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MEDIA IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PILLARS OF DEMOCRARY – ARJUN SINGH

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=27364 Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Ministry of Human Resource Development MEDIA IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PILLARS OF DEMOCRARY – ARJUN SINGH 19:7 IST Shri Arjun Singh, Human Resource Development Minister has said that among the institutions that contribute to the makeup of a public sphere in society, the media perhaps perform the most critical function. While inaugurating the 'Media and its Responsibilities' Seminar here today the Minister said the media is rightly acknowledged as one of the important pillars of democracy. 'It is always interesting to study how the media report and interpret political events and issues, and how media itself influences the political processes and shapes public opinion' he said. Shri Arjun Singh said the face of Indian Media has been fast changing on account of growth of Internet, the phenomenal rise of Satellite & Cable networks, the continuing growth of regional press and blurring of lines between news and entertainment. This has obviously led to technological and commercial pressures and changes in professional practices for the media sector. Against this backdrop, it is important for small and medium newspapers to make efforts to occupy a special place for itself in media sector. The Minister said the small and medium newspapers are largely catering to information, communication and entertainment needs of rural and semi-urban India. They draw their strength from being local. One needs to appreciate that people belonging particularly to rural areas possibly would not have access to mediums like internet and satellite and cable television. Their information requirement could either be met by Doordarshan, Radio or newspapers. Thus, the small and medium newspapers have a greater responsibility in dissemination of news among the rural people. Therefore, it is very important for the small and medium newspapers to grow in order to ensure multiple access to media by everyone, including the poor and underprivileged sections of our society. Shri Arjun Singh said that he is aware that the issues impinging on the growth of the small and medium newspapers are small scale of production and lack of resources for continuous technological improvements in its production process. Small newspapers, because of their inherent disability to circulate in huge numbers, and their localized nature, fail to attract enough commercial advertisements, adversely affecting the quality of news gathering and the final product i.e. newspaper. He said that in any case, the mangers of the small and medium papers would need to continuously find ways and means to sustain themselves and yet be an important source of information to their targeted population. S/Shri Bhishma Narain Singh, former Governor of many states, Sardar Joginder Singh, former CBI Director, Dr. G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, former Election Commissioner, Mrs. Deepak Sandhu, Director General (Media & Communications) Press Information Bureau, Gurinder Singh, President of All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation and Tom Vadakkan also participated in the seminar. HB/RP/SL -- Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to ZESTMedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ theZESTcommunity------------------------------------------------- ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/ ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/ ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/ TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/

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Circulation Falls at Many Papers

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117794322255886957-MDbucolIu_Dq074nc14qWrtEYLA_20080430.html?mod=livemint Circulation Falls at Many Papers By SARAH ELLISON May 1, 2007; Page B7 Many of the nation's newspapers continued to post circulation declines, reflecting the industry's continuing battle to hold onto readers migrating to the Internet and other media, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Average daily circulation of the 745 newspapers reporting data fell 2.1% for the six months ended March 31, compared with the year-earlier period, according to an analysis from the Newspaper Association of America, an industry group. The rate of decline was a little less than in the past several reporting periods. "Things are getting worse at a slightly lower rate," said John Morton, an independent newspaper analyst. The biggest declines occurred at large metropolitan papers such as Tribune Co.'s Newsday of Long Island, down 6.9%, and Belo Corp.'s Dallas Morning News, where circulation fell 14%. About half of the Morning News' decline came from its decision to cut back distribution to within a 100-mile perimeter of Dallas-Forth Worth, as well as an effort to cut back on bulk circulation, the paper said. The past six months have been tumultuous for the industry, with the auction of Tribune, and the sale of such venerable papers as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which McClatchy Co. sold to a private-equity firm earlier this year. While executives have adopted such measures as changing their companies' ownership structures, these moves haven't addressed the underlying challenges facing the industry. Daily circulation of U.S. newspapers peaked in 1984, and since then has fallen nearly 16% to 53.3 million as of 2005, according to the NAA. In recent years, publishers have beefed up their Web sites in an effort to capture more readers online. But newspapers still aren't able to charge comparable rates for online advertising, so online revenue has yet to make up for print advertising revenue declines. To highlight newspaper readership online, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, a nonprofit association of advertisers, ad agencies and publishers, is working on a system to consistently track combined print and online circulation. While newspapers are losing readers, publishers are doing a better job of holding onto the readers they have. The NAA said that last year, subscriber churn -- the percentage of subscribers that dropped their subscriptions in the previous year -- fell to 36.5%, down from 54.5% in 2000. The circulation report showed the pressures on Tribune, which recently decided to go private in an $8.2 billion buyout. In addition to the falloff at Newsday, the company's biggest title, the Los Angeles Times reported a 4.2% decline in circulation to 815,723. The Chicago Tribune, another big Tribune paper, reported a 2.1% decline to 566,827 in the latest period. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which was sold last year to a group of private investors, reported a 0.61% increase in circulation compared with the year-earlier period. It was the paper's first gain in total circulation since 2004. New York Times Co. said circulation at its flagship paper fell 1.93% to 1.12 million. The Dallas Morning News was included in the ABC report for the first time in two years. The Morning News was one of a number of newspapers that admitted several years ago to inflating its circulation figures. It was excluded from the ABC audit for two years as a result. Ever since, the paper has made an effort to cut back on bulk circulation -- free copies of the paper delivered to such locations as hotels and airports. "We were distributing papers as far as Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas," said Jim Moroney, publisher and chief executive of the Morning News. "We've pulled back to focus on circulation that brings results for our advertisers." Mr. Moroney said the declines at the paper would likely outpace those of its peer group for another year. National papers fared better than metro dailies. Gannett Co.'s USA Today, the nation's largest paper, posted a slight 0.23% increase in circulation to 2.28 million. The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Co., reported a 0.61% increase to 2.06 million. One rivalry trumped industry trends. The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and its crosstown rival, the Daily News, owned by real-estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman, have long been locked in a fierce competition for New York readers. Those papers had the largest increases among major metropolitan daily papers, with the Post reporting a 7.6% increase for the period versus a year ago, and the Daily News reporting a 1.4% increase. But the Post's recent gains may be eroded by the paper's recent decision to double its weekday price to 50 cents a copy, up from 25 cents. Yesterday, the first day of the Post's increased price, the Daily News temporarily dropped its price to 25 cents and featured the cut-rate price on its cover. Write to Sarah Ellison at sarah.ellison@xxxxxxx -- Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to ZESTMedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ theZESTcommunity------------------------------------------------- ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/ ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/ ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/ TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/

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MEDIA IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PILLARS OF DEMOCRARY – ARJUN SINGH

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=27364 Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Ministry of Human Resource Development MEDIA IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PILLARS OF DEMOCRARY – ARJUN SINGH 19:7 IST Shri Arjun Singh, Human Resource Development Minister has said that among the institutions that contribute to the makeup of a public sphere in society, the media perhaps perform the most critical function. While inaugurating the 'Media and its Responsibilities' Seminar here today the Minister said the media is rightly acknowledged as one of the important pillars of democracy. 'It is always interesting to study how the media report and interpret political events and issues, and how media itself influences the political processes and shapes public opinion' he said. Shri Arjun Singh said the face of Indian Media has been fast changing on account of growth of Internet, the phenomenal rise of Satellite & Cable networks, the continuing growth of regional press and blurring of lines between news and entertainment. This has obviously led to technological and commercial pressures and changes in professional practices for the media sector. Against this backdrop, it is important for small and medium newspapers to make efforts to occupy a special place for itself in media sector. The Minister said the small and medium newspapers are largely catering to information, communication and entertainment needs of rural and semi-urban India. They draw their strength from being local. One needs to appreciate that people belonging particularly to rural areas possibly would not have access to mediums like internet and satellite and cable television. Their information requirement could either be met by Doordarshan, Radio or newspapers. Thus, the small and medium newspapers have a greater responsibility in dissemination of news among the rural people. Therefore, it is very important for the small and medium newspapers to grow in order to ensure multiple access to media by everyone, including the poor and underprivileged sections of our society. Shri Arjun Singh said that he is aware that the issues impinging on the growth of the small and medium newspapers are small scale of production and lack of resources for continuous technological improvements in its production process. Small newspapers, because of their inherent disability to circulate in huge numbers, and their localized nature, fail to attract enough commercial advertisements, adversely affecting the quality of news gathering and the final product i.e. newspaper. He said that in any case, the mangers of the small and medium papers would need to continuously find ways and means to sustain themselves and yet be an important source of information to their targeted population. S/Shri Bhishma Narain Singh, former Governor of many states, Sardar Joginder Singh, former CBI Director, Dr. G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, former Election Commissioner, Mrs. Deepak Sandhu, Director General (Media & Communications) Press Information Bureau, Gurinder Singh, President of All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation and Tom Vadakkan also participated in the seminar. HB/RP/SL -- Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to ZESTMedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ theZESTcommunity------------------------------------------------- ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/ ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/ ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/ TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/

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Circulation Falls at Many Papers

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117794322255886957-MDbucolIu_Dq074nc14qWrtEYLA_20080430.html?mod=livemint Circulation Falls at Many Papers By SARAH ELLISON May 1, 2007; Page B7 Many of the nation's newspapers continued to post circulation declines, reflecting the industry's continuing battle to hold onto readers migrating to the Internet and other media, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Average daily circulation of the 745 newspapers reporting data fell 2.1% for the six months ended March 31, compared with the year-earlier period, according to an analysis from the Newspaper Association of America, an industry group. The rate of decline was a little less than in the past several reporting periods. "Things are getting worse at a slightly lower rate," said John Morton, an independent newspaper analyst. The biggest declines occurred at large metropolitan papers such as Tribune Co.'s Newsday of Long Island, down 6.9%, and Belo Corp.'s Dallas Morning News, where circulation fell 14%. About half of the Morning News' decline came from its decision to cut back distribution to within a 100-mile perimeter of Dallas-Forth Worth, as well as an effort to cut back on bulk circulation, the paper said. The past six months have been tumultuous for the industry, with the auction of Tribune, and the sale of such venerable papers as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which McClatchy Co. sold to a private-equity firm earlier this year. While executives have adopted such measures as changing their companies' ownership structures, these moves haven't addressed the underlying challenges facing the industry. Daily circulation of U.S. newspapers peaked in 1984, and since then has fallen nearly 16% to 53.3 million as of 2005, according to the NAA. In recent years, publishers have beefed up their Web sites in an effort to capture more readers online. But newspapers still aren't able to charge comparable rates for online advertising, so online revenue has yet to make up for print advertising revenue declines. To highlight newspaper readership online, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, a nonprofit association of advertisers, ad agencies and publishers, is working on a system to consistently track combined print and online circulation. While newspapers are losing readers, publishers are doing a better job of holding onto the readers they have. The NAA said that last year, subscriber churn -- the percentage of subscribers that dropped their subscriptions in the previous year -- fell to 36.5%, down from 54.5% in 2000. The circulation report showed the pressures on Tribune, which recently decided to go private in an $8.2 billion buyout. In addition to the falloff at Newsday, the company's biggest title, the Los Angeles Times reported a 4.2% decline in circulation to 815,723. The Chicago Tribune, another big Tribune paper, reported a 2.1% decline to 566,827 in the latest period. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which was sold last year to a group of private investors, reported a 0.61% increase in circulation compared with the year-earlier period. It was the paper's first gain in total circulation since 2004. New York Times Co. said circulation at its flagship paper fell 1.93% to 1.12 million. The Dallas Morning News was included in the ABC report for the first time in two years. The Morning News was one of a number of newspapers that admitted several years ago to inflating its circulation figures. It was excluded from the ABC audit for two years as a result. Ever since, the paper has made an effort to cut back on bulk circulation -- free copies of the paper delivered to such locations as hotels and airports. "We were distributing papers as far as Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas," said Jim Moroney, publisher and chief executive of the Morning News. "We've pulled back to focus on circulation that brings results for our advertisers." Mr. Moroney said the declines at the paper would likely outpace those of its peer group for another year. National papers fared better than metro dailies. Gannett Co.'s USA Today, the nation's largest paper, posted a slight 0.23% increase in circulation to 2.28 million. The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Co., reported a 0.61% increase to 2.06 million. One rivalry trumped industry trends. The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and its crosstown rival, the Daily News, owned by real-estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman, have long been locked in a fierce competition for New York readers. Those papers had the largest increases among major metropolitan daily papers, with the Post reporting a 7.6% increase for the period versus a year ago, and the Daily News reporting a 1.4% increase. But the Post's recent gains may be eroded by the paper's recent decision to double its weekday price to 50 cents a copy, up from 25 cents. Yesterday, the first day of the Post's increased price, the Daily News temporarily dropped its price to 25 cents and featured the cut-rate price on its cover. Write to Sarah Ellison at sarah.ellison@xxxxxxx -- Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to ZESTMedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ theZESTcommunity------------------------------------------------- ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/ ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/ ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/ TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/