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INTRODUCTION

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Newspaper:

A newspaper is a regularly scheduled publication containing news, information, and advertising. By

2007 there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world (including 1456 in the U.S.) selling 395 million

copies a day (55 million in the U.S). The worldwide recession of 2008, combined with the rapid

growth of web-based alternatives, caused a serious decline in advertising and circulation, as many

papers closed or sharply retrenched operations.

General-interest newspapers typically publish stories on local and national political events and

personalities, crime, business, entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature

an editorial page containing editorials written by an editor and columns that express the personal

opinions of writers. Other features include display and classified advertising, comics, and inserts

from local merchants.

The newspaper is typically funded by paid subscriptions and advertising.

A wide variety of material has been published in newspapers, including editorial opinions, criticism,

persuasion and op-eds; obituaries; entertainment features such as crosswords, sudoku and

horoscopes; weather news and forecasts; advice, food and other columns; reviews of movies, plays

and restaurants; classified ads; display ads, editorial cartoons and comic strips.

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Origin of Newspapers:

The History of newspapers is arguably one of the most dramatic episodes of human experience. The

actual origin of newspapers lies in the Renaissance Europe when local merchants used to distribute

handwritten newsletters amongst each other. However it was not until the late 1400’s when Germany

introduced the precursors of printed newspapers. Since then newspapers have evolved dramatically

and today there are more than 6580 daily newspapers in the World.  A typical modern day

newspaper is filled with various materials like editor’s columns, newspaper classified ads ,

newspaper display ads, forecasts, comic strips, entertainment section and much more. Unfortunately

the sudden economic downturn has also seen the rise of electronic or web-based versions of

newspaper journals which automatically resulted in a decline in newspaper classified advertising and

circulation.

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History and origin of newspapers in India:

The history of newspapers in India is equally interesting. The introduction of newspapers in India

was hastened by the spreading sense globalization amongst the countrymen who wished to be

informed about the recent events in the world.  It was during the same time that the first newspaper

of the country was introduced in Calcutta (Kolkata).  The newspaper titled Calcutta General

Advertise or Hickey’s Bengal Gazette was introduced by an eccentric Irishman called James

Augustus Hickey during the 1780’s. In the years to come India was the establishment of another

newspaper daily in the form of Bombay Herald followed closely by Bombay Courier.

History and Evolution of Indian Newspapers:

Although there was a flurry of English broadsheets during the eighteenth century, newspapers in

regional languages made its way much later during the second half of the nineteenth century. First on

the list were two Bengali newspapers called Samachar Darpan and Bengal Gazette while the first

Hindi newspaper was Samachar Sudha Varshan. The Hindu newspaper which was launched as a

competitor of Madras Mail became the first national newspaper of the country.  Soon it became the

voice of the nation during the establishment period.

Newspapers in India, Indian press:

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Indian print media is at a massive business in the media world and its newspapers are said to offer

majority of national and international news. The history newspaper in India began in 1780, with the

publication of the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta.

The advent of the first newspaper in India occurred in the capital city of West Bengal, Calcutta (now

Kolkata). James Augustus Hickey is considered the "father of Indian press" as he started the first

Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the `Bengal Gazette` or `Calcutta General Advertise` in January,

1780. This first printed newspaper was a weekly publication. In 1789, the first newspaper from

Bombay (now Mumbai), the `Bombay Herald` appeared, followed by the `Bombay Courier` in the

following year. Later, this newspaper merged with the Times of India in 1861. These newspapers

carried news of the areas under the British rule. The first newspaper published in an Indian language

was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali. The first issue of this daily was published from the Serampore

Mission Press on May 23, 1818. Samachar Darpan, the first vernacular paper was started during the

period of Lord Hastings. In the same year, Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya started publishing another

newspaper in Bengali, the `Bengal Gazetti`. On July 1, 1822 the first Gujarati newspaper, the

Bombay Samachar, was published from Bombay, which is still in existence. The first Hindi

newspaper, the Samachar Sudha Varshan started its circulation in 1854. Since then, the prominent

Indian languages in which newspapers had been published over the years are Hindi, Marathi, Tamil,

Malayalam, Telugu, Urdu and Bengali.

The Indian language newspapers eventually took over the English newspapers according to the NRS

survey of newspapers. The main reason was the marketing strategy that was followed by the regional

papers, commencing with Eenadu - a Telugu daily started by Ramoji Rao. The second reason was

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the growing literacy rate. Increase in the literacy rate had direct positive effect on the rise of

circulation of the regional papers. The people were first educated in their mother tongue according to

their state in which they live for and eventually, the first thing a literate person would try to do is

read the vernacular papers and gain knowledge about his own locality. Moreover, localisation of

news has also contributed to the growth of regional newspapers in India. Indian regional papers have

several editions for a particular state to offer a complete scenario of local news for the reader to

connect with the paper. Malayala Manorama features about 10 editions in Kerala itself and six others

outside Kerala. Thus regional papers in India aim at providing localized news for their readers.

Eventually, the advertisers also realised the huge potential of the regional paper market, partly due to

their own research and more owing to the efforts of the regional papers to make the advertisers

aware of the huge market. These advertisers paid revenues to the newspaper house and in return

publicised their products throughout the locality. Thus, newspapers in India not only acted as news

providers but also promoters of certain market products. Some of the prominent newspapers in India

in the recent times are The Times of India, The Statesman, The Telegraph, The Economic Times,

Indian Express and so on. The Economic Times is one of the India’s leading business newspapers;

carrying news about the Economy, Companies, Infrastructure, Trends in the Economy, Finance,

Stocks, Forex and Commodities, news from around the world and from the world of politics besides

editorial and various other features. The Malayala Manorama releases daily, weekly, monthly and

annual publications from Kerala. Started in 1988 in Tamil and Telegu languages, it is now published

in other regional languages like Hindi, Bengali, as well as in English. Among the various

publications, the Malayala Manorama Daily has the largest circulation, selling about 11 lakhs 50

thousand copies daily. The Times of India was founded in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal

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of Commerce by Bennett, Coleman and Company, a colonial enterprise now owned by an Indian

conglomerate.The newspapers collected their news from the news agencies. India has four news

agencies namely, the Press Trust of India (PTI), United News of India (UNI), Samachar Bharti and

Hindustan Smachar. Newspapers and magazines in India are independent and usually privately

owned. About 5,000 newspapers, 150 of them major publications, are published daily in nearly 100

languages. Over 40,000 periodicals are also published in India. The periodicals specialize in various

subjects but the majority of them deal with subjects of general interest. During the 1950s, 214 daily

newspapers were published in the country. Out of these, 44 were English language dailies while the

rest were published in various regional languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with

209 English dailies. The total number of newspapers published in the country reached 35,595

newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies). Newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22% in 2007.

Newspapers in India have almost created a huge industry in the nation. It publishes the largest

number of `paid-for titles` in the world. In 1997, the total number of newspapers and periodicals

published in India was around 41705, which include 4720 dailies and 14743 weeklies. However, in

the last one decade the news media in India has changed rapidly. All the major news media outlets

have an accompanying news website. A new class of newspapers in India is entirely Internet based.

Newspaper circulation:

A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Newspaper

circulation rates are currently experiencing a downward trend. Circulation is one of the principal

factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called

paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the reader. Readership figures

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are usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a typical copy of the

newspaper is read by more than one person.

THE HINDU

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THE HINDU

Type Daily News Paper

Price  Rs.3.50

Owner Kasturi & Sons Ltd

Publisher The Hindu Group

Editor-in-Chief N.Ram

Founded September 20,1878

Language English

Head Quarters859,860, Anna salai,

Chennai,Tamil Nadu-600002

Circulation 14,53,450

Official Website www.thehindu.com

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The Hindu is an English-language Indian daily newspaper. With a circulation of 1.45 million,The

Hindu is the second-largest circulated daily English newspaper in India after Times of India, and

slightly ahead of The Economic Times. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2008 The

Hindu is the third most-widely read English newspaper in India (after Times of India and Hindustan

Times) with a readership of 5.2 million. It has its largest base of circulation in South India, especially

Tamil Nadu. Headquartered at Chennai (formerly called Madras), The Hindu was published weekly

when it was launched in 1878, and started publishing daily in 1889.

The Hindu became, in 1995, the first Indian newspaper to offer an online edition.

The Hindu is published from 13 locations — Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad,

Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and

Visakhapatnam

History:

The first issue of The Hindu was published on September 20, 1878, by a group of six young men, led

by G. Subramania Aiyer, a radical social reformer and school teacher from Thiruvaiyyar near

Thanjavur. Aiyer, then 23, along with his 21-year-old fellow-tutor and friend at Pachaiyappa's

College, M. Veeraraghavachariar of Chingleput, and four law students, T.T. Rangachariar, P.V.

Rangachariar, D. Kesava Rao Pantulu and N. Subba Rao Pantulu were members of the Triplicane

Literary Society. The British-controlled English language local newspapers had been campaigning

against the appointment of the first Indian, T. Muthuswami Iyer, to the Bench of the Madras High

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Court in 1878. "The Triplicane Six," in an attempt to counter the dominant attitudes in the English

language press started The Hindu on one British rupee and twelve annas of borrowed money. Aiyer

was the editor and Veeraraghavachariar the Managing Director. The first editorial declared, "[the]

Press does not only give expression to public opinion, but also modifies and moulds it."

Three of the students soon left the paper and took up careers in law, while Pantulu continued to write

for The Hindu. The founders of the newspaper maintained a neutral stance regarding British rule,

and occasionally, as in an editorial of 1894, held that British rule had been beneficial to Indian

people. "However, it was equally convinced that the Anglo-Indian Press should be challenged,

despotic bureaucrats condemned, and the abuse of power exposed," writes historian S. Muthiah.

Initially printing 80 copies a week at the Srinidhi Press in Mint Street, Black Town, The Hindu was

published every Wednesday evening as an eight-page paper, each a quarter of today's page size and

sold for four annas (1/4 Rupee). After a month of printing from the Srinidhi Press, the newspaper

switched to the Scottish Press, also in Black Town. The earliest available issue of the paper is dated

June 21, 1881. In 1881, it moved to Ragoonada Row's 'The Hindu Press' of Mylapore, with the

intention of making it tri-weekly. This plan did not materialize until it moved to the Empress of India

Press, where, starting on October 1, 1883, is was published on every Monday, Wednesday and

Friday evening; it continued maintaining the same size as before.

The offices moved to rented premises at 100 Mount Road on December 3, 1883. The newspaper

started printing at its own press there, christened "The National Press," which was established on

borrowed capital as public subscriptions were not forthcoming. The building itself became The

Hindu's in 1892, after the Maharaja of Vizianagaram, Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju, gave The

National Press a loan both for the building and to carry out needed expansion.Its assertive editorials

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earned The Hindu the nickname, the Maha Vishnu of Mount Road. "From the new address, 100

Mount Road, which to remain The Hindu's home till 1939, there issued a quarto-size paper with a

front-page full of advertisements - a practice that came to an end only in 1958 when it followed the

lead of its idol, the pre-Thomson Times - and three back pages also at the service of the advertiser. In

between, there were more views than news." After 1887, when the annual session of Indian National

Congress was held in Madras, the paper's coverage of national news increased significantly, and led

to the paper becoming an evening daily starting April 1, 1889.

The partnership between Veeraraghavachariar and Subramania Aiyer was dissolved in October 1898.

Aiyer quit the paper and Veeraraghavachariar became the sole owner and appointed C. Karunakara

Menon as editor. However, The Hindu's adventurousness began to decline in the 1900s and so did its

circulation, which was down to 800 copies when the sole proprietor decided to sell out. The

purchaser was The Hindu's Legal Adviser from 1895, S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, a politically

ambitious lawyer who had migrated from a Kumbakonam village to practise in Coimbatore and from

thence to Madras. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar's ancestors had served the courts of Vijayanagar and

Mahratta Tanjore. He traded law, in which his success was middling but his interest minimal, for

journalism, pursuing his penchant for politics honed in Coimbatore and by his association with the

`Egmore Group' led by C. Sankaran Nair and Dr T.M. Nair.

In late 1980s when its ownership passed into the hands of the family's younger members, a change in

political leaning was observed. Worldpress.org lists The Hindu as a left-leaning independent

newspaper. Joint Managing Director N. Murali said in July 2003, "It is true that our readers have

been complaining that some of our reports are partial and lack objectivity. But it also depends on

reader beliefs." N. Ram was appointed on June 27, 2003 as its editor-in-chief with a mandate to

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"improve the structures and other mechanisms to uphold and strengthen quality and objectivity in

news reports and opinion pieces", authorised to "restructure the editorial framework and functions in

line with the competitive environment" On September 3 and 23 , 2003, the reader's letters column

carried responses from readers saying the editorial was biased. An editorial in August 2003 observed

that the newspaper was affected by the 'editorialising as news reporting' virus, and expressed a

determination to buck the trend, restore the professionally sound lines of demarcation, and

strengthen objectivity and factuality in its coverage.

In 1987-'88 The Hindu's coverage of the Bofors arms deal scandal, a series of document-backed

exclusives set the terms of the national political discourse on this subject. The Bofors scandal broke

in April 1987 with Swedish Radio alleging that bribes had been paid to top Indian political leaders,

officials and Army officers in return for the Swedish arms manufacturing company winning a hefty

contract with the Government of India for the purchase of 155 mm howitzers. During a six-month

period the newspaper published scores of copies of original papers that documented the secret

payments, amounting to $50 million, into Swiss bank accounts, the agreements behind the payments,

communications relating to the payments and the crisis response, and other material. The

investigation was led by part-time correspondent of The Hindu, Chitra Subramaniam reporting from

Geneva, and was supported by Ram in Chennai. The scandal was a major embarrassment to the party

in power at the centre, the Indian National Congress, and its leader Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The paper's editorial accused the Prime Minister of being party to massive fraud and cover up.

In 1991, Deputy Editor N. Ravi, Ram's younger brother replaced G. Kasturi as Editor. Nirmala

Lakshman, Kasturi Srinivasan's granddaughter, became Joint Editor of The Hindu and her sister,

Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor.

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In 2003, the Jayalalitha Government of the state of Tamil Nadu, of which Chennai is the capital,

filed cases against the paper for "breach of privilege" of the state legislative body. The move was

widely perceived as a government's assault on freedom of the press. However, The Hindu emerged

unscathed from the ordeal, scoring both political and legal victories, as it instantly commanded the

support of the journalistic community throughout the country.

The younger generation of The Hindu's editors have also contributed much to its commercial

success. They built a modern infrastructure for news-gathering, printing and distribution. On the look

of the newspaper, editor-in-chief Ram writes, "The Hindu has been through many evolutionary

changes in layout and design, for instance, moving news to the front page that used to be an ad

kingdom; adopting modular layout and make-up; using large photographs; introducing colour;

transforming the format of the editorial page to make it a purely 'views' manufacturing company

winning a hefty contract with the Government of India for the purchase of 155 mm howitzers.

During a six-month period the newspaper published scores of copies of original papers that

documented the secret payments, amounting to $50 million, into Swiss bank accounts, the

agreements behind the payments, communications relating to the payments and the crisis response,

and other material. The investigation was led by part-time correspondent of The Hindu, Chitra

Subramaniam reporting from Geneva, and was supported by Ram in Chennai. The scandal was a

major embarrassment to the party in power at the centre, the Indian National Congress, and its leader

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The paper's editorial accused the Prime Minister of being party to

massive fraud and cover up.

The Hindu is family-run. It was headed by G. Kasturi from 1965 to 1991, N. Ravi from 1991 to

2003, and by his brother, N. Ram, since June 27, 2003. Other family members, including Nirmala

Lakshman, Malini Parthasarathy, Nalini Krishnan, N Murali, K Balaji, K Venugopal and Ramesh

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Rangarajan are directors of The Hindu and its parent company, Kasturi and Sons. S Rangarajan,

former managing director and chairman since April 2006, died on 8 February 2007. Ananth

Krishnan, who is the first member of the youngest generation of the family to join the business has

been working as a special correspondent in Chennai and Mumbai since 2007.

Consecutive list of directors:

G. Subramania Iyer (1878–1898)

M. Veeraraghavachariar (1898–1904)

Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (1904–1923)

S. Rangaswami (1923–1926)

K. Srinivasan (1926–1959)

G. Narasimhan (1959–1977)

N. Ram (1977–), Editor-in-Chief

Board of Directors:

The Hindu Group is managed by the descendants of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar. As of 2010, there are 12

directors in the board of Kasturi & Sons - N. Ram, N. Ravi and N. Murali (sons of G. Narasimhan);

Malini Parthasarathy, Nirmala Lakshman and Nalini Krishnan (children of S. Parthasarathy);

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Ramesh Rangarajan, Vijaya Arun and Akila Iyengar (children of S. Rangarajan); K. Balaji, K.

Venugopal and Lakshmi Srinath (children of G. Kasturi).

Achievements:

The Hindu has many firsts in India to its credit, which include the following

1940 - First to introduce colour

1963 - First to own fleet of aircraft for distribution

1969 - First to adopt facsimile system of page transmission

1980 - First to use computer aided photo composing

1986 - First to use satellite for facsimile transmission

1994 - First to adopt wholly computerized integration of text and graphics in page make-up and

remote imaging

1995 - First newspaper to go on Internet

1999 - Becomes India national news paper

Features and Supplements:

Hindu has a wide appeal on the English-speaking section of India and is also quite popular among

the government officials and business leaders. The newspaper provides the readers with a broad and

balanced news coverage with great reporting and sober, thoughtful comments. The journalistic

excellence is well showcased by the newspaper. Its correspondents posted in major capitals have a

sharp nose for news and give priority to reason over emotion. Its dedication and confidence of news

publication has made a newspaper to look for today, tomorrow and forever.

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Supplements:

On Mondays

►Metro Plus

►Business Review

►Education Plus

On Tuesdays

►Metro Plus

►Education

►Book Review

On Wednesdays

►Metro Plus

On Thursdays

►Metro Plus

►Science, Engineering, Technology & Agriculture

On Fridays

►Friday Features covering cinema, arts, music and entertainment

►Young World, an exclusive children's supplement.

►Quest, a supplement by children for children, appears once a month.

On Saturdays

►Metro Plus

On Sundays

►Weekly Magazine covering social issues, art, literature,

gardening, travel, health, cuisine, hobbies etc.

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TIMES OF INDIA

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Times of India

Type Daily News Paper

Price 2 Rs

Owner Bennett,Coleman & co ltd

Publisher The Times Group

Editor-in-Chief Jaideep Bose

Founded 3rd November,1838

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Language English

Head Quarters

Times House

7 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New

Delhi,110002

India

Circulation 31,46,000

Official Website www.timesofindia.com

The Times of India (TOI) is an English-language broadsheet newspaper that is widely read

throughout India. It has the largest circulation among all English-language newspapers in the world,

across all formats (broadsheet, tabloid, compact, Berliner and online). It is owned and managed by

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu Jain family.In 2008, the newspaper

reported that (with a circulation of over 3.14 million) it was certified by the Audit Bureau of

Circulations as the world's largest selling English-language daily newspaper, placing as the 8th

largest selling newspaper in any language in the world. According to the Indian Readership Survey

(IRS) 2010, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in India with a readership

of 13.4 million. This ranks the Times of India as the top English newspaper in India by readership.

According to ComScore, TOI Online is the world's most-visited newspaper website with 159 million

page views in May 2009, ahead of the Newyork Times, The Sun,The Washington post, Daily Mail

and USA Today websites.

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History:

The Times Of India was founded on November 3, 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of

Commerce, during the British Raj. Published every Saturday and Wednesday, The Bombay Times

and Journal of Commerce was launched as a bi-weekly edition. It contained news from Britain and

the world, as well as the Subcontinent. The daily editions of the paper were started from 1850 and in

1861, the Bombay Times was renamed The Times of India. In the 19th century this newspaper

company employed more than 800 people and had a sizable circulation in India and Europe. It was

after India's Independence that the ownership of the paper passed on to the then famous industrial

family of Dalmiyas and later it was taken over by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain group

from Bijnore, UP.

India's press in the 1840s was a motley collection of small-circulation daily or weekly sheets printed

on rickety presses. Few extended beyond their small communities and seldom tried to unite the many

castes, tribes, and regional subcultures of India. The Anglo-Indian papers promoted purely British

interests. Robert Knight (1825–1892) was the principal founder and the first editor of the Times.

The son of a son of a London bank clerk from the lower-middle-class, Knight proved a skilled writer

and passionate reformer. Knight helped create a vibrant national newspaper industry in British India.

When the Sepoy Mutiny erupted, Knight was acting editor of the Bombay Times and Standard. He

broke with the rest of the English language press (which focused on Indian savagery and treachery)

and instead blamed the violence on the lack of discipline and poor leadership in the army. That

angered the Anglo community, but attracted the Times's Indian shareholders, who made him the

permanent editor. Knight blasted the mismanagement and greed of the Raj, attacking annexation

policies that appropriated native lands and arbitrarily imposed taxes on previously exempt land titles,

ridiculing income taxes, and exposing school systems that disregarded Indian customs and needs.

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Knight led the paper to national prominence. In 1860, he bought out the Indian shareholders and

merged with the rival Bombay Standard, and started India's first news agency. It wired Times

dispatches to papers across the country and became the Indian agent for Reuters news service. In

1861, he changed the name from the Bombay Times and Standard to the Times of India.

Times today:

The Times of India is published by the media group Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. This company,

along with its other group companies, known as The Times Group, also publishes The Economic

Times, Mumbai Mirror,Pune Mirror, the Navbharat Times (a Hindi-language daily broadsheet), the

Maharashtra Times (a Marathi-language daily broadsheet).The Times is self-declared as a liberal

newspaper, and is sometimes described as irreverent.

The present management of The Times Group has been instrumental in changing the outlook of

Indian journalism. In India, as is elsewhere in the world, the Editor of a newspaper has traditionally

been considered as the most notable position in a newspaper set up. The Times of India, however,

changed this in the early 1990s, in keeping with the management policy of treating the newspaper as

just another brand in the market. The main newspaper and its many sub-editions are now run by

editors who are appointed within the ranks and the company gives equal chance to everyone to

occupy the editor's seat. The Times Group also places equal focus and importance to every

department and function - which has made it a professional entity and ensured its place as the most

profitable newspaper in the country.

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RESEARCH

OBJECTIVE:

To asses two news papers on various contents with respect to readers perspective.

To analyze about the cover price of The Hindu based on income group.

To analyze about the standard of language used based on occupation.

To analyze about the news coverage on Entertainment based on gender.

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NEED:

The Hindu news paper faced stiff competition from Times of India when it is being launched in

south India. The sale of The Hindu decreased in a period of time. Times of India entered the market

with some offer to the public like yearly subscription at reduced rates and their price was lower than

The Hindu. Hence this research is done to tackle the competition from Times of India and suggest

the Hindu to improve their market share and increase customer satisfaction.

RESEARCH

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METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

RESEARCH:

The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English defines research as

“A careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of

knowledge”

One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a

specific topic. Research is a voyage of discovery. It helps the researcher to move from unknown to

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known... Research refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating the problem,

formulating the hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain

conclusions either in the form of solution(s) towards the concerned problem or in generalizations for

some theoretical formulation.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH:

►To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it

►To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group

►To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with

Something else

►To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables

Any research objective may fall into any of the above mentioned category.

TYPE OF RESEARCH:

This research project is categorized as DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH.

A Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. The major

purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. The main

characteristics of descriptive research are that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can

only report what has happened or what is happening.

Example: Frequency of shopping,

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Preference of people, etc,

DATA COLLECTION:

Data are the raw facts, figures used in the research. Data are broadly classified into

1) Primary Data

2) Secondary Data

PRIMARY DATA:

Primary data are those data which are collected afresh and for the first time

and thus happen to be original in character. Methods of collecting primary data are

Observation method,

1) Interview method,

2) Questionnaire method

3) Schedules

4) Other method.

SECONDARY DATA:

Secondary data are those data which have already been collected by someone else and

which have already been passed through the statistical process. Methods of collecting Secondary

data are

1) Newspaper, magazines,

2) Reports

3) Public records and so on.

In this research, primary data is collected and used.

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DATA COLLECTION TOOL:

In this project, QUESTIONNAIRE is used to collect the primary data.

Questionnaire is framed by the researcher by keeping the objective of the research in mind.

Questionnaire consists of questions to the respondents, several choices of answers if it is a closed

end question and necessary space allowed for the respondents to give their answers if it is an open

end question... The respondent is expected to read the question, understand and reply for the

questions in the questionnaire itself.

The sample of the Questionnaire used in this research is given in appendix.

SAMPLE:

The population to be taken for the research is very large. Hence Sampling is done to

overcome the problem of large scale population.

Sample is unit of population which is derived from the population and which represents the entire

population in terms of characteristics, nature of that population.

Sample is a representative of the population as possible in order to produce a miniature cross section.

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SAMPLE PROCEDURE:

Sample procedure refers to that procedure by which the researcher selects the sample

from the population for the research.

In this research, CONVENIENCE SAMPLING procedure is followed. Convenience sampling can

be explained as; the researcher selects the sample in such away that it is convenient for the

researcher for the research to be undergone.

SAMPLE SIZE:

Due to time constraint, the Sample size is restricted to 200 for this research.

PILOT STUDY:

Pilot study is a study done to test the effectiveness of the research tool used in

the research. 10 % of the sample size (20 samples) is taken first and the effectiveness,

understandability of questions by the respondents is tested.

Mistakes in the questionnaire are corrected and clarity of questions is enhanced.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

► It is difficult to make the respondents understand about the importance of the research.

► Out of 200 samples, some samples are ignored due to lack of proper answers.

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► This research holds good only for this period.

► The findings, Suggestions given in this research work may not be applicable in future due to

Market changes and change in customer perception.

32

DATA ANALYSIS &

INTERPRETATIONS

Occupation wise readers of The Hindu:

Occupation wise readers of The Hindu

  No. of readres Percentage of readers

Professional 129 65

Business 17 9

33

Home maker 15 8

Student 20 10

Other 19 10

INTERPRETATION: From this graph it is Found, majority of the readers are professionals 65%, student

readers constitute of 10%, Business people constitute of 9%, Home maker constitute 8% and others constitute 10%.

READERS OF VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS:

No of readers reading various newspapers

  No of readersPercentage of

readers

The Hindu 135 68

Times of India 89 45

Deccan chronicle 20 10

34

Indian Express 24 12

INTERPRETATION:From this table and chart, it is found that Majority of the respondents 68% reads

The Hindu, 45% reads Times of India, 10% reads Deccan chronicle and 12% reads Indian Express.

COVER PRICE OF THE HINDU:

Respondent's view about the cover price of The Hindu

  No of readers Percentage of readers

Fair 113 84

35

Highly priced 18 13

Under priced 4 3

INTERPRETATION:From this table and chart, it is found that 84% of the respondents feel that cover price

of The Hindu is fair, 13% of respondents feel it is highly priced and 3% of the respondents feels that cover price is under priced.

BEST IN THE HINDU:

Best in The Hindu

  No of readers Percentage of readers

Std of language used 54 40

News coverage 57 36

36

Layouts 11 6

Supplementary issues 14 12

Others 9 6

INTERPRETATION:From this table, it is found that majority of the respondent 40% has selected the

standard of language used as the best in The Hindu. News coverage is the second best of The Hindu as selected by 36% of the respondents. Supplementary issues are selected by 12%, Layouts is selected by 6% and others have been selected by 6% of the respondents.

BEST IN TIMES OF INDIA:

Best in Times of India

  No of readers Percentage of readers

Standard of language used 12 13

News coverage 45 50

Layouts 22 24

37

Supplementary issues 11 12

Others 2 3

INTERPRETATION:From this chart, it is observed that majority of the respondents 50% have

selected News coverage as the best in Times of India.12% of the respondents have selected that supplementary issues is the next best thing in Times of India. 13% of the respondents selected standard of language used and Layouts.3% selected others.

COMPARISON OF THE BEST IN THE HINDU & TIMES OF INDIA:

Comparison of the best in The Hindu & Times of India

  The Hindu Times of India

Std of language used 40 13

38

News coverage 36 50

Layouts 6 24

Supplementary issues 12 12

Others 6 3

INTERPRETATION:From this comparison, it is found that Standard of language use in The Hindu is best

than in Times of India and hence concrete care should be taken to make sure that the standard of language used is not compromised.

Majority of the respondents feels that news coverage is the best in Times of India and hence measures to enhance news coverage should be taken by the Hindu.

RECENT SWITCH OVER FROM THE HINDU:

Switch over from The Hindu

  No of readers Percentage of readers

39

Yes 31 16

No 168 84

INTERPRETATION:

From this chart, it is found that majority of the respondents have not switched over from The Hindu. Few percentages of the respondents have switched from The Hindu and the reason for such switch over has been given in later part of this report.

RATINGS OF EACH FACTOR OF THE HINDU & TIMES OF INDIA:

TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE OF RATINGS FOR EACH FACTOR

FACTORS THE HINDU TIMESOF INDIA     

40

Std of language used 5 4News coverage on general issues 4 4News coverage on sports 4 4News coverage on Entertainment 4 4News coverage on financial aspect 4 3Accuracy of Informations 4 4Follow on Issues 4 4Advertisements 4 4Supplementary Issues 4 4General Layout 4 4

Miscellaneous 4 4

Chart showing the combined average rating of each factors of both news papers

012345

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334444

THE HINDU TIMES OF INDIA

INTERPRETATION:Standard of language used in THE HINDU has got average

rating of 5 which represents ‘excellent’ category. Other factors have got average rating of 4 which represents ‘Good’ category. Times of India have got average rating of 4 for all the factors except News coverage on financial aspect which is 3, representing ‘Average’ category.

MORE COVERAGE ON TOPICS:

41

INTERPRETATION:Majority of the respondents have chosen Education and Employment topics as the

topics to see more coverage. Entertainment, Sports, Environmental issues are the next prioritized topic to see more coverage.

REASONS FOR READING TIMES OF INDIA:

42

More coverage on topics

  No of readersPercentage of

readersInternational level issues 40 6National level issues 43 7state level issues 39 6Exploring the unexplored 36 6Entertainment info 59 9Cinema 44 7Education 63 10Sports 57 9Travel 24 4Crime 17 3Employment 73 11Environmental Issues 54 8Real Estate 21 3Religious 22 3Local coverage 46 7

Reason for reading Times of India

  No of readersPercentage of

readers

Price 42 27Easily Understandable 57 36General coverage of issues 20 13Attractive offers 7 5Supplementary 17 10

Accuracy of info 14 9

INTERPRETATION:

From the table it is found that, majority of the respondents 36% have said that Easily Understandable as the reason for reading Times of India.27% respondents selected price, 10% selected supplementary, 13% selected coverage on issues, 5% selected attractive offers and 9% selected accuracy of information as the reason for reading Times of India.

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE HINDU READERS:

43

To satisfy the readers more, The Hindu could do,

 No of

readersPercentage of

readers

Use color,pic more 41 18

Innovation in design, layout 62 27

Follow up on Issues 49 21

A to Z Business news 29 13

Info related to specific field of study 48 21

INTERPRETATION:Majority of the respondents 27%have chosen innovation in design, 21% say

info related to specific field and information related to specific field of study as the factors that The Hindu can do to satisfy the readers more. Use colour, pictures more is next option selected 18%, A to Z business news is selected by 13% of the respondents and Follow up on issues is selected by 21 %.

REASONS FOR NOT READING THE HINDU:

44

INTERPRETATION:

Majority of the respondents 41% have selected that Easily not understandable as the reason for not reading The hindu.15% selected Price factor, Too much advertising is selected by 16 %of the respondents.

RECOMMEND THE HINDU TO OTHER READERS?

45

Reasons for not reading The Hindu

  No of readersPercentage of

readers

Price 15 15

Easily not understandable 42 41

Supplementaries 4 4

Limited topics covered 10 10

Less pictures,colours 16 16

Too much Advertising 16 16

INTERPRETATION:

From this table, it is found that majority of the respondents 63% would suggest The Hindu to other readers. This implies that The Hindu has good scope in future.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE HINDU:

46

Suggest The Hindu to others

  No of readers Percentage of readers

Yes 127 63

No 73 37

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE HINDU

STRENGTHSTRENGTH WEAKNESSWEAKNESS

   

►Standard of language used ►Language Hindrance in readers

►Price reduction ►Partiality in politics

►Goodwill  

►Supplementaries  

   

OPPORTUNITYOPPORTUNITY THREATTHREAT

   

►Enhancements in design, layout►Competition from Times of India

►Public relation programmes ►Dependent Decisions

►Provide offers seasonally ►Open Economy

   

SWOT ANALYSIS OF TIMES OF INDIA:

47

SWOT ANALYSIS OF TIMES OF INDIA

STRENGTHSTRENGTH WEAKNESSWEAKNESS

   

►Easy Understandable ►Less standard of language

►Less Price ►Enhancement required in every aspect

►Strong market in North India  

►Attractive Offers  

   

OPPORTUNITYOPPORTUNITY THREATTHREAT

   

►Huge market ►Competition from Leading Newspapers

►Repeated Market research ►Dependent Decisions

►Provide offers seasonally ►Open Economy

   

FINDINGS:

48

67.5% of the respondents reads THE HINDU and 44.5% reads TIMES OF INDIA in t-nagar.

64.5% of HINDU readers are professionals.

56.5% of readers feel that cover price of THE HINDU is fair.

27% of readers feel that standard of language used in THE HINDU is best.

28.5% of the readers feel that news coverage is best.

84% of readers have not switched over from THE HINDU recently.

According to the rating for several factors of both the papers, THE HINDU is rated to be as excellent whereas TIMES OF INDIA is rated as good.

Men are likely to see more coverage on sports than Women.

36.5% of the readers like to see more coverage on education and employment.

28.5% of the readers of the TIMES OF INDIA say that “easily understandable” as the reason for reading TOI.

Non readers of THE HINDU say that "easily not understandable "as the reason for not reading THE HINDU.

63.5% of readers of THE HINDU would recommend THE HINDU to others.

SUGGESTIONS:

49

Majority of the respondents are of Professionals and Students, So various aspects regarding to them should be targeted.

Majority of the respondents who reads The Hindu are of Middle Income group and Higher Income group, so care should be taken to attract the Lower Income group with special offers like Yearly Subscription.

Majority of the respondents says Standard of Language used and Supplementary Issues is Best Part in The Hindu, so it should be maintained. And many of the Non Readers of The Hindu mention easily not understandable as the reason for not reading The Hindu.

So The Hindu should use new Tactics like meaning of tough words used in left or right hand side corner of the page.

The respondents who switched over from The Hindu recently, says the reasons Over supportive to ruling party. No offers. So it’s advice to avoid partiality in politics information’s.

Majority of the respondents feels that news coverage is best in Times of India, So necessary measures should be taken by The Hindu to enhance News coverage.

Majority of the respondents says that Cover Price of The Hindu is Fair, so it’s should not increase in the near future.

Majority of the readers likely to see more coverage on Education and Entertainment and Cinema. So special supplementary regarding to such contents can be given.

Majority of the readers expects to have innovations in Designs and Layouts. If it is World Environment day the Whole paper can printed with back ground color

of green. Top 10 headlines of today .

CONCLUSION:

50

Corporate Social Responsibility is an important Ethics in business world. PRESS

has the corporate social responsibility as its sole business by creating awareness to people about the

every single affair that happens in this world.

The Future market of The Hindu would grow in high pace since there are many

opportunities to grow. The economy of India is in growth phase. Disposable Income of individual

gets increased year by year. People read more than two brands of news papers nowadays. This shows

that there is a huge market for news papers.

The Hindu is doing very well in the market. Times of India, the close competitor

of The Hindu are giving a stiff competition to The Hindu. According to this research, the number of

the readers reading The Hindu and Times of India go hand in hand. Hence it is high time for

The Hindu to frame some strategies and tackle the competition.

The Hindu has favourable growth path which is being substantiated by the result

of this research work, which hints that majority of the respondents would suggest The Hindu to

others.

APPENDIX:

51

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please Tick () whichever is applicable to you!!

1 Name & Address: Age: Sex:

2 Qualification:

3 Occupationo Professionalo Business o Home makero Studento Other (Specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4 Income Groupo Higher Income group ( Above Rs 5 lakhs p.a ) o Middle Income group ( Rs 2 to 5 lakhs p.a )o Lower Income group (Up to Rs 2 lakhs p.a )

5 What are the News papers do you currently read?o The Hinduo Times of Indiao Deccan chronicleo Indian expresso Other (Specify)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6 What do you feel about the cover price of The Hindu?o Fairo Highly pricedo Under Priced

7 What do you think as the ‘Best’ part in The Hindu?o Standard of language usedo News coverageo Layoutso Supplementary issueso Others ( specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8 What do you think as the ‘Best‘part in Times of India?o Standard of language usedo News coverage

52

o Layoutso Supplementary issueso Others (Specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

9 Did you switch over to other Newspapers from The Hindu recently?o Yeso No

Mention Reason if yes: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

10 Give your rating:Assess two newspapers on a scale of 5 – Excellent, 4 – good, 3 – Average, 2 – poor, 1 – Dislike.

11 Considering the current content of the Hindu Newspaper, would you like to see more coverage on any of the following topics? Tick all that apply.

International Level issues National level issues State level issues Exploring the unexplored Entertainment info Cinema Education Sports Travel Crime Employment Environmental issues Real estate Religious Local coverage

12 Mention the reason for reading Times of India

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S.no Content THE HINDU

TIMES OF

INDIA       

1 Standard of Language used    2 News coverage on general issues    3 News coverage on Sports    4 News coverage on Entertainment    

5News coverage on Financial Aspect    

6 Accuracy of Information    7 Follow up on Issues    8 Advertisements    9 Supplementary Issues    

10 General Layout    

11Miscellaneous ( puzzle,sudoku etc)    

     

Price Easily Understandable General Coverage of issues Attractive Offers Supplementaries Accuracy of Info

13 What else could The Hindu newspaper can do to satisfy you more?

Use colours, pictures more Innovation in designs, layout Follow up on Issues A to Z Business news Information related to specific field of study

14 Mention the reasons for not reading The Hindu news paper

Price Easily not Understandable Supplementaries Limited topics covered Less pictures, colours Too much Advertising

15 Would you suggest The Hindu to others? Yes No

Thank you!!

54

Bibliography:

Website: Search Engines.

www.thehindu.com

www.timesofindia.com

Book:

‘Business Research Methods’ by Donald R Cooper , Pamela S Schindler, 9th Edition,published by Tata McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited,new Delhi,

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Thank you

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