Sunday, October 30, 2005

Asia/Newspapers


The Sydney Morning Herald: You wouldn't read about it, but Asia's press thrives

"Three-quarters of the world's best-selling dailies are now published in Asia, with The Times of India claiming the largest broadsheet circulation in the English-speaking world. In China, almost 100 million newspapers are sold every day, and in India it's more than 70 million. Considering the more than 2 billion potential readers in those two Asian markets alone, the only way to go is up, says the editor of the Indian daily The Hindu, N. Ram. And media advertising growth is far outstripping even soaring national growth rates."

"Tarun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of Tehelka, said of India's media explosion: "If you already have a swimming pool to swim in, then you're not interested in much else. But we are a society in transition, everyone wants to know what's happening. The curve in newspapers is still going up and will do so for some time.""

"In India there is an untapped market of 500 million people who do not yet read a newspaper. Another editor, Mythili Bhusnurmath of The Financial Express, said: "We are one of the only countries left in the world in which literacy is still rising, and the first thing a new reader picks up is a newspaper.""

"Indian editors are confident that there is "generations more" expansion ahead for newsprint, in tandem with digital communication. But, as the Australian media consultant Paul Budde warned Indian proprietors at a media conference in Chennai this week, the end of newspapers is coming faster than Asia thinks. Which means Asia could well be enjoying newsprint's last, glorious gasp."

No comments: