Applied Languages

    Posted by Jaiken Struck on July 15th, 2009

The future of India’s printed press lies in the greater appreciation of the nation’s extraordinary linguistic diversity, maintains a selection of Indian marketing and media experts. A panel convened at the Indian Newspaper Congress 2009 discussed the predominance of the English-language national press and strategies for how local language papers could proliferate and take a fair share of newspaper advertising revenue.

The panel illustrated the importance of a plural, vibrant local language press to a nation that has 23 officially recognised languages, as well as hundreds of other different tongues.

Ranjeet Kate, Director, Maharashtra Times, described the main characteristics of the increasingly ubiquitous language dailies  “These are – more eyeballs, deeper engagement with readers, higher share of circulation revenue, and language dailies dominating outside the metros.”

A fundamental contradiction within the country’s press structures is acting to the detriment of non-English readers, which count for the majority of the population.  As literacy in local languages is increasing across India’s landscape, there has been an attendant rise in the publication of respective language newspapers and e-papers. Nevertheless, a disproportionate 60% of marketing revenue is still consumed by English-language publications.

A fairer distribution of revenue streams is dependent on a revision of mentalities towards the press, the session moderator, Bharat Kapadia, Director of Lokmat Group maintained. The common use of the adjective “vernacular” to describe publications in local languages is derogatory, as it means “language of the slaves”. Pradyuman Maheshwari, Group Editor, exchange4media, echoed the sentiment that that favouritism of English language in print, while not of other media, such as film, is indicative of lingering colonial outlooks.

It appears that advertisers and publishers need to pursue a serious consideration of the packaging, publicity and business models of language publications to break down engrained prejudices so that the potential of language dailies can be harnessed. Indeed, it is clear that “shift” to the greater importance of these publications outside the metropolitan areas, “is happening now”.  It is therefore essential that the bodies concerned move in on this evolution as soon as possible if it is to be guided to lucrative and high-quality directions.

Ostensibly, India’s printed press is relatively healthy as compared to its American and European counterparts. The Indian market for news consumption, including national residents and expatriates, is enormous: the latest research by ComScore shows that the English language Times of India Online is the most visted website in the world. Western news publishers, such as Dow Jones, are currently investing in the Indian press. However, the vast scope of the press is obscuring the growing threats presented by the rise of new technologies in news provision from within and outside of the country. Thus, the onus is now on publishers and advertisers within India to recognise the financial opportunities of linguistic plurality if this dynamism within the country is to be developed further.

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