Newspapers have to appeal to wide cross-sections of people to remain viable. It is not uncommon to find big foreign newspapers and tabloids running into more than 30 pages even on weekdays. In India, metro editions are comparatively thicker than non-metro publications. This may be because of large number of concentrated readership located in metros, whose tastes vary a lot. The onus is therefore to find ‘greater common multiples’ while producing newspaper contents.
Among many newspapers that publish from Kolkata, I’m partial to 2 ABP publications, The Telegraph and the vernacular Ananda Bazar Patrika. I also read The Economic Times, but this is usually the last one I pick up. Among the English mainstream dailies, The Telegraph must rank ahead of the pack, and in my opinion, the only other comparable paper is the southern daily, The Hindu, which unfortunately does not have a Kolkata edition.
The Telegraph‘s this graphic says it all.
Picture source : http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/CalcuttaAdd.jpg.
The reason I find The Telegraph and The Hindu invigorating is because both serve solid news and in-depth analyses. Both have very strong editorial backup, which is quintessentially important to retain readers, and both have dedicated foreign correspondents, who provide critical insights on happenings elsewhere.
To my mind, quality speaks when it is persistent. It is one thing to follow the hot trails, which everyone does, quite another to masterly deal on seemingly unimportant issues. In the end, what is important is to find a perfect match between reader-satisfaction and serving the greater interests of society. It needs much more than simple aggregation of newsworthy items to stay on top. The Telegraph and The Hindu have it in them as occupants of pole position. Here is wishing both a glorious future as India unfolds.
A typical illustrative coverage by The Telegraph.
Picture source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050719/images/19zzsound.jpg.
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