The media is a tertiary industry and as a result will face more trouble before things improve. Which may take years

News about salary delays, cuts and outright layoffs are rampant on groups of journalists. The seemingly heavy-handed cutbacks, which are being blamed on the Coronavirus, have affected both veteran journalists and rookie reporters. Lest it be upon us to judge the decisions made by other media groups, every single media entity is in a spot of financial trouble, including this newspaper, as revenue sources — be it from the Government or the private sector — have completely dried up during the lockdown. At the same time, costs for printing and distribution as well as salaries have remained the same. Then virulent misinformation about the spread of COVID-19 through newspapers has prevented distributors from giving them out in all areas. Newspapers are still better off than their brethren in the magazine sector, where in many cases, printing presses are shut as news stands, which are the primary source of distribution for many magazines, are empty. In a way, the Indian media is responsible for some of the crisis, thanks to the “price wars” of the 1990s that have driven down the subscriber costs of newspapers, making them more dependent on private sector advertising.

Yet, it is not just the print media that is suffering. Layoffs and salary cuts are taking place in television as well. Flawed distribution strategies by channels and policies by the regulator have meant many news channels are free-to-air and, thus, survive on advertisements. With India’s industry shut, that source of revenue has dried up. While people may believe that the web is a land of milk and honey, much advertising revenues are swallowed up by the likes of Facebook and Google and eyeballs are not equal to revenue. Indeed, the high establishment cost of several start-up media sites will ensure that many might not make the cut once COVID-19 is dealt with, leaving a scarred and empty media landscape. Can the Government do much? For one, supporting the media through advertising as well as relaxing the wage board for print will be a start. Despite that, cutbacks will be brutal, many journalists and managers in the media will be out of a job and almost no journalism graduates will be hired for the next year. Our role in the media will be job preservation and creation and for that, the Government has to think out of the box and cut the industry some slack.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

The media is a tertiary industry and as a result will face more trouble before things improve. Which may take years

News about salary delays, cuts and outright layoffs are rampant on groups of journalists. The seemingly heavy-handed cutbacks, which are being blamed on the Coronavirus, have affected both veteran journalists and rookie reporters. Lest it be upon us to judge the decisions made by other media groups, every single media entity is in a spot of financial trouble, including this newspaper, as revenue sources — be it from the Government or the private sector — have completely dried up during the lockdown. At the same time, costs for printing and distribution as well as salaries have remained the same. Then virulent misinformation about the spread of COVID-19 through newspapers has prevented distributors from giving them out in all areas. Newspapers are still better off than their brethren in the magazine sector, where in many cases, printing presses are shut as news stands, which are the primary source of distribution for many magazines, are empty. In a way, the Indian media is responsible for some of the crisis, thanks to the “price wars” of the 1990s that have driven down the subscriber costs of newspapers, making them more dependent on private sector advertising.

Yet, it is not just the print media that is suffering. Layoffs and salary cuts are taking place in television as well. Flawed distribution strategies by channels and policies by the regulator have meant many news channels are free-to-air and, thus, survive on advertisements. With India’s industry shut, that source of revenue has dried up. While people may believe that the web is a land of milk and honey, much advertising revenues are swallowed up by the likes of Facebook and Google and eyeballs are not equal to revenue. Indeed, the high establishment cost of several start-up media sites will ensure that many might not make the cut once COVID-19 is dealt with, leaving a scarred and empty media landscape. Can the Government do much? For one, supporting the media through advertising as well as relaxing the wage board for print will be a start. Despite that, cutbacks will be brutal, many journalists and managers in the media will be out of a job and almost no journalism graduates will be hired for the next year. Our role in the media will be job preservation and creation and for that, the Government has to think out of the box and cut the industry some slack.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)