Rise of print media and drop in press freedom

Indian print media is booming but journalism is under threat

This week came with three pieces of media news that demand attention.
 
First, the phenomenal growth of print media in India continues. The sales of newspapers and magazines in India grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.87 per cent over a 10-year period from 2006-2016. Hindi at 8.76 per cent and Telugu at 8.28 per cent have shown the highest growth in these 10 years, according to a report released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations in Mumbai this Monday. Among the top 10 newspapers, only one, The Times of India, is in English, all the others are in various Indian languages. Circulation growth of paid-for dailies rose by 12 per cent in 2015 even as it fell by anything between two to six per cent across the developed world. Incidentally, India has bucked the global trend despite being one of the fastest growing internet markets.

 
The report gives seven reasons for the growth, such as competitive pricing and the power of the written word. Of these two are key: The rise of literacy, at 74 per cent overall, going by the 2011 Census, and home delivery. The developed world’s slide against the internet was rapid because there is volition involved in going out to buy a newspaper in the US or UK. In India the low cost of home delivery means that readerships will remain protected for a long time. What the report doesn’t say is that the Rs 30,300-crore print media industry remains the most profitable segment of the Rs 1,26,200-crore Indian media and entertainment sector. But whether newspapers and magazines are using this financial and audience growth to do great journalism is moot. They are probably not always free to.

 

That brings us to the second piece of news. The India Freedom Report from The Hoot paints a grim picture of shrinking liberties for India’s press. Over the last 16 months, 54 attacks have been reported on journalists, though the report says the figure could be higher. The pattern, says the report, is clear. “Investigative reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous. Journalists who venture out into the field to investigate any story, be it sand mining, stone quarrying, illegal construction, police brutality, medical negligence, an eviction drive, election campaigns, or civic administration corruption, are under attack,” says the report.
 

A break-up of the 54 incidents shows that the perpetrators are both lawmakers and law enforcers — police, a riot convict, liquor mafia, political parties and their leaders/supporters. Then there is the rising censorship of news like a criminal complaint against Outlook magazine, blocking of Sakshi TV or a take-down notice to The Wire from businessman and member of parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
 
Incidentally, of 180 countries, India was 136th on this year’s World Press Freedom Index, put together by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, an independent NGO. This puts India below Nigeria, Colombia and Nepal among other countries that are way behind it on population and size of economy.

 
Yet, it is amazing that news channels such as Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV continue to be launched. And that is the third piece of news. Work demanded me to watch Republic TV. About 30 minutes of the shouting and screaming that passed for news and debate was all I could take. Republic TV helped with one thing, though — it reinforced my two-year-old decision not to watch Indian news channels. I would recommend it to everyone. If you really want to know what is happening in the country pick up a quality, national newspaper. Don’t bother with news channels.

 Twitter: @vanitakohlik