The Opposition Between Reading Newspapers and the Internet

Indian media, especially Print media, is undergoing significant changes in the current liberalized environment. With digitalization and newspapers going online, the readership of print media is going down. Yet, it continues to bring revenue. Thus, the study seeks to understand whether consumers are satisfied reading newspapers or not, with reference to The Times of India. It also studies consumer attitudes towards the newspaper. The first edition of The Times of India was published in 1838 and currently has its markets in major cities of India.

It is credited for bringing democratization in the field of journalism in India. The purpose of this study is to know the consumer’s perception and factors influencing them to buy The Times of India. For this purpose, data were collected from 100 respondents using the questionnaire method. The findings of this study provide the organization with an understanding of consumers, their attitude toward content, advertising, and the brand as a whole.

INTRODUCTION:

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing news.

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It is considered to be the main conveyor of news. Though there are other different sources of news like books, magazines in print media, radio, television channels and Internet connections in the electronic media, words of mouth, telephone, and wireless communications, etc. no other source ever could come near the newspaper in terms of importance. It has proven to be true in the past and the present. Neither the advent of the television nor that of the Internet could affect the importance of the newspaper. The reason for this is the width, breadth and depth of the news provided by the newspaper, its low cost, and the ease of providing the news at our leisure and comfort as many times as we desire.

Reading newspapers every day is highly educational for everyone. Therefore, this study has been undertaken to know the customer satisfaction towards newspaper with special reference to The Times of India.

Many of the Indian newspapers are priced much less than their cost of production. They recover major portion of their costs through selling space for advertisements. In recent times we have witnessed ‘price wars’ in markets where there is huge potential for advertisement revenues. In markets like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi etc., The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, have adopted low pricing strategy for attracting more buyers to improve their circulation and readership. More readership is likely to translate into more advertisement revenue. The study aims to find the ways in which The Times of India attracts consumers, whether it is the brand name, the content, the advertisements or reference groups. The study also looks at different classes of consumers – students, employees and homemakers in urban Bengaluru.

Scope of the study:

The study attempts to identify the reach of The Times of India, which would help the company in formulating suitable strategies. The study also identifies the attitudes and preferences of the consumers. It focuses on the media through which the product reaches the consumers. It identifies the factors that influence consumers to read The Times of India. It finds out the satisfaction level of the consumers towards The Times of India

 Introduction to the Industry:

The newspaper has been one of the oldest forms of media. Newspapers have a unique dimension of social responsibility, which means the newspaper industry is different from other industries; it is a business of idealism and spreading awareness about current issues happening around the world. The newspaper industry in India has been evolving. Due to technological development, there has been a tremendous rise in the number of newspapers being published. Complications have increased not only among the newspapers but also from the organization to survive and rule over the rest of the organizations. For this reason, it is important for the organization to adopt change and formulate strategies.

The printing press appeared in India as early as 1670, however, it was not until 1777 that the first newspaper was printed in Mumbai (then called as Bombay). Papers in regional languages started in the 1820s and 1830s; for instance, Mumbai Samachar (1822) continues its publication even today. Political newspapers like Rast Goftar began publication in the 1850s. British colonialism contributed immensely in the freedom of the press, and after independence, the ownership of many British newspapers was transferred to Indian business groups. The country experienced impressive growth after independence in 1950. Initially, there were 214 daily newspapers. In 1990, that number had increased to 2,856. Today, there are over 31,000 news titles published, including over 4,000 daily newspapers written in almost 100 languages.

Electronic and digital technologies are now posing serious challenges to print media. Newspapers in India are adopting new methods to present news and adapting to changing times. With the availability of new and fast communication methods that can carry visuals and the printed word with speed and clarity, the print media is finding that it has to do something different. That difference lies mainly in providing perspective to readers. As a result, print media experts and corporate publishers are quite confident about the continued growth of newspapers in India.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, for the July-December period of 2016, The Times of India remains the most circulated newspaper, in the English language, with over 4.78 lakh copies daily. This puts the Times of India far ahead of the combined circulation of Deccan Herald and The Hindu. The Times of India in Bengaluru city is over two and a half times the size of its nearest competitor, Deccan Herald, which, according to ABC, had a circulation of 1.87 lakh copies, including 49,332 copies of the variant. The Hindu trails way behind with 1.04 lakh copies (including 40,125 copies of the variant), which makes The Times of India more than four and a half times larger.