[Reader-list] WSJ on the Indian media - "Want Press Coverage? Give Me Some Money"

Mon May 11 17:26:20 IST 2009

Dear Anupam

I was saddened by your comment "i think i know your precise intention in attacking whatever i have been writing and trying to cite a contradiction,". Just stating it, will not argue over it. You are entitled to your subjective presumptions.

It would be irrational and unreasonable for Newspaper Corporates that function on a 'For-Profit' basis to receive 'subsidized Newsprint' from the 'State'. 

Newsprint is freely available in the market. Domestic production (reportedly) caters to roughly 50% of the demand. Imports are on unrestricted OGL. As happens with most other products where there is split supply from Domestics and Imports meeting the demand, the Prices would vary in the Market at different times but will try to maintain equivalence between Domestics and Imports.

Yes this would mean that Newspapers have to pro-actively manage both costs and revenues since Newsprint accounts for (reportedly) 50% of the costs. But that is an essential part of any 'For-Profit Business'. 

Your information about domestic producers of Newsprint (essential suppliers) are all under control of GOI does not appear to be correct. Even if it were, nothing stops the user from buying from elsewhere (Imports). But if the expectation is one one of "State subsidized supply" that is a ridiculous expectation from any 'For-Profit Newspaper' 

You say that "todays news paper are mostly earning their revenue from the state corporations" That could well be an element of the Revenue Model. But, is there anything of significance that suggests that the "State" is through that exercising any undue control on the Newspapers (at least on the 'major' newspapers)?

On the contrary, there has been much reporting of how some Newspapers have succumbed to pressures from Non-Govt enterprises who provide Ad-Revenue and have as per demand censored out or promoted news. TOI (as an example) having gained notoriety just some time back.

In fact, the "State" seems to have been quite supportive in recent times towards the financial constraints faced by Newspapers.

In Feb 2009 'newsprint, glazed newsprint and light weight newsprint used for printing magazines' was exempted from customs duty. It was in any case low at 3% for Newsprint and 5% for 'magazine Newsprint'

It has been reported that simultaneously 'ad rates paid by various government agencies, through the department of advertising and visual publicity' (DAVP) were raised by 30%. 

On the issue of who produces Newsprint in India, this extract from an Industry source (perhaps 2005 figures) might be of interest since it contradicts the idea that the "State" is the primary source:

""""" Manufacturing capacity for the Indian newsprint industry is spread across six mills (with a cumulative) production capacity 418,000 tonnes). In the public sector and around 30 mills (with an aggregate capacity of 315,000 tonnes) in the private sector"""""'

Honestly, I have failed to understand on what basis you made the statement "free press is marginalised by the state and its functionaries"

Kshmendra

--- On Sun, 5/10/09, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com> wrote:

From: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] WSJ on the Indian media - "Want Press Coverage? Give Me Some Money"
To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Sunday, May 10, 2009, 8:03 PM

Dear Kshmendra,

It is only Times of india and Hindu which can afford to import newsprint for
all the editions of newspaper. there are three factories which essentially
supply newsprint, Nepanagar, Jagiroad, and im not sure about the third. all
these newsprint industries are under GoI and the production is accordingly
controlled.
However, i maintain that there are other forms of media for example internet
where media can remain independent and fair. but due to the limited reach
this medium has not proved to be success especially in the rural areas.

you are not wrongly pointing out anything but i think i know your precise
intention in attacking whatever i have been writing and trying to cite a
contradiction, which surprisingly is a learning for me as well. so you are
not wrong in any case. the onus remains on the newspaper and kind of profits
it can make to keep itself out of the state control. moreover, with the news
of recession and other such things, todays news paper are mostly earning
their revenue from the state corporations

thanks anupam

On 5/10/09, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>    Dear Anupam
>
> You wrote "free press is marginalised by the state and its
functionaries.",
> seemingly linking it up with "newspapers essentially buy newsprint
from
> state."
>
> Isnt Newsprint in India freely available, freely importable? Where does
the
> "State" come in other than in specifying Import Duties (which
are not
> exploitative) and local taxation?
>
> Yes there was a time when there was next to none Newsprint production in
> India and it's Import was controlled by the "State Trading
Corpn."
> (STC), the "State" thereby exercising pressures through rationed
allocations
> of Newsprint.
>
> That is not the situation now. Is it?
>
> If I am not mistaken, Newsprint continues to be made available by the
> "State" at SUBSIDISED rates for specific purposes and in limited
quantities
> allocated to specific users. But it is the "User's" choice
to source such
> Newsprint from the "State". It is not forced upon anyone.
>
> There is no compulsion on Newspapers to buy Newsprint from the
"State".
>
> Please correct me if my understanding(s) are wrong because I found your
> statement strange and (to the extent of the knowledge I have) conveying an
> incorrect impression of there being State Control or State Pressure on
> Newspapers through control on Newsprint.
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
> --- On *Fri, 5/8/09, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>*
wrote:
>
>
> From: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] WSJ on the Indian media - "Want Press
Coverage?
> Give Me Some Money"
> To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Friday, May 8, 2009, 12:30 PM
>
> certain other truths about newspapers:
>
> newspapers essentially buy newsprint from state.
>
> one newspaper costs Rs 15, while its sold for Rs 3-4 to the reader.
>
> free press is marginalised by the state and its functionaries.
>
> a reporter essentially fears a rejoinder.
>
>
>
>
> On 5/8/09, sukanya ghosh <skinnyghosh at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Sad but true. It's no surprise to learn of coverage
> 'bartering' for
> > politicians. Seems to me a logical enough step considering that most
> > other news coverage can consist of bought spaces. The entertainment
> > pages (which unfortunately bleed their way insidiously into most
other
> > pages) are established norms for this. It seems to me that a
'free
> > press' in our country exists in a very marginal way. Someone I
met
> once
> > who worked for a leading English language daily told me very
pompously
> > that 'they' (read 'educated journalist'), had nothing
to
> do with and
> > were not to be associated with what the rest of the paper was saying.
> > Their reach consisted of being confined to the editorial pages of
which
> > they were supremely proud of. Never mind that the paper has various
> > other pages of 'news', many supplements and an incredibly bad
> Sunday
> > magazine. Are we to be thankful that we have a page of actual reading
> > material (some of it occasionally good) and assume the rest is all
> > trash? Another leading daily in another city (also English) has in
place
> > various marketing bundles which allow you to 'purchase' news
> coverage.
> > And these are not covert or shadowy backroom deals  - it's all
very
> out
> > there for the right buyers. We see newspapers, news channels owned by
> > particular organisations who seem to spend a lot of their time
exhorting
> > the virtues of events / news pertaining to those organisations. And
my
> > pet grouse, all this while the arts sections keep shrinking in size
day
> > by day. Where trying to get coverage for an event / exhibition / book
> > (no matter how significant) can lead to nail biting finish, wondering
if
> > the reporter (who has been given detailed press releases) will at
least
> > get the name right.
> >
> > The irony being of course that there is no dearth of news of the
> > sensational variety if one were to attempt to report just facts in
the
> > case of Indian politics. But that would mean effort and interest. And
> > that surely is lacking in our press coverages.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Rana Dasgupta wrote:
> > > Want Press Coverage? Give Me Some Money
> > >
> > > By PAUL BECKETT
> > >
> > > Ajay Goyal is a serious, independent candidate contesting for a
Lok
> > > Sabha seat in Chandigarh.
> > > Never heard of him? Neither, probably, have a lot of people in
> > > Chandigarh because when it came to getting press coverage for
his
> > > campaign he was faced with a simple message: If you want press,
you
> have
> > > to pay.
> > >
> > > So far, he says, he's been approached by about 10 people –
some
> brokers
> > > and public relations managers acting on behalf of newspaper
owners,
> some
> > > reporters and editors – with the message that he'll only
get
> written
> > > about in the news pages for a fee. We're not talking
advertising;
> we're
> > > talking news.
> > >
> > > One broker offered three weeks of coverage in four newspapers
for 10
> > > lakh rupees ($20,000). A reporter and a photographer from a
> Chandigarh
> > > newspaper told him that for 1.5 lakh rupees ($3,000) for them
and a
> > > further 3 lakh rupees ($6,000) for other reporters, they could
> guarantee
> > > coverage in up to five newspapers for two weeks.
> > >
> > > "We would do good coverage for you," he says they told
him.
> All of those
> > > who approached him either were from national Hindi language
papers or
> > > regional papers, Mr. Goyal says.
> > >
> > > “You want a front page photo for free? This is something
people pay
> for.”
> > >
> > > In one case, he went along to see what would happen: a press
release
> he
> > > submitted full of falsehoods – claiming he had campaigned in
places
> he
> > > had never been, for instance – ran verbatim. One thing he has
never
> seen
> > > on his real campaign: a reporter there to cover the story.
> > >
> > > "It's disappointing," Mr. Goyal says. "What
good
> is literacy and
> > > education if people have no access to real news, investigation,
> > > skepticism or a questioning reporter."
> > >
> > > At the nexus of corruption in India, the nation's newspapers
> usually
> > > play either vigilante cop exposing wrongdoing in the public
interest
> (on
> > > a good day, at a few publications) or spineless patsy killing
stories
> on
> > > the orders of powerful advertisers. Many papers also engage in
> practices
> > > that cross the ethical line between advertising and editorial in
a
> way
> > > that is opaque, if not downright obscure, to readers.
> > >
> > > But it is of another order of magnitude to see reporters,
editors and
> > > newspaper owners holding the democratic process to ransom. A
free (in
> > > every sense) press is an integral part of a vibrant democracy. A
> corrupt
> > > press is both symptom and perpetrator of a rotten democracy.
> > >
> > > "I'm not saying all media is biased but there is a
growing
> sense in
> > > people's minds that a lot of the media is biased," says
Anil
> Bairwal,
> > > national coordinator of National Election Watch. "Some do
it in
> a
> > > sublime manner and some do it openly."
> > >
> > > So why are we surprised when the voter turnout is so low,
despite the
> > > much-touted surge of political awareness among the young and
> > > post-Mumbai? It's all part and parcel of the public disgust
with
> the
> > > political system and the pillars of the Establishment that
support
> that
> > > system as well. For every newly-minted reform-minded,
politically
> aware
> > > voter, there are probably hundreds of jaded citizens who just
decide
> the
> > > heck with it.
> > >
> > > How widespread is the practice of pay per say?
> > >
> > > The best-known English-language dailies typically don't do
it so
> > > blatantly, candidates and others involved in the elections say.
> Rather,
> > > those papers are more likely to hue closely to one major party
or the
> > > other, making it tough for candidates who don't fit the
> papers' view of
> > > the world to be heard. But in the Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati
media, to
> > > name a few, the practice is widespread, candidates say.
> > >
> > > N. Gopalaswami, retired Chief Election Commissioner, says in an
> > > interview, "This is not something that can be ignored. It
is not
> just a
> > > few apparent cases, it is much more than that."
> > >
> > > He has heard of newspapers proferring a rate card - one price
for
> > > positive coverage, another for not negative coverage. The
commission
> > > heard complaints in both 2007 and 2008 about candidates being
charged
> > > for coverage. Among them, the national Communist parties who
> don't have
> > > the deep coffers to spend on campaigns.
> > >
> > > In Mumbai, a city appropriately geared to commerce, politicians
are
> > > faced with multiple payment options. Consider these phrases from
> > > newspaper editors and brokers, which I culled from campaigners:
> > >
> > > "You want a front page photo for free? This is something
people
> pay for."
> > >
> > > "If you want a picture in there or if you want a story, we
have
> to be
> > paid."
> > >
> > > "We're going to publish the interview, but you need to
buy
> 5,000 copies
> > > of our paper."
> > >
> > > "1.2 lakhs ($2,400) for the next two weeks and I will take
care
> of all
> > > that coverage."
> > >
> > > —Paul Beckett is the WSJ's bureau chief in New Delhi
> > > _________________________________________
> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
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> >
> > --
> > sukanya ghosh / +91 9831306925
> >
> > _________________________________________
> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> > Critiques & Collaborations
> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
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> _________________________________________
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