The TOI Story by Sangita P Menon MalhanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Imagine being a part of an industry where the words Profit, competition and innovation are sneered at. Where business is an afterthought and players operate as one large family. Where decisions are made amicably, after due consultation with each other. An industry whose purpose reads like a page from the encyclopaedia of nobility, littered with phrases like custodian of democracy, gatekeepers of truth, nation building etc. An industry where the owner plays second fiddle, while his employees act out important roles. Now imagine trying to be competitive, profitable and creating an impressive empire in this laidback scenario. Is it even possible? You would probably think not, but, here’s the twist, The Times of India did exactly that and along the way they shook the Newspaper Industry to its foundation. ‘The TOI Story’ by former Times journalist Sangita P. Menon Malhan, is an account of this amazing and truly inspiring journey of the Times Group. The book effectively summarises the history of the group and Times of India in particular from its origin as a newspaper aimed at providing mercantile news to one that became a voice of the people and brought issues of the common man to the front page. From a group that was trapped in the shackles of government control during the 1970s to one that emerged as a force to reckon with and a pioneer of change and innovation.
But, as is the case with all great things, the group’s evolution into this media powerhouse, was not easy. There were several obstacles and it took time, vision, acumen, self-belief and most importantly courage to overcome them. Most of the group’s success was the result of a number of decisive and ruthless moves over a period of a couple of decades. Behind these moves was the rather coy, mysterious yet extremely progressive and irrepressible owner of Times Group, Samir Jain. He along with a team of trusted individuals, turned TOI into a profit making, innovation driven, premium brand that is among the top media empires of the country today. This then is the story behind TOI’s phenomenal path to glory.
As I mentioned there were obstacles aplenty. The biggest among them was the ego of the editor. Traditionally, a newspaper was the editor’s medium, his vehicle to direct, Influence and to formulate public opinion. The editor was the face of a newspaper, the superstar, a man of integrity, the guardian of democracy, the high priest of truth and objectivity. It was the editor who was the captain of the newspaper, while the owner was basically a passenger. The editor could not be bothered about profits, market shares or anything to do with the business. So, when Samir Jain decided to turn TOI into a market driven newspaper as against an editorial driven one, he was met with resistance from the editorial and journalistic staff who felt that a market oriented strategy not only reduced the editor’s importance and standing but also undermined the ethos of the newspaper business. But, Jain was determined and over time with some tough decisions and much strife everything fell into place. This was a telling blow and made it clear who was the boss and how things would move from here. Having conquered the major obstacle Jain turned his focus to the others.
The other challenges had to do with the practices prevalent in the industry. The family like atmosphere in the industry was certainly not conducive to competitive practices or innovative decisions. These were considered contrary to the sense of fraternity. Pricing of ads and the paper itself was done with a sort of consensus and everything was done to ensure that the apple cart was never disturbed. But, here again TOI bit the bullet. It hiked its prices several times and once again created a stir. TOI claimed itself to be a premium brand having premium readership or audience. This gave the advertiser a better and more focussed reach. The move pretty much changed the rules of media advertising and once again TOI led the industry.
With advertising prices taken care of, Increasing circulation and building readership numbers was the ultimate challenge for TOI. This was achieved by tweaking content, by introducing a fresh and colourful layout and with the creation of supplements like Delhi Times, Brand Equity, Ascent and others catering to niche tastes. Also, TOI prioritized news that resonated with the burgeoning middle class over political news or other issues that were less relevant to this audience. The language too was toned to match the language that the youth could relate to. All these measures and initiatives worked perfectly and the TOI soon started selling more copies than ever before and captured the imagination of the readers. This eventually led to TOI becoming the highest circulated broadsheet newspaper in the world beating The New York Times by about 24,000 copies
Success however is not just about new initiatives, but also about how you take failure in your stride and this is another area where TOI excelled. Samir Jain’s ruthless approach to pull the plug on anything that did not work or was not in harmony with the larger scheme of things proved decisive in TOI’s success story making the group more focussed and committed towards its goals.
Although, TOI’s story is full of highs there have been a few lows too. The paper has been severely criticised for dumbing down news content, for over sexing its content, for putting issues of national interest below that of those that have a popular appeal and for not doing enough with its resources and its position in the changing media scenario where electronic media and entertainment has pretty much completely taken over print media.
Well, so that is essentially what The TOI Story is all about. It is indeed a fascinating read and while it is the content that makes it so, a lot of credit should also go to the author Sangita Menon for putting together the events in such a gripping, simple and lucid form. The book is tightly structured keeping its focus sharply on its main subject which is Times of India. It’s tone is fairly neutral and conversational which makes it a light and easy read not burdened by too many technicalities or heavy jargons. The research is fairly solid and coupled with quotes and statements from people in the company as well as the industry, lend the book credibility and gravitas.
Having said this, there are a couple of things that in my opinion pull the book down. One of them is the amount of time the book spends on trying to paint a complete picture of Samir Jain’s personality or demystify him. This gets repetitive and by the end it still doesn’t give you any more of a clearer picture than you got after the first couple of paragraphs. Also, the chapter dealing with the clash and conflicts between the owner and editor is also overly long and repetitive. Lastly, there are a number of statements attributed to sources that are anonymous, which to an extent dents the credibility of those statements. But, I guess this is nit-picking and shouldn’t put anyone off from reading this.
All things said, I enjoyed The TOI Story. It is a wonderful, though not too detailed or deep, insight into an industry that has been a part of our daily lives since we can remember. It gives a fair idea of the issues and the elements that make it such a vibrant and dynamic industry. It’s a job well done and deserves a read!
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