Chandan Mitra, Editor & MD, The Pioneer
I feel that the attention spans of the readers have become small. News is not sinking into the minds of the readers, and they are just skimming at the surface.
I feel that the attention spans of the readers have become small. News is not sinking into the minds of the readers, and they are just skimming at the surface.
Mitra stepped into journalism in 1984, as the assistant editor in The Statesman, Kolkata. Subsequently, he became Associate Editor, Times of India, a move which led the way to the post of Editor in Sunday Observer in year 1990. Mitra also anchored a weekly programme on Doordarshan, called 'TalkBack 'for two years. He joined 'The Pioneer' as Editor in Feburary, 1996, and subsequently also took the position as managing director in 1998.
As a part of our objective to provide the views of the industry veterans on the changing content philosophy, exchange4media's Nikhil Gupta met Chandan Mitra, to take his views on the changing definition of news, investigative journalism and ethics of 'The Pioneer'.
Q. On negotiations with prospective foreign investor… "No, we have not yet negotiated directly with any foreign investor; we have only negotiated with the financial agents. "
Q. On its in-flight magazine - Darpan… "'Darpan' was launched in August, we have come out with 4 issues so far. However, our business rival Media Transasia, has filed a case against Indian Airlines and us, saying that there should be no second magazine on Indian Airlines or Alliance Air. The matter is before the court. 'Darpan' is being circulated on Alliance Air. It is also circulated on airports, and all establishments of Indian Airlines and Alliance Air. But as yet it is not regularly going on board on Indian Airlines. Today, 'yes' we are doing reasonably well, and I have full confidence that 'Darpan', will do well, commercially as well as editorially. Once the legal matters are over I think it will grow in leaps and bounds. "
Q. On the changing approach towards news… "I think right now the reader is getting bombarded with information. There is just too much of information being delivered through newspapers, magazines, TV channels, and websites. So, I feel that the attention spans of the readers have become small. They are just catching headlines, zapping through news channels and surfing the net every half an hour. News is not sinking into the minds of the readers, and they are just skimming at the surface. Also, these days there is a tendency to sensationalize news. And a lot of society gossips and society related events have been upgraded to the level of news. I don't have a problem with it, but some of it is taking precedence over the more important events that are happening in the country. So, the producers of the news are corrupting the news sense of a reader, which I think is not a good thing in the long run for the country and for the intellectual enrichment of the people. I hope this trend will pass and after things settle down we will have better approach to news again. "
Q. On values and ethics of a newspaper… "I think there are some very fundamental values and ethics, and there are values that a newspaper creates for itself. Within those fundamental sets, every newspaper charts out its own deeper sense of ethics. Like at 'The Pioneer', we do not believe in sensationalism, we also have very clear position on national security issues, we don't believe that the security forces should be demoralized. At 'The Pioneer' we have taken a position not to publish pictures of dead bodies on the front page. We feel it's not a good thing to startle the reader or to convey a sense of depression, which invariably comes to a reader by looking at those gory pictures. I think every newspaper should aim for 'credibility'. And it should not do anything, which is deliberately planted, or use the newspaper as a vehicle to pursue some other agenda, these things are wrong. "
Q. On unique selling proposition of 'The Pioneer'… "It's a niche publication; it gives views, in-depth analysis of issues. We have a very committed readership, which looks to 'The Pioneer' for a different perspective. I would say it's a paper driven by views and analysis rather than plain news that we read in other newspapers. We have been able to carve out a niche for us in bureaucracy, academics, embassies and the industry. Our target audience is a discerning reader; he is a serious reader in the 25 plus age group, looking for value addition to the news of the day. That's what we have been doing consistently."
Q. On how 'The Pioneer' will break through the clutter of information… "Well, we cannot on our own break through the clutter, there is a certain trend, that trend will continue. We continue to provide more analysis, interpretation, background, to go behind the news, we are a paper of people's choice. A reader who spends two rupees and buys 'The Pioneer', he buys it in addition to the Times of India or Hindustan Times. This in itself means that our newspaper is delivering him value, which he doesn't get in his main paper. And we try to satisfy our reader's urge to move beyond the news, to analyze, provide a platform for every kind of opinion to be voiced, so that the reader is better informed."
Q. On the future of 'The Pioneer'… "We believe that as things get more complex, and as the information bombardment continues, paper like 'The Pioneer' will have more value for the reader as it processes the information which others give raw. Perhaps not as a first newspaper, that's not our aim either but we want to be a quality complement to the main newspapers. We are a journalist owned paper; we don't have any industrial house behind us. I am satisfied with carving out a niche for ourselves, I hope in the next few years; we will double and treble our circulation. I would like 'The Pioneer' to be known as a quality newspaper, rather than being known for huge circulations. "
Q. On FDI in print: Its impact on small newspapers… "Too early to comment, the guidelines have also not been released. Once the guidelines come in we will see what kind of terms on which the foreign investors would come in. There are concerns that the foreign investors may not find 26% as a very attractive figure, I personally feel that 26% is a welcome figure, it opens the door, at least it allows the entry of FDI. Government has built in sufficient safeguards. One would be in a better position to comment on it a year down the line. Once the small and medium newspapers get a backing from the foreign investors, their economic condition will improve. And they will definitely give a run for the money to the big newspapers. "
Q. On ads becoming a part of the content… "Yes and no, and I don't see anything wrong with it. People don't read newspapers just for the news; they also read it for advertising. And advertising sometimes is very informative. Of course, advertising has begun to influence editorial content in some cases and that is not a very happy trend. I think our readers are smart enough to realize that, and if we look at the situation of the print media, I feel a part of it is unavoidable. I don't see it as very serious issue. "
Q. On the reality of investigative journalism in India… "I think all type of journalism is investigative journalism; there is no journalism that is non-investigative. If you are talking about scoops, then you must remember, that there is no scoop in the country, every scoop is a leak. Unless, there is an interested party who hands over certain documents with an aim of fulfilling some objective, you don't get a big story. So, I don't believe that journalists actually investigate those stories. This has been going on for a long time and will continue to happen. I feel this is a part of journalism; it is not the be all and end all of journalism. These things attract attention for sometime, and then they are forgotten. And a big problem with our Indian journalism is that we rarely follow up even our own stories. Investigative journalism means following up a story till such time that the matter is solved. "
Q. On its in-flight magazine - Darpan… "'Darpan' was launched in August, we have come out with 4 issues so far. However, our business rival Media Transasia, has filed a case against Indian Airlines and us, saying that there should be no second magazine on Indian Airlines or Alliance Air. The matter is before the court. 'Darpan' is being circulated on Alliance Air. It is also circulated on airports, and all establishments of Indian Airlines and Alliance Air. But as yet it is not regularly going on board on Indian Airlines. Today, 'yes' we are doing reasonably well, and I have full confidence that 'Darpan', will do well, commercially as well as editorially. Once the legal matters are over I think it will grow in leaps and bounds. "
Q. On the changing approach towards news… "I think right now the reader is getting bombarded with information. There is just too much of information being delivered through newspapers, magazines, TV channels, and websites. So, I feel that the attention spans of the readers have become small. They are just catching headlines, zapping through news channels and surfing the net every half an hour. News is not sinking into the minds of the readers, and they are just skimming at the surface. Also, these days there is a tendency to sensationalize news. And a lot of society gossips and society related events have been upgraded to the level of news. I don't have a problem with it, but some of it is taking precedence over the more important events that are happening in the country. So, the producers of the news are corrupting the news sense of a reader, which I think is not a good thing in the long run for the country and for the intellectual enrichment of the people. I hope this trend will pass and after things settle down we will have better approach to news again. "
Q. On values and ethics of a newspaper… "I think there are some very fundamental values and ethics, and there are values that a newspaper creates for itself. Within those fundamental sets, every newspaper charts out its own deeper sense of ethics. Like at 'The Pioneer', we do not believe in sensationalism, we also have very clear position on national security issues, we don't believe that the security forces should be demoralized. At 'The Pioneer' we have taken a position not to publish pictures of dead bodies on the front page. We feel it's not a good thing to startle the reader or to convey a sense of depression, which invariably comes to a reader by looking at those gory pictures. I think every newspaper should aim for 'credibility'. And it should not do anything, which is deliberately planted, or use the newspaper as a vehicle to pursue some other agenda, these things are wrong. "
Q. On unique selling proposition of 'The Pioneer'… "It's a niche publication; it gives views, in-depth analysis of issues. We have a very committed readership, which looks to 'The Pioneer' for a different perspective. I would say it's a paper driven by views and analysis rather than plain news that we read in other newspapers. We have been able to carve out a niche for us in bureaucracy, academics, embassies and the industry. Our target audience is a discerning reader; he is a serious reader in the 25 plus age group, looking for value addition to the news of the day. That's what we have been doing consistently."
Q. On how 'The Pioneer' will break through the clutter of information… "Well, we cannot on our own break through the clutter, there is a certain trend, that trend will continue. We continue to provide more analysis, interpretation, background, to go behind the news, we are a paper of people's choice. A reader who spends two rupees and buys 'The Pioneer', he buys it in addition to the Times of India or Hindustan Times. This in itself means that our newspaper is delivering him value, which he doesn't get in his main paper. And we try to satisfy our reader's urge to move beyond the news, to analyze, provide a platform for every kind of opinion to be voiced, so that the reader is better informed."
Q. On the future of 'The Pioneer'… "We believe that as things get more complex, and as the information bombardment continues, paper like 'The Pioneer' will have more value for the reader as it processes the information which others give raw. Perhaps not as a first newspaper, that's not our aim either but we want to be a quality complement to the main newspapers. We are a journalist owned paper; we don't have any industrial house behind us. I am satisfied with carving out a niche for ourselves, I hope in the next few years; we will double and treble our circulation. I would like 'The Pioneer' to be known as a quality newspaper, rather than being known for huge circulations. "
Q. On FDI in print: Its impact on small newspapers… "Too early to comment, the guidelines have also not been released. Once the guidelines come in we will see what kind of terms on which the foreign investors would come in. There are concerns that the foreign investors may not find 26% as a very attractive figure, I personally feel that 26% is a welcome figure, it opens the door, at least it allows the entry of FDI. Government has built in sufficient safeguards. One would be in a better position to comment on it a year down the line. Once the small and medium newspapers get a backing from the foreign investors, their economic condition will improve. And they will definitely give a run for the money to the big newspapers. "
Q. On ads becoming a part of the content… "Yes and no, and I don't see anything wrong with it. People don't read newspapers just for the news; they also read it for advertising. And advertising sometimes is very informative. Of course, advertising has begun to influence editorial content in some cases and that is not a very happy trend. I think our readers are smart enough to realize that, and if we look at the situation of the print media, I feel a part of it is unavoidable. I don't see it as very serious issue. "
Q. On the reality of investigative journalism in India… "I think all type of journalism is investigative journalism; there is no journalism that is non-investigative. If you are talking about scoops, then you must remember, that there is no scoop in the country, every scoop is a leak. Unless, there is an interested party who hands over certain documents with an aim of fulfilling some objective, you don't get a big story. So, I don't believe that journalists actually investigate those stories. This has been going on for a long time and will continue to happen. I feel this is a part of journalism; it is not the be all and end all of journalism. These things attract attention for sometime, and then they are forgotten. And a big problem with our Indian journalism is that we rarely follow up even our own stories. Investigative journalism means following up a story till such time that the matter is solved. "
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