FDI in print ho hum

BY Srinivasa Raghavan| IN Media Practice | 16/04/2002

This, they say, has ill-served the cause of democracy, let alone commerce because neither can prosper in the absence of suitab

This, they say, has ill-served the cause of democracy, let alone commerce because neither can prosper in the absence of suitable competition.

The have-nots have also pointed to the asymmetry in the law as regards print media on the one hand an electronic media on the other. FDI in the latter is not subject to the same rules even thought it has a wider reach and appeal because it does not require literacy as a precondition to accessibility.

However, neither side has ever satisfactorily answered one question. This is, is there is a long queue of foreigners waiting to invest in Indian newspapers?

On the contrary, according to available information, only four publications have any reasonable prospect of foreigners being interested. These are India Today magazine which has been seeking a tie up with Time magazine, the Indian Express in which the Wall Street Journal of the New York may invest, the Business Standard in which the Financial Times of London may invest and the Pioneer in which un-named persons may invest.

The Indian Express, which a general newspaper and offers news and views of fairly even quality, is a direct competitor to several newspapers such as the Times of India in Mumbai and Delhi, the Hindustan Times in Delhi, and Hindu in Chennai, the Deccan Herald in Bangalore and so on.

All these, it should be noted, are family businesses. Those in favour of FDI are not.

The Business Standard would offer competition to The Economic Times owned by the same family that owns the Times of India and Business Line which is owned by the family that owns

Subscribe To The Newsletter

Media Watch Briefs

Amazon resisting voluntary censorship

The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.

Let the games begin

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.