Future of newspapers safe, robust: Study

ALLAHABAD: Contrary to global predictions and rejecting the prophecies of the death of newspapers in western countries as well as India, a study conducted by School of Management Studies (SMS), Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), states that the future of newspapers is safe and robust.
The study also acknowledges the growing role of information technology in newspaper industry.The research titled 'Strategic thinking for technology adoption and competence building' has mapped Indian newspaper industry growth, which was based on countrywide and two-tier survey of editors and media officials and readers. It brings to fore some facts related to the newspaper industry of India.
The head of School of Management Studies, MNNIT, said that the research was carried out with overall objective of exploring the strategic thinking, if any, among the editors vis-à-vis perception of readers. "We identified variables like content and features, impact of other media, post reading value, IT and information and content that hold immense importance for the survival of the print media," the HoD said.
As many 62 editors, senior media officials of national and regional newspapers stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Andaman and Nicobar islands and readers from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, National Capital Region (NCR), Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were surveyed and interviewed through structured questionnaires, she informed.
Rajesh Tripathi, who carried out the research and is presently working as assistant professor, department of strategic management, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, informed that the findings highlight a huge and widening perceptual gap that exists between editors and media officials in understanding preference of readers on content and features like political, local, sports, business, advertisement, entertainment and matrimonial, which were not preferred by readers on a magnitude believed by editors and officials.
The articles and editorial columns were not projected by many editors as items preferred by majority readers while the same was proved wrong by the readers.
Readers showed inclination towards articles and editorial columns which were not projected by editors as items preferred by readers.
The study also shows that readers did not give much importance to price and access as believed by editors. Editors recognised the constructive impacts of information technology but readers were seen unimpressed which again presents a paradoxical situation for the strategic thinkers of the newspaper industry.