Hindi Media

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The way was wrong but the issue was right, journalist Jarnail Singh said Tuesday after hurling a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram over his responses to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. “I just wanted to ask (Chidambaram) how he can be happy when one whole community is in deep anguish,” Jarnail Singh told IANS over phone from the Tughlak Road police station. “I just wanted to ask how justice can be done but he was not interested in answering the question. “I do not think it (what I did) is the right way but the issue (1984 Sikh riots) is right,” added the journalist from the daily Dainik Jagran.

New Delhi (PTI): Robbed off a lion's share of its advertising revenue due to the global economic downturn, the media industry is looking forward to the general elections as a major stimulus and expects business worth Rs 600 crore from promotional campaigns of various parties. Print media and news channels are expected to be the major beneficiaries in the elections, while radio channels and new media platforms, such as mobile and Internet, are also being used by the political parties and candidates in their campaigns, according to a report by brokerage firm Centrum. "Elections have historically attracted viewers to the Hindi news space. Political parties are expected to spend about Rs 600 crore on promotions, of which 55 per cent would be on print media and eight per cent on radio," Centrum said. According to industry experts, election season has injected a fresh lease of life for the media companies, a number of whom have embarked upon significant cost-cutting measures du...

Hindi daily Raj Express is seeking to further strengthen its presence in the Hindi belt and is eyeing expansion in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2009. Launched in Bhopal in March 2005, Raj Express entered the Indore market in May 2006, followed by Jabalpur and Gwalior in October 2008 and November 2008, respectively. Elaborating on the expansion plans, Sanjay Mehta, Managing Direction, Raj Group, said, “We intend to complete our coverage of the Chhattisgarh market with the launch of the Raipur and Bilaspur editions in the next six months. We are targeting a minimum of 2 lakh copies for these editions. We plan to launch four editions in Rajasthan – Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur – in 2009. We are targeting a minimum of 4 lakh copies.” Commenting on the content of the paper and the competition, Mehta said, “Raj Express aims to cater to all age groups and has a strong editorial base. We will continud to do the same for the new editions in both Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. We are not comp...

Press Release Chennai, June 16, 2008: Dainik Bhaskar announced today that it has signed on MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Rajiv Jaitly, President, Ad Sales & Marketing, said, "These are exciting times for 'Bhaskar' as the brand continues its growth across markets. With its geographical spread covering the newly emerged markets of India in tier-II and tier-III towns, Dainik Bhaskar was seeking a personality or icon who would best project the ethos and core of the brand to its various stakeholders. In Dhoni, we have managed to find a near perfect fit. He is a shining real life example of what an ambitious individual can do; he oozes a high degree of confidence, adapts to new situations very fast, has demonstrated innovative thinking and more importantly, has shown how the relentless pursuit of excellence can make a person from a small town emerge a champion." Adds Rajiv Jaitly, "Dhoni has an attitude towards the game similar to what we have toward publishin...

This news appeared first at www.exchange4media.com The Hindi heartland is witness to an intensifying print battle. Bhopal has emerged as the latest battlefield for readership with NavDunia from NaiDunia Group, Patrika from Rajasthan Patrika, and now DB Star from Bhaskar launching in quick succession. Following the Bhopal launch, DB Star is eyeing an Indore launch. This would be followed by forays into markets like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Raipur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Jodhpur. DB Star is the fifth title from DB Corp, which calls it the ‘general entertainment channel’ of newspapers. The other brands from DB Corp include Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, DNA and the forthcoming Business Bhaskar. Sanjeev Kotnala, AVP & National Head, Communication, DB Corp, explained, “Readers’ tastes are changing and their expanse along with the hunger for news itself is being accentuated. DB Star captures this latent unserviced need of a reader in Tier II towns. DB Star is a result of ...

hindimedia1@gmail.com Hindi print media space will very soon be witness to tabloid war among the major newspaper groups. Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala are already in the fray with i-next and compact. Dainik Bhaskar after the launch of Patrika from Bhopal has started publication of DB Gold. Ajay Agarwal who broke away from Amar Ujala is now spearheding the assault in the western Uttar Pradesh with his own tabloid DLA. He is all set to enter newer territories including editions from Lucknow and Kanpur. Hindustan and Rajasthan Patrika are the two major groups who have kept away from this war and were busy expanding into newer areas with their broadsheet products. However Hindustan after the launch of i-next from Patna and the proposed launch from Ranchi is mulling over the idea of launching a tabloid, which may be named, Spark. Dainik Jagran’s tabloid i-next has made its presence felt in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. At present it is being published simultaneously from Kanpur, Luck...

This news appeared first at www.afaqs.com Hindi daily Amar Ujala is all set to launch its 18th edition overall and its 11th edition in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in Lucknow in the last week of June. According to market sources, the edition will cover eight other districts of UP in addition to Lucknow: Raibareli, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gonda, Sitapur, Barabanki, Bahraich, Faizabad and Sultanpur. In Lucknow, Amar Ujala will fight it out with the current market leader, Dainik Jagran, which has a circulation of 200,789 copies as per the ABC figures for July-December 2007. According to company insiders in Lucknow, Amar Ujala hopes to be No. 1 in Lucknow from day one – it has more than 210,000 confirmed subscriptions already. The daily will have a cover price of Rs 3.50, at par with Dainik Jagran. HT Media’s Hindustan (with a cover price of Rs 3/ 3.50) is also a strong competitor. As per ABC figures for July-December 2007, Hindustan’s Lucknow edition – also printed from Varanasi and Kanpur – has a circul...