As is evident, the reasons for this amazing growth in the circulation of Indian language newspapers are many.
There is a rise in the number of literate people who are migrating to cities. The Hindi daily Hindustan in 2003 printed 64,000 copies of their Delhi edition, which jumped to 425,000 by 2005. The reason was that of Delhi’* population of one crore and forty-seven lakhs, 52 percent had come from the Hindi belt. Out of this, 47 percent have come from a rural background and 60 percent of them are less than 40 years of age.
Dominant Indian language newspapers such as Malayala Manorama in Malayalam and Eenadu in Telugu launched the concept of local news in a significant manner by introducing district and block editions.
Dina Thanthi, a leading Tamil newspaper, has always used simplified and colloquial language. In Kannada, Prajavani, Vijaya Karnataka, Kannada Prabha have adopted the same techniques.
The Indian language newspapers have adopted advanced printing technologies and also attempted supplements, pullouts, and literary and niche booklets.
Marketing strategies have also marked the growth of the Dainilc Bhaskar group and Vijayakamatika as they carry out consumer contact programmes, door-to-door surveys, and research.
Cross media ownership trend is becoming visible among the major players such as Eenadu, group, Times group, Dainik Jagran, and Sahara who plunged into TV news after . their long innings in newspapers. While English newspapers, often called ‘National Dailies’ like The Times of India, the Hindu, The Indian Express, The Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald and etc, circulate across the nation, vernacular newspapers have vastly increased their circulation within the states and ruler hinterland.
In order to compete with the electronic media, newspapers on the one hand have reduced their prices and on the other hand brought out editions from multiple centres. There is also an increasing dependence on the sponsors of advertisements. Many feared that the rise in electronic media would lead to a decline in the circulation of print media. This has not happened. Indeed it has expanded.
In 1991 there was just one state controlled TV channel in India. ‘Doordarshan’. By 1998, there were 70 channels. Privately run satellite channels have multiplied rapidly since the mid-1990s. The staggering growth of private satellite television has been one of the defining developments of contemporary India. The Gulf War of 1991 (which popularised CNN), and the launching of Star-TV in the same year by the Whampoa Hutchinson Group of Hong Kong, signalled the arrival of private Satellite Channels in India.
In 1992, Zee TV, a Hindi-based satellite entertainment channel, also began beaming programs to cable television viewers in India By 2000, many private cable and satellite channels were available including several that focused exclusively on regional-language broadcasting like Sun-TV, Eenadu-TV, Udaya-TV, Raj-TV, and Asianet. Zee TV has also launched several regional networks in other languages. India based English news channels like NDTV 24 x 7 CNN, IBN, Times Now, Headlines Today are also popular among English speaking people.
The coming in of transnational television companies social and cultural activities. like star TV, MTV, Channel [V], sony and other worried some people on the likely impact on Indian youth and on the Jhdi&n cultural identity, put most of the transnational Television channels have through research, realised that the use of the familiar is more effective in getting the attention of the diverse groups that constitute Indian audience.
So these channels have also given importance to family oriented entertainment. Entertainment television has produced a new cadre of superstars who have become familiar household names. Reality shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati or Indian Idol or Big Boss have become increasingly popular. Most of these are modeled along the lines of western programmes.
