By Pradyuman Maheshwari
MxM is 11. Thank you all very, very much. To our readers, our team of inhouse staff, columnists and writers, and our advertisers. And mustn’t forget all the people who provide us the news, and speak with us.
At every annual milestone that we complete, we heave a sigh of relief. That we managed to survive. Albeit with a few nicks here and there.
We started out on September 9, 2011 (Onam Day!) with a mission to concentrate on opinion and research. Somewhere soon after that, we figured that research was going to be an uphill task, exceedingly expensive and with industry folk never really happy with what we come up with. We realised soon that opinion was going to be even tougher because much as the media loves to comment on all and sundry, it doesn’t like anyone to critique it. Especially the newswallahs.
We stuck on to our opinions agenda.
Thankfully, we’ve managed to stay afloat despite all of the angst against our critiques. Even those criticised realise that we do not have any specific agenda against them.
We consider ourselves as a platform for free exchange of information and commentary. Constructive criticism.
Ideally, we should be going in for a subscription model and not depend on advertisers. But even though the likes of Ken and Morning Context exist, in India people are happy to pay Rs 20 for a vada pav or Rs 150 for a roll, they don’t want to pay for content.
The volume of ads on our site versus the others is indicative of how many advertisers love us. We wouldn’t blame them. We don’t promise unlimited coverage of even news that’s slightly dubious. We don’t report on weekly ratings any longer. Simply because we don’t trust them entirely, esp when it concerns news.
Many have counselled us saying that we should be kinder to our annadaatas, the people who advertise with us. But our allegiance is first and foremost to our readers.
What does a completion of 11 years mean? Well, it’s a quiet assertion that even in the hypercompetitive B2B media, independent journalism can survive.
Thank you for your faith.
PS:
A special thanks to all those who write for us, without any expectation of been compensated monetarily.
Thanks also to those who have worked with MxM through these years. Delayed salaries, cuts at the time of 2012-13 liquidity crunch, the Covid-led lockdown, etc.
And last, but not the least, thanks to my family. If I had continued to work somewhere, I would’ve (possibly) been able to afford many more comforts and luxuries. Spent more time with them. By indulging me, I know what they’ve sacrificed (and keep doing so). Thank you!