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Divya Bhaskar, the Gujarati paper from the Rs 1,000-crore Dainik Bhaskar group, is set to enter the industrial city of Surat, considered the second-most important market in Gujarat, with a new edition in March. This edition, which is the second after Bhaskar's debut in June last year in the city of Ahmedabad, is scheduled to be launched in the third week of March. "The gameplan," as Girish Agarwal...

India’s leading publisher Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL) has reached an understanding with the US major Dow Jones to launch an Indian edition of the well-known financial daily, The Wall Street Journal. Top sources in BCCL confirmed that the memorandum of understanding was signed a few days ago. The agreement states that a joint venture company, WSJ India, will be set up in which Dow Jones...

The Deccan Herald Avenues Awards for HR Excellence on January 17 saw the best of the HR fraternity come together in Bangalore. Initiated for the first time, the event is set to be a regular feature. Besides being a contribution to the industry, this venture is expected to go a long way in boosting the Deccan Herald brand name. Stressing on the growing importance of HR today, Tilak Kumar, Joint MD...

The Telugu television news sector is heating up. While December saw the launch announcements of three news channels, January brings forth a fourth player. Vaarttha, one of Andhra Pradesh’s leading Telugu dailies, has decided to diversify into television with plans to launch a news channel. Set for takeoff this year, the organisation is ironing out the details. Confirming Vaarttha’s decision to...

Clocking 1.4 crore daily readers, Dainik Jagran is eyeing the Punjab pie. The Jagran group is launching an edition in Ludhiana on January 18, 2004. "The new edition will help Dainik Jagran consolidate its position in Punjab," says Shailesh Gupta, Director, Dainik Jagran. What was the purpose behind launching an edition in Ludhiana? "We had plans of setting up a second plant in Punjab and it made...

Creative minds from ad agencies across the country are slated to battle it out for the ‘Concerned Communicator Award’ organized by Rajasthan Patrika. The annual award ceremony is held each year on the newspaper’s foundation day. What is the USP of the Award? Ajay Tumkalia, General Manager – Marketing, Rajasthan Patrika tells exchange4media, "The Award was instituted in ‘97 by K. C. Kulish, Founder...

On-demand is in demand. We are talking newspapers here. Most popular in the hospitality industry, this facility lets a guest use his credit card to pay for a newspaper of his choice, print it, and read it instantly. The amazing thing about the newspaper on-demand technology is that geographical location does not matter. Whether you are in the US, UK or India, just print your favourite newspaper...

The circulation of Indian newspapers jumped 24 per cent to 142 million in 2002-03 against 115.3 million in 2001-02, according to the 47th ‘Press in India’ report brought out by the Registrar, Newspapers of India. The jump in readership is attributed to a larger number of publishers submitting their annual statements for the survey. For the first time, the survey was based on financial year and not...

Magazine publisher RR Gopal, of the Tamil-language publication Nakkheeran, was freed on bail on 20 December on the order of the Tamil Nadu High Court. Gopal, who has been held in Chennai Central prison for more than eight months, remains accused of conspiracy "to separate Tamil Nadu from the Indian State" and possession of a firearm. He was charged on 11 April 2003 under the Prevention of...

You wouldn't necessarily think that Cheré Coen, with 20 years of newspaper experience plus a stint at a magazine's Web site, would find herself writing briefs, plugs and promos most days, with maybe the future of newspapers riding on her work. Luring readers through teasers and tidbits makes up a central part of Coen's job as "readership editor" of the 70,000-circulation Bakersfield Californian...