It is found that a large majority of the small newspapers
are not capable of self-sufficient growth and cannot be regarded as
economically viable units. The total number of new Hindi dailies started
recently is 184. Of these 14 were in English and the rest in the various Indian
languages. Out of these, 63 dailies ceased publication, placing the mortality
rate at 34%.
It is significant to note that no daily started by a chain
or a multiple group has had to close down. On the contrary, the circulation of
such new dailies rose rapidly. An example is the ’Maharashtra Times’, started
in 1962 by Bennett Coleman group of newspapers. It attained a circulation of
64,000 in two years. Among the non-chain papers still existent, ‘Indore Samachar’ attained a maximum of 10,000 circulation.
The circulations of the existing newspapers reckoned as
better off (in the context of the Indian situation, a paper may be counted as
better off if it just breaks even) fall within the range of 2,000 to 5,000.
However, majority of papers have circulations below 2,000. In the field of weeklies and monthlies, the mortality rate
is even higher. For instance, in 1964 about 200 weeklies closed down in the
country; 98 were published from State Capitals and the rest from other towns.
It should be remembered that the State capitals are major centres , of
publication both because of their higher literacy and the existence of an industrial economy. In other towns where publications are
scarcer and the economic base is poorer, the mortality is 50%.
The problems of small Hindi news dailies are the same in
every State. They relate to the lack of transport and communication facilities,
inadequate printing machinery, costly
news services, inadequate information sources, untrained staff, lack of
economic support, absence of credit facilities and consultation service,
shortage of newsprint, insufficient advertisement revenue, to mention only the
more important ones.
Consequently, many of the small newspapers, in order to
exist, indulge in what is characterized as irresponsible journalism. Such
papers are conspicuous in content development, among other things, for sensational headlines,
character assassination, and slanted news and editorials calculated to incite
communal or sexual passions and class hatred. And communal passions can easily
be aroused in a country where are five distinct religious groups and a number of small religious sects and social groups living
together on the same soil.
To mention only a few of the irresponsible practices of the
small newspapers, obscenity comes in handy to promote circulation. Even some
papers of good standing resort to it in order to boost circulation. Specially
with a view to getting advertisements, anti-Government propaganda and character
assassination of those who can favour one with advertisements are indulged in.
To give an example of the modus operandi of some such newspapers, a note was published in an
issue of a newspaper stating that the next issue would expose a particular
officer’s public conduct. Allegedly, this had the object of demoralizing the
officer and extorting from him money or some favor. If the hush money was paid,
or the favour granted, no publication was made.
Pornographic stuff is comparatively cheap; and that is one
reason why papers with small means are tempted to use this kind of material
more than any other. The fact that some big papers also indulge in
irresponsible journalism of this kind is no comfort. They attempt to make the
best of both the worlds, wishfully thinking that the readers want it. Besides,
it is all in the economic facts of the trade.
The widespread use of astrological predictions in the
newspapers is not to be regarded as an indication of zeal for the resuscitation
and development of an ancient art. This gimmick has the object of boosting
circulation, and it does, too. The fatalistic outlook and attitude of the
half-literate Indian reader, a distill in his mind of the philosophical and religious heritage as popularly understood, provides a
fertile base for popularizing a newspaper which otherwise may have nothing
better to offer.
With most small newspapers, the general complaint is that
metropolitan papers offer a stiff competition even in remote towns. For
instance, some of the Delhi and Bombay
dailies freighted by air command a good circulation in the capital of Andhra
Pradesh, Hyderabad , which is about 900 miles
from Delhi and about 500 miles from Bombay . The local papers
of Hyderabad
which - beset as they are by many problems to which the metropolitan press is
not prone - must, perforce, be inferior to the metropolitan dailies in every
respect, and cannot easily expand their circulation. This problem is common to
all papers in all States. Big papers have speedier means of transport to
distant parts of the country.
How much modes of communication mean to a small paper can be
gauged from the fact that a newspaper from Calcutta
(W. Bengal) reaches Chota Nagpur in Bihar State in just four hours, while a
paper published in nearby Patna, the capital of Bihar, takes as many as 13
hours. in districts like Muzaffarnagar and Darbhanga, no local daily has come
out because of relentless competition from the metropolitan papers.
A good example of metropolitan papers corroding into the
circulations of smaller newspapers in far-off places is provided by the Madhya
Pradesh Press, located geographically in the centre of the sub-continent.
Newspapers published from Delhi (in the
north-west ) have a good circulation in places like Gwalior ,
Bhopal etc. (situated about 500 miles from Delhi ) where they reach quite early by train.
Bombay (West coast) papers get to Indore , Ratlam, Khandwa
etc. (situated in the range of 400-500 miles) earlier. Calcutta
(East) papers have acquired good circulations in Raipur , Bhilai (distance between 500 to 600
miles). Allahabad
(north) papers cover Rewa, Satna etc. (distance between 100 to 200 miles).
In most States, commercial advertisement support to small
newspapers is non-existent, so that they have to depend on Government
advertisements, for which the budget, as things stand, is limited. Most of the
advertising budget is placed with the big newspapers in the State or region, as
the choice has to be made between the effective Press and the total Press.
Also, advertisements have to be given on the basis of circulation, so that
papers with bigger circulations get away with the lion’s share.
So far as reading matter is concerned, papers belonging to
multiple units, chains and groups of newspapers can, and do, give exclusive
coverage of national and international affairs. These big papers have surplus
printing capacity, so that they are able to produce different city editions,
with the result that small newspapers and periodicals are at a disadvantage in competing with them. An example is the
’Indian Express’, which is published from New Delhi ,
Bombay , Madras , Madurai , Vijayawada and Bangalore .
One handicap with small newspapers is the paucity of good
news and feature services at cheap rates. While the big papers subscribe to
most of the news and feature syndicates, and besides have their own
correspondents and news services as well, small papers find it beyond their
means to subscribe to news agency services, let alone having their own
correspondents. They have often a problem to fill their pages with quality
material. The small newspapers usually depend on radio news bulletins and the
news releases by the Government Information Bureau, and various commercial
houses and embassies, and most often the material from such sources is delayed
in the post and becomes stale by the time it appears in print. Obviously, this
leaves a good deal to be desired. Items like features and general articles,
literary articles and a magazine section, etc., are missing from small
newspapers.
The coverage of economic and social life, which fall in the
region of special assignments, is poor. Items like education of the young would seem to bc
an impossible burden for small newspapers. Such important subjects as progress
made in the field of agriculture, industries and fisheries, in a particular
district are never covered, though these should be a ’must’, specially for the
local Press, as it reflects the progress the community and the nation is making
in a developing economy. On the contrary, in imitation of the big newspapers,
small newspapers most often are tempted to give news about towns and big
cities. Most of them, as a status symbol, will have a correspondent stationed
in Delhi and Bombay , hundreds of miles away, rather than
in rural areas where matters of local interest are crying aloud for attention.
