(K Madhava Rao)
The rising advent of new media is gaining traction as the most convenient and accessible tool for information dispersion, given its utility and multiway communication cycle, says a new book which takes a 360-degree look at print media organisations in India.
In “Indian Media Giants: Unveiling the Business Dynamics of Print Legacies”, Indian Institute of Mass Communication faculty member Surbhi Dahiya carries out an analytical chronicle of six Indian media conglomerates’ individual odyssey from their humble beginnings in the pre-independence era to their transformation into powerful business empires in the digitised world.
The book, published by Oxford University Press, traces Indian media metamorphosis, the birth, phase-wise contours of growth and development, travails and trajectories, organisational structures, editorial policies and business dynamics of print majors The Times Group, The Hindu Group, The Hindustan Times Limited, The Indian Express Group, Dainik Jagran Limited and DB Corp Limited.
It further analyses how innovations have been brought in the management policies of these print businesses, with respect to production, distribution, consumption, while accrediting the visionary leadership that drives each organisation forward in its endeavours.
The book focuses on the theoretical framework of media management and pays attention to the changing media management practices from one era to another, gradually orienting and reorienting the strategic positioning of respective media giants to the pulse of the media market and the opportunities under various regulatory regimes.It also details the changing media landscape in India and underlines the efforts of media giants in retaining print while embracing the digital.“Today, challenges are different because there is no choice but to embrace the technology of the Internet and the World Wide Web, since new media is gaining traction. There is also the challenge of the information consumer becoming the information-doer,” the book says.
According to the author, with new-age devices, traditional filters have fallen thus creating a breeding ground for evils like fake news and disinformation.
“In India, it is an even greater challenge when credible media houses fall into the trap and become purveyors of fake news. But that has not dislocated the dominant position print holds. Newspapers are still hailed as safety nets the public can fall back on for credible sources of information, something that new-age media is most susceptible to,” she writes.Dahiya also says that in this competitive world, media organisations are under constant pressure to change, innovate, draw upon new capabilities to survive, and above all re-examine their existing business models.
“In view of the fast-moving and changing external environment and the shifting of goals of media organisations, the author tries to map the changes and innovations in managing media organisations in India by identifying the factors responsible for initiation and sustenance of these changes,” the book says.
Apart from tracking the evolution and growth trajectory of the largest Indian media conglomerates with core competencies in print media, the changes and innovations that the respective managements brought in response to the external policy environment are also highlighted.The author further tries to measure the role of strategic intent enunciation in the vision and mission statements in stimulating the growth and phase-wise development from pre-independence to post millennium era, in the context of product line and life cycles, product development, and diversification and to explore the role of product development and diversification in strategic positioning.She also examines the role of market penetration and enlargement in its transformation into a multinational business organisation, printing and technological leaps forward, role of strategic alliances, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and takeovers.
