It’s a question that needed to be asked, albeit an unfair one to someone who is still very much part of the industry. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das with the question for the August 5 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…
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Q. In the run up to the elections, the Uttar Pradesh CM is going to town with advertorials in print and digital and sponsored shows on television. While it’s good monies in pandemic-hit times, is it the right route for revenues for a news offering?
A. There is no normative answer for such questions. It’s an age of brand-building and being part of the communications industry, I understand its relevance. Accrual of revenue to various media is a by-product. What the concerned government is doing is amplifying its salience through all the claimed good worth they have been doing. While the direct beneficiaries are aware of it, the audience at large needs to get exposed to it. As a marketing and branding activity, there is nothing abnormal about it.