It’s a question that we ask every now and then. And hope that by reading the response, some lessons will be learnt. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the June 9 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…
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Q. The Ochs-Sulzberger family that controls The New York Times is known to have said the first dollar it earns would always go to journalism. Do you see this happening here in India? And would you say that’s the reason why so many/some news companies are set to decay here in India?
A. I am not sure if your cynicism about Indian news companies is justified as a ubiquitous reality. There must be some exceptions which I may not be aware of. I understand your point of view as all empirical perception on the subject point towards your surmise.
It is also a reality that the scale of investment in news business/ on journalism by New York Times might not be a near-term reality in this country. It requires a different frame of reference as NYT believes is in the news business and it has hence liberated itself from the chains of a format myopia. Incidentally, if any third-party audit is ever allowed, it is quite possible that investment in journalism is sun-optimal, compared to other business activities.
But I am sure every news organisation would claim that investment in journalism is a priority activity but business model for most news organisations is heavily skewed towards advertising-based monetisation and not subscription-based one. If the latter would have been prioritised, then content and for that matter journalism have to get priority and investment.
Here is a disclaimer: since I am not the owner of a news organisation, my views might be affected by astigmatism of a professional.