I do not know where the newspapers get their paper from. I do not know
if restriction is set by the Government on the number of pages or
supplements that a newspaper may have.
With such restriction of my knowledge, I would like to submit that The
Times of India, one of the most voluminous papers today – it has other
than The Times of India, Bombay Times and Mumbai Mirror. the other
supplements change on a daily basis. A lay subscriber to the Times,
therefore has to run through nearly 100 pages of content and ads
everyday. Newspapers have long forgotten the art of summarization and
selection. Why waste manpower on summaries and news selection when
everything can be printed?
This also helps them serve more ads as they have more pages to serve them on.
In return of money thus generated, the reader just gets more content
and never better content, with extremely few exceptions. The money has
also not led to mainstreaming of the more controversial topics. So, in
the end, the only thing that has grown rich materially or
knowledge-wise is the management of the newspaper.
I have a certain degree of respect for The Indian Express. This is a
newspaper I would like to subscribe to when the decision falls on me.
Also, the very long analytical pieces are the domain of magazines.
Newspapers have invaded this domain and have destroyed both magazines
and analytical pieces. Newspapers do not and must not have space to
publish or stifle these. Newspapers must lead the people to these and
must play this role.
Parallel Spirals 