मराठीची उपेक्षा
संगणकावर भारतीय भाषांच्या उज्ज्वल भविष्यासाठी सक्षम व भाषा या प्रकल्पांची घोषणा मायक्रोसॉफ्टने चार वर्षांपूर्वी गाजावाजा करत केली होती. मात्र सद्यस्थितीत संगणकाचा वापर करणाऱ्या मराठी भाषाप्रेमींचा व संगणक तज्ज्ञांचा मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या भाषिक बांधीलकीबाबतचा अनुभव उद्वेगजनक आहे.
महाराष्ट्रातील संगणक वापरणाऱ्यांसाठी मायक्रोसॉफ्टने त्यांच्या ‘विन्डोज’ या ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टिम व इतर प्रणाल्यांसाठी प्रमाणित व सुगम मराठीची भाषिक आवृत्ती द्यावी, यासाठी सातत्याने प्रयत्नशील असणाऱ्या मराठी अभ्यास केंद्रातील तज्ज्ञांना मायक्रोसॉफ्ट इंडिया याबतीत तोकडे पडलेले वाटते. “विन्डोज एक्स पी (XP) व ऑफिस-प्रणाल्यांतील मराठी भाषेच्या त्रुटी आम्ही एका निवेदनाद्वारे मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या भारतातील वरिष्ठ अधिकाऱ्यांच्या नजरेस आणून दिल्या होत्या. यांत मराठी युनिकोड कार्यान्वित ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टमचा संच, कळफलकातील सुधारणा, मराठीतून कार्यपुस्तिकेचा अभाव असेही मराठीशी निगडीत मुद्दे होते.
प्रगत व्यवहार-क्षेत्रांत मराठी भाषेला मानाचे स्थान मिळवून देण्यासाठी कटिबद्ध असणाऱ्या मराठी अभ्यास केंद्र या स्वयंसेवी संस्थेने मायक्रोसॉफ्टशी संपर्कासाठी गेले एक वर्षभर खटाटोप चालवला आहे. मेघश्याम करनाम या मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या भारतातील अधिकाऱ्याशी संस्थेचे कार्यवाह राममोहन खानापूरकर यांनी एक वर्षापूर्वी संपर्क करुन चर्चेसाठी भेटीची वेळ मागितली होती. अनेकदा आठवण करुनही त्याची आश्वासनपूर्ती करण्याची कोणतीही तसदी करनाम यांनी दाखवली नाही. त्यानंतर १७ मे २००९ रोजी अभ्यास केंद्राने मायक्रोसॉफ्ट इंडियाच्याच प्रादेशिक विभागातील अधिकारी श्रीनिवास गॅरीमेला यांना ‘Localization of Microsoft Products in Maharashtra’ या विषयाचे विस्तृत निवेदन सादर केले होते. या पत्राची प्रत माहितीसाठी मायक्रोसॉफ्ट इंडियाचे वरिष्ठ अधिकारी संजीव रेगे व नितिन कपूर यांनाही पाठवली गेली होती. सदर पत्रात मराठी आवृत्तीचे दोष मायक्रोसॉफ्टने सुधारावेत यासाठी चर्चा करण्याची व सहकार्याची तयारी अभ्यास केंद्राने दर्शवली होती. अशाच आशयाचे पत्र मार्च २००९ मध्ये मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या आयर्लंडमधील कार्यालयातही अभ्यास केंद्रातील संगणक तज्ज्ञ नितिन निमकर यांनी पाठवले होते. आयर्लंड कार्यालयाने या पत्रावर कार्यवाही करण्यास मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या भारतातील कार्यालयास सुचविले होते. ‘एवढे करुनदेखील आजतागायत मायक्रोसॉफ्टकडून कोणताही प्रतिसाद न आल्यामुळे हा सर्व खटाटोप व्यर्थ गेला असेच म्हणावे लागेल’.
महाराष्ट्र शासनाच्या शालेय शिक्षण विभागाने शाळांमध्ये मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या सॉफ्टवेअरद्वारे संगणक-प्रशिक्षणासाठी केलेल्या करारामुळे मायक्रोसॉफ्टला मराठीच्याप्रती उत्तरदायी करणे ही शासनाची जबाबदारी आहे. काही महिन्यांपूर्वीच झालेल्या या कराराला मराठी व इंग्रजी वृत्तपत्रांनी चांगली प्रसिद्धी दिली होती. मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या अधिकाऱ्यांसमवेत हस्तांदोलन करतानाची शालेय शिक्षण विभागाचे सचिव संजयकुमार यांची छायाचित्रे झळकल्यामुळे शासनाला मराठीच्या मागण्यांसाठी हात झटकता येणार नाहीत असेही दीपक पवार म्हणाले. निव्वळ लोकसंख्येचा विचार करता महाराष्ट्र, गोवा व भारताच्या इतर राज्यांमध्ये नऊ कोटी मराठी भाषिक आहेत. महाराष्ट्रातील संगणक-साक्षरतेच्या दृष्टीकोनातून संगणक वापरणाऱ्यांची संख्या झपाट्याने वाढत असून मराठीच्या संगणकावरील उपलब्धतेमुळे ही संख्या वेगाने वाढण्याची शक्यता आहे असा मुद्दाही दीपक पवार यांनी यासंदर्भात उपस्थित केला.
ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टीमच्या (कार्यकारी प्रणाली) विकास व व्यापार क्षेत्रात मायक्रोसॉफ्ट अग्रस्थानी असल्यामुळे मराठी आवृत्यांचा दृश्यफलक, मदतीसाठीच्या सूचनांची हेल्प फाईल व कार्यपुस्तिका या सगळ्यासाठी संगणकीय मराठीच्या परिभाषेचे सुबोध प्रमाणीकरण त्यांनीच करणे अपेक्षित आहे. मात्र याबाबतीत मायक्रोसॉफ्ट इंडियाचा गतइतिहास फारसा समाधानकारक नाही,” असे मराठी अभ्यास केंद्राचे संगणक-तज्ज्ञ नितिन निमकर यांचे मत आहे. मायक्रोसॉफ्टने सध्या उपलब्ध असलेल्या त्यांच्या मराठी आवृत्तीत मराठी व हिंदी यांची देवनागरी लिपी एकच असल्याचे मानून त्यांच्यात भाषिक साधर्म्य साधण्याची गल्लत केली आहे. हिंदीतील तज्ज्ञांना मराठीचे ज्ञान आपसूकच असणार अशा चुकीच्या धारणेमुळे मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या मराठी आवृत्तीवर हिंदीचा ठसा उमटलेला दिसून येतो.
मराठी अभ्यास केंद्रातील भाषाविज्ञान तज्ज्ञ सुशान्त देवळेकर यांच्या मतानुसार विन्डोज एक्स पीची मराठी आवृत्ती भाषिकदृष्ट्या सदोष आहे. अनेक पारिभाषिक संज्ञा तसेच हेल्प फाईल्समधील सूचनांसाठी वापरण्यात आलेली तांत्रिक भाषा ही स्वीकारार्ह तांत्रिक लिखाणाच्या निकषांवर उतरणारी नाहीत असे सुशान्त देवळेकरांना वाटते. त्यांच्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे काही ठिकाणी तर निखालस चुकीचे शब्द घुसवल्यामुळे मराठी आवृत्तीत भाषिक गोंधळ निर्माण झालेला दिसतो.
व्यावसायिक भाषांतरकार विजय पाध्ये यांच्या निरीक्षणानुसार विन्डोजच्या मराठी आवृत्त्यांत अनेक ठिकाणी मराठी शब्द व वाक्प्रचार हे इंग्रजीचेच लिप्यंतरण असून, काही ठिकाणी शब्दाला शब्द जुळवण्याचा अट्टाहास असल्याचे मत मांडले आहे. त्यामुळे काही वेळेस हे शब्द विनोदी वाटतात तर बरेचवेळा भाषाप्रेमींच्या संयमाची परीक्षा पाहणारे ठरतात. मराठीतून तांत्रिक लिखाणाचे अपुरे ज्ञान व त्यात गुंतवणूक करण्याची मानसिकता नसल्यामुळेच मराठी लोकांच्या माथी अशी थातुरमातुर पद्धतीने बनवलेली हिंदीसदृश मराठी आवृत्ती मायक्रोसॉफ्टने मारलेली आहे असे चित्र यामुळे दिसून येते.
सॉफ्टवेअर सल्लागार सलील कुळकर्णी यांच्यामते इंग्रजी प्रणाली विकसित करताना वापरणाऱ्यांच्या सोयीसाठी हरप्रकारे सजग असणाऱ्या मायक्रोसॉफ्टने मराठीची मात्र हेळसांड चालवली आहे. विन्डोज एक्स पी व व्हिस्टाच्या हेल्प फाईल्समध्ये पुष्कळ सुधारणा करण्याची गरज असल्याचे त्यांनी सांगितले. इंग्रजीप्रमाणे एकसमान कळफलक नसणे ही मराठीतून संगणक वापरणाऱ्यांसाठी सर्वात मोठी अडचण असल्याचे सलील कुळकर्णी यांनी नमूद केले. भाषा-प्रणाली बनवणाऱ्या अनेक उत्पादकांनी आपापल्या सोयीप्रमाणे कळफलक बनवल्यामुळे व विक्रेत्यांनी त्यांना उत्तेजन दिल्याने हा गोंधळ निर्माण झाला आहे. मराठीसाठी प्रमाणित कळफलक बनवण्याचे प्रयत्न सी-डॅक या शासनमान्य संस्थेकडून दोन दशकांपूर्वी होऊनदेखील निव्वळ अनास्थेमुळे त्याची उपेक्षा झाली आहे. मायक्रोसॉफ्टने मराठीसाठी स्वीकारलेल्या इनस्क्रिप्टच्या कळफलकांत देखील काही दोष आहेत. उदा० < > ? अशी चिन्हे व काही मराठी अक्षरांचा इनस्क्रिप्टमध्ये थेट वापर करता येत नाही. याबाबतसुद्धा मायक्रोसॉफ्टने पाठपुरावा करण्याची गरज असल्याचे त्यांनी सांगितले.
महाराष्ट्रात विकल्या जाणाऱ्या ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टम वा मायक्रोसॉफ्ट प्रणाल्यांच्या संचात मराठीतून माहिती-पुस्तिका नसल्याचे राममोहन खानापूरकर यांनी नजरेस आणून दिले आहे. तसेच महाजालावर मराठीतून ऑनलाईन सहकार्याची सोय देखील(कार्यकारी प्रणाली) मायक्रॉसॉफ्टने दिलेली नाही. त्यांच्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे मायक्रोसॉफ्टने महाराष्ट्रात ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टम विकताना युनिकोड मराठीचा पर्याय कार्यान्वित करुनच विकावा जेणेकरुन लोकांना मराठीतून काम करण्याची सोय आपसूकच उपलब्ध होईल.
भारतीय भाषांच्या संगणकावरील वापरासाठी युनिकोड संकेतप्रणालीला केंद्र सरकारने मान्यता दिलेली असून मायक्रोसॉफ्टने २००० पुढील विन्डोजच्या सर्व आवृत्त्यांमध्ये त्याचा आपसूकच समावेश केला आहे. तरीदेखील मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या अधिकृत सॉफ्टवेअर विक्रेत्यांनी किंवा महाजालावर कार्यरत असणाऱ्या विविध संघटनांनी संगणक वापरणाऱ्या सामान्य लोकांना याची माहिती देण्याची कोणतीच व्यवस्था निर्माण केली नसल्याची खंत नितिन निमकर यांनी व्यक्त केली.
संगणकीय मराठीच्या विकासासाठी महाराष्ट्र शासनाच्या सामान्य प्रशासन विभागाच्या मुख्य सचिव श्रीमती लीना मेहेंदळे यांनी पुढाकार घेतल्यामुळे मराठी अभ्यास केंद्राने संबंधित विषयासंदर्भात आपल्या मागण्यांचे निवेदन त्यांना सादर केले होते. यासाठी वेळोवेळी झालेल्या बैठकांत अभ्यास केंद्राच्या सदस्यांनी मायक्रोसॉफ्टला मराठीसाठी उत्तरदायी करण्याचे आग्रहाचे प्रतिपादन केले होते. युनिकोडच्या प्रसारासाठी महाराष्ट्र ज्ञान महामंडळाचे अध्यक्ष श्री० विवेक सावंत यांचीही भेट अभ्यास केंद्राने घेतली होती. त्यावेळेस मायक्रोसॉफ्टच्या प्रतिनिधींशी विवेक सावंत यांनी स्वत: संपर्क साधून चर्चेसाठी आमंत्रण दिले होते. अशाप्रकारे अनेक पातळ्यांवर वर्षभर नेटाने प्रयत्न करुनदेखील मायक्रोसॉफ्ट इंडियाच्या अधिकाऱ्यांनी त्याची आजतागायत दखल घेतलेली नाही. शासनाच्या माहिती तंत्रज्ञान विभागाचे भूतपूर्व माहिती संचालक भ० प्र० सिंग यांची अभ्यास केंद्राच्या सदस्यांनी भेट घेऊन शासनाने मायक्रोसॉफ्टला मराठीबाबत जाब विचारावा असे सांगितले असता, ‘एखाद्या खासगी कंपनीला शासन असे सांगू शकत नाही’ असे कचखाऊ उत्तर त्यांनी दिले होते.
आत्तापर्यंत झालेल्या दिरंगाईची भरपाई करण्यासाठी मायक्रोसॉफ्टने मराठीच्या प्रमाणीकरणासाठी ताबडतोब पावले उचलावीत असे आवाहन मराठी अभ्यास केंद्राचे अध्यक्ष दीपक पवार यांनी केले आहे. तसे झाल्यास मार्च २०१० मध्ये होणाऱ्या ८३ व्या अखिल भारतीय मराठी साहित्य संमेलनाच्या व्यासपीठावरुन प्रमाणित संगणकीय मराठीचा प्रसार करणे सुकर होईल. या प्रतिष्ठित सोहळ्यासाठी हजारो मराठी भाषाप्रेमी उपस्थित राहाणार असून माध्यमांतूनही त्याला मोठ्या प्रमाणावर प्रसिद्धी लाभणार आहे.
मायक्रोसॉफ्टने मराठीच्या संगणकीय प्रमाणीकरणासाठी प्रामाणिक प्रयत्न केल्यास त्यापासून उभारी घेऊन सर्व भारतीय भाषांचा संगणकीय उत्कर्ष साधण्यास मदत होईल व भारतात संगणक साक्षरता वाढीस लागेल असा विश्वास मराठी अभ्यास केंद्राला वाटतो.
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दीपक पवार, (अध्यक्ष, मराठी अभ्यास केंद्र)
deepak@marathivikas.org, ९८२०४३७६६५
Dated 23.12.09
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Microsoft's Indifference to Indian languages
Following press note is received from Marathi Abhyas Kendra. (www.marathi-vikas.blogspot.com, www.upakram.org) I hope the Microsoft takes serious cognizance of the points raised by this Kendra.
Microsoft India urged to promote Indian languages effectively
When Microsoft announced its projects Saksham and Bhasha over four years ago, there were great hopes for better days for Indian languages on computers. As it turns out now, this is not the case if one goes by the experience of Marathi computer users so far.
Experts at Marathi Abhyas Kendra (MAK) have experienced that the efforts of localisation of Microsoft products have been woefully inadequate. “We have repeatedly pointed out the shortcomings to the Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd. These relate to Marathi Unicode user interface, inadequacy of its Help files, shortcomings in Windows-XP user interface and keyboard layout, and non-availability of User Manuals in Marathi,” says Kendra President Deepak Pawar.
The MAK, a Thane-based voluntary organisation championing the cause of Marathi language, had submitted to the Microsoft regional office (Public Sector) in India a detailed document about the shortcomings on May 17, 2009 and had volunteered to offer assistance to tackle these issues. Similar offer was made earlier in March, 2009 to its Ireland office, which directed the communication to the Indian subsidiary office. Nothing concrete has emerged.
Prof Pawar says the Microsoft will have to play a key role to increase use of Marathi in computers because the Maharashtra government education department has entrusted with this company the responsibility to spread computer and internet literacy through formal training in schools in the state.
Explaining the status of computer literacy in the state, Prof Pawar points out that a large number of people in the state have already begun using computers and the number is expected to grow if assisted them in Marathi properly. There are about 90 million Marathi speaking people residing in Maharashtra, Goa, bordering areas of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Microsoft is the industry leader in computer operating system (OS). It will have to set the standards for terminology in its Marathi version of the OS and other products, and also language for instructions in Help Files and user manuals. The Microsoft’s track record so far has been far from satisfactory, says software developer Nitin Nimkar.
The Microsoft has failed to realise that Marathi devanagari script may be similar to Hindi’s, but these are not exactly the same. These two languages are different although many words and phrases have been derived from Sanskrit. Many words and phrases have different shades of meanings in these two languages. The Microsoft has, however, chosen to assume that an expert in Hindi language would have expertise of Marathi as well. It has resulted in unwarranted intrusion of Hindi words in the Marathi version.
Mr Sushant Devlekar, the linguistic researcher, says the Windows XP user interface has various shortcomings and defects from the linguistic point of view. Many technical terms used as well as the language used for instructions in the help files are way below the acceptable standard of technical writing. In some cases the words and phrases used are entirely wrong and do not mean anything.
Professional translator Vijay Padhye points out several instances where the words and phrases used are verbatim transliteration of English and word-for-word translation of English into Marathi. At times such Marathi words sound very funny or many times are even outrageous. This appears to be the result of poor knowledge of technical writing in Marathi. At some places the words used are blindly adopted from Hindi and are used without proper attention to the context.
Software Consultant Salil Kulkarni has insisted that the Microsoft has not lived up to its reputation of being developer-friendly and user- friendly in respect of Help files and support. The Help files in the Marathi version of Windows-XP or Vista need lots of improvement.
He points out that a major issue for anyone using computer for Marathi language concerns the key-board which has been designed by different vendors in different manner, unlike in the case of English (Roman) which is uniform the world over.
Absence of standardisation for the layout of the Devanagari keyboards promoted by the vendors has created confusion for the users ever since attempts were made to introduced Marathi keying in over more than two decades ago. The ‘Inscript’ keyboard, accepted by Microsoft as standard for Indian languages have quiet a few shortcomings. For example, keys such as < > ? etc. and some Marathi alphabets cannot be directly used in the Inscript keyboard. The other function keys (for example, F1, F2 etc.) are not enabled, says Kulkarni.
Media lecturer Rammohan Khanapurkar says the Microsoft does not provide hardcopy of Product User manual in Marathi when its products are sold in Maharashtra. It does not offer online Help in Marathi. He suggests that provision to switch over to the Marathi version of the OS interface and Unicode option to work in Indian languages should be made available at the beginning itself when the computer is switched on every time.
During the recent times, Unicode has been accepted as a character coding system for all the Indian languages. It is embedded in all the Operating systems of Microsoft Windows such as Windows 2000, XP, and Vista etc. But Nimkar laments that neither software vendors who sell Microsoft products nor associations working for cyber-space applications bring this to the notice of ordinary buyers and internet users.
The MAK president says the Kendra has been making efforts to spread use of Marathi with active support from Ms Leena Mehendale, Maharashtra government’s Principal Secretary (General Administration) and Mr Vivek Sawant, the managing director of Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd. who are keen to create awareness of Unicode for Marathi. However the Microsoft did not respond to these efforts.
Prof Pawar has renewed his appeal to the Microsoft to take appropriate steps at the earliest so that computer script and language could be promoted during the three-day 83rd All India Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in March 2009. Thousands of Marathi readers and writers are expected to attend the prestigious All India literary meet.
He insists that these steps are necessary as these would also facilitate promotion of all other Indian languages among computer users.
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Thursday, 17 December 2009
Press Council objects to paid news phenomenon
By Shuchi Bansal
New Delhi, Dec 15, 2009: The Press Council of India (PCI), in a Tuesday meeting condemned the phenomenon of newspapers passing off advertisements or so-called paid-for content (or “paid news”) as news.
“The Press Council strongly objects to the paid news phenomenon. We will come up with recommendations which will be sent to the government for being implemented as guidelines,” said a PCI member who did not want to be identified. A sub-committee of PCI met in Delhi to take up a complaint by a journalists union from Andhra Pradesh alleging that owners and editors of dailies in the state accepted money from political parties and individual candidates for coverage during the elections.
The “paid news” controversy has gathered momentum after The Hindu raised the issue in a story on Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan’s campaign during the recently concluded elections in the state. According to The Hindu, Chavan spent a little over Rs11,000 on paid advertising but he received coverage worth much more in newspapers such as Maharashtra Times and Lokmat through paid ads masquarading as newspaper reports.
A Mint story dated 2 December showed the volume of advertising in dailies during the Maharashtra polls had declined by around one-fifth compared with 2004, when elections were last held in the state.
PCI was set up to preserve the freedom of the Press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. The only power the body has is to inquire into complaints against newspapers and journalists if it has “reasons to believe that a newspaper or news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or working journalist has committed any professional misconduct”. After giving the erring party a hearing, the council may “…warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist, as the case may be.”
It can ask the newspaper to publish the particulars relating to an inquiry against it, but cannot levy a penalty or pass any other sort of judgement. The PCI member mentioned in the first instance said that since the body did have real powers to implement guidelines for stopping the practice of paid news, it would leave it to the government to do the needful.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/15225430/Press-Council-to-issue-norms-o.html
New Delhi, Dec 15, 2009: The Press Council of India (PCI), in a Tuesday meeting condemned the phenomenon of newspapers passing off advertisements or so-called paid-for content (or “paid news”) as news.
“The Press Council strongly objects to the paid news phenomenon. We will come up with recommendations which will be sent to the government for being implemented as guidelines,” said a PCI member who did not want to be identified. A sub-committee of PCI met in Delhi to take up a complaint by a journalists union from Andhra Pradesh alleging that owners and editors of dailies in the state accepted money from political parties and individual candidates for coverage during the elections.
The “paid news” controversy has gathered momentum after The Hindu raised the issue in a story on Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan’s campaign during the recently concluded elections in the state. According to The Hindu, Chavan spent a little over Rs11,000 on paid advertising but he received coverage worth much more in newspapers such as Maharashtra Times and Lokmat through paid ads masquarading as newspaper reports.
A Mint story dated 2 December showed the volume of advertising in dailies during the Maharashtra polls had declined by around one-fifth compared with 2004, when elections were last held in the state.
PCI was set up to preserve the freedom of the Press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. The only power the body has is to inquire into complaints against newspapers and journalists if it has “reasons to believe that a newspaper or news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or working journalist has committed any professional misconduct”. After giving the erring party a hearing, the council may “…warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist, as the case may be.”
It can ask the newspaper to publish the particulars relating to an inquiry against it, but cannot levy a penalty or pass any other sort of judgement. The PCI member mentioned in the first instance said that since the body did have real powers to implement guidelines for stopping the practice of paid news, it would leave it to the government to do the needful.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/15225430/Press-Council-to-issue-norms-o.html
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Dubious Editorial Practices
The sound of money |
Media establishments have begun to implement dubious editorial practices and the individual no longer has a choice.If journalists young and old are writing copy that could put PR agencies out of business, who among us is going to do something about it? A HOOT editorial, with inputs from MAHESH VIJAPURKAR. Pix: CNN IBN panel on the Shave India Movement. |
Posted Monday, Dec 07 14:01:09, 2009 |
In just the past week the media has been reverberating with the buzz of commerce. It is extraordinary how charged up the industry becomes when it is enthused by the prospect of making a buck in a bad year. On television and in print there has been a repeat of Gillette's Shave India campaign of an earlier year, with people who look like reporters with mikes going out asking women whether they like clean shaven men better. A topic of such pressing public interest importance that The Times of India even ran a front page bylined story on the subject, with no hint of irony and no indication that it was a sponsored feature. Just yesterday there was a programme--not ad--again on it on CNN IBN. On an earlier panel discussion on this channel, a guest had actually gestured to suggest that in times of terrorism beards are not such a good idea! The ostensible news point: independent surveys which show that the majority of women prefer clean shaven men. Competing for attention with this was a series of advertisements in the Economic Times and the Times of India advertising the success of the group's private treaties campaign. On December 4, 2009 for instance the Mumbai edition of the newspaper put out a half page colour advertisement on the Times Private Treaties on page 19 titled How to Perform the Great Indian Rope Trick and cited the Pantaloon's case of being a leader in retail and how it could "pull it off" because of Pantaloon's partnership with Times Private Treaties. The advertisement read: "With the added advantage of being a media house, Times Private Treaties (TPT)went beyond the usual role of an investor" by not straining the partner's cash flows. It was because of "the unparalleled advertising muscle of How explicit are we going to get? The stress is on the deals being with a media house where the full clout of the media is on offer for your brand. Where else but in the editorial space could that be provided, apart from the advertisements printed in exchange for the stake? Critics of TPT have voiced the fear in the past that something adverse about a client can be ignored or downplayed, thus undermining the credibility of the publication and compromising editorial values. Even without an arrangement such as Private Treaties, reporters have begun to write such obliging copy that their stories have begun to sound like publicity brochures. Check out the front page story DNA carried on Meanwhile the repercussions of what went on during the The sober learning from The Election Commissioner in After the Hindu exposed how much coverage Chief Minister Ashokrao Chavan got in the state elections for how little declared money, only Mint chose to carry the story forward. If journalists young and old are writing copy that could put PR agencies out of business, who among us is going to do something about it? Source: http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=4241&mod=1&pg=1&SectionId=19 |
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Marathi Writer Meena Takalkar passes away
Pune, November 22, 2009- Noted Marathi writer and translator Meena Takalkar passed away here after protracted illness November 21. She was 56. She is survived by husband senior journalist Anil Takalkar and son Nikhil. Meena Takalkar has translated English books in Marathi published by Mehta Prakashan. These included Osho’s ‘Osho-mrutyu Armrutache Dar,’ ‘Hasat Khelat Dnyandharana’ and ‘Saad ghalato Kabir’. Her own book
‘Sujan Palakatva’ had several editions, as it was considered invaluable for parents who wanted to guide school-going children in homework and was an aid for examinations. ‘Kesanchi Niga’, ‘Apale Saudarya aani tyachi niga’ were her other translations already published while translated works on Kerala tourism and motivation are expected to be launched soon.
Despite her chronic illness, Ms Takalkar completed the manuscript of Marathi translation of ‘The Price of Love’, a true story on domestic violence penned by British author Nicola T James.
She was associated with the city’s art, literature, theatre, and sports movements. She had important roles in plays staged by leading amateur groups in the city and had won the first award for female artiste in a competition organized by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). She had taken voluntary retirement as Senior Supervisor of BSNL.
Ms Takalkar was a regular contributor to various Marathi periodicals, such as Lokprabha, Saptahik Sakal and Maharashtra Times. As a woman entrepreneur, she had visited Singapore, and had frequently toured USA.
Her son Nikhil is Director (Business Transformation), the Marriott International INC, the well known chain of hotels worldwide, and is based in Washington DC.
Ms Takalkar was cremated at the Vaikunth Crematorium Monday November 23.
‘Sujan Palakatva’ had several editions, as it was considered invaluable for parents who wanted to guide school-going children in homework and was an aid for examinations. ‘Kesanchi Niga’, ‘Apale Saudarya aani tyachi niga’ were her other translations already published while translated works on Kerala tourism and motivation are expected to be launched soon.
Despite her chronic illness, Ms Takalkar completed the manuscript of Marathi translation of ‘The Price of Love’, a true story on domestic violence penned by British author Nicola T James.
She was associated with the city’s art, literature, theatre, and sports movements. She had important roles in plays staged by leading amateur groups in the city and had won the first award for female artiste in a competition organized by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). She had taken voluntary retirement as Senior Supervisor of BSNL.
Ms Takalkar was a regular contributor to various Marathi periodicals, such as Lokprabha, Saptahik Sakal and Maharashtra Times. As a woman entrepreneur, she had visited Singapore, and had frequently toured USA.
Her son Nikhil is Director (Business Transformation), the Marriott International INC, the well known chain of hotels worldwide, and is based in Washington DC.
Ms Takalkar was cremated at the Vaikunth Crematorium Monday November 23.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
PCI sets up panel to study paid news syndrome
As I read this morning's Pune editions, I came across a line casually mentioning the paid news syndrome in a Marathi daily. The coverage was about Pune Union of Working Journalists felicitating local MLAs on their getting elected to the Maharashtra State Assembly last month. This Marathi newspaper said the MLAs expressed concern over the syndrome.
Later in the day, I received the following story forwarded by Mahesh Vijapurkar:
November 16, 2009
Source: http://www.medianewsline.com
The Press Council of India (PCI) has set up a committee to study the "paid news syndrome", or entering into monetary deals with politicians to pass off their views as news items, in the recent elections, its chairman Justice (retd) G.N. Ray said on Monday. "A committee has been set up to collect inputs from various parts of the country and make in-depth study of the malady of paid news syndrome in elections and to make its recommendation to the council," he said.
Addressing a conference on "Changing face of Indian media" on the occasion of National Press Day Monday, the PCI chairman said in the recent elections, media "indulged in nefarious monetary deals with some politicians and candidates by publishing their views as news items and by publishing news items against rival candidates". Observing that media, like other institutions, had succumbed to the vice of malpractices and corruption, he said: "Yellow journalism and blackmailing were known forms of corruption in journalism but today, a subtle and implicit form of corruption is creating greater mischief." "The distortion, disinformation and paid news syndrome aimed to serve certain interests and suppression of news and concerns of other interests have become a usual feature in media," he added.
Voicing concern over media turning into a commercial enterprise and the newspaper into a commodity, he said the media was being driven by market forces. He noted that big national level newspapers, owned by corporate houses, were being run to derive more profits like commercial enterprises. "The media driven by market forces and in unending urge to make more profits, is indulging in trivialization, sensationalisation and tainted corporate communication." Ray also expressed concern over trial by media, incorrect reporting of court cases and devaluation of the office of editor.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said sections of media had become mouthpieces of their proprietors. "The proprietors running a host of businesses besides the media have utilised their outlets to protect their business interests and carry on a campaign against their perceived opponents." He said sections of media indulging in paid coverage especially during elections were undermining the democracy, and appealed to PCI to arrest such media aberrations since any government intervention in media freedom would be "a remedy worse than the disease".
Later in the day, I received the following story forwarded by Mahesh Vijapurkar:
November 16, 2009
Source: http://www.medianewsline.com
The Press Council of India (PCI) has set up a committee to study the "paid news syndrome", or entering into monetary deals with politicians to pass off their views as news items, in the recent elections, its chairman Justice (retd) G.N. Ray said on Monday. "A committee has been set up to collect inputs from various parts of the country and make in-depth study of the malady of paid news syndrome in elections and to make its recommendation to the council," he said.
Addressing a conference on "Changing face of Indian media" on the occasion of National Press Day Monday, the PCI chairman said in the recent elections, media "indulged in nefarious monetary deals with some politicians and candidates by publishing their views as news items and by publishing news items against rival candidates". Observing that media, like other institutions, had succumbed to the vice of malpractices and corruption, he said: "Yellow journalism and blackmailing were known forms of corruption in journalism but today, a subtle and implicit form of corruption is creating greater mischief." "The distortion, disinformation and paid news syndrome aimed to serve certain interests and suppression of news and concerns of other interests have become a usual feature in media," he added.
Voicing concern over media turning into a commercial enterprise and the newspaper into a commodity, he said the media was being driven by market forces. He noted that big national level newspapers, owned by corporate houses, were being run to derive more profits like commercial enterprises. "The media driven by market forces and in unending urge to make more profits, is indulging in trivialization, sensationalisation and tainted corporate communication." Ray also expressed concern over trial by media, incorrect reporting of court cases and devaluation of the office of editor.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said sections of media had become mouthpieces of their proprietors. "The proprietors running a host of businesses besides the media have utilised their outlets to protect their business interests and carry on a campaign against their perceived opponents." He said sections of media indulging in paid coverage especially during elections were undermining the democracy, and appealed to PCI to arrest such media aberrations since any government intervention in media freedom would be "a remedy worse than the disease".
Friday, 13 November 2009
Marathi Newspapers on Internet
(Paper presented by Kiran Thakur at the Indo-Russia Conference, held in Hyderabad, from April 11-13, 2008)
Abstract
The paper documents status of online journalism in Maharashtra, considered to be an advanced state of India, in the area of Information and Communication Technology. It traces the history of online journalism in the state since Marathi daily Kesari launched its web edition, the first in the state, in 1997.
It is based on the outcome of two studies: the first carried out for the initial phase 1995-98 and the second extending up to 2006 which covered 114 dailies online. Two more dailies were added after the study was complete, taking the total number to 116.
The research concluded that except for a few newspapers, most web editions continued to be economically unviable. Production processes remain unchanged in most newspapers. Contents of web editions are shovelled from their parent print editions.
Readership survey indicated that the web editions are accessed from 63 countries, most of the readers being Indians in India and abroad. The study offered demographic profile of the readers and broad indications about their needs, expectations, uses and gratification. The readers are young, highly educated and more interested in news about India, and more specifically about their native places.
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Introduction
Maharashtra is among the 35 states and union territories of India. It is considered to be an advanced state, compared to most others, in terms of industrial development, trade, education and the progress made in the area of Information Technology. Mumbai is its Maharashtra's capital and Nagpur its twin capital. Besides these two important cities, there are other major cities like Pune, known as the state's Cyber capital, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Amaravati.
With an area spread over in 307,713 sq km, the state of Maharashtra is divided into 35 administrative districts and has a population of 96,878,627 comprising 50,400,596 males. Literacy rate is 76.9 per cent, male 86 per cent and female 67.
With the initiatives of charity trusts and support from the provincial government, Maharashtra has a very strong network of schools, colleges, and universities spread over the nook and corner of the state. Some of these academic institutions were founded over 150 years ago and have been contributing, with the rest of them, to create social awareness and development of the people.
Thanks to the spread of education and rise in purchasing power of growing number of families, newspaper industry has also been experiencing a boom during the last decade. Number of newspapers published from the state has gone up as also the circulation of dailies. Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and it is no surprise that this metro has a large number of newspapers published not only in English and state's principal language Marathi but also in other languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Tamil, Kannada, Tamil and so on.
However, it is not only Mumbai that shows growth in number of publication and their circulation. Cities like Pune and Nagpur have recorded growth in this area over the years.
As per the data from Annual Statements received by the Registrar of Newspapers for India for the year 2005-06, the highest numbers of newspapers (with all periodicities) were published in Hindi (4131), followed by English (864), Gujarati (775), Urdu (463) Bengali (445), and Marathi (328). (http://rni.nic.in/)
Among language dailies, Hindi lead with 942 newspapers followed by 201 in English while Marathi had 130 dailies.
During 2005-06, the largest numbers of newspapers were published from Uttar Pradesh (1913), followed by Delhi (1133), Gujarati (817), Rajasthan (742), Maharashtra (642) and West Bengal (505).
Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of daily newspapers in all languages (384), followed by Maharashtra (206).
Dailies from Uttar Pradesh with a total circulation of 1,34,92,557 copies were at the top, followed by Maharashtra with 1,05,37,174 and Delhi 88,08,045 copies.
Dailies from Uttar Pradesh with a total circulation of 1,34,92,557 copies were at the top, followed by Maharashtra with 1,05,37,174 and Delhi 88,08,045 copies.
The data, thus, indicates that Maharashtra and Marathi newspapers published from the state enjoyed a lead position in India. This position was acquired by the print media in the state as it kept pace with the development in print technology and met challenges posed by electronic media since mid-80s. The newspaper industry in the state adopted modern techniques of offset colour printing and started using computers that were introduced in the country in this period of the 20th century. The newspaper publishers started using Internet for news gathering to e-mail text and photographs for publication after this new medium was made available in the country in 1995.
It was, therefore, important to understand how the Marathi newspapers used Internet to launch their web editions and how the readership responded to these new developments. This researcher undertook two studies of online editions of Indian newspapers, from 1995-1998 and the second for the period 2002-06. The second study was funded by University Grants Commission and was carried out with co-investigator Dr Ujjwala Barve. Both the studies covered web editions of Indian newspapers in different Indian languages, including English.
This paper documents status of online editions of Marathi dailies published from Maharashtra at the end of the second study. This would offer an overview of the status of online editions of the 114 newspapers in all the Indian languages Assamese (01), Bengali (07), English (39), Gujarati (06), Hindi (17), Kannada (04), Malayalam (07), Oriya (04), Punjabi (01), Tamil (06), Telugu (06) and Urdu (04).
The status may change in case of the online editions of major English newspapers which are part of portals, such as The Times of India, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times and the Indian Express.
List of Marathi Newspapers online
It needs to be realised that the online editions are not to be registered with a single authority, unlike the print editions that are legally required to be registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India. Therefore, among the first part of the study was to list the newspapers that have online edition after searching the web and interacting with the publishers.
The data revealed that only 12 from among the 130 Marathi dailies have online editions until the study was completed in 2006. (These do not include web sites in Marathi that do not have print editions.) This works out to around 9 per cent, which is on par with the scenario the world over.
The Marathi newspapers with web sites are as follows:
Table 01. Marathi online newspapers
Sr. no. Name of Newspaper URL / Web Site Address
1 Dainik Aikya http://www.dainikaikya.com/
2 Deshdoot http://www.deshdoot.com/
3 Deshonnati http://www.deshonnati.com/
4 Kesari http://www.dailykesari.com/
5 Lokmat http://www.lokmat.com/
6 Loksatta http://www.loksatta.com/
7 Maharashtra Times http://www.maharashtratimes.com
8 Pudhari http://www.pudhari.com/
9 Sakal http://www.esakal.com/
10 Saamana http://www.saamana.com/
11 Tarun Bharat http://www.tarunbharat.com/
12 Tarun Bharat http://www.tarunbharat.net/
As part of the research, case studies were conducted to document the status of online journalism in the state, with special reference to attitudes of the publishers, production process and economics of the web editions. Key functionaries were interviewed and a structured questionnaire was filled in to record data at their workplaces.
Following data was made available through these case studies:
Case Study 1: Sakaal (www.esakal.com)
Sakaal is a leading Marathi newspaper published from 1932. Its editions are published from Mumbai, Kolhapur, Nashik, Jalgaon, Aurangabad and Nagpur, besides the main edition brought out from Pune. The web edition was launched on January 26, 2000 and is edited at the Pune office.
The online section is run by News Editor and two sub-editors on the editorial side. A manager looks after advertisements for the web edition and a software engineer takes care of the technical aspect of the edition. The editorial staff works in shifts from 1000-1800, 1500-2200 and 1800-0200. The online edition is uploaded at 3 a.m. after the main print edition begins printing. The site is updated with breaking news. Average hits are 1,80,000 per day.
Judging by the feedback and e-mails the editor receives, the readers are mostly Maharashtrians abroad, but a sizeable number is also from within India. The readers prefer to read news about the State of Maharashtra, Local, Politics, and Marathi Culture.
The editors receive about 10 to 20 e-mailed responses. The figure goes up to more than 100 where are important issues reported on the site.
Readers are mostly in the age group of 20 to 30 years, working mostly in IT sector. A large number of housewives have also started visiting the site. The readers generally want more news about their home towns.
Case Study 2: Lokmat (www.lokmat.com)
Lokmat is the leading Marathi newspaper, headquartered in Nagpur with multiple editions in major cities and towns in Maharashtra. These centres include Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik, Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar.
The web edition was launched on July 02, 1998. It has an Online editor, with his headquarters in Pune. He edits the contents and supervises the uploading carried out from 11 centres. He is supported by a team of ten sub-editors.
Pune’s office uploads contents for main page, besides the Pune online edition. The office works in two shifts, with two sub-editors carrying out the upload.
The other centres are responsible to take care of the upload of contents from the respective print edition. They are in touch with the Pune office all the time, particularly for major news of the region so that these stories are included in the main page of the online edition.
Every edition thus uploads a number of stories (ranging from 70 to 100), besides a number of photographs (ranging from 15 to 30).
Every edition has a Main Page and pull-outs focussing only local stories.
FrontPage has 25 to 30 news stories. Lead story has Introduction with photo display. This is followed by three sub-leads and other news with heading display and thumbnails when pictures are available.
Marketing department of the Pune print edition looks after the marketing of www.lokmat.com. There is no dedicated marketing staff for the entire online activity of the newspaper group.
The online edition has achieved direct telecast, direct videocast, videoclips and podcasting of bulletins of important news stories that can be heard if the readers so desire.
Readership of lokmat.com is spread over 63 countries, including India.
The Lokmat’s online department works in two shifts, from 12 noon to 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 2.30 a.m. All the centres upload their editions after 3 p.m. Pune page is uploaded at 3 a.m. and main page at 5 p.m.
Hits range from 20,000 to 30,000 a day. The readers are offered 700 news stories and articles through 63 pages of the website.
On an average, the online edition has 700 news stories, six articles, 100 photographs and 20 advertisements.
Readership is dominated by those residing in India. One third of the total readership is in USA, followed by a miniscule in UK and rest of Europe and UAE.
Readers prefer crime news, local news of every edition, Maharashtra state news, Sports, National, Political, agriculture, Art and culture, science, technology and business news, in that order.
The editor receives feedback from 30 to 50 visitors every day.
Case Study 3: Tarun Bharat (Nagpur) (www.tarunbharat.net)
The web edition was launched on September 26 1999. There is no dedicated editorial staff for the web edition. The person in the system department looks after uploading of the contents of the print edition onto the web site.
He works for three hours to upload the contents at 7 a.m. and the updates are carried out at 1100 hrs, 1500 hrs, 1900 hrs, 2300 hrs. The web site receives 350 to 400 hits on working days, 200 for non-working days
The web site contents include 20 to 40 news stories, 5-6 articles, 2-3 photographs and has no advertisement.
Readers are located mostly in US and Europe.
Case Study 4: Maharashtra Times (www.maharashtratimes.com)
The newspaper is a part of the Times of India group of newspapers and the website belongs to a separate entity, the portal www.indiatimes.com.
The editorial department of the web edition has a content editor who is assisted by two sub-editors. The edition was launched in March 2000. The department works in shifts 1100 to 1930 hrs and 1700 to 0130. The edition is uploaded at 1.30 a.m. and updated when there is a major story during the day.
The web site has around 100 news stories, 15 articles, upto ten photographs and about five advertisements on the home page. Average hits received by the site of the online edition are around 1,10,000 per day.
Preference of the readers is for local news, politics, crime, and entertainment.
Case Study 5: Pudhari (www.pudhari.com)
Pudhari is a leading Marathi newspaper published from Kolhapur, Southern Maharashtra. It has editions published from Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Goa, Belgaon, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg.
Its online edition was launched on May 01, 2000 from Pune. It works in one shift from 2200 hrs to 0800. One sub editor looks after the editorial content.
The site receives about 10,000 hits per day.
Its contents include 20 news stories, 22 articles, 15 photographs, and one advertisement.
Its readers are mainly Maharashtrians outside Maharashtra.
Case Study 6: Belgaum Tarun Bharat (http://www.tarunbharat.com)
The newspaper is published from Belgaum, in Karnataka bordering Maharashtra and has editions from Goa, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, and Kolhapur.
The web edition was launched on July 06, 1999. It is edited by two sub-editors who work from 1700 hrs to 0200 hrs. The site received average 60,000 hits per day. The site includes 80 News Stories, 10 articles, 15 photographs and two advertisements.
Readers are mostly Maharashtrians abroad. They are interested in local news.
Case Study 7: Kesari (http://www.dailykesari.com)
The newspaper, edited in the initial years by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was in the forefront in the freedom struggle. It is published from Pune with editions from Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Solapur, and Pimpri.
Kesari was the first Marathi newspaper that entered the cyber era on August 01, 1997.
One sub editor looks after the upload of the contents at 1 p.m.
Contents include news and articles of the print editions. Its readers are located mostly outside Maharashtra, many of them abroad. Their preference is for Local, State, National politics, and business stories. The readers are mostly young, with some connection with Pune.
The case studies based on interviews of the key functionaries of the newspapers thus offered the following data:
Table 02. Contents and Economic Viability of online editions
Newspaper News Stories Articles Photographs Ads Economic
Viability^
Sakaal 350-400 10-12 25-30 8-10 No
Lokmat 700 6 100 20 NA*
Tarun Bharat (Nagpur) 30-40 5-6 2-3 NA No
Maharashtra Times 100 15 5-10 5 Yes
Pudhari 20 22 16 1 Yes
Belgaum Tarun Bharat 80 10 15 2 No
Kesari NA NA NA NA No
(^ Economic Viability: The column offers response to the question: Has the online edition broken even financially?
• NA (Not Available) means the data was not provided by staff of the concerned online edition.)
• Most newspapers do not get advertisements for the net editions, with only a few exceptions Sakal and Maharashtra Times. The situation was the same in 1998 when most of the 48 newspapers then on the net did not earn much advertisement revenue for the web editions.
• This was the reason, then and now, that web editions of most newspapers could not break-even financially.
• It was perhaps for the same reason that the publishers have not made large investment in manpower for the web sites. The web site is managed by a very limited staff. In most newspapers, the staff pattern is same: a chief sub-editor assisted by one or two sub-editors. In some cases, only a sub-editor working in the print edition has the responsibility to upload the contents after his night shift job is over. Most publishers are content with the arrangement in which the computer systems department staff look after their web sites. The result is that web editions of most newspapers do not contain contents other than what is made available from the editorial team of the print edition. No effort is made to create contents exclusively for the web editions. In absence of a thought process that should go to into creation of contents for the web edition, there is no reverse flow from web to print. The web team simply shovels text and graphics, including photographs, from the print and complete the day’s work.
• There are again exceptions like Sakal and Lokmat that try to exploit the features of Internet. Such editions have audio and video clips that go along with the text or stand alone as interesting add-ons.
• Indian newspapers have not appointed reporters exclusively for web editions.
• Most publishers have not appointed staff to procure advertising either.
• Web editions do not get advertisements because advertisers do not get response or feedback from the readers.
Production Process:
• Production process of web editions in most newspapers have not changed substantially during the last decade.
• A major change in the production process over the past decade is however that most publishers have prepared software that has made the production process and particularly uploading of the contents very easy even for a novice sub-editor. With simple commands, the contents are uploaded within no time.
• The web staff gets contents from the editorial department of the parent print edition through the Local Area Network. Similarly, if there is any ad to be inserted, it is passed on as a soft copy through the LAN.
• In most cases, there are no updates of the web sites for the next 24 hours although technologically updates are possible every minute.
• As stated earlier, the web sections are manned by a skeleton staff. They work in shifts of six to eight hours in various newspapers. Smaller newspapers seem to have shifts starting during the afternoons and ending when the web sites are uploaded early in the morning at around two a.m.
• Volume of contents of web edition varies from newspaper to newspaper depending on whether it is ‘small’, ‘medium’ or ‘big’. A small newspaper may carry a minimum of 30 news stories, six articles and three photographs. A big newspaper’s web edition may contain 3000 news stories, 50 articles and 250 photographs.
• Almost 80 to 90 per cent contents of the parent print editions are shovelled in most cases.
• Based on the feedback received through e-mail, readers of the web editions are mostly young, male, from Information Technology, NRIs based in USA, Canada and Europe.
• Editors receive e-mail responses from readers who generally react to the news stories or pass on suggestions. Such responses range from a few to over 100 per day.
Readership Survey:
The research team carried out a readership survey by placing a questionnaire at the home pages of the newspapers for at least a fortnight. The questionnaire was linked to a database at the web page designed for the research.
Following data was made available through the survey:
Table 03. Sex and Age-wise distribution of readers
Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
Male Female
# % # %
Up to 20 3 00.6 2 0.4
21-30 207 42.0 37 7.5
31-40 128 26.0 22 4.4
41-50 45 09.1 5 1.0
51-60 27 05.4 6 1.2
61 and above 10 02.0 1 0.2
Total (% rounded off) 420 85.0 73 15.0
The proportion of female Internet newspaper readers is considerably smaller than male readers. In 1998, the readership comprised 7% female readers.
This means that the majority readership of Internet newspapers is in the age group of 21-40 years. In 1998 also the majority (79%) readership belonged to the age-group of 21-40 years.
Table 04. Country-wise distribution of readers
Country Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
India 296 60.0
United States 99 20.0
United Kingdom 19 03.8
United Arab Emirates 13 02.6
Canada 5 01.0
Rest 58 countries from where the web sites are accessed Less than one per cent
A major change is noticed in the domicile of readers that participated in the present survey. In 1998, 62% readers were staying in USA and 10% were staying in India. The present survey shows almost a reverse trend. Majority (60%) readers are residing in India and 20% are in USA. Almost 80% readers stay in either of these two countries (as against 70% in 1998).
Table 05. State-wise distribution of readers residing in India
State Marathi
(Total respondents: 493
Residing in India: 296)
# %
Maharashtra 235 79.3
Karnataka 22 07.4
Delhi 6 02.0
Tamil Nadu 1 00.3
Andhra Pradesh 6 02.0
Uttar Pradesh 6 02.0
Other states Less than 02 each
Further division of readers residing in India shows that majority of them are from Maharashtra. Readers all over the country access Indian newspapers on the Internet. The readership is more in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh probably because of the penetration of Information Technology in those states and also probably because of the high number of IT professionals working in those states.
The high percentage (79.3) of readers of Marathi newspapers from Maharashtra shows that such readership within the state has grown in the last few years during which Internet connectivity has been made available in more urban and rural centres.
Table 06. Educational Qualifications of readers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Master 244 49.4
Bachelor 174 35.2
Doctorate 32 06.4
Diploma 27 05.4
HSC 10 02.0
SSC 6 01.2
Reading of Internet newspapers seems to be closely related to level of education. The more educated a person is the more he/she is likely to read newspapers on the Internet.
Table 07. Employment status of readers
Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Employed 401 81.2
Not employed 47 09.5
Self-employed 45 09.1
Almost no change is seen in the employment status of readers in the last 8 years. In 1998 79% readers were employed whereas in 2006 almost equal proportion (77% and 81% respectively for English and Marathi newspapers) is employed.
Table 08. Frequency of reading the newspapers
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Everyday 396 80.5
Occasionally 37 07.5
Once a week 16 03.2
Twice a week 44 08.8
The fact that most readers read newspapers on the Internet regularly shows that reading newspapers on the Internet has become a habit for the readers.
Table 09. Topics read in web editions of the newspapers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
News 484 98.17
Editorials 246 49.90
Opinion Articles 175 35.50
Book/ film/ theatre reviews 123 24.95
Advertisements (Display) 52 10.55
Horoscope 93 18.86
Religious/spiritual discourses 67 13.59
Advertisements (Classified) 39 07.91
Matrimonial Advertisements 15 03.04
Sports 17 03.45
Business 9 01.83
Science and Technology 5 01.01
Features 148 30.02
Photographs 2 00.41
Readers' letters 4 00.81
Politics 3 00.61
Supplements 4 00.81
Weather 2 00.41
Cartoons - 00.00
It is clear from the above table that readers read the newspapers for news and views because highest preference is given to news. The term 'news' includes news about all fields: politics, sports, business, science and technology, art, culture etc.) Almost an equal number of readers read the views expressed in the newspaper. The combined percentage of readers of Editorials and Opinion Articles is high Book/film/theatre reviews are also read by a considerable proportion of the readership A significant number of readers of Marathi newspapers (18.8%) read the Horoscopes-related column in newspapers.
Advertisements, whether display or classified, are not among the top favourites with readers.
Table 10. Readers' Areas of Interest (Region)
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
India 319 64.7
World 154 31.2
Home state 314 63.6
Home town 287 58.2
Asia 70 14.2
Around two thirds (64.7%) Marathi newspaper readers want to know news from India; 58.2% Marathi readers are keen on reading news from Home town.
Table 11. Readers' Areas of Interest (Categories of News)
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Business and economy 273 55.38
Politics 281 57.00
Science and Technology 240 48.68
Social Development 228 46.25
Human Interest 157 31.85
Columnists' Columns 138 27.99
Sports 181 36.71
Environment 159 32.25
Rural Development 204 41.38
Art and culture 181 36.71
Celebrities 081 16.43
Crime 091 18.46
On-site Poll results 044 08.92
Obituaries 012 02.43
Business and Economy, Politics, Science and Technology are the first three areas the readers like to read about.
Table 12 Purpose behind accessing newspapers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
To know about--- # %
Latest happenings in India 361 73.23
Progress of India in various fields 285 57.81
Views of India about world affairs 194 39.35
Changing lifestyle in India 202 40.97
Business opportunities in India 140 28.40
Information about hometown and home state 017 03.45
The question about the purpose behind reading newspapers on the Internet was included in the present survey, based on the findings of the 1998 survey. That survey had indicated that a majority of readers (90%) of Indian newspapers on the Internet lived outside India. Therefore while living away from India, they were anxious to know about various aspects of Indian life. Hence some questions in this survey, especially the present question and the options provided in response to the question were phrased presuming that readers were residing outside India.
The present survey however shows that maximum readers of Internet newspapers (67%) are currently living in India. As such they may be experiencing life in India and may also be exposed to other conventional news media (print newspapers, TV and Radio channels). Therefore it is difficult to interpret the response to this question.
At face value however it seems that in accordance with earlier responses most readers In 1998 also the main purpose indicated by most readers was to keep themselves updated about developments in India.
Table 13. Reasons for reading newspapers
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Access archival material 177 35.90
Participate in on-site polls 69 14.00
Kill time 77 15.62
Overcome homesickness 103 20.89
Send greeting cards and Gifts 44 08.92
Chat with other readers 18 03.65
Real estate transactions 24 04.87
Transfer money to India 8 01.62
Send e-mail in Marathi 40 08.11
Besides the main purpose/s behind reading the Internet newspapers, some other factors also prompt Internet users to read newspapers on the Internet. The most frequently cited reason is 'to access archival material.' Those who are away from India/hometown/city also look upon it as a tool to overcome homesickness.
Though Marathi Internet newspapers provide the facility to write e-mails in Marathi only a small proportion of readers (8.11%) visits newspaper sites for that reason. Same is the case with other facilities like sending greeting cards/gifts, chatting with other readers and real estate transactions etc. provided on newspaper sites. These facilities are used marginally.
Table 14. Problem with font
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Never 152 30.83
Sometimes 136 27.59
Very rare 130 26.37
Often 35 7.10
Regularly 23 4.67
Can not say 17 3.45
In case of Marathi newspapers on the Internet downloading the proper font used to be a major problem in the early days of Internet newspapers. In 2006 such problems are either not encountered at all or are encountered very rarely (57%). 27.59% readers sometimes encounter font problem and around 11% encounter it more often.
Some Observations:
Journalists in Marathi newspapers face difficulties in mastering the skills in typing in Marathi (Devnagari) script, compared to those who work in English newspapers. The problem is with the keyboard layout, which has not been standardised by producers of the application software.
The script used by one newspaper differs from others. The text can not be easily converted in the script used by other computers, as can be done in case of English (Roman) any where in the world.
Journalists in most rural areas do not have access to computers and Internet. They still write their stories by hand and fax them to their newspaper offices where these are keyed in the DTP system. Photographs are similarly sent by courier, although in many cases, journalists use digital or mobile phone-camera to take snaps and mail them through cyber cafes.
This is the case with most newspapers in non-English newspapers in India.
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About the author: Dr Kiran Thakur worked as professional journalist for over 30 years in India. He joined academics in 2001 and retired in March 2007. Among the books he wrote is Dr N B Parulekar, A Pioneer in Modern Journalism in Indian Languages. Dr Thakur's doctoral thesis was on online journalism in India during the initial phase (1995-98). He, along with colleague Dr Ms Ujjwala Barve, continued to study web journalism with support from University Grants Commission. The present paper is based mainly on their findings of this study and data collected subsequently.
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Abstract
The paper documents status of online journalism in Maharashtra, considered to be an advanced state of India, in the area of Information and Communication Technology. It traces the history of online journalism in the state since Marathi daily Kesari launched its web edition, the first in the state, in 1997.
It is based on the outcome of two studies: the first carried out for the initial phase 1995-98 and the second extending up to 2006 which covered 114 dailies online. Two more dailies were added after the study was complete, taking the total number to 116.
The research concluded that except for a few newspapers, most web editions continued to be economically unviable. Production processes remain unchanged in most newspapers. Contents of web editions are shovelled from their parent print editions.
Readership survey indicated that the web editions are accessed from 63 countries, most of the readers being Indians in India and abroad. The study offered demographic profile of the readers and broad indications about their needs, expectations, uses and gratification. The readers are young, highly educated and more interested in news about India, and more specifically about their native places.
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Introduction
Maharashtra is among the 35 states and union territories of India. It is considered to be an advanced state, compared to most others, in terms of industrial development, trade, education and the progress made in the area of Information Technology. Mumbai is its Maharashtra's capital and Nagpur its twin capital. Besides these two important cities, there are other major cities like Pune, known as the state's Cyber capital, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Amaravati.
With an area spread over in 307,713 sq km, the state of Maharashtra is divided into 35 administrative districts and has a population of 96,878,627 comprising 50,400,596 males. Literacy rate is 76.9 per cent, male 86 per cent and female 67.
With the initiatives of charity trusts and support from the provincial government, Maharashtra has a very strong network of schools, colleges, and universities spread over the nook and corner of the state. Some of these academic institutions were founded over 150 years ago and have been contributing, with the rest of them, to create social awareness and development of the people.
Thanks to the spread of education and rise in purchasing power of growing number of families, newspaper industry has also been experiencing a boom during the last decade. Number of newspapers published from the state has gone up as also the circulation of dailies. Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and it is no surprise that this metro has a large number of newspapers published not only in English and state's principal language Marathi but also in other languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Tamil, Kannada, Tamil and so on.
However, it is not only Mumbai that shows growth in number of publication and their circulation. Cities like Pune and Nagpur have recorded growth in this area over the years.
As per the data from Annual Statements received by the Registrar of Newspapers for India for the year 2005-06, the highest numbers of newspapers (with all periodicities) were published in Hindi (4131), followed by English (864), Gujarati (775), Urdu (463) Bengali (445), and Marathi (328). (http://rni.nic.in/)
Among language dailies, Hindi lead with 942 newspapers followed by 201 in English while Marathi had 130 dailies.
During 2005-06, the largest numbers of newspapers were published from Uttar Pradesh (1913), followed by Delhi (1133), Gujarati (817), Rajasthan (742), Maharashtra (642) and West Bengal (505).
Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of daily newspapers in all languages (384), followed by Maharashtra (206).
Dailies from Uttar Pradesh with a total circulation of 1,34,92,557 copies were at the top, followed by Maharashtra with 1,05,37,174 and Delhi 88,08,045 copies.
Dailies from Uttar Pradesh with a total circulation of 1,34,92,557 copies were at the top, followed by Maharashtra with 1,05,37,174 and Delhi 88,08,045 copies.
The data, thus, indicates that Maharashtra and Marathi newspapers published from the state enjoyed a lead position in India. This position was acquired by the print media in the state as it kept pace with the development in print technology and met challenges posed by electronic media since mid-80s. The newspaper industry in the state adopted modern techniques of offset colour printing and started using computers that were introduced in the country in this period of the 20th century. The newspaper publishers started using Internet for news gathering to e-mail text and photographs for publication after this new medium was made available in the country in 1995.
It was, therefore, important to understand how the Marathi newspapers used Internet to launch their web editions and how the readership responded to these new developments. This researcher undertook two studies of online editions of Indian newspapers, from 1995-1998 and the second for the period 2002-06. The second study was funded by University Grants Commission and was carried out with co-investigator Dr Ujjwala Barve. Both the studies covered web editions of Indian newspapers in different Indian languages, including English.
This paper documents status of online editions of Marathi dailies published from Maharashtra at the end of the second study. This would offer an overview of the status of online editions of the 114 newspapers in all the Indian languages Assamese (01), Bengali (07), English (39), Gujarati (06), Hindi (17), Kannada (04), Malayalam (07), Oriya (04), Punjabi (01), Tamil (06), Telugu (06) and Urdu (04).
The status may change in case of the online editions of major English newspapers which are part of portals, such as The Times of India, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times and the Indian Express.
List of Marathi Newspapers online
It needs to be realised that the online editions are not to be registered with a single authority, unlike the print editions that are legally required to be registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India. Therefore, among the first part of the study was to list the newspapers that have online edition after searching the web and interacting with the publishers.
The data revealed that only 12 from among the 130 Marathi dailies have online editions until the study was completed in 2006. (These do not include web sites in Marathi that do not have print editions.) This works out to around 9 per cent, which is on par with the scenario the world over.
The Marathi newspapers with web sites are as follows:
Table 01. Marathi online newspapers
Sr. no. Name of Newspaper URL / Web Site Address
1 Dainik Aikya http://www.dainikaikya.com/
2 Deshdoot http://www.deshdoot.com/
3 Deshonnati http://www.deshonnati.com/
4 Kesari http://www.dailykesari.com/
5 Lokmat http://www.lokmat.com/
6 Loksatta http://www.loksatta.com/
7 Maharashtra Times http://www.maharashtratimes.com
8 Pudhari http://www.pudhari.com/
9 Sakal http://www.esakal.com/
10 Saamana http://www.saamana.com/
11 Tarun Bharat http://www.tarunbharat.com/
12 Tarun Bharat http://www.tarunbharat.net/
As part of the research, case studies were conducted to document the status of online journalism in the state, with special reference to attitudes of the publishers, production process and economics of the web editions. Key functionaries were interviewed and a structured questionnaire was filled in to record data at their workplaces.
Following data was made available through these case studies:
Case Study 1: Sakaal (www.esakal.com)
Sakaal is a leading Marathi newspaper published from 1932. Its editions are published from Mumbai, Kolhapur, Nashik, Jalgaon, Aurangabad and Nagpur, besides the main edition brought out from Pune. The web edition was launched on January 26, 2000 and is edited at the Pune office.
The online section is run by News Editor and two sub-editors on the editorial side. A manager looks after advertisements for the web edition and a software engineer takes care of the technical aspect of the edition. The editorial staff works in shifts from 1000-1800, 1500-2200 and 1800-0200. The online edition is uploaded at 3 a.m. after the main print edition begins printing. The site is updated with breaking news. Average hits are 1,80,000 per day.
Judging by the feedback and e-mails the editor receives, the readers are mostly Maharashtrians abroad, but a sizeable number is also from within India. The readers prefer to read news about the State of Maharashtra, Local, Politics, and Marathi Culture.
The editors receive about 10 to 20 e-mailed responses. The figure goes up to more than 100 where are important issues reported on the site.
Readers are mostly in the age group of 20 to 30 years, working mostly in IT sector. A large number of housewives have also started visiting the site. The readers generally want more news about their home towns.
Case Study 2: Lokmat (www.lokmat.com)
Lokmat is the leading Marathi newspaper, headquartered in Nagpur with multiple editions in major cities and towns in Maharashtra. These centres include Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik, Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar.
The web edition was launched on July 02, 1998. It has an Online editor, with his headquarters in Pune. He edits the contents and supervises the uploading carried out from 11 centres. He is supported by a team of ten sub-editors.
Pune’s office uploads contents for main page, besides the Pune online edition. The office works in two shifts, with two sub-editors carrying out the upload.
The other centres are responsible to take care of the upload of contents from the respective print edition. They are in touch with the Pune office all the time, particularly for major news of the region so that these stories are included in the main page of the online edition.
Every edition thus uploads a number of stories (ranging from 70 to 100), besides a number of photographs (ranging from 15 to 30).
Every edition has a Main Page and pull-outs focussing only local stories.
FrontPage has 25 to 30 news stories. Lead story has Introduction with photo display. This is followed by three sub-leads and other news with heading display and thumbnails when pictures are available.
Marketing department of the Pune print edition looks after the marketing of www.lokmat.com. There is no dedicated marketing staff for the entire online activity of the newspaper group.
The online edition has achieved direct telecast, direct videocast, videoclips and podcasting of bulletins of important news stories that can be heard if the readers so desire.
Readership of lokmat.com is spread over 63 countries, including India.
The Lokmat’s online department works in two shifts, from 12 noon to 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 2.30 a.m. All the centres upload their editions after 3 p.m. Pune page is uploaded at 3 a.m. and main page at 5 p.m.
Hits range from 20,000 to 30,000 a day. The readers are offered 700 news stories and articles through 63 pages of the website.
On an average, the online edition has 700 news stories, six articles, 100 photographs and 20 advertisements.
Readership is dominated by those residing in India. One third of the total readership is in USA, followed by a miniscule in UK and rest of Europe and UAE.
Readers prefer crime news, local news of every edition, Maharashtra state news, Sports, National, Political, agriculture, Art and culture, science, technology and business news, in that order.
The editor receives feedback from 30 to 50 visitors every day.
Case Study 3: Tarun Bharat (Nagpur) (www.tarunbharat.net)
The web edition was launched on September 26 1999. There is no dedicated editorial staff for the web edition. The person in the system department looks after uploading of the contents of the print edition onto the web site.
He works for three hours to upload the contents at 7 a.m. and the updates are carried out at 1100 hrs, 1500 hrs, 1900 hrs, 2300 hrs. The web site receives 350 to 400 hits on working days, 200 for non-working days
The web site contents include 20 to 40 news stories, 5-6 articles, 2-3 photographs and has no advertisement.
Readers are located mostly in US and Europe.
Case Study 4: Maharashtra Times (www.maharashtratimes.com)
The newspaper is a part of the Times of India group of newspapers and the website belongs to a separate entity, the portal www.indiatimes.com.
The editorial department of the web edition has a content editor who is assisted by two sub-editors. The edition was launched in March 2000. The department works in shifts 1100 to 1930 hrs and 1700 to 0130. The edition is uploaded at 1.30 a.m. and updated when there is a major story during the day.
The web site has around 100 news stories, 15 articles, upto ten photographs and about five advertisements on the home page. Average hits received by the site of the online edition are around 1,10,000 per day.
Preference of the readers is for local news, politics, crime, and entertainment.
Case Study 5: Pudhari (www.pudhari.com)
Pudhari is a leading Marathi newspaper published from Kolhapur, Southern Maharashtra. It has editions published from Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Goa, Belgaon, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg.
Its online edition was launched on May 01, 2000 from Pune. It works in one shift from 2200 hrs to 0800. One sub editor looks after the editorial content.
The site receives about 10,000 hits per day.
Its contents include 20 news stories, 22 articles, 15 photographs, and one advertisement.
Its readers are mainly Maharashtrians outside Maharashtra.
Case Study 6: Belgaum Tarun Bharat (http://www.tarunbharat.com)
The newspaper is published from Belgaum, in Karnataka bordering Maharashtra and has editions from Goa, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, and Kolhapur.
The web edition was launched on July 06, 1999. It is edited by two sub-editors who work from 1700 hrs to 0200 hrs. The site received average 60,000 hits per day. The site includes 80 News Stories, 10 articles, 15 photographs and two advertisements.
Readers are mostly Maharashtrians abroad. They are interested in local news.
Case Study 7: Kesari (http://www.dailykesari.com)
The newspaper, edited in the initial years by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was in the forefront in the freedom struggle. It is published from Pune with editions from Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Solapur, and Pimpri.
Kesari was the first Marathi newspaper that entered the cyber era on August 01, 1997.
One sub editor looks after the upload of the contents at 1 p.m.
Contents include news and articles of the print editions. Its readers are located mostly outside Maharashtra, many of them abroad. Their preference is for Local, State, National politics, and business stories. The readers are mostly young, with some connection with Pune.
The case studies based on interviews of the key functionaries of the newspapers thus offered the following data:
Table 02. Contents and Economic Viability of online editions
Newspaper News Stories Articles Photographs Ads Economic
Viability^
Sakaal 350-400 10-12 25-30 8-10 No
Lokmat 700 6 100 20 NA*
Tarun Bharat (Nagpur) 30-40 5-6 2-3 NA No
Maharashtra Times 100 15 5-10 5 Yes
Pudhari 20 22 16 1 Yes
Belgaum Tarun Bharat 80 10 15 2 No
Kesari NA NA NA NA No
(^ Economic Viability: The column offers response to the question: Has the online edition broken even financially?
• NA (Not Available) means the data was not provided by staff of the concerned online edition.)
• Most newspapers do not get advertisements for the net editions, with only a few exceptions Sakal and Maharashtra Times. The situation was the same in 1998 when most of the 48 newspapers then on the net did not earn much advertisement revenue for the web editions.
• This was the reason, then and now, that web editions of most newspapers could not break-even financially.
• It was perhaps for the same reason that the publishers have not made large investment in manpower for the web sites. The web site is managed by a very limited staff. In most newspapers, the staff pattern is same: a chief sub-editor assisted by one or two sub-editors. In some cases, only a sub-editor working in the print edition has the responsibility to upload the contents after his night shift job is over. Most publishers are content with the arrangement in which the computer systems department staff look after their web sites. The result is that web editions of most newspapers do not contain contents other than what is made available from the editorial team of the print edition. No effort is made to create contents exclusively for the web editions. In absence of a thought process that should go to into creation of contents for the web edition, there is no reverse flow from web to print. The web team simply shovels text and graphics, including photographs, from the print and complete the day’s work.
• There are again exceptions like Sakal and Lokmat that try to exploit the features of Internet. Such editions have audio and video clips that go along with the text or stand alone as interesting add-ons.
• Indian newspapers have not appointed reporters exclusively for web editions.
• Most publishers have not appointed staff to procure advertising either.
• Web editions do not get advertisements because advertisers do not get response or feedback from the readers.
Production Process:
• Production process of web editions in most newspapers have not changed substantially during the last decade.
• A major change in the production process over the past decade is however that most publishers have prepared software that has made the production process and particularly uploading of the contents very easy even for a novice sub-editor. With simple commands, the contents are uploaded within no time.
• The web staff gets contents from the editorial department of the parent print edition through the Local Area Network. Similarly, if there is any ad to be inserted, it is passed on as a soft copy through the LAN.
• In most cases, there are no updates of the web sites for the next 24 hours although technologically updates are possible every minute.
• As stated earlier, the web sections are manned by a skeleton staff. They work in shifts of six to eight hours in various newspapers. Smaller newspapers seem to have shifts starting during the afternoons and ending when the web sites are uploaded early in the morning at around two a.m.
• Volume of contents of web edition varies from newspaper to newspaper depending on whether it is ‘small’, ‘medium’ or ‘big’. A small newspaper may carry a minimum of 30 news stories, six articles and three photographs. A big newspaper’s web edition may contain 3000 news stories, 50 articles and 250 photographs.
• Almost 80 to 90 per cent contents of the parent print editions are shovelled in most cases.
• Based on the feedback received through e-mail, readers of the web editions are mostly young, male, from Information Technology, NRIs based in USA, Canada and Europe.
• Editors receive e-mail responses from readers who generally react to the news stories or pass on suggestions. Such responses range from a few to over 100 per day.
Readership Survey:
The research team carried out a readership survey by placing a questionnaire at the home pages of the newspapers for at least a fortnight. The questionnaire was linked to a database at the web page designed for the research.
Following data was made available through the survey:
Table 03. Sex and Age-wise distribution of readers
Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
Male Female
# % # %
Up to 20 3 00.6 2 0.4
21-30 207 42.0 37 7.5
31-40 128 26.0 22 4.4
41-50 45 09.1 5 1.0
51-60 27 05.4 6 1.2
61 and above 10 02.0 1 0.2
Total (% rounded off) 420 85.0 73 15.0
The proportion of female Internet newspaper readers is considerably smaller than male readers. In 1998, the readership comprised 7% female readers.
This means that the majority readership of Internet newspapers is in the age group of 21-40 years. In 1998 also the majority (79%) readership belonged to the age-group of 21-40 years.
Table 04. Country-wise distribution of readers
Country Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
India 296 60.0
United States 99 20.0
United Kingdom 19 03.8
United Arab Emirates 13 02.6
Canada 5 01.0
Rest 58 countries from where the web sites are accessed Less than one per cent
A major change is noticed in the domicile of readers that participated in the present survey. In 1998, 62% readers were staying in USA and 10% were staying in India. The present survey shows almost a reverse trend. Majority (60%) readers are residing in India and 20% are in USA. Almost 80% readers stay in either of these two countries (as against 70% in 1998).
Table 05. State-wise distribution of readers residing in India
State Marathi
(Total respondents: 493
Residing in India: 296)
# %
Maharashtra 235 79.3
Karnataka 22 07.4
Delhi 6 02.0
Tamil Nadu 1 00.3
Andhra Pradesh 6 02.0
Uttar Pradesh 6 02.0
Other states Less than 02 each
Further division of readers residing in India shows that majority of them are from Maharashtra. Readers all over the country access Indian newspapers on the Internet. The readership is more in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh probably because of the penetration of Information Technology in those states and also probably because of the high number of IT professionals working in those states.
The high percentage (79.3) of readers of Marathi newspapers from Maharashtra shows that such readership within the state has grown in the last few years during which Internet connectivity has been made available in more urban and rural centres.
Table 06. Educational Qualifications of readers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Master 244 49.4
Bachelor 174 35.2
Doctorate 32 06.4
Diploma 27 05.4
HSC 10 02.0
SSC 6 01.2
Reading of Internet newspapers seems to be closely related to level of education. The more educated a person is the more he/she is likely to read newspapers on the Internet.
Table 07. Employment status of readers
Marathi newspapers
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Employed 401 81.2
Not employed 47 09.5
Self-employed 45 09.1
Almost no change is seen in the employment status of readers in the last 8 years. In 1998 79% readers were employed whereas in 2006 almost equal proportion (77% and 81% respectively for English and Marathi newspapers) is employed.
Table 08. Frequency of reading the newspapers
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Everyday 396 80.5
Occasionally 37 07.5
Once a week 16 03.2
Twice a week 44 08.8
The fact that most readers read newspapers on the Internet regularly shows that reading newspapers on the Internet has become a habit for the readers.
Table 09. Topics read in web editions of the newspapers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
News 484 98.17
Editorials 246 49.90
Opinion Articles 175 35.50
Book/ film/ theatre reviews 123 24.95
Advertisements (Display) 52 10.55
Horoscope 93 18.86
Religious/spiritual discourses 67 13.59
Advertisements (Classified) 39 07.91
Matrimonial Advertisements 15 03.04
Sports 17 03.45
Business 9 01.83
Science and Technology 5 01.01
Features 148 30.02
Photographs 2 00.41
Readers' letters 4 00.81
Politics 3 00.61
Supplements 4 00.81
Weather 2 00.41
Cartoons - 00.00
It is clear from the above table that readers read the newspapers for news and views because highest preference is given to news. The term 'news' includes news about all fields: politics, sports, business, science and technology, art, culture etc.) Almost an equal number of readers read the views expressed in the newspaper. The combined percentage of readers of Editorials and Opinion Articles is high Book/film/theatre reviews are also read by a considerable proportion of the readership A significant number of readers of Marathi newspapers (18.8%) read the Horoscopes-related column in newspapers.
Advertisements, whether display or classified, are not among the top favourites with readers.
Table 10. Readers' Areas of Interest (Region)
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
India 319 64.7
World 154 31.2
Home state 314 63.6
Home town 287 58.2
Asia 70 14.2
Around two thirds (64.7%) Marathi newspaper readers want to know news from India; 58.2% Marathi readers are keen on reading news from Home town.
Table 11. Readers' Areas of Interest (Categories of News)
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
# %
Business and economy 273 55.38
Politics 281 57.00
Science and Technology 240 48.68
Social Development 228 46.25
Human Interest 157 31.85
Columnists' Columns 138 27.99
Sports 181 36.71
Environment 159 32.25
Rural Development 204 41.38
Art and culture 181 36.71
Celebrities 081 16.43
Crime 091 18.46
On-site Poll results 044 08.92
Obituaries 012 02.43
Business and Economy, Politics, Science and Technology are the first three areas the readers like to read about.
Table 12 Purpose behind accessing newspapers
Marathi
(Total respondents: 493)
To know about--- # %
Latest happenings in India 361 73.23
Progress of India in various fields 285 57.81
Views of India about world affairs 194 39.35
Changing lifestyle in India 202 40.97
Business opportunities in India 140 28.40
Information about hometown and home state 017 03.45
The question about the purpose behind reading newspapers on the Internet was included in the present survey, based on the findings of the 1998 survey. That survey had indicated that a majority of readers (90%) of Indian newspapers on the Internet lived outside India. Therefore while living away from India, they were anxious to know about various aspects of Indian life. Hence some questions in this survey, especially the present question and the options provided in response to the question were phrased presuming that readers were residing outside India.
The present survey however shows that maximum readers of Internet newspapers (67%) are currently living in India. As such they may be experiencing life in India and may also be exposed to other conventional news media (print newspapers, TV and Radio channels). Therefore it is difficult to interpret the response to this question.
At face value however it seems that in accordance with earlier responses most readers In 1998 also the main purpose indicated by most readers was to keep themselves updated about developments in India.
Table 13. Reasons for reading newspapers
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Access archival material 177 35.90
Participate in on-site polls 69 14.00
Kill time 77 15.62
Overcome homesickness 103 20.89
Send greeting cards and Gifts 44 08.92
Chat with other readers 18 03.65
Real estate transactions 24 04.87
Transfer money to India 8 01.62
Send e-mail in Marathi 40 08.11
Besides the main purpose/s behind reading the Internet newspapers, some other factors also prompt Internet users to read newspapers on the Internet. The most frequently cited reason is 'to access archival material.' Those who are away from India/hometown/city also look upon it as a tool to overcome homesickness.
Though Marathi Internet newspapers provide the facility to write e-mails in Marathi only a small proportion of readers (8.11%) visits newspaper sites for that reason. Same is the case with other facilities like sending greeting cards/gifts, chatting with other readers and real estate transactions etc. provided on newspaper sites. These facilities are used marginally.
Table 14. Problem with font
Marathi (Total respondents: 493)
# %
Never 152 30.83
Sometimes 136 27.59
Very rare 130 26.37
Often 35 7.10
Regularly 23 4.67
Can not say 17 3.45
In case of Marathi newspapers on the Internet downloading the proper font used to be a major problem in the early days of Internet newspapers. In 2006 such problems are either not encountered at all or are encountered very rarely (57%). 27.59% readers sometimes encounter font problem and around 11% encounter it more often.
Some Observations:
Journalists in Marathi newspapers face difficulties in mastering the skills in typing in Marathi (Devnagari) script, compared to those who work in English newspapers. The problem is with the keyboard layout, which has not been standardised by producers of the application software.
The script used by one newspaper differs from others. The text can not be easily converted in the script used by other computers, as can be done in case of English (Roman) any where in the world.
Journalists in most rural areas do not have access to computers and Internet. They still write their stories by hand and fax them to their newspaper offices where these are keyed in the DTP system. Photographs are similarly sent by courier, although in many cases, journalists use digital or mobile phone-camera to take snaps and mail them through cyber cafes.
This is the case with most newspapers in non-English newspapers in India.
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About the author: Dr Kiran Thakur worked as professional journalist for over 30 years in India. He joined academics in 2001 and retired in March 2007. Among the books he wrote is Dr N B Parulekar, A Pioneer in Modern Journalism in Indian Languages. Dr Thakur's doctoral thesis was on online journalism in India during the initial phase (1995-98). He, along with colleague Dr Ms Ujjwala Barve, continued to study web journalism with support from University Grants Commission. The present paper is based mainly on their findings of this study and data collected subsequently.
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