Print media ‘the most valuable, trustworthy’ medium in India: Monica Nayyar Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Amid much anticipation over possible decay of print journalism, the medium still exists and has emerged as the most reliable platform in India.

This was stated by Monica Nayyar Patnaik, the Managing Director of Sambad Group, during a session titled ‘Print 2030’ at FICCI Frames 2023 on day two in Mumbai yesterday.

“For many years, there has been apprehension on survival of print media, but it continues to endure. The print media is still prevalent in India. Both English and regional dailies have ample opportunities for enhancement. Despite all odds, the print media remains the most dependable, trustworthy and value-based medium and will continue to exist for a long time,” Patnaik said suggesting there is still a lot of scope for improvement and reinvention in this sector.

Monica Nayyar Patnaik, who is the Chairperson of FICCI Odisha State Council, shared the crisis the print media faced during two-year Covid pandemic.

She said that the Covid pandemic period was challenging for print media. She highlighted three critical aspects affecting the print industry — circulation, advertisement revenue and manpower. She further explained that since they started ‘Sambad’ in 1984, the workforce had been an integral part of their system. However, during such pandemic period, they were initially unsure about how to support their employees. “We were stuck and struggling to find a way forward,” Patnaik stated.

“The bigger challenge was what to do for our employees. We retained all. We cut their salary, which was revived later. The manpower played a key role for Sambad Group,” she said.

During the period, the Sambad Group found it to be an opportune moment to promote community building among various stakeholders.

“We focused on community building by initiating small discussions with various stakeholders. We established a direct connection with employees, hawker agents, distribution centers, subscribers, and readers to foster better relationships. The efforts are still ongoing as we are yet to revive fully. Other players in the print industry are also facing the similar challenges,” she added.

Shashi Sinha, CEO, Media Research Users Council India (MRUCI) and CEO, IPG Mediabrands India, who attended the 3-day programme, supported Patnaik’s view that print media has successfully navigated through the turbulent media landscape. He emphasized that print media offers a high level of credibility with news, which is a significant advantage.

“I believe in the power of print. Hyperlocal content works in print’s favour. The print medium has a huge credibility as compared to digital and television. TV aims to provide pan coverage. Viewers want to see news that is local and affects their lives. Print media has the infrastructure to produce fast, cheap and trustworthy news content. The concept of news gathering that print media has is here to stay,” he said.

Sinha highlighted the developed infrastructure of newspapers, which enables them to deliver news that is fast, affordable, and credible.

He mentioned that the print media in India has relied too heavily on advertisement revenue. He pointed out that circulation and subscription revenues are crucial but have been undervalued by prominent English print players in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. They have been reluctant to increase pricing for fear of losing readership, which has created a conundrum. Sinha suggested that it is necessary to let the numbers drop if the pricing is raised. He also noted that regional newspapers have reasonable cover prices. In his opinion, print media should generate 40% revenue from subscriptions, and this will lead to higher payments from advertisers.

During the session, Devesh Gupta, the Executive President of ‘Jagran’, also shared his insights on print media industry.

Regarding the issue of pricing disparities, Gupta shared an example of Uttar Pradesh, where ‘Dainik Jagran’ constitutes around 60% of sales. He mentioned that he had increased the cover price by 51% in UP compared to the pre-pandemic period.

However, Gupta also noted that the Indian market is very price-sensitive, and even a small increase in price can lead to a drop in sales. He revealed that he had raised prices by Rs.4 to Rs.5 in the last two to three years, but each time he had experienced a decline in sales. Gupta assumed that the industry reports suggested a 5 to 10 percent permanent loss in sales due to changes in reading habits, while the rest was due to pricing. Currently, there is no scientific way to determine the exact percentage of sales lost due to pricing.