And
My Vote is for...
The Four Major English-language Dailies in Chennai City | A Comparative Study
The Hindu
The
Times of India
The
New Indian Express
The
Deccan Chronicle
Pen is mightier than the sword... But how much mightier than the other?
This seems to be the question donning the dynamic brains at the four media giants of the Indian print industry, who have been vying with equal gusto to outrival and outsmart their opponent with more food, more mouth-watering menus, spread in delectable formats for their avid readers of all hues!
The past two weeks have been witness to media cold-wars raging to a new high, albeit on pen and paper!
This week, on 14th April 2008 to be precise, Chennai woke up to the changing times, with one more newspaper THE TIMES OF INDIA opening shop in Tamil Nadu.
[Earlier, we used to get the Sunday Times only on the next day, at the local newspaper mart!]
So with all eagerness and excitement, like a child all set to open his/her birthday goodies, I scanned through the newish newspaper in town, The Times of India, column by column, row by row, and assessing (in my own little way) how this paper is going to make its impact felt among the general newspaper reading populace of namma Chennai.
With yet an additional choice on offer for the English-language newspaper buff, in THE TIMES OF INDIA, and with the awesome foursome going all out to attract all sections by their myriad choices in subject matter and style of presentation, I set out to explore from a layperson’s perspective, what is common or unique to these major English dailies that keeps them ahead of the rest.
First, I did a simple comparison of the page vs price factor -
(of all the four English dailies on Monday, April 14, 2008)
The Hindu, ToI, NIE have two supplements each, while DC has one.
Pricing-wise,
The Hindu is costlier than the rest, at Rs.2.50/- and NIE, DC are the cheapest at Rs.1.50/-
As regards total number of pages, TOI is on the higher side with 56 pages of news, followed by The Hindu and DC with 44 pages each, and NIE with 30 pages.
Coming next to City Coverage –
THE HINDU scores a point over and above its latest competitor, in its coverage of City News. TOI is not far behind. But, the NIE, sadly is not up to the mark, although with two pages, and DC obviously does not score in this section at all - with just one page of city news.
Now, to the State (TN) Coverage –
Two full pages of quality coverage from THE HINDU, and TOI draws a complete blank in this section - Nil Coverage!
Two pages of scanty news yet again from THE NEW IE, and there is no specific TN State coverage in DC.
On News Coverage from the South –
THE HINDU also scores well above all the other Dailies, in its coverage of the South.
THE TIMES and THE NEW IE don't have this Section at all, while DC tries to score brownie points here with an entire page of dedicated to news from The South.
On the National News Front,
The Hindu and TOI have done a commendable job, with three pages each, while it is two (too little) pages from THE NEW IE, and an apologetic one page from DC.
On the Editorial front again –
THE HINDU is quite readable with a presentable, quality layout, while it seems like TOI has got some of their priorities wrong in the Editorial page. (it's more a pot-pourri!)
THE
NEW IE furbishes a new look in this page, which will take some time to get down
well with the readers, while DC needs to take ideas from the other newspapers
on how to design an Editorial page.
On the International front,
The Times is a cut above the rest, with an attractive array of news items on offer, with two full pages, while THE HINDU, THE NEW IE and DC have given one page each to International News.
As far as Business news is concerned,
both THE HINDU and THE TIMES, seem to be on equal footing.
Three full pages on the Business front in DC,
and just one page on Business news coverage from THE NEW IE.
However on the Sports front, yet again,
THE HINDU edges past THE TIMES with its variety, local flavour and style of presentation with three pages of sporting action.
DC has Three pages of DC SPORT to its credit,
while THE NEW IE has got just two pages of Sports.
As regards SUPPLEMENTS,
32 pages of useful City Info and Educational Info from THE TIMES,
20 pages of Metro News and Educational News from THE HINDU,
12 pages of City Potpourri and Educational Info from THE NEW IE, and
24 pages of Crappy stuff from DC.
The Supplement CHENNAI TIMES is below par, and not becoming of THE TIMES, but its other supplement on Education titled "Education Times, will surely make people sit back, look up and welcome such a dazzling compendium on the Educational Front, what with a full Sixteen-page broadsheet format,
compared to the twelve-page tabloid (Small sheet format) of THE HINDU, dedicated to Education (wow, that's quite a cynosure to the eyes!)
The Education Express from THE NEW IE is of lacklustre quality, and there’s still much spadework that needs to be done on this front.
Chennai is (as has been said time and again, and rightfully so,) by far mostly conservative,
- going by its nightlife, which is far less vibrant compared to a Bangalore or a Mumbai,
- going by its culture of Carnatic kutcheris and pattu pavadais, from close knit family bonds to the long-plaited pigtails of the womenfolk, Chennai has rarely gone beyond its conservative tradition and lifestyle (though highstyle techies from across the cities are trying their best to rejig the same)!
- in its food habits too, the diehard Chennaiite, for a very long time, was contentment personified to eat idli, sambar and thayir saadam at home!
- and going by its readers’ tastes - the diehard Chennai conservative would by all means stick to, and cherish News and articles that cater to his conservative values and family set up.
For the average Chennaiite, Home is where one has to gather grace! and rightfully too!
In this respect, THE HINDU lays claim to the heart of the average Chennaiite, with its intelligent coverage of news and views, followed by TOI, with its vibrant layout and presentation format.
NIE with its new stylish format, is yet to augur well with its readers, and DC, doling out news by the dozen, is dulling and lacks conviction.
On a personal note -
Well, I’ve always been a votary of The Indian Express for long, but as of now, things seem to be not so bright for them. Just have a look at the front page! [in snap]. Just have a look at how weird they have designed the nameplate Indian Express :-( Not the good old Indian Express that we are accustomed to! But I’m sure they’d bounce back soon.
*****
Activities: 23 April of every year is celebrated as World Book Day. The BRITISH COUNCIL, CHENNAI has planned a range of activities during the week starting 21st till 26th April.
Between 23 and 25 April 2008, participate in the online quiz if you are a book lover or simply interested in reading and win prizes. Simply go to http://library.britishcouncil.org.in/chennai
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