Online journalism in India

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Online journalism in India is a growing field shared between traditional media and the growing blogging community. Large media companies, traditionally print and television focused, continue to dominate the journalism environment now online but a growing group of dedicated bloggers are providing an independent voice.

Contents

Growth

Although Indian newspapers were using computers for writing and page layout as early as 1987 they were slow to move to online editions of their papers. By 1998 only forty-eight papers had online editions. By 2006, the count had climbed to 116. This despite the fact that in 2007 India had 42 million Internet users and was ranked fifth among online populations. The number of online news editions is seen as especially low because of the multitude of languages spoken in India. Of the 22 languages officially recognised, only 12 of the non-English languages were accounted for in a survey of online editions. [1]

Current environment

India's internet penetration is low – only 3.7%. Also, most websites are only available in English, which skews the viewership to only 10% of the population that is concentrated in urban centers. Conversely, India ranks third in number of Twitter users. [2] LinkedIn offers a group that targets members that are online journalists in India with content, connections, and job opportunities unique to that segment. Popular discussions offer members an opportunity to share opportunities, discuss activities that affect the industry, and provide peer review for articles before publication on the internet. [3] With the emergence of high speed data and faster mobile data services such as 4G and LTE, videos from some of India's best TV journalists have been made available online. Both NDTV and CNBC, two TV news reporting power houses in India, also have a strong online presence. The top five journalists in India all come from within the ranks of these stations. [4] Another emerging favorite platform for journalists is Twitter. Journalists from all walks – Business, Political, Sports, and Religion - have come together to form a list for ease of following the person or topic that one might find interesting. [5]

Traditional media companies

The internet in India was not available to private users until 1995. By 1998 there were only 48 daily newspapers that operated on the internet. By 2006 the number has steadily climbed to reach 116 newspapers and is predicted to grow as more people in India get access to the web. The first newspapers to adopt an online format were generally English speaking because they had more of a global audience. However, as more users gained access more Indian language papers began to surface. A lot of these new websites were generic versions of the daily paper and were not edited once published. They were operated by minimal staffs. In some instances a single editor would upload data to a third party pre-formatted interface which would allow stories to be published under general headings such as Local News, International, Sports, etc. A large majority of online newspapers in India don't receive advertisement revenue for their web editions and, with the exception of the major papers, most websites are being operated at a loss. Most publications have been slow to incorporate modern web features such as video clips or imbedded audio. One of the biggest concerns is economic viability due to lack of ad revenue. Indian journalism sites have also been slow to adopt the modern practice of online purchasing. This means that when someone visits the website they are unable to order the paper directly or purchase products through advertisements. [1]

Criticism

Many online newspapers in India are criticised for being hastily thrown together with little care from publishers about content. A majority of websites lack simple features such as “about us” or feedback. While the major publishers like the Times Group will list email addresses of its writers and editors many of the small daily newspapers only have a simple imbedded box on their website for feedback. This makes it difficult for readers to communicate with newspaper staff. [1]

Online media with print products, such as OPEN magazine, have been instrumental in providing checks and balances on other forms of media. OPEN broke that Barkha Dutt, widely regarded as India's top journalist, was involved with the Radia tapes controversy, which very little of the print media discussed. Radia, a lobbyist, was involved in corruption regarding the use and sale of 2G wireless spectrum. Her attempt to rehabilitate her reputation was hampered by the combative style she tried to do it with. [6]

Times of India group

The Times of India Group is the largest media conglomerate in India. Its flagship paper is the Times of India which is the largest English publication in the world by readership with just over 7.65 million daily readers. [7] It is also the publisher of the largest business news paper in India, The Economic Times . The Times of India opened their web portal in 1999 and in 2003 they published an electronic version of their newspaper. [8] Some Indian journalists, such as luminary M J Akbar, have made the leap into online journalism. Akbar has been working in journalism since he joined the Times of India in 1971 and currently heads the Sunday Guardian as the editorial director of India Today Group and Headlines Today. The Sunday Guardian is notable for having made a successful pivot from being a print only paper to one which includes online content in their media portfolios. Today, M J Akbar is just one example of a growing number of journalists who have embraced online media while maintaining a strong presence in the print media market. [9]

Dainik Jagran

Dainik Jagran has been India's most read newspaper for 23 consecutive years with a daily readership of over 16 million. It's the flagship publication of Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL), a large media conglomerate in India. JPL launched MMI online in 2008 to handle all of its digital offerings. Most notable is jagran.com which has recently aligned with yahoo.com to bring a large range of offerings to its visitors. [10] The website can see up to 50 updates in one day. In 2011, INEXT was re-launched along with the website inextlive.com. This website launched by Dinesh Shrinet. [11] INEXT is the first bilingual daily news published in India. It currently publishes content from at least 9 different major cities. Besides managing content MMI Online is also actively looking for gaps in the web offerings so that it can bring new content to the country. MMI online also is working to transition India into web 3.0. [12]

One India

Oneindia.in (owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd) is an Indian Internet portal – delivering content, community and commerce to Indian consumers, businesses and the global Indian community. As of 2008, Oneindia.in has been serving the Internet audience for the last 8 years (the language portals have been live since April 2000). It is a multilingual website in all South India languages and English. This online media house was founded by B.G. Mahesh. [13] One India launched its Hindi portal in 2007. [14] Dinesh Shrinet was the editor of this website. “Hindi is the second most popular Indian language on the Internet and increasingly new Internet users are from non-metros and smaller towns,” said B.G. Mahesh, CEO, Greynium Information Technologies Pvt Ltd, “hence it is essential that these audiences are given the right platform to explore and use the Internet to its fullest potential,” added Mahesh.[ citation needed ]

Blogging in India

The largest news and media companies now include blogs in their online offerings. Sites such as The Times Of India have a blog section [15] as does The Economic Times . [16] American online publications are also offering blogs to the Indian market. The Wall Street Journal blog India Realtime is staffed by journalists exclusively from New Delhi and Mumbai and focuses on analysis of issues occurring in India. [17] In September 2010, The Wall Street Journal expanded its offering to include the India Realtime blog in Hindi in addition to the English language. [18] Dainik Jagran , India's most read newspaper, also runs a site dedicated to blogs. [19] The most popular amateur blog topics in India are technology, cricket, finance, business, and coupons. And among them English is the dominant language used. Indian blog topics include a wide variety including literature, politics, investing, celebrities, medicine, journalism, travel, environment, web-design, podcasting, humor, music, and more. [20] Full-time bloggers have been reported to earn as much as Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 with part-time bloggers earning as much as Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 in a month. [21] Some well known amateur blogs receive as many as 3 million page views per month. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blog</span> Discussion or informational site published on the internet

A blog is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. Until 2009, blogs were often the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject or topic. In the 2010s, "multi-author blogs" (MABs) emerged, featuring the writing of multiple authors and sometimes professionally edited. MABs from newspapers, other media outlets, universities, think tanks, advocacy groups, and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog traffic. The rise of Twitter and other "microblogging" systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into the news media. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 which enables its users to write blogs with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be accessed through a subdomain of blogspot.com. Blogs can also be accessed from a user-owned custom domain by using DNS facilities to direct a domain to Google's servers. A user can have up to 100 blogs or websites per account.

Mass media in India consists of several different means of communication: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based websites/portals. Indian media was active since the late 18th century. The print media started in India as early as 1780. Radio broadcasting began in 1927. Today much of the media is controlled by large, corporations, which reap revenue from advertising, subscriptions, and sale of copyrighted material.

Open-source journalism, a close cousin to citizen journalism or participatory journalism, is a term coined in the title of a 1999 article by Andrew Leonard of Salon.com. Although the term was not actually used in the body text of Leonard's article, the headline encapsulated a collaboration between users of the internet technology blog Slashdot and a writer for Jane's Intelligence Review. The writer, Johan J. Ingles-le Nobel, had solicited feedback on a story about cyberterrorism from Slashdot readers, and then re-wrote his story based on that feedback and compensated the Slashdot writers whose information and words he used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizen journalism</span> Journalism genre

Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information." Similarly, Courtney C. Radsch defines citizen journalism "as an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a response to shortcomings in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism". Jay Rosen offers a simpler definition: "When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another." The underlying principle of citizen journalism is that ordinary people, not professional journalists, can be the main creators and distributors of news. Citizen journalism should not be confused with community journalism or civic journalism, both of which are practiced by professional journalists; collaborative journalism, which is the practice of professional and non-professional journalists working together; and social journalism, which denotes a digital publication with a hybrid of professional and non-professional journalism.

Following a crackdown on Iranian media beginning in 2000, many Iranians turned to weblogging to provide and find political news. The first Persian language blog is thought to have been created by Hossein Derakhshan,, in 2001. Derakhshan also provided readers with a simple instruction manual in Persian on how to start a blog. In 2004, a census of blogs around the world by the NITLE found 64,000 Persian language blogs. In that year the Islamic government also began to arrest and charge bloggers as political dissidents and by 2005 dozens of bloggers had been arrested.

<i>Rajasthan Patrika</i> Indian hindi-language daily newspaper

Rajasthan Patrika is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper. It was founded by Karpoor Chandra Kulish in 1956 and published as Rajasthan Patrika in Delhi and Rajasthan, and as Patrika in 9 other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online newspaper</span> Newspaper in digital format

An online newspaper is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital journalism</span> Editorial content published via the Internet

Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital journalism is debated by scholars; however, the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like storytelling stories or newsgames, and disseminated through digital media technology.

Oneindia.com is an Indian news website established in January 2006 by BG Mahesh. The website provides news updates, information on sports, events, travel, entertainment, business, lifestyle, videos, and classifieds in seven different Indian languages and English. In June 2021, its Alexa ranking in India is 134. It is owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt Ltd.

<i>Karavali Ale</i> Indian Kannada-language newspaper

Karavali Ale, meaning "Coastal Waves" in Kannada, is a local Kannada daily newspaper published in Mangalore, Karnataka, India. The publication is owned and managed by its founders B. V. Seetaram and Rohini S. It is edited by Sathish N. Vaidya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paywall</span> System that prevents Internet users from accessing webpage content without a paid subscription

A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of decline in paid print readership and advertising revenue, partly due to the use of ad blockers. In academics, research papers are often subject to a paywall and are available via academic libraries that subscribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newspaper</span> Scheduled publication containing news of events, articles, features, editorials, and advertisements

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, art, and science. They often include materials such as opinion columns, weather forecasts, reviews of local services, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian online media</span>

Canadian online media is content aimed at a Canadian audience through the medium of the Internet. Presently, online media can be accessed by computers, smart-phones, gaming consoles, Smart TVs, MP3 players, and tablets. The characteristics of Canadian online media are strongly shaped by the Canadian communications industry, even though their statistics and findings are more often than not associated with American research. Large media companies are increasingly on the move to start up online platforms for news and television content. The exponential growth of Canadians' dependency on online content for entertainment and information has been evident in the recent decades. However, it has proven slow for Canadian online media to catch up with the constant increase of American online media. Regardless of medium, entertainment and information hubs are not solely focusing on satisfying the audience they have, but are also heavily expanding their reach to new global audiences.

<i>The Times of Israel</i> Israel-based online newspaper

The Times of Israel is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman. Based in Jerusalem, it "documents developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world." Along with its original English site, The Times of Israel publishes in Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Persian. In addition to publishing news reports and analysis, the website hosts a multi-author blog platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alok Dixit</span> Indian journalist and human rights activist

Alok Dixit is a journalist turned social activist, fighting for freedom of Internet in India. He is the founder member of Save Your Voice, a movement against Internet censorship in India and Stop Acid Attacks, a campaign against acid violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malik Siraj Akbar</span>

Malik Siraj Akbar is an ethnic Baloch journalist based in the United States. He is the editor-in-chief of the Baluch Hal, the first online English language newspaper of Pakistan's Balochistan Province, Enkaar, a liberal Urdu language news magazine, and a contributing writer for The Huffington Post. He lives in exile in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ScoopWhoop</span> Indian internet media and news company

ScoopWhoop Media is an Indian digital media company based in New Delhi. It operates various online content verticals and serves as a news organisation featuring web series, documentaries and current affairs reporting with a focus on video production and primarily catering to adolescents and young adults. It also features other infotainment and entertainment content.

<i>The Quint</i> English and Hindi language Indian news website

The Quint is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards and two Red Ink Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagran Prakashan</span>

Jagran Prakashan Limited is an Indian publishing house listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. The company is in the business of printing and publishing newspapers, magazines, journals, and other media. Outdoor advertising, event management and activation services, and internet business are among the Company's other interests.'Dainik Jagran' Kanpur, 'Dainik Jagran' Gorakhpur, 'Daily Action' Kanpur, and a monthly magazine called 'Kanchan Prabha' Kanpur had been purchased by the company.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Online Journalism in India: An exploratory study of Indian newspapers on the Net". 13 November 2009.
  2. ↑ Wang, Zoe (22 August 2012). "Online Journalism and Election Reporting" . Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Online Journalists of India". LinkedIn.
  4. ↑ "Top 5 Journalists of India". Chillibreeze. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Indian Journalists". TwitChimp. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Sharma, Betwa (December 2010). "India's Top Journalist Defends Herself on TV -- Did It Work?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Indian Readership Survey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-26.
  8. ↑ "Times Group About Us". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  9. ↑ "MJ Akbar Bio". Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "JPL Group Home Page".
  11. ↑ "Inext, the youth-centric newspaper launches its website".
  12. ↑ "MMI online portfolio".
  13. ↑ "B.G. Mahesh: The techie behind Narendra Modi's campaign". 23 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "Oneindia.in Launches Hindi Portal". www.afaqs.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-01.
  15. ↑ "Times of India".
  16. ↑ "Economic Times".
  17. ↑ "Wall Street Journal".
  18. ↑ "Wall Street Journal".
  19. ↑ "Jagran Junction".
  20. ↑ "IndianBloggers.org".
  21. ↑ "India Times". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 2012-03-02.
  22. ↑ Emily Veach (April 14, 2010). "Amit Agarwal on Blogging in India and Apple's iPad". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 4 July 2014.
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