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Readers
in Mumbai were surprised to see a smaller The Times of
India greeting them on the morning of 15 May. The Old Lady
of Boribunder - the most powerful publication in India's commercial
capital - shrank in size keeping in line with trends internationally.
That the bastion of Indian newspaper publishing has had to
change means a lot to media and television professionals and
to readers.
Indiantelevision.com
spoke to a cross section of television, advertising and media
professionals to get their views on the new format. The result:
mixed reactions. Read on:
"I don't like the new format at all. I don't know what
it wants to be: a newspaper or a tabloid. Anyway, it was packed
with ads. Now it appears to be even more so. There is so little
to read. I would like to switch to another paper which is
working hard on editorial like Asian Age or Indian
Express, but my kids want to read Bombay Times. It has
put me off totally."
Mukesh Sharma
Director
DD Mumbai
"It will take time getting used to. I believe a new rate
card is expected which can only mean rates will go up further.
The per column width of the paper has gone down, hence ads
that I will place in the paper will get less space. So even
if the rates do not go up, I will still be paying more for
the same cc ad. I expect an ad's impact to go down further."
Jasmine Sohrabjee
Head
Mediacom
Grey Worldwide
"The raddi (resale) value of the paper has gone down
with the new format. A reader will have to sell more newsapers
to get the same kilo weight from the paper mart. I like the
look though. And yes I agree that you will get less space
for your ad. I also notice that ear panels are gone. Nobody
really gives a damn that there's less to read in The Times
of India. I really love the campaign, Mohammed Khan's
done a great job. It's a sexy campaign, saying its sexier."
Sandeep Nagpal
MD
Stratagem Media
"I hate it. It's terrible. Totally unimaginative. It's
a cheap way to save money. It lacks volume. It lacks depth.
It has no personality. I believe it's a pathetic attempt to
sell a newspaper saying its sexier."
Ashok Mansukhani
Executive Vice
President - Corporate Services
Hinduja TMT
"I like the format. Easy to read in the train. It's the
same, just size is smaller."
Praveen Shrikande
CTO
Hathway Cable & Datacom
"I like it. It's easy to hold. It is the international
standard. It's handleable. I hope it does not become like
the New York Times with a number of segments and segments
and lots of ads with very little content."
Anupama Mandloi
Director - on-air
programming
SET India
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