ARCHIVES: Companies
Money. It cannot buy the most valuable things in life. And sometimes, not even the not-so-valuable things. Like a few more readers for your paper, or magazine. Business houses venturing into publishing have met different fates. Some are dead. Like the Ambani-owned The Business and Political Observer and Vijaypath Singhania's The Indian Post. Others are just cruising along like The Asian Age. Some others are seriously sick, as is The Pioneer, once owned by the Thapars. Of course, there are those... MORE
IN TV, the cable channel of IndusInd Entertainment Ltd (IEL), is in the process of formalising a contract for the supply of India-specific news content to Singapore-based Channel News Asia. "We had begun supplying content quite some time back but we will be coming out with a formal announcement to the effect some time soon," disclosed Rajiv K Bajaj, president, IEL. He also added that his company is in talks with five more channels for the same. "I can't disclose the names but talks are on," he... MORE
Late last month, the Mumbai-based Chitralekha Group forged a unique alliance with the Maharashtra-centric Deshdoot group of publications. The Nashik and Shrirampur editions of the Marathi daily, Deshdoot, began carrying the weekly magazine, Chitralekha Marathi, on Sundays, virtually free of cost to the reader. Three weeks later, Chitralekha is poised to double its sales, claimedly, along with giving a big boost to a lagging Deshdoot. It may well be the country's first instance of a newspaper... MORE
Even on a clear, crisp Manhattan day, it was difficult to imagine the colossus about to take shape at Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park, where three construction cranes hovered over the remains of the Robert Moses-era Coliseum. This hole in the ground is to become AOL Time Warner Center, the headquarters of the newly united company. The $1.7 billion complex will feature a pair of sheer glass towers that will command park views at sunrise and Hudson River sunsets and --... MORE
Nearly six months back, the 67-year-old Nava Bharat Group, known mainly for its Hindi daily of the same name published in 11 editions, took an interesting step. It began constructing an FMCG-like distribution system in hometown Nagpur. Dividing the city into zones, it appointed about 400 company-controlled franchisees. Around the same time, it launched its first Marathi newspaper, Nava Rashtra, in Nagpur. To test the efficacy of its new distribution network, it distributed Nava Rashtra through... MORE
"Now this guy has not given me ads, but I am going to ask him to advertise on his terms," says Eric D'Souza, general manager, Dainik Bhaskar. He is referring to a media buyer who is buying space for a big FMCG marketer for the forthcoming International Women's Day. D'Souza calls up his boys, collects some dummies, and turns to me: "Let's talk in the car". Seated inside, he shows me the dummies of the Women's Day issue of one of his publications. "This is what we will do for advertisers," he... MORE
While selling a newspaper to both consumers and media planners, it's generally numbers that make the most convincing argument. But after having stolen a march over its nearest rival, The Times of India (TOI), Delhi's largest-selling newspaper, The Hindustan Times (HT), is focusing on the quality of its readership, rather than the number of people reading the paper. Take the advertising for the Persona supplement for women - that shows a modern young woman in her home. It's clear that it's the... MORE
ONE BY ONE, THE COUPS were carried out swiftly, often without warning. By May, more than a dozen editors from around the country had left their offices in the past year, mostly under duress, virtually all without new jobs, replaced by other managers eager to get into the game. Press reports painted pictures of brutal departures: In Oklahoma City, Daily Oklahoman Executive Editor Stan Tiner walked into a meeting with the general manager, came out, grabbed his briefcase, left the building and... MORE
EACH DAY, the Washington Post's closely guarded news budget is e-mailed across country at 2 p.m. EST to three editors at MSNBC.com's headquarters within the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington. The Post sends not only a rundown of what's slated for the following day's edition, but also a list of other Post stories ready to go or in the works. The Washington Post sharing its trade secrets with the competition? "Everyone is in total understanding at MSNBC.com of the importance of the Post's... MORE
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