Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Media War in Offing at Agra
By Brij Khandelwal
Agra: Launch of a new newspaper, ‘Dainik Hindustan’, is set to intensify the war in Agra's Hindi print media where ‘Amar Ujala’ and ‘Dainik Jagran’ are the major players and ‘Dainik Aaj’ fights for mind space.
For journalists who switched loyalty, it's a quantum jump in salaries and perks, but the mainstay of any daily newspaper - the tribe of vendors - are in a fix as rival groups are offering all kinds of lollipops, including insurance cover.
Over the years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of newspaper readers in the area, who are indeed a pampered lot.
"Whichever newspaper offers us better and more attractive gifts and schemes, in addition to routine contents, will be bought by us," advocate Sudhir Gupta told Www.mediabharti.com .
Old newspaper loyalties no longer work these days, explains 79-year-old newspaper vendor Chokhey Lal who has been distributing newspapers for half a century. "Readers' tastes have changed and they now go for gloss and glitter," he adds.
There are even reports of some strong-arm tactics by rival groups of vendors trying to prevent the entry of an "outsider" newspaper.
With ‘Dainik Hindustan’, of the Hindustan Times group, set to launch a few more editions in the Hindi heartland, the battle for supremacy could see a chain of new experiments and marketing strategies.
"At the end of the day, it will be the consumer who will stand to gain the most," predicts media pundit Ajay Pratap Singh of the journalism and mass communication department at Agra University.
Agra: Launch of a new newspaper, ‘Dainik Hindustan’, is set to intensify the war in Agra's Hindi print media where ‘Amar Ujala’ and ‘Dainik Jagran’ are the major players and ‘Dainik Aaj’ fights for mind space.
For journalists who switched loyalty, it's a quantum jump in salaries and perks, but the mainstay of any daily newspaper - the tribe of vendors - are in a fix as rival groups are offering all kinds of lollipops, including insurance cover.
Over the years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of newspaper readers in the area, who are indeed a pampered lot.
"Whichever newspaper offers us better and more attractive gifts and schemes, in addition to routine contents, will be bought by us," advocate Sudhir Gupta told Www.mediabharti.com .
Old newspaper loyalties no longer work these days, explains 79-year-old newspaper vendor Chokhey Lal who has been distributing newspapers for half a century. "Readers' tastes have changed and they now go for gloss and glitter," he adds.
There are even reports of some strong-arm tactics by rival groups of vendors trying to prevent the entry of an "outsider" newspaper.
With ‘Dainik Hindustan’, of the Hindustan Times group, set to launch a few more editions in the Hindi heartland, the battle for supremacy could see a chain of new experiments and marketing strategies.
"At the end of the day, it will be the consumer who will stand to gain the most," predicts media pundit Ajay Pratap Singh of the journalism and mass communication department at Agra University.
# posted by mediabhartiwebsolutions @ 7:41 AM 
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