News Broadcasting
We are in the advertising business: BCCL MD Vineet Jain
MUMBAI: Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd. (BCCL), which owns The Times of India Group of newspapers, is a dominant player in the media business in India because it is very advertisement savvy.
“We are not in the newspaper business, we are in the advertising business,” Vineet Jain, the managing director of BCCL, is quoted as saying by The New Yorker, while dwelling on the dominance of his company in the media business in India.
The argument of BCCL is that with newspapers sold so cheaply and generating little circulation revenue, newspapers depend more on ad revenue. “If ninety per cent of your revenues come from advertising, you‘re in the advertising business,” Jain says. His elder brother Samir Jain is the vice-chairman of BCCL.
These comments by Jain appear as part of a feature by The New Yorker, a US magazine published since 1925, on the dominant media conglomerate which appeared on 8 October.
“Both of us think out of the box. We don‘t go by the traditional way of doing business,” Vineet Jain said.
The New Yorker notes that the Times group flagship The Times of India‘s innovations begin in its eight-page second section, which is titled the Bombay Times. The section brims with color pictures of seductive women and muscular men, along with stories of Bollywood stars, handsome cricket pros, and international celebrities.
The day The New Yorker‘s Ken Auletta met Vineet Jain, the lead story in Bombay Times had described how aspiring actors, including a sultry Saiyami Kher, “are keen to start their innings in Bollywood.”
Jain explained to Auletta that, like the surrounding stories, it (the lead story) was written by members of the reporting staff and paid for by the celebrities or their publicists.
The feature said an internal company report in June lauded the strategy as “so important that today nearly all Bollywood movie releases pay for promotional coverage ahead of movie releases, and actors/actresses pay to develop their brand through coverage in the paper.”
Jain got the idea after reading an interview with Richard Branson, the owner of the UK‘s Virgin Group, in which Branson remarked that the reason he parachutes from airplanes and performs similar stunts is that, with this free publicity, he annually saves his company tens of millions of dollars in advertising.
“When I read it, I said, ‘Oh, my God, eureka—I‘m stupid!‘ ” Vineet Jain said. “Why these guys are not advertising in my paper is because I‘m giving them free P.R.”
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
