Most newspapers taking readers for a ride
In the absence of a clear international protocol, the newspapers get away with a constantly rising ads to news ratio! For high ad revenue, a high circulation is a must and acts as a PULL factor for ads!
In India, elections are an all-weather phenomenon. Assembly, zilaparishad & panchayat elections in one state or the other are taking place at any given time. As a result, multiple full page ads from different political parties stare at you every morning! Newspapers, not surprisingly, make the most of this bonanza!
In the euphoria that prevails, readers are taken for a ride in a ‘ royal ‘ style. They are not only taken for granted but repeatedly punished by innovative sequencing of pages carrying ads! Two half pages glued to the front page or a half page of ads inserted in between two pages with news. As if this is not annoying enough, you find a flap with an ad, jetting out in the middle pages like a sore thumb!
Another lemon in the basket is that in spite of a huge dose of ads, the reader has to pay a subscription fee that is not small by any standards. While the millennial hardly read newspapers, the retired and the aged can’t do without a newspaper and keenly wait for it in the morning!
Why can’t a reader choose an ad free newspaper but with a paid subscription or one with ads with no subscription fee? A similar choice ought to be available for viewing TV channels too, presently carrying loads of ads and a hefty subscription fee on top of it!
Isn’t it only a logical and fair expectation? Would the regulators wake up from their slumber?
SAMVADA is a shining example of a community newspaper that truly cares for the reader. A fair balance between the ads and news, & delivered at your doorstep free of cost!
