient so to do,
the Central Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official
Gazette, make an order providing for the regulation of the prices charged for
newspapers in relation to their maximum or minimum number of pages, sizes or
areas and for the space to be allotted for advertising matter in relation to
other matters therein.
However in a landmark judgment in
the case of Sakal Papers (P) Ltd., And Others vs The Union Of India (1962 AIR
305), the Daily Newspapers (Price and Control) Order, 1960, which fixed a
minimum price and number of pages, which a newspaper is entitled to publish,
was challenged as unconstitutional. The court held as follows:
The freedom of
speech and expression of opinion is of paramount importance under a democratic Constitution which envisages
changes in the composition of legislatures and governments and must be
preserved. No doubt, the law in question was made upon the recommendation of
the Press Commission but since its object is to affect directly the right of
circulation of newspapers which would necessarily undermine their power to
influence public opinion it cannot
but be regarded as a dangerous weapon which is capable of being used against
democracy itself. In these circumstances the Act and the Order cannot be
sustained upon the ground that it merely implements a recommendation of the
Press Commission and was thus not made
with an ulterior object. The decision in Hamdard Dawakhana (Wakf) v. Union of India upon which reliance was placed
by the respondent in support of the contention that where an enactment is challenged on the ground of violation of fundamental rights it is
legitimate to take into consideration several factors including the purpose of the legislation, the mischief
intended to be suppressed, the remedy purposed by the legislature and the true
reason for that remedy does not, therefore, arise for consideration. Similarly
since the Act taken in conjunction with the order made thereunder operates as a
restraint on the freedom of Speech and expression of newspapers the mere fact
that its object was to suppress unfair practices by newspapers would not validate
them. Carrying on unfair practices may be a matter for condemnation. But that
would be no ground for placing restrictions on the right of circulation.
Though
newspapers do wonderful service in disseminating news and views irrespective of
the number of circulations, editions or pages, there are a few newspapers that
exist only to serve 'sectoral' or parochial interests in a biased manner. Some papers are
printed only to earn from the government
advertisements by inflating their circulation. Some of the leading national
dailies fill up more than 60% of space with sponsored stuff on some days.
Concluding note
It is necessary to have suitable
amendments in the pricing regulations of newspapers, not just for ensuring a
level playing field or for making the business profitable, but also to fix a
reasonable price so that the readers can get unadulterated news and less of
sponsored stuff. Press councils should have more representation from the public
so that their genuine expectations are taken care of. Newspapers should not be
allowed to form cartels and function against the interest of the readers. Many
other crucial issues related to media ethics are not dealt with in this article
that exclusively focused on the scope of paying more for getting quality, with
the assumption that newspapers would no longer justify their frantic marketing efforts
for getting sponsorship for survival.
Views are personal. Post your views as comments below.
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