'Net will help, not hinder, print medium'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, SEPT. 15. Though the death of the newspaper industry had been predicted by the year 2000, ``we have managed to survive well'', Mr. M.J. Akbar, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of Asian Age, remarked here on Friday.

He was moderating the panel discussion on ``Can print readership grow in the Internet era?'' organised in connection with the Indian Newspaper Society Convention.

However the ``newsprint burden'' which came to nearly 70 per cent of costs had to be reconsidered, Mr. Akbar said. If this was removed, newspapers could better focus on content. The Internet enterprises had eaten up more money than possible returns. In this context, the newspaper industry should remember the principle, `Spend less than you earn'. The present figures of PC ownership and Internet penetration should not be confused with the future picture, he cautioned.

Ms. Shobhana Bhartia, Vice-Chairman, The Hindustan Times, one of the panelists, said even in the U.S., with more Internet users, the circulation of the New York Times had grown 8 per cent since 1997 and its advertising revenue had also gone up. This was the case with other top American newspapers. Internet reach, even by the year 2003, was estimated to be only around 18 million, far below the reach of the print medium.

Changes in technology were necessary even in the print medium, she pointed out. The consumer was used to multiple media and wanted more frequent news updates and did not want to wait till the next morning. Newspapers too had to enter the multimedia zone and use the Web to reach niche reader segments. The future may have the same newspaper correspondent armed with a digital camera and laptop, covering news for both the print and online media. The Internet could be used to create customer loyalty and sell subscriptions to the printed version.

Mr. Abhay Chajlani, Managing Director of Nai Duniya was of the view that the attention given to the Internet had no relevance in the Indian context. The highest ``score'' claimed by a website was 170 million page views a month which was below that of many newspapers. The print medium would co-exist with radio, TV and the Net. Most TV viewers were ``channel surfers'' and the newspaper remained a more stable medium which could not be easily replaced, he said.

Mr. Mammen Mathew, Managing Director, Malayala Manorama, said, ``Don't be in a hurry to write the epitaph of the print medium.'' The print medium would use the Internet as an opportunity to grow and the Manorama group was planning an electronic newspaper version which could be accessed through kiosks. Many Internet- based news channels had failed in recent months while very few newspapers had reported a fall in readership. The cost of PC ownership and telecom access would remain high for many years to come in India. The Net and e-commerce would remain popular only among the more affluent, he said.

Using new technology

Mr. Gunther Bottcher, Managing Director of IFRA, Germany, a worldwide association of newspapers, said in his talk on ``How print can use new technology to power growth'' that newspapers too had to ``think digital''. New technologies such as digital advertising and digital transmission would increase revenues. Computerised colour management systems would improve quality and bring in more advertisements.

Computerised photo processing, quality control of the printing process, new technologies in printing machinery and even new types of newsprint would be used in future, Mr. Bottcher said. Digital printing and ``print on demand'' technologies would make last-minute updates of local news possible, he said.

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