MxMIndia

Tag: Free Press Journal

  • Killer hoarding!

    Killer hoarding!

    In the marketing services arena, the outdoor media business is known to have reported questionable trade practices and governance in the past. Things may have improved much over the last decade-odd with international players and networked agencies entering the fray, but what happened in Mumbai on Monday was a shocker. Or perhaps not. Given reports of trees being poisoned trees to ensure visibility of a billboard.

    It’s all over the news media: a hoarding in Mumbai has caused the death of 14 people, and there are 74  who have been rescued from the spot where the hoarding crashed. Updates on this are still coming.

    We are basing our reports on what has appeared in multiple newspapers.

    Here’s what Mumbai’s Free Press Journal has reported:

    The death toll after a big hoarding collapsed in Maharashtra’s Ghatkopar area has risen to 14 on Tuesday. According to the National Disaster Rescue Force, 74 people have been rescued alive from the spot, while 14 have been declared dead.

    The count of total victims stands at 88. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been conducting rescue operation for those trapped since Monday evening, when the incident happened due to heavy rains and strong winds.

    The incident is said to have happened at 5pm on Monday.

    Meanwhile, another report in FPJ notes:

    “… an FIR was registered at Pant Nagar police station against Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of the hoarding (Ego Media Company) under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) among other sections of the Indian Penal Code. A case under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering personal safety of others), 337 (causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code was filed against Bhavesh Bhinde by Mumbai Police.”

    As per the FPJ, it had first reported about this illegal hoarding last Friday. “The Pant Nagar police, who were conducting the investigations on who poisoned the trees on the land owned by the Government Railway Police, said they have received complaint in the name of the company which owns the hoarding and now will proceed with the investigation,” a report adds. “As of now (Monday evening) we are in the rescue operation of over (expected) to be around 100 plus people, trapped under the hoarding that fell. Immediately after, along with the BMC, a new FIR will be registered in the matter and stringent action will be taken against the offenders under relevant sections,” an official said. He added, “If the company who owns the hoarding is the same as the ones who poisoned the trees, a supplementary FIR shall be registered.”

    According to a report in The Times of India, the hoarding size was a problem. It was illegal. “Not only was the hoarding illegal, but it was also far bigger (120×120 sqft) than the maximum size (40×40 sq ft) allowed by the civic body.”

    Now if you see a hoarding that’s illegal, why allow it to be there in the first place? Demolish it instantly. Yes, what happened on Monday — ‘Acts of God’, as they are called, happen once in a blue moon, but it’s not just enough to damn the hoarding firm. The civic authorities and all those who are responsible must also be booked.

    It’s also important for the various industry associations – the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Indian Society of Advertisers chief among them to be vigilant. The Ego Media website boasts of some discerning corporates as its clients. It’s time they also crack the whip.

    Cleanse the system, or get cleansed!

  • There was no connection between the two events, that is the Prime Minister and the moon-landing. But this is India. Politicians rule, writes Ranjona Banerji

    The Moon, Modi, Manipur and the Media

    PM witnessing successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 via video conferencing. Picture (edited) source: Press Information Bureau

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiIndia made history on August 23, when the Vikram Lander made a successful soft landing close to the South Pole of the Moon. No other space-exploring nation has managed this. It was a thrilling moment, when the graphic of the rover touched down on the moon’s surface and the control room burst into applause and cheers.

    A great triumph for India’s space programme, for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and all the scientists involved.

    Of course, this is India. Therefore, the Indian media – most of it anyway – and the ISRO feed itself, had focused as much on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he watched the landing as it did on the landing itself. And then, before we heard anything about the landing, we had to hear the Prime Minister speak from South Africa. There was no connection between the two events, that is the Prime Minister and the moon-landing. But like I said, this is India. Politicians rule.

    The result of this was no science and all congratulatory hysteria. TV channels showed endless images of the moon-landing. All of these were computer generated, but it appears they forgot to tell their viewers. Or maybe the anchors themselves did not know. Who did they think took these images of the landing?

    Later ISRO released the first photos of the moon’s surface, one of which showed the leg of the lander.

    In all the coverage, very little was discussed about why we have undertaken this mission and what we expect to learn from it. You often hear people moaning about India’s lack of scientific temperament. Well, this is why. Our public science outreach is pathetic, science journalism is not encouraged and the result is ignorance. And when ignorance is coupled with jingoism, all you get is a general pall of stupidity.

    While on the Prime Minister and South Africa, the Daily Maverick, a South African online news publication with a weekly newspaper, put out an intriguing story, also on August 23. It stated that the Indian Prime Minister landed in South Africa for the BRICS summit and then refused to get off his plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base, because only a Cabinet minister had come to receive him. The headline called it a “tantrum”.

    This is of course a South African publication which owes no allegiance to the Indian government or the BJP. Shocking!

    The day before, President Cyril Ramaphosa had received the Chinese President Xi Jianping, who was on a state visit. PM Modi was not on a state visit.

    According to the Daily Maverick, Ramaphosa then had to despatch his deputy, who was busy with summit preparations, to receive Modi.

    https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/ pm-modi-refused-to-deboard-plane-as-sa-govt-sent-minister-not-prez-to-welcome- him-in-contrast-to-chinas-xi-report

    https://thewire.in/diplomacy/modi-brics-south-africa-plane-disembark-controversy

    So why have I not posted the original report from Daily Maverick?

    That story is as intriguing.

    It took the official system – and I include the BJP IT Cell here – time to respond to this story. Mind you, no Indian media had carried reports any such incident. Instead, they spun the usual tale of NRIs dancing for Modi.

    But people who went to the Daily Maverick site in a couple of hours, found they were blocked.

    According a series of tweets or Xs or posts on X by the Daily Maverick, they were forced to bar India from accessing their site because of a massive cyberattack from India, attempting to take down their site.

    Later, the South African government denied the Daily Maverick claim, while the Daily Maverick stuck to its story (screenshots attached).

    Even now, most Indian media houses have found it difficult to report on this. The Free Press Journal was the first however to show its calibre and courage. And others like The Telegraph, the Newsminute, Wire followed. But for our “godi” or lapdog media, cue in the outrage at a foreign publication daring to report unfavourably on Modi.

    While on the Newsminute, here’s an excellent report, in a fine series, from Manipur. You know, the place not as far as the moon or South Africa, which PM Modi barely acknowledges exists. Almost four months of anarchy, civil unrest, death and destruction there now.

    https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/walked-all-day-four-kids-kuki-woman-recalls-horror-fleeing-her-village-181488

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

  • The Free Press Journal launches Konkan digital edition after signing MoU

    FPJ & Goa’s Fomento Media to share content

    By Our Staff

     

    The Free Press Journal (FPJ) and its sister publication Navshaki  have formally entered into a news content sharing pact with Fomento Media. The latter publishes the relatively new English daily newspaper, The Goan and the Marathi daily Goanvartha. The MoU was signed and a Free Press Journal Konkan digital edition was launched in the presence of the Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant at Dona Paula in Goa.

     

    Said Ashok Karnani, Director of Free Press Journal group of newspapers: “This is the right time to join hands with other newspapers for content sharing rather than having multiple editions taking into consideration the steep increase in the cost of the newsprint and also the Epaper culture that appeals immensely to the present generation in the age group of 18-30 years.”

     

    Added Joe Louis, Director (Media) of Fomento: “It is the beginning of a great partnership between two well-known Media Houses which will ensure better quality content to be shared between the two and will give them a much larger reach and readership and thus reach out to audiences across the globe.

     

  • Will commence with cartoons from FPJ archives

    Free Press Journal to enter the world of NFTs

    By Our Staff

     

    As part of the 75th year of Indian independence, The Free Press Journal (FPJ) will launch a special series of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) later this year. The NFTs will be made available on leading NFT marketplaces closer to Independence Day.

     

    The special offering of NFTs will commence with cartoons from FPJ archives, which includes the creations of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, who worked at FPJ for many years.

     

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Director of FPJ, who is leading the NFT initiative at the publishing group: “There are some really wonderful pieces of creativity which today have historical value for those who have closely followed India’s journey of progress over the past 75 years. Unlike digital copies that are freely available, and can be duplicated ad nauseum, NFTs remain tightly bound to the rules of ownership. They are thus exclusive, even though they may be made available universally. FPJ is committed to many interesting innovations in this domain in the times to come.””

     

    The NFT project of FPJ is being operationalised and taken to market by Rediffusion FutureTech, the digital arm of Rediffusion. “We are delighted to assist FPJ in this very laudable and innovative project,” said Dr Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director of Rediffusion.

     

  • To decode ‘Brands and Consumers: 2021 and Beyond’

    ISA to host second in webinar series

    By Our Staff

     

    The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), in association with the Free Press Journal and ABP Network, will host the second of the two-part webinar ‘Brands and Consumers: 2021 and Beyond’ on March 3. The knowledge partner for the webinar is Mogae Media and Laqshya is the outdoor partner.

    Said Sunil Kataria, ISA Chairman, said, “The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) is an apex body, successfully representing the interests of the advertising fraternity for nearly 70 years. The world has gone through a very difficult COVID period during 2020. This sad event has significantly impacted all brands and consumer behavior. It’s time to review and, more importantly, understand the learnings and the way forward for the industry both in the short term as well as the long term. Over the years, ISA has been organizing knowledge seminars/webinars for the benefit of the ecosystem of advertisers and marketers. Continuing the same, our two-part webinar series focuses on the issue most of us are facing: Brands & Consumers-2021 and Beyond. We bring you leadership views and strategies from across the Manufacturing and the Services sectors.”

    Added Abhishek Karnani, Director, The Free Press Journal, “This initiative will be significant to all advertisers and marketers who want to strategize the future course of actions for their brands.”

  • The paper has literally cancelled out words like Corona, Covid-19, pandemic, quarantine, lockdown, death etc across all 16 pages of its June 10 edition

    FPJ launches Mission Cancel Corona with a special edition

    By A Correspondent

     

    For a while now, the Mumbai-based Free Press Journal and Taproot Dentsu have been innovating with the paper and the masthead on special days and occasions.

     

    Today, the creative agency has used the entire paper as a canvas to send the message that the “collective fight against Covid-19 will be successful only when we cancel out each and every Covid-19 case from India.” Hence, the paper has literally cancelled out words like Corona, Covid-19, pandemic, quarantine, lockdown, death etc across all 16 pages of its June 10 edition.

     

    Abhishek Karnani

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal: “We began extensively covering Covid crisis through the epaper when the physical paper could not be delivered. Now that physical copies are welcomed back in homes, we felt it was important for us to reconnect with our readers by not just providing information but also making sure it impacts their behaviour positively. We believed the idea will be received well, and even though it seemed simple enough, it was a challenge to pull it off in real time on the printing press table”

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Added Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, CCO and Co-founder, Taproot Dentsu: “Since the last year or so, Taproot has partnered with FPJ and created some impactful creative work and we are quite thrilled about the simplicity of this idea and how seamlessly it has allowed us to weave the message, which happens to be an important warning, into the product itself. It is an apt example of how print has the potential for innovation, without trying too hard.”

     

     

  • The full-page print ads were featured prominently either on the jacket or a full page of the newspaper

    8 creative agencies partner FPJ & Mogae on social communication initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Over the last month, the pages of the Mumbai-based Free Press Journal (FPJ) have featured social communication messages produced by leading creative agencies.

     

    This was the outcome of Mogae Media collaborating with FPJ to get leading agencies to create ad campaigns on the current coronavirus crisis and related social issues. Each creative was to be in full-page size. Beyond that the agencies were allowed an open brief: choose your own theme related to the pandemic, and create what you would like the world to see.

     

    Agencies such Bang In The Middle, Havas Group, Laqshya, Publicis, Rediffusion, RK Swamy BBDO, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi and Wunderman Thompson delivered a total of 10 campaigns. Each of them focused on different social aspects of this crisis. These print ads were featured prominently either on the jacket or a full page of the newspaper.

     

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Director,The Free Press Journal: “We as a newspaper aspire to engage with our readers in the best possible way. One way of doing so was to run these advertisements from these nine esteemed agencies. Through this we have sought to communicate messages of hope and tenacity – so vital during this lockdown period. Subtle yet strong messages were wonderfully crafted and conveyed by these agencies. We are thankful to them. Special thanks are owed to Mogae Media which conceptualised this entire campaign.”

     

    Added Dr Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media: “Abhishek Karnani and FPJ are really large-hearted, and very generous, to give so willingly of their media space for communicating messages of societal good. The agencies too gave us their talent and time without demur. The creative quality was uniformly high. I noticed also that despite full-page sizes on offer, the copy was minimal. Obviously, faith in long copy has waned! The art direction across campaigns has been 10/10. I am really glad we did this Social Communication Initiative.”

  • A China page will appear every Monday in the FPG, effective immediately.

    Xinhua partners with FPJ to introduce weekly China page

    By A Correspondent

     

    Xinhua and Free Press Journal (FPJ) have entered an agreement to bring out a weekly China page as part of the Mumbai-headquartered daily. The China page will appear every Monday, effective immediately.

     

    The draft page was launched by the Mr. Guocai Tang, Consul General  of the People’s Republic of China  in Mumbai, notes a communique. “It was heartening that Indian media houses had come forward to articulate China’s views as well,” he stated. He added understanding each other’s perspectives, always lead to better understanding and relationships.

     

     

  • “The last five special editions have seen us changing our masthead to draw the nation’s attention to issues that deserve to be addressed, notes a communique

    Free Press changes masthead for Education Day

    By A Correspondent

     

    We didn’t know it was World Education Day today. Thankfully Free Press Journal reminded us of that with Free School, the sixth issue of special editions conceived by Taproot Dentsu. “The last five special editions have seen us changing our masthead to draw the nation’s attention to issues that deserve to be addressed, noted a communique, adding: “We started this movement on August 29, 2019, National Sports Day, by changing our 90-year-old brand name to Free Sports; followed by Free Food on World Food Day (October 16); and Free Child on Children’s Day (November 14); Free Farmers on Farmers’ Day (December 23). And today, we want to shine the spotlight on a fundamental human right – education.”

     

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Chairman Director of the Free Press Journal group: “Though we are in the business of journalism, we want to focus on addressing the issues at hand. Education is a very important factor in the economic development of any country. Since the early days of independence, India has focused on improving the literacy rate. Even today, the government runs many programmes to promote primary and higher education in India. We thought this is our way of shedding light on and starting a conversation around this issue.”

     

    Added Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Taproot Dentsu: “I’m happy that we’re now publishing our 6th special edition. The last five had us tackling five different issues. And this one is no different. I’d like to thank the Free Press Journal team for helping bring this idea to life by reaching out to concerned contributors to address the issues and ensuring that we give space to different points of view.”

     

     

  • Research indicated that what senior citizens wanted most was the time of young adults

    IAA Rotary Campaign For Good unveils film on seniors

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter and the Rotary movement had invited entries from young professionals in advertising agencies to create a ‘Campaign For Good’ based on research that indicated that what senior citizens wanted most was the time of young adults.

     

    Judged by ace creative names Arun Iyer, Raj Nair and Navin Talreja, the winning team was Adamya Mody, Kanchan Kesari, Reet Sawhney and Sanjana Dora of Ogilvy. This team was presented a special IndIAA Award.

     

    The winning Print campaign of three advertisements was run in mainstream media including the Mid-day and the Free Press Journal.

     

    Now the film has been produced by Zee (pro bono) and will premiere on Zee 5 and all Zee broadcast channels.

     

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Chairman IndIAA awards, the campaign has a great emotional tug and we are delighted that this effort to show that communication can be a force for good is being supported so generously.

     

     

  • The idea was brought to the 90-year-old FPJ by Taprot

    Taproot gets Free Press Journal to change its masthead again on World Food Day

    By A Correspondent

     

    In August, on National Sports Day, the Free Press Journal changes its masthead to Free Sports Journal. And today (October 16), it is calling itself the “Free Food” Journal.

     

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal: “This is one of the most pressing issues that India is facing. A number of NGOs and organisations, including government bodies, have been working on finding solutions to this issue for the last 4-5 years. We want to do our bit to contribute and to raise awareness about the issue. By changing our masthead to reflect it, we are reflecting upon and dedicating two full pages to amplify this it. We will be taking this idea forward through the year, shining the spotlight on multiple issues – like access to education, healthcare, safety, etc., on relevant national and international days. The idea was brought to us by Taproot Dentsu, one of India’s leading advertising agencies.”

     

    Added Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder, Santosh Padhi (Paddy): “I’m glad that we have the platform to give this issue the importance it deserves. And I’m even happier to say that we have managed to get quite a few NGOs to partner with us and accept donations, who are also just a phone call away in case you want to donate leftovers from a party, wedding or gathering. So, we have a strong call to action well integrated.”

     

  • The idea was brought to the paper by leading creative agency Taproot Dentsu

    Taproot turns FPJ turns into Free Sports Journal on National Sports Day

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ninety-year-old newspaper Free Press Journal is sporting a new masthead today. On the occasion of National Sports Day, Taproot Dentsu changed the masthead of the paper to “highlight the issue of free and easy access to sport”

     

    Abhishek Karnani

    Said Abhishek Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal: “Print has the potential to be an innovative and exciting medium. We, as a publication, are always on the lookout for bold, progressive, cutting-edge innovations and ideas that prove that statement to be true. And that allows us to stay relevant to our new-age audience. The Free Press Journal has constantly addressed social issues, through its fair and fearless reportage. But this idea allowed us to go beyond, to champion change. By changing our masthead to reflect the issue, we are reflecting upon and dedicating two full pages to amplify it. We will be taking this idea forward through the year, shining the spotlight on multiple issues – like access to education, healthcare, safety, etc., on relevant national and international days.” The idea was brought to the paper by Taproot Dentsu, informs Karnani.

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Added Santosh Padhi (Paddy), Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder, Santosh Padhi: “A simple yet brave idea is what we had. One that was born out of the name of the newspaper itself – Free Press. We live in an era where less is more. I’m delighted that this new-age approach was liked the minute it was presented. And even more delighted that this won’t be a one-off – we’ll be running this campaign through the year, highlighting national issues on relevant days.”