Business Line means BUSINESS
The last time that I saw the whole design color of a newspaper changed to suit the whims and fancies of the advertiser was three years ago when The New Indian Express sported a green look. ONGC had won some environmental award or they had initiated some green eco-friendly practice in the Industrial sector. I am not so sure of it. Immediately ONGC’s advertising agency swung into action, did their homework and the result was a green color Indian Express newspaper for a day. Though I must accept that the green color did add some sheen to the dull black and white of The Indian Express, I cannot agree with Newspapers giving up on their policy to accommodate advertisers.
True, there might not be any hand written policy on the design and the color to be used; but then giving up on your trademark design for a more trendy one is always looked at as an attempt to catch the imagination of a wider audience, which means the number of loyal readers of your newspaper is on the decline.
THE HINDU was probably the first newspaper to have an 'All Advertisements' first page. But that was only till the mid 1950s. THE HINDU has come a long way since then. Our first PM Nehru called it “The Old lady of Mount Road” signifying the importance of their building on Anna Salai, which now holds the Asian School of Journalism. Today, it is the number one English daily in South India.
Recently expert graphic designer Dr. Mario Garcia made lots of changes in the design of THE HINDU and its group publications. And to mark the change in the style, The Hindu calls itself Traditional yet Contemporary. Nice attempt at not trying to sound clichéd!! Though the new look is pleasing for the eyes, many old-timers don’t buy that story.
This morning, when I saw THE HINDU Business Line, I was shocked.
How many news articles did the front page carry? Absolutely none at all. The whole first sheet (that means the front and rear sides) was an Advertisers’ space. This time, BL too sported a green look. Not the dark green of ONGC, but it was a much pleasing fluorescent green of Karur Vysya Bank. The first page had nothing except for KVB’s green and The Hindu’s masthead. Now isn’t this going a bit too far in sacrificing your Headlines for some money? As a matter of fact, the third page of this Tiruchirapalli edition was similar to the usual First page, having the masthead and the Main Headlines in bold.
So I presume this is a collectors’ edition in which The Hindu’s Masthead appears twice!!
I feel that The Hindu, with a rich legacy, would be better off without these Ads, at least on the front page.
True, there might not be any hand written policy on the design and the color to be used; but then giving up on your trademark design for a more trendy one is always looked at as an attempt to catch the imagination of a wider audience, which means the number of loyal readers of your newspaper is on the decline.
THE HINDU was probably the first newspaper to have an 'All Advertisements' first page. But that was only till the mid 1950s. THE HINDU has come a long way since then. Our first PM Nehru called it “The Old lady of Mount Road” signifying the importance of their building on Anna Salai, which now holds the Asian School of Journalism. Today, it is the number one English daily in South India.
Recently expert graphic designer Dr. Mario Garcia made lots of changes in the design of THE HINDU and its group publications. And to mark the change in the style, The Hindu calls itself Traditional yet Contemporary. Nice attempt at not trying to sound clichéd!! Though the new look is pleasing for the eyes, many old-timers don’t buy that story.
This morning, when I saw THE HINDU Business Line, I was shocked.
How many news articles did the front page carry? Absolutely none at all. The whole first sheet (that means the front and rear sides) was an Advertisers’ space. This time, BL too sported a green look. Not the dark green of ONGC, but it was a much pleasing fluorescent green of Karur Vysya Bank. The first page had nothing except for KVB’s green and The Hindu’s masthead. Now isn’t this going a bit too far in sacrificing your Headlines for some money? As a matter of fact, the third page of this Tiruchirapalli edition was similar to the usual First page, having the masthead and the Main Headlines in bold.
So I presume this is a collectors’ edition in which The Hindu’s Masthead appears twice!!
I feel that The Hindu, with a rich legacy, would be better off without these Ads, at least on the front page.
posted by VAC | 10:35 AM
4 Comments:
this post is pretty vague. im not really sure if u are supporting Ram or criticising him. i admire him though.. has taken bold decisions at the time of crisis. his immediate neutral stance when dealing with the ADMK govt issues soon after the arrest-fiasco is commendable... he is sure to go a long way...
@Mars: Hey I cannot understand the rational behind having an Ad to start the newspaper. Already these newspapers make lots of money thru full page Ads. So why the need to give up on the front page? A respected daily like Hindu would do better off without these Ads.
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