"Good morning Trichy"

IN Media Practice | 19/07/2011

The primacy enjoyed by established English language dailies, The Hindu and The New Indian Express in the south is being challenged by two new entrants - Deccan Chronicle and the Times of India. Having slowly eaten into the Chennai market, they are now eyeing the districts. The Times launched its Madurai-Trichy edition on July 15 with the CM flagging it remotely from Chennai. The impending dynamics that this is likely to unfold remains to be seen. It may sharpen further with the proposed expansion of Deccan Chronicle into Trichy and Coimbatore.

The eight Central districts of Tamil Nadu - Trichi, Thanjavur, Nagapatinam, Pudukottai, Tiruvarur, Karur, Perambalur and Ariyalur - have historical and cultural relevance and encompass two of the four large urban demographic markets (Madurai and Trichy). Leaders of the two major political parties have their assembly constituencies in the Central Districts. So while the significance of these districts is clearly established, it is still be seen if the marketing logic that brought the Times and Chronicle to the hinterland pans out. English newspaper readership, even in Tiruchi and Madurai, is quite limited and beyond these centres of trade and commerce, it is rather thinly spread. Further IRS figures  reported in January indicated a decline in newspaper readership in the state. With regard to English newspapers, it suggested:

“The fate of English dailies too is identical. The surprise though being The New Indian Express, which is the lone daily, across languages to show a growth from an AIR (Average Issue Readership)  of 1.12 lakh in 2010 Q1 to 1.32 lakh in 2011 Q1, a growth of about 18 per cent. The Hindu has recorded an AIR of 10.65, with a loss of 89,000 readers. Deccan Chronicle, paving way for the Times, has moved down one position amongst English dailies, losing 74,000 readers, recording an AIR of 1.96 lakh. Meanwhile, thanks to a lesser loss of only 12,000 readers in comparison, the Times has moved ahead of Deccan Chronicle with a recorded AIR of 2.08 lakh.”

In fact these figures were used in a full page ad by the TNIE on July 18: "...Racing far ahead of its peers in South India, with the fastest growth rate. Compared to English dailies having their presence in more than one state in South India, TNIE has clocked 4 times their growth rate by adding 30,000 new readers..."

Invoking the signature line of popular FM radio stations, the inaugural edition of the Times said, “Good Morning Trichy.” The edition had 112 pages. With a templegopuram factored into the front-page jacket along with a photograph of the IT complex, the newspaper stated its launch philosophy: “Trichy needs to be alert to the pitfalls of urbanization. Embrace the positives, reject the negatives. A new Trichy that upholds the values and virtues of the old Trichy is possible and necessary. It seems entirely appropriate that we bring our masthead to this great city at this crucial juncture. For our values are similar to those symbolized by it: though proud of our 173 old heritage, we remain at the cutting edge of change; our spiritual streak runs parallel to the material instinct; we have always believed in the credo that ‘there are always two sides of an argument.’ …our objective will be to produce a newspaper that mirrors the distinct culture and society in this part of the country.’’

The jacket with three full-page ads contained the main newspaper and the city supplement. Eighty-four pages of four pullouts entitled `Identity’ captured the various facets of the region such as education, sports, culture, and business groups from the region. With a “consumer connect” pull out, the newspaper showed what it could offer to the retail advertisers. Education is a major sector that newspapers are now targeting and Ad-ex figures indicate its contribution to print advertising revenues. Therefore, the focus on principals, vice chancellors and counselors along with goodwill and launch support advertising occupied significant space.

The goals of the Times in launching these editions and the impact it will over The Hindu and TNIE remain to be seen. The Hindu has already responded with an enhanced focus on the region. Titled Kaveri Seemai, (The region is also referred to as the Kaveri delta) the four and eight page pullouts issued daily since July 14 (a day ahead of TOI launch) provide coverage on institutions, arts, culture, etc. 

Newspaper rivalry apart, if the coverage of interior areas goes beyond official handouts, the profusion will have done a good service to the readers. Currently, for coverage of areas beyond Madurai and Trichy, newspapers largely rely on stringers, who in turn are quite pliable in the hands of the local administrations. An increasing number of teenagers are entering professional institutions to face the challenges of a growing country and need information as well as English literacy.

A large number of intermediaries, particularly educators at all levels, need to keep themselves well informed to make their roles effective. Newspaper could play a role in enhancing their capacities and in contextualizing their work in relation to national and global level developments as well as practices.