Date:05/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/05/stories/2007090564111300.htm

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‘Publishing houses must prepare for change’

Special Correspondent

— PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO

IfraExpo India 2007, an International exhibition of printing and publishing industry organised by Ifra India and co-sponsored by the Indian Newspaper Society at the Chennai Trade Centre on Tuesday. From left are: Reiner Mittelbach, CEO, Ifra; Kjell Aamat, President and CEO, Schibsted, Norway; K.N. Shanthakumar, Director, Deccan Herald; N. Murali, Director, Ifra India; and R.V. Rajan, Managing Director, Ifra India.

CHENNAI: It may be the best of times for Indian publishing houses, but they are well aware that tomorrow is another day. Preparing for the changes ahead was on top of the agenda at Ifra India 2007, a conference for news publishers and their suppliers being held at the Chennai Trade Centre from September 4 to 6.

Delivering the keynote address of the conference, Kjell Aamat, president and chief executive of Schibsted, Norway’s biggest media house, explained how his company adapted to seemingly hostile trends to not just survive, but succeed. “Being responsive to change is key in our business,” said Mr. Aamat, applying Charles Darwin’s observations on the fittest of the species to the publishing world. At a time when Europe’s print publishers faced the looming threat of the online boom, Schibsted decided to expand its online presence even at the risk of cannibalising its print products. “If we don’t do it, someone else will come and do it,” he explained the rationale. “And we were stubborn enough to hold on to our strategy and lose money on internet for seven years in a row when the dot com bubble went bust.” Today, that persistence is paying off. The secret to Schibsted’s success is crosslinking between its many products across various media, driving traffic from one to the other, he said.

Ifra India Director N. Murali, also the Managing Director of The Hindu, says the European experience holds lessons which Indian media houses would do well to learn now, well before the print boom ends. “The time has come for t hem to look ahead. Print is still on a growth curve, but ten years from now, it is likely to decline in relation to online media....There is no urgency or hurry, but if you have the foresight, you will start investing now. There is time for trial and error in India, which other countries don’t have,” he said, walking through IfraEXpo India, the exhibition on printing and publishing technologies being held concurrent with the conference.

Ifra chief executive Reiner Mittelbach says Indian media houses are already on the right track. “You start to think of these things very early...whether it’s online or freesheets and community papers, or news via mobile. It’s very encouraging,” he said.

Marc Sands, marketing director of the U.K.’s Guardian News and Media, emphasises that Indian publishers need to invest in new media right now, even if they are not yet clear on where the market is going or their own future strategies. “It’s like the Gold Rush. No one knows what they’re doing, but everyone needs to get in now and figure it out later. How do you monetise it, that’s the big question,” he said.