PUBLISHING NEWSPAPERS
Newspaper circulation back to prepandemic levels in north India
In late March 2020 , the central government announced a complete lockdown to stop the spread of the Coronavirus . During the first four months of the 2020-2021 financial year , that is from April to July 2020 , the country was under a hard lockdown .
The lockdown had a severe impact on newspaper circulation . In many cities across India , readers stopped buying newspapers completely as there was an apprehension that the virus could be transmitted through the surface of the newspaper . Although this theory was debunked , the damage was already done , especially in multi-story housing developments where entire apartment buildings and housing estates were off-limits to newspaper delivery men . As the lockdowns were lifted and the first wave of the pandemic subsided , the industry recovered some of its circulations which kept improving in the 2021- 2022 fiscal year .
According to Ghorpade , newspaper circulation and pagination are back to pre-pandemic levels in North Indian states . “ What we are seeing is that in the recent months ’ circulation and pagination are back to pre-pandemic levels in North India . Elections in states like Uttar Pradesh , Uttarkhand , and Punjab have given a boost to circulation as well as pagination . In
South India , however , ( with some exceptions ) the circulation is yet to reach pre-covid levels ,” says Ghorpade .
He says that the circulation recovery in South India is slow because many readers who shifted to digital formats are taking their time in returning to the physical format . “ Due to better awareness about digital media , a large number of readers in South India began to consume news on smartphones during the period when the supply of newspapers was restricted . Many of those readers are yet to go back to the physical format . I believe this is the reason why the recovery in circulation in the southern states is a little slow ,” he argues .
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Elections in states like Uttar Pradesh , Uttarkhand , and Punjab have given a boost to circulation as well as pagination . In South India , however , ( with some exceptions ) the circulation is yet to reach pre-covid levels .
Launch of book printing press
Sigmarq Technologies informed Indian Printer and Publisher about its plans to launch a book printing press in the coming months . Ghorpade says the project is progressing well . “ This press is mainly for book printers but can also be used for newspaper printing with some customization ,” he says .
The company has also expanded its shop floor by almost four times . It has bought two acres of land and set up a larger manufacturing facility . “ We expect the book printing and newspaper segment to pick up in the next financial year . So , we wanted to be ready with a bigger manufacturing capacity . The unit is built and ready and will be used as and when required ,” Ghorpade concluded . n
Manorama Online is awarded as ‘ Best in News Website ’
WanIfra announces winners of South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021
Malayala Manorama ’ s manoramaonline . com bagged the ‘ Best in News Website ’ South Asian Digital Media Award for the third time in a row . Among the winners are The Hindu , Hindustan Times , The Quint , Mojo Story , NDTV Convergence , Times of India Digital , and Sakal .
The 2021 awards in their fifth edition received more than 140 entries , a record jump of close to double the number of entries in the previous year . These awards , presented by Wan-Ifra , recognize South Asian publishers who have delivered unique and original digital media projects in the last 12 months .
Indian Printer & Publisher | 1 March 2022
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