Language vs. English Newspapers

• Language newspapers are published in different languages spoken in a country
• Language newspapers are regional papers
• There are papers written in more than 100 languages in India
• However, the papers are only mainly published in 16 languages

Differences Between English and Language Papers

• English newspapers are in English only
• Language newspapers are published in different languages
• English papers are in big cities and towns although language papers are throughout the country
• English, cater to well-educated, upper and middle class people of higher incomes
• Language papers are read by middle and lower classes
• English papers have less penetration in rural public whereas language dailies have more penetration in the rural areas
• English follow a British tradition, whereas language papers have created their own
• English papers make more money on advertising because they have better circulation, and language papers do not make as much from advertisements
• English papers are colourful and ‘flamboyant’ whereas language papers are simple

Growth of Language Newspapers in India

• When India became independent there were 3,533 publications
• 330 were newspapers and 3,203 were periodicals
• There are over 12 times the number of publications now that there was back then
• In 1997 there were 41,705 with 4,719 papers
• In 2006, there were 45,600 with 5,600 papers
• 398 major newspapers have 30,772,000 copies in circulation
• India is the world's largest newspaper market after China
• Newspaper readership is booming in India and China, not in Europe or the US
• China has 98.70 million copies in circulation
• India has 88.90 million copies in circulation
• Japan has 69.10 million
• Two ways to calculate the growth of newspapers are circulation and readership
• One of the reasons that readership is higher for language newspapers is that English ones are in cities and towns, but the language ones are in rural areas as well

Reasons For Newspaper Boom

• Steadily rising literacy rates in the states
• More people are reading and writing
• Robin Jeffrey said the fastest growth rates in newspaper circulation rates were in states where there were the strongest growth rates of literacy
• Expansion of the middle class leads to an increase in circulation
• India has 350 million people who can read and write but don’t buy newspapers
• Education of women increases the education of children, so awareness is up along with readership
• Tech advancements make publishing easier
• Increased purchasing power, and falling prices help with newspaper growth
• Aggressive marketing strategies with gifts and concessions grow sales
• More people are more aware of political life and taking interest in reading newspapers

Growth of Language Newspapers

• Reasons that newspapers in India have grown apply to the growth of language newspapers
• Language press was looked down on but this changed with the rise of language as a medium
• India is a rural economy, with >60% percent of people living in rural areas
• More than 16 crore households live in rural areas
• Indian farmers, who used to live in debt, have become one of the most influential groups in society
• Marked change in coverage of local news helps newspapers rise
• Covering local matters boosted newspapers in places like the southern states
• Covering issues that concern ordinary people rises newspaper circulation
• The rural people now have a medium to express themselves
• Starting multiple editions grows the language press, since originally papers only came from a state capital
• Now newspaper owners start even in smaller district centres
• Advertising also helped the growth of newspapers because it allowed them to target rural markets

Studies About The Press In India

• The newspaper revolution in India is studied by researchers and agencies
• Studies cover the colonial period and after India’s independence
• Some studies divide this into emergency and post-emergency periods
• The Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI)
• The National Readership Council of India (NRCI)
• The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC)
  • All do annual studies on newspapers
  • The government of India has appointed two press commissions and released reports on the Indian media

Diversity Of The Language Press

• Through the independence struggle and after, the Indian newspapers flourished and expanded and gained wide readership
• The growth of the Indian press has been impressive, compared to other developing countries
• There are papers in India in more than 100 languages, although only 22 are constitutionally recognized
• The Registrar of Newspapers for India said it’s important that all citizens have the right to information and the happenings inside and outside of the country
• With information technology, audio and visual media are here but statistics say print always finds its own level
  • Print media has responded, accepted information technology, and has affordable prices and readership
  • People prefer regional papers and that is why they're venturing out to bring editions from other cities where people speak their language

Early Growth Period of Language Newspapers

• According to Naresh Khanna, Malayalam, Bengali, Hindi and Marathi had the fastest growth between ‘98 and 2000
• In that time, Telugu, Urdu, Tamil, Oriya and Kannada stagnated or declined
• Malayala Manorama, a language daily in Malayalam, started being the largest daily in India by the 1980’s
• Malayala Manorama kept this place for over a decade
• Ananda Bazar Patrika in Bengal became continuously the largest from one centre, Kolkata
• Hindi papers started growing to a big way which surpassed the others in circulation
• Today, Dainik Jagaran and Dainik Bhaskar are the two largest circulated dailies with 20 Million+ readership
• Most language papers recovered in the late 1990’s, according to the National Readership Survey of 2006, that newspaper readership in rural areas grow so fast that I paralleled the readership in urban areas

Recent Trends

• According to the annual report of the RNI for 2005-06
• During 2005-06, 2074 newspapers were registered
• Four newspapers ceased publication
• As of March 31, 2006, there were 62,483 registered newspapers, compared to 60,413 a year earlier
• Total circulation went up from 15,67,19,209 copies, to 18,07,38,611 copies
• As per the data, Hindi has the most number of newspapers being published (4131)
• Next highest is English
• After that, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali and Marathi
• In circulation, Hindi has 7,66,98,490 copies circulating
• English comes second with 3,41,06,816
• then Gujarati, Urdu and Malayalam
• Among language dailies, Hindi is first again, then English
• other languages that publish >100 dailies are Urdu (191), t Telugu (147) Marathi (130) and Gujarati (100)

State-Wise Analysis

• From annual statements in 2005-06, there were 2130 dailies published
• Claimed circulation was at 8,88,63,048 copies, 12.93% higher than previous year
• Hindi has 942 dailies, with 7,66,98,490 copies,
• with English having 201, having 3,41,06,816 copies.
• Uttar Pradesh (1913), followed by Delhi (1133), Gujarat (817), Rajasthan (742), Maharashtra (642) and West Bengal (505)
• Uttar Pradesh topped in total circulation, with Delhi second, and Maharashtra third
• Orissa has a notable distinction as publishing papers in 17 languages
• Delhi and Maharashtra next, with 11
• Kerala, 9
• Gujarat, 6
• Uttar Pradesh publishes the highest number of papers in a single language, 1608 in Hindi

Circulation and Readership Levels

• One newspaper may be read by multiple people
• Circulation vs readership
• If a newspaper has one lakh circulation, it may be read by about five lakh people in reality
• Entities that maintain records of newspapers
  • The Registrar of News Papers for India (RNI)
  • The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC)
• The RNI was made by the government of India in ‘56 due to recommendations from the Press Commission
• They oversee the activities of the press in India and publish reports annually giving an idea of circulation and readership

Unhealthy Trends

• While the growth of newspapers is a welcome sign, there are also issues
• Intense competition results in unhealthy practices like predatory price wars
• One Newspaper lowers prices and increases circulation, but it gets met with another cut by rivals
• Small and medium papers suffer because they cannot afford to keep lowering the prices
• Advertisements account for much revenue so governmental control means less criticism of government
• Cut-throat competition causes threats to journalistic values
• There are instances of media excesses, fake sting ops, glamourization of criminals, hate, inflaming emotions etc
• Media houses resort to mudslinging, and say products are superior and rivals are inferior
• Media houses sometimes woo people with gifts

Future of Language Press

• India’s economy is fast rising
• Gap between urban and rural is smaller
• Growth of industry
• Modern communication systems and purchasing power allow for increased circulation