MxMIndia

Tag: Deccan Herald

  • No, but we can be sorry for what it has become, asks Ranjona Banerji

    Feel sorry for Big Media?

     

    Ranjona BanerjiBy Ranjona Banerji

     

    How sorry is one supposed to feel for Big Media? Yes, times are bad but that is true for everyone right now. And times are much worse the lower down the economic and social scale you go.

     

    Add to that, the continuing need for most of the media to “appease” the government in power.

     

    For instance, The Times of India does an investigation into the correlation between rising Covid19 cases in Uttarakhand and the various holy “snans” or mass bathing in the Ganga during the Kumbh Mela. The investigation showed that cases doubled after the first five holy dips in Haridwar.

     

    This report was not carried in the local paper edition of The Times of India which I buy every day from a vendor. It is part of a premium package on the website which you have to pay to access. Therefore, people who live in Uttarakhand will not know how the Kumbh Mela affected them, even though it has affected them dearly.

     

    How much of a stretch is it to wonder whether an article like this – clearly critical of the state government of the Uttarakhand and the Centre for going ahead with the Kumbh Mela in spite of the second wave of the pandemic – has been deliberately hidden behind a paywall to ensure that only a very few people read it and therefore the media house can claim that it has not upset the Modi government and the BJP?

     

    Am I reading too much into this?

     

    Here is another article from the Indian Express, by the “Express News Service”. It repeats verbatim various claims made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani about how well the Modi government has handled the pandemic and how millions have been vaccinated.

     

    https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-under-pm-modi-successfully-fought-covid-19-battle-shah-7342640/

     

    The same PR exercise was carried out by NDTV:
    https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-under-pm-modi-successfully-fought-covid-19-battle-amit-shah-2455528

     

    Sometimes, these news outlets also inform us of the terrible impact of Covid-19, the incompetence of the Centre in both handling the pandemic and creating confusion in the states, we are also informed about the huge shortfalls in vaccine procurement and disbursement.

     

    But none of this immense courage shows up in the bland reporting of a load of self-promotion presented by Shah. The fact that Shah himself has been barely visible since May 2 when the assembly election results were declared is not mentioned. He is the Union Home Minister. The pandemic should have been his primary responsibility.

     

    Therefore, after hundreds and thousands dead and even more affected by the pandemic, big media houses run true to the pattern of the last seven years: overwhelming fear when it comes to taking on the Modi Government. We have got used to the mealymouthed cowardice of publishing government propaganda on your edit pages, pretending to be “free speech” and “opinion”. And we continue to be underwhelmed by propaganda pretending to be news reports.

     

    This daily quote feature from the Deccan Herald is therefore so very welcome. Lies are lies and if you cannot show truth to power, what are you?

     

    It is true that some of these news outlets have informed us about dead bodies of Covid-19 patients floating in India’s rivers, about the hundreds of shallow graves on riverbanks, about governments trying to cover up Covid-19 deaths, about vaccines running short despite government claims, about massive economic hardship across the board.

     

    And yet, they are unable to take the bit between their teeth and present to their readers and viewers just how bad the pandemic and the official response has been, when confronted by the criminal negligence of the Modi government at the Centre. Try and remember the massive countrywide rage against the UPA government at the Centre, if you can, as the India Against Corruption movement was supported wholeheartedly by the media.

     

    Compare that to now. Our failure as journalists is stark and painful.

     

    The danger is that if you keep hopping indiscriminately between genuflection and criticism, you are going to fall into the gap and getting out will be very painful. It is true that this government is particularly malicious and vindictive even compared to other malicious and vindictive governments. But it is also true that if you carry on as a government publicity outlet, you make yourself even more redundant than you actually are.

     

    So to answer my own question: we can’t feel sorry for Big Media. But we can be sorry for what it has become.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia every Tuesday and Friday. Her views here are personal.

     

  • Design firm ThinkDesign carried out user research and worked closely with Deccan Herald to arrive at the design for the app, while app development partner Webdunia was responsible for the implementation

    Deccan Herald launches DH News app

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading daily Deccan Herald has launched its news app for Android and iOS mobile devices. This is another step in the revamp of the product portfolio at the Printers Mysore, the company that owns Deccan Herald and Kannada title Prajavani. Last August, it launched a redesigned version of the DH newspaper and the website deccanherald.com.

     

    The new DH app, notes a communique, offers breaking news, analysis and opinion, across text, video and audio, and also features new formats, justifying the tag line “One News App. Many Experiences”.

     

    Said Sitaraman Shankar, Acting CEO, The Printers Mysore, and Editor, Deccan Herald: “Our new DH app is everything a modern news app should be: It presents news elegantly across formats, and in new ways designed to keep younger consumers engaged. What hasn’t changed, of course, is the high-quality journalism it draws on, and our belief that the reader is at the centre of everything we do: In fact, the way the app works, it will only increase the reader’s bond with us.”

     

    Add Arpan Chatterjee, COO – Digital, The Printers Mysore: “A lot of ideation and research has gone behind making this app. Digital news consumption is taking new forms regularly and we have built the app on many of these new facets to give our users a richer & wholesome user experience added with a touch of News personalization.  What we will learn from the app will help to expand these user experiences to our other digital assets. ”

     

    Design firm ThinkDesign carried out user research and worked closely with Deccan Herald to arrive at the design for the app, while app development partner Webdunia was responsible for the implementation.

     

     

  • Amidst hysteria, helplessness brought about by the recent pandemic, Deccan Herald finds a silver lining

    Deccan Herald spread kindness

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bengaluru’s leading daily Deccan Herald has embarked on a campaign titled ‘Spread Kindness’ with positive stories of humanitarian efforts, aiming to help these remarkable individuals along and to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

     

    Said Sitaraman Shankar, Editor, Deccan Herald: “These uplifting stories embody our tagline ‘The Power of Good’. We’re privileged to tell others about these remarkable individuals, and hope that it sparks a movement to help those less fortunate than us,” Over the past week, readers were moved enough by the story of Hubbali-based vegetable vendor Ratnamma to help her get a vending pass and some monetary support so that she could continue earning a living.

     

     

  • The publishers of the Deccan Herald are either being very brave. Or very foolish. Either way, let's wish them luck. They'll need loads of it.

    Anil Thakraney: Deccan Herald’s Mission Impossible

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Having learnt to live a life in India where just about anything is possible, nothing ever unnerves me. But I must say I woke up on Sunday morning to rather shocking news, it totally rattled me. No, not that Anna Sahib is going on another fast (that’s no news, really), but that Bangalore’s Deccan Herald has launched a Delhi edition. To be honest, I am still reeling from this totally sensational khabar.

     

    Here are few reasons why the Deccan Herald simply CANNOT be undertaking this suicidal mission: One, newspapers are closing down all over the world. And India, because of its massive reading population and a continuous flow of new readers, will survive this danger for some more years. But closures will happen, it’s only a matter of time. In fact, quite ironically, Deccan Herald’s foray into Delhi comes close on the heels of Mid Day’s closure out there. Given that, prudence lies in beefing up strong editions and putting all the resources into your main markets, so that the demise can be postponed as much as possible. One would imagine that the proprietors of the Deccan Herald would go all out to spruce up their Bangalore edition. And what do they do? They go to Delhi! Wow!

     

    Next. Delhi is a very crowded newspaper market, and it’s pretty much dominated by the very deep pocket wallahs, the TOI and the HT. It took the Times many years and lots of moolah before it could manage to eat into HT’s market share. And there are other cash rich players too. In this fish market scenario bravely trots in the low profile southern Deccan Herald, hoping to make a dent in the market. And from what I know, owners of the DH aren’t exactly loaded like the owners of the TOI and the HT, so they will always struggle to get noticed.

     

    And finally, what sort of freshness can the DH bring to an alien territory? The name ‘Deccan’ itself cues south of India. Why would a Dilliwallah be interested in finding out from a southie what’s going on in his backyard. And where he must wine and dine. Makes no editorial sense at all.

     

    Well, all I can say is that the publishers of the Deccan Herald are either being very brave. Or very foolish. Either way, let’s wish them luck. They’ll need loads of it.

     

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    PS: Some of the more enterprising ex-O&M guys organised an agency reunion in Mumbai last week. To catch up and mark David Ogilvy’s 100th centenary. Was fantastic meeting the old boys and gals, it felt like homecoming. I must say this: no reunion brings me as much joy as the one with the Ogilvy gang. Not school, not college, not other organization reunions. Must be Sir Ogilvy’s magical touch. Can’t think of another reason.

     

    Anil Thakraney is a Mumbai-based columnist and commentator and is a former adman and editor. He is Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.