Print media have played a great role since colonial times. Since independence, the importance of print media has escalated even more. However, as time has passed and modern forms of communication have been established, many media houses have changed or added different departments for different mediums like print, television, etc.
In this article, we will try to look at the cultural history of one of the most popular news media houses in India which has a transformative history that has enabled it to survive the changes in the news media world. Here we are talking about “Times of India”. India Today was established in 1975 by Vidya Vilas Purie, with his daughter Madhu Trehan as its editor and his son Aroon Purie as its publisher. However, Aroon Purie transferred control to his daughter Kallie Purie in 2017. Over time this magazine has gained a lot of popularity and has developed a huge reader base too. Today, it can be considered the most widely circulated magazine with a readership of near about 8 million people. The magazine is also available in different regional languages with includes Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu. However today India Today group is leading the news media industry by having 2 news channels, 16 magazines, 1 radio channel, 1 newspaper, multi-web, and mobile portals, a music label, and also one book publishing arm. It can be said that the company has achieved a lot by delivering quality, speed and reliability of services. “India Today” which launched as a magazine has now established its own brands like Woman, Business Today, Money Today, etc., and several subsidiaries like Aaj Tak, TV Today Network, etc. One interesting thing to note down is that “India Today” as a group does not have its own mission statement but it has separate mission statements for all its brands. The vision statement of the group says a lot about its intentions as it mentions creating excitement by creating excitement. The news channel “India Today” group was launched in 2003 as a sister channel of the Hindi Aaj Tak news channel. It is one of the four news channels from the TV Today Network stable, the others being Aaj Tak, Tez, and Delhi Aaj Tak. It came out as an independent channel in 2015. As decades passed and people shifted from print media to television, the company also switched its strategies in accordance with that and was able to survive the market and even came out as an excellent media house. In 2014, India Today launched a new online opinion-orientated site called the “DailyO”. The company also managed to engage the public and attention by getting involved in a lot of social work which gave them promotion and recognition from the government as well. To name some of their campaigns, “Fight the Drought (2000)”, “Rebuilding Gujarat (2001)”, “Ganga Flood Rehabilitation Project (2013)”. There are a number of business strategies which has enabled this brand to live up to its name. The news channel is constantly in the number one position due to the additions of different elements which add up to the T.R.P of the channel. To increase engagement or readership, the company has also launched its own website. Also, it gives free promotional copies to different institutes and organizations. Through these steps the company not ensures the promotion but also keeps checking the reader’s or the viewer’s interest trends.
Talking about the PESTAL Analysis (Political, Economical, Social, Technological Advances, Legal):
Political – The company receives many political interests due to its constant number one position in the market.
Economical– On average, news and media houses contribute greatly to the economy of a country. “India Today” has a significant part in it.
Social– Media played a great role in disseminating information in society. Although Indian society is predominantly traditional in its approach, however with the advent of media and its various ways of communication society is benefitted at large.
Technological Advancement – It is basically the key to development. As society is modern so are its needs. To aid those needs there is a requirement for technological advancement. The technological advancements not only enabled the company to flourish but also helped in understanding its target audience at its best. Different algorithms can enable them to determine the reading and viewing trends.
Legal– Media holds a great social responsibility therefore there are certain legal rules and regulations which are associated with media houses.
The company also takes its SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis very seriously. The records show that the company does follow its previous analysis and learns from them greatly. The main reason behind their constant survival is the fact that they tend to learn from their past experiences in form of different analyses. Over years many media houses emerged but “India Today” as a brand is able to hold a grip on the market as usual. Ownership is another important trend. The control of the company is safely and responsibly being carried out by the consecutive generation. The passing of autonomy to the younger generations within the family is very promising as it gives fresh ideas to float within the organization. The new generation is sure to have a fresh outlook on the same existing problems and will also be aware of the trends of new generations. Hence this will also help in analyzing the required changes for the company in order to make it stable in the market throughout.
So we can clearly make-out that how “India Today” as a brand has been able to establish itself as a media superpower in India. How they have looked at the various aspect of their governance, analyzed them, and work out the problems too. Also, how they have introduced new wings in their business in order to cater to the changing demands of the public. Today near about 50 million people are reading or watching from different communication mediums of “Times of India”. The company is also very welcoming in nature when it comes to new talents. Starting from the post-independence era, this group has seen many changes in media and has survived them successfully.
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