UNIT 3 MA'GAZINES AND PERIODICALS

structure .

3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Magazines and Journals : What are They?
3.2.1 Built-in Merits
3.2.2 TV of the Printed Word Coinmunication
3.2.3 Are Magazines the 5th Estate?
3.3 Magazine Boom
3.3.1 Riot of Colours at News Stands
3.3.2 Black and White Toppers
3.3.3 Promotional Strategies
3.4 Role of A Good Magazine
3.4.1 Accomplishments of Magazines
3.4.2 A Composite Tapestry
3.5 Categories of Periodicals
3.5.1 Government Journals
3.5.2 Weak Links in the Periodical Press
3.5.3 Emerging Trends
3.6 Giants and Dwarfs Coexist
3.6.1 Giants Eat the Lion's Share
3.7 Circulation Problems
3.7.1 Need for a Public Relations Therapy
3.7.2 Challenges from Other Media
3.8 Strategic Informational and Cultural Institutions
3.9 ~ e ust Sum Up
3.10 Glossary
3.1 1 Check Your progress': Model Answers

3.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit, we introduce you to the status and growth of periodical journalism in
India. We present the role. significance and nature of magazines and explain how the
magazine world has expanded rapidly. We discuss the different categories of
magazines, [Link] and the future prospects of'magazines.
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
specify the reasons why magazines have become popular and why their circulation
has gone up;
list the emerging trends in magazine publishing;
describe the accomplishments of magazines;
list the factors that made magazines in Indian languages very successful;
describe the challenges being faced by the magazines.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Magazines disseminate more specialised information; 'hey carry articles and
commentary to diverse readers. A newspaper generally reports the happenings of the
last 24 hours. The tempo of work is very fast since it has to appear every morning.
In comparison, magazines- weeklies, fortnightlies, monthlies, [Link] time to Magazines and Perlodlrala
plan and publish. They attract wide and diverse audience. The contents are'marked
by high quality and' pictorial stuff.
In Units 1 and 2, you have,been told about the daily press in English and in Indian
Languages. Now, in this unit, we will present the characteristics, categories, role and
popularity index of magazines. We will describe the competition faced among
magazines and their future prospects, and explain at some length how Indian
langauge periodicals are gaining a strong foothold.
In the following unit we shall discuss the principles and ethics of journalism. This
will help you in preparing yourself to practice journalism with a sense of
responsibility.

Actlvity 1

You must be reading magazines. Perhaps you may be subscribing to some magazines
at home. Therefore, you are somewhat familiar with magazines, journals, weeklies
etc. Before you proceed further, let us involve ourselves in an activity.
21) Select five houses (families)/offices/institutionsin your locality.
h ) Visit these selected places with a note book and a pencil.
c) List down all the magazines/journals etc. they eubacribe to. Why do there
houses (families)/off~cdinstitutiosubacribe to these magdnes/joufnold You
may use the space given below for your answer. I,

d) Categorise these journals/magazinea into the following categoria

News and C u m n t Affairs
. Literature and Culture
Science and Technologies
Any other (Miscellenous)
I

3.2 MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS:WHAT ARE THEY?

In Ipdia, we intermingle the terms magazines, journals and periodicals, although they
have diSferent connotations. The term "magazine" indicates a stitched paperback or
writing by different authors and traditionally a medium of light entertainment. It
includes articles or stories or both and it is published at regular intervals. Most
magazines include illustrations as well as advertisements. Writings of different types
ranging from factual or practical reporting to more personal or .emotional accounts
regularly appear in these publications. The word magazine is derived from the
Arabic ward. Makhasin meaning warehouse or khazane, that is, a store-up.
The word "Journal" means a diary or daily record and covers all periodical
publications providing such information. These also carry serious or scholarly
articles with or without illustrations and advertisements. The word "periodical"
simply means a publication other than a daily, which comes out with a fixed
periodicity-every week, every fortnight, every mdnth and so on.

However, distinctions among these terms are fading out. Whether it is Sunday. The
Week, India Today, Sarita orMalayah Manorama Weekly, they are called by any of'
these names. The periodicity of t h k e publications can be weekly, fortnightly.
monthly, quarterly and halfannually. Even annuals are included among the
periodicals.
3.2.1 Built-in Merits
Whatever be the term employed, these periodical publications contain some built-in
merits. They provide a wide variety of information, opinion and entertainment. They.
are designed to be kept by the readers for a [Link] time than daily newspapers.
The magazines are centrally stitched and the publishers use more colours and
veriegated typographical and layout designs. They even print their magazines on
hetter quality paper.
Compared to dailies, folders o r pamphlets, magazines provide reading material of
endur~nginterest and contain different shades of opinion. That way they can better
inform on a theme o r event and stimulate more critical, pointed and segmented
deliherations on it. Besides tantalising covers, the topics covered by the magazines
vary from science to fiction, from current affairs t o fine arts, and from social
scicncesto religion and philosophy. At the same time, they carry amusement of all
sorts-stories, pun, satire, humour, cartoons, comics and various other types of light
reading material. No wonder that magazines are purchased by as many as 36 m~llion
readers in India while dailies are bought only by 27 million people.
3.2.2 TV of the Printed-Word Communication
For their visual appeals, titilating coveis, pretty graphics and typographical variety,
decoiative boxes,, drop letters, neatly cropped pictures, and other innovative devic'ii -
are employed by the magazinesto hold the attention of the readers. With catchy
titles, cryptic captions, racy or feature style of writing, the. focus is on cu,-rent
controversies. Besides, fun arid frolic make. magazines highly readable. They cater to
the tastes of a wide variety of readers. F o r discerning eyes, they have much more to
offer. For these reasons, some people call magazines the TV of the printed word.
The incieasing race arnQng the publishers to l u r i the readers by making'their
magazines more attractive and better than others tum magazines into a feast for the
e,yes.
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3.2.3 Are ~ a ~ a z i &the
s 5th Estate?
The readership of magazines is by and large confined to somewhat influential.
affluent and discriminating sections of the people. They cover important events, in-
depth and investigative reports and sensational revelations. For these characteristtcs
thc magazines are called the 5th Flt;~teIn .1;1piin and are proving tb be that in India
rrl\o.
Check Your Progress 1 I
Note : i ) Use the space given b": r . for. your 'answers.
i i ) Check yo* answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1) [Link] 2 inherent str0n.g points' of a magazine.
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2 ) In what way is a magazine different from a daily?

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3) Why should a magazine be called the 5th Estate?

 ant' i'eri*djcnls
M:~,oa~ines
3.3 MAGAZINE BOOM
Since independence, the periodical press in our countrv has been expanding and
exploding, diversifying and professionalising, and thus hecoming enriched in
contents, looks and impact. This sudden growth during 1970-80 is called the
magazine boom. Even otherwise. during the last 45 years, magazines of all categories
and periodicity, expanded nearly six times and touched the figure of 28,000 in 1992.
They commanded a total circulation of over 36 million copies. Delhi and Uttar
Pradesh were among the top producers of the periodicals in India. The number of
actual readers was, of course, much more because each copy of' a magazine passes
through the hands of at least twenty persons.

The number of periodicals increased from 26,728 in 1991 to 28,184 in 1992, thereby
registering an increase of 5.4 per cent. The weeklies numbered 10,375, fortnightlies
4,315 and monthlies 9,555. (Press in lndia, 37th annual Report published by thc
registrar ot' Nrw4papers in India, 1993).

' 3.3.1 Riot of Colours at News Stands

You must have seen many beautifully produced magazines at a stall o r in a library;
lndia Today, Frontline, The Illustrated Weekly of India, The Week, Reader's Digest,
Sunday, Gentleman, Business India, Marg, Dharam Yug, Saptahik i'lindustan. Chitra
Lekha, Sarita, Manohar Kahaniyan etc. During air travel. you m;iy have even got
copies of Swagat and Namaskar, the in-flight journals of India:! Airlines and Air
India. Thanks to the new printing technologies and photocompos~ng,ther:
magazines wear a bright look ard create a rio! of colour in window displays of
book-sellers and news stands o r ever1 on the pavements where riugazines are
displayed for sale.
3.3.2 Black and White Toppers
Unlike the above colourf'ul package, India's two largest circulated magazines
Malayala Manorama (over 1 1 lakh) and Mangalam, (over 8 lakh) both Malayalam
wczki~es,appear in h ~ a c kand white. [Link], Malayala Manorama has undergone a
pleasant change t)v making its cover in colour. Malayala Manorama, which has won
over a rccord n!lS;iher of readers in India and abroad. publishes articles on social and
cultural subject:;, light romactic pieces. two serial cartoon strips done by their staff
[Link], poet*. literan, cc?lumns and the most attractive feature is a serialized
novel fix wh~chreaders wait eagerly week after week. It also has a sports piece.

'I!angalum started ,omparat~vely later but is fast catching up; it also thrives on
melodrama by \enalising works of novelists. It carries love stories. features on film
star\, poetr). murdrr and crlme stories. They are largely following the Malayala
Manorama model but have rddded somewhat spicy mater~alto attract a larger
audience. The two maprzr%r%Rive been resorting to aggressive promotional
campaigns.

3.3.3 Promotional Strategies

Promotional drives have been Iaunched by almost all important groups of papers.
Even lndia Today, a celebrated English forinightly and a leading illustrated
magazine, now carries a typically Indian promotional ad. "Take a pick of the world
for a partner" through its classified matrimonial column.

So you can see how the publishers of periodicals in the country are adopting
vigorous business and promotional techniques to find a progressive or stable place in
the market. At the same time the magazine industry in lndia is subjected to
marketing and advertising pressure for better Iooks, attractive layouts and appealing
contents and even for gun powder.

Nevertheless, for reasons of low literacy, lack of purchasing power and the widely
common shared readership. no magazine in our country touches the seven figure
mark in respect of either clrcuIation or advertising revenue; seven figure circulation is
a common feature in periodical journalism in the West. No single magazine here
approaches anywhere near the aggregate sale figure of the multi-edition Reader's
Digest. The Indian magazines have to go a long way to reach the production
standards of the Life and the National Geographic of USA and Sunday of U.K.

3.4 ROLE OF A GOOD MAGAZINE

A good or a bad periodical is basically a matter of opinion and individual taste.
Broadly speaking, a good magazine must be the readen' forum. It should satisfy ,
their needs as well as fancies. In a vast and multilingual country with ethnic variety.
it should also fulfill the aspirations of each segment. For that, readers' surveys and
preference polls are necessary so that the contents and design of the. journals are
close to the readers* hearts.
Apart from being imaginative and creative in the treatment of topics, a better quality
periodical should reflect a sense of advancement and excitement about lifc in genera1
and about events, issues, values and literature in particular. The other essential
qualities of a good periodical, besides its slick production and titilating illustrations.
are its liveliness, clarity, insight, probing investigative reports and individual
character. It is heartening that some of the periodicals have attained standards
comparable with the good western periodicals but the bulk of magazines and
journals in the country still lag behind. Most of the magazines, as critics point out,
seek to lure the readers by providing juicy and sexy stories, gossip columns, morbid
sensationalism and exposures of the private life of VIPs or stars.

Let us consider the Hindi magazines and journals wh~chare the largest in numbei
dnd carry the highest circulation. These magazines cover a variety of subjects and are
widely recognised as potent in reach, power and influence in certain areas. However.
.. . . .. . ..
one eminent journalist observes in a professional journal that "news value that Hind1
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 to the lowest common denominator with little attempt to enlighten and educate tne
readers". He adds that the most disquieting feature is the condition of the Hindi
journalists themselves; in his view they have appalling working conditions. He
further observed that "the proprietors spend less money on news-gathering and are
generally content wuh making money as and when they can." These observations
were reinforced by the editors of Saptahik Hindustan in the same journal who
maintained that &the growth of Hindi journalism has not really been proportionate
to the growth of professionalism or growth of self-discipline within Hindi media
circles."
Some small irresponsible newspapers and periodicals in various languages, including
English, thrive on yellow journalism. This is supported by some of the complaints
that have come before the Press Council.

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Check Your Progress2

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answers.

ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end ol' this unh.
1 ) Give two reasons for magazine boom in India.
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2) Why is the total number of readers 20 times more than the number 01' copies of-
magazines sold in India?
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3) What are the two major constraints which restrict circulation of' magazines in
our country?
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4) Mention two major constructive rolcs that the magazines can play in our society.
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3.4.1 Accomplishments of Magazines

Magazines fulfill the need for a r~lcdiumof information, instruction and
entertainment. They also interprrt issues and policies. They have many
i~ccomplishmentsto their credit:
During India's freedom struggle. opinion magazines like Ciandhiji's Harijan playcd
vital role in moulding public opinion and mobilising it against the foreign rulc..
;I

Magazines have helped strengthen social, religious and national bonds.

! They provide excellent entertainment at an affordable price.
I Magazines act as an effective medium of'education and instruction by interpreting
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c v p n t c a n d r i ~ v ~ l n n r n ~ an nt d t hup m in nrrtnr-r f;\rllc
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 They help in bringing about social, cultural and political reforms on rational lines.

3.4.2 A Composite Tapestry

Cheap quality journalism exists in various regions and language belts and it co-exists
with good journalism. Oneauthority sums u p well by saying that the Indian
journalism presents a many-splendoured congregation varying from the
good and the professional ones t o the dirty rags, all set in the same tapestry. There
are no professional organizations and professional journals of stature, actively and
systematically engaged in promoting professional standards in the sphere of
periodical journalism.
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Activity 2 1
Before you proceed further with this unit, pause for a while and expcricncc yourself
how colourful and varied,our magazines look.

II Visit 3 news stands put u p on the roadside in your area.

I
I List down the names of all the magazines in your note-hook.
I
Categorise them according t o :
- Black and White
I
- English Language
- Colour
- Vernacular
I The following format may help you in this activity
I

3.5 CATEGORIES OF PERIODICALS

Some authoritic5 in the West classity periodicals into two main categories: trade or
specialised magazines and consumer magazines of general interest. In India, however.
the Registrar of Newspapers' Report categorised periodicals into 21 groups. The
second Press Commission report. on the other hand. preferred to classify them into
tcn categories: (1) News and current affairs journals, (2) Opinion journals, (3) Farm
iournals, (4) Economic and tinancia1 journals, ( 5 ) Science journals, (6) Literar? dr,d
cultural journals. (7) Women journals, (8) Children journals, (9) Sports journais,
(10) Film journals.

In thc Commission's calculation, news and current affairs journals constitute the
t Magazines and Periodicals
India and Probe are the most-hearers of this group. Features of such periodicals, as
w~tnessedin recent years, have been the emergence of investigative reporting,
hilckgrounding, incisive comments and team-based and interview-based reports,
with cl'lective pictorial and graphic support. Such quality reporting, however, is
c~onl'inedto only some top journals and is not a group virtue.

1.1tcrary and cultural magazines constitute the second largest group. The bulk of
thcsc maga71nes, particularly those with a large circulatton, follow a formula of
mtxed contents In order to appeal to diverse tastes and thereby attract more readers.
Mangalam and Malayala Manorama. Malayalam weeklies, Kummudam, a Tam11
Wcckly. Aajkal in Hindi and Urdu are the examples of this group.
Opinion periodicals are distinct from news magazines as also from journils of
entertainment for leisure time reading. They are generally concerned with one or
more themes of current interest. Semin'ar and Mainstream are illustrations of this
category .

Farm journals, as the name implies, deal with agricultural and other allied activities.
Shetkari and Gramsevak belong t o this group.
The economic, fmancial a n d other trade journals are of recent origin but are coming
up well. The Hindu Survey of Industry, Business India, Business World, Business
Today, Vyapar Udyog represent this class.
The growth of science journals, t o which belong V i g y ~Pragati as also the better
selling Science Today, has not been quite satisfactory In terms of their number and
quality.

The number of women jownals in India is n d cs,l:mmmmte with the strength of the
women population in the country. Vanitha, a Malayalam fortnightly from Kottayam,
has the highest circulation in this category. Femina, an English periodical, is also
gain~ngimportance.

In the group of children's journals, Chandamama and Indrajal comics are the leading
examples. Bal Bharati, a government journal, is also popular. Most magazines in this
section provide entertainment, short stories and some articles on current events and
sports publishers try t o lean on cheap circulation gimmicks instead of resorting to
originality and creativity.

The sports magazines had a low rate of expansion till recently. But now sports
magazines have started improving with experts contributing columns and the
journals giving quizes, interviews and illustrations. Sports Star, a n English weekly,
is a leading examples of this category.
The number of film journals has increased since the sixties, but professionally , ~ n d
circulation-wise their record does not show much improvement. Mayapuri, a Hindi
weekly, Stardust, Fihfare and Cine Blitz from Bombay touch a respectable
ciiculation figure.

Note : i) Use the s4ace given below for your answers.

ii) r ,:&re your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
I) In Activity 2, you have listed down the names of some magazines found on the
news stands h your residential area. Please classify them as per the categories
suggested by the second Press Commission.

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8.

2) Why d o some magazines follow a mixed formula instead of specialising in a

particular area?
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3) Write down two significant trends in magazine journalism in India.

3.5.1 Government Journals

Among the periodicals in India, 706 were brought .out by the Government In 1992. f
Languagewise, the largest number of periodicals in the government sector
appeared in English, followed by those in Hindi. The largest circulated government
publication was Shraya (50,000), a bilingual bi-monthly of Canara Bank, ~ a n ~ d o r e .
The second largest one was ~ h v i Patrika,
r a Hindi Weekly of Blkaner. As far as the
contents are conc&ed, 139 periodicals were concerned with news and current
affairsi65 j h r n a l s dealt with social welfare and 55 with agr~cultureand animal
husbandry. The government periodicals claimed a total circulation of 2.45 lakh
copies, being less than 1 per cent of the total circulation of the Indian press.

3.5.2 Weak Links in the Periodical Press

The inadequacy of science and technology journals is obvious. They are necessary for
a developing country like ours. The Press Commission felt that the number of
acience journal8 is inadequate. Besides, they lacked the technique and style to
inculcate scientific temper among the people by telling them in a simple language as
to how they could advance in certain hi-tech areas.
Women in India constitute nearly half of the population. Press Commission study
found that these journals address themselves to the urbanite or working women.
Children constitute the future leaders of tomorrow. Stories abound in these journals
but contributions on how our children should become enlightened, healthy and
democratic citizens and forge ahead as world comp'etitors in sports, technology and
modern business are lacking. Cheap serials o r comic stories borrowed from the West
are allowed to fill in the columns of some of these magazines. .
Film journals which are read widely are full of gossip stories and rumour mongering.
They deal less with professional matters. There have been times which witnessed
direct confrontation between'the film world and film journals. A study of the Press
Commission revealed another interesting facet-that many juicy artlcles are wrltter.
by the PR men in the payroll of film producers.
Professional and research journals dealing with mass media are few and not of a Magazines and Perlodlcals
high standard. These journals are essential for building up the academic and
professional base of journalism in the country. One critic rightly remarked that
journalists revel in crltlclsing others but are allergic to any criticism of their own
work.

3.5.3 Emerging Trends

*.
In recent years, interesting and encouraging trends in the field of periodical
journalism have been witnessed. Some of the more significant ones are:
F

Popular and widely circulated magazines branched out into regional languages
and made a mark for themselves. Magazines like India Today, Femina, Stardust,
Filmfare and others made their appearance Jn Hindi, Gujarati and other Indian
languages. For example, India Today has five regional language editions including
Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam and others. These are largely independent
publications with separate staff for each language edition and have definite
regional slant.
India Today, Stardust and a few pthers have made a mark by bringing out'
~uccessfullyinternational editions. In these editions, the editorial content is largely
similar to the national editions, but advertising is different. The practice is in line
with world famous magazines' trend of bringing out editions devoted to different
continents. Time and Newsweek bring out editions like Asia editions. Europe
editions and so on. The motive is to earn more revenue from advertising.
The emergence of city magazines is yet another interesting trend. Big cities like
Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Pune have exclusive journals that focus attention on
metro affairs, events, developments and problems. Bombay has Island, Delhi has
First City and City Scan. We can hope this trend will multiply.

3.6 GIANTS AND DWARFS COEXIST

Among the Indian periodicals, both giants and dwarfs coexist. So d o the pretty
looking and the drabs. The giants are not only fatter in size but elegant to look at.
,9y and large they are well managed and are in sound financial health. Their printing
is by the latest technologies like multi-colour offset. They have well-known
columdists to contribute besides their own staff. Occasionally, they bring out special
numbers. Sometimes good local scoops also appear.
By comparison, the small and medium magazines have not been able to maintain
professional standards. They lack trained journalists and an adequate number of
reporters. This affects their newsgathering and reporting- standards. Most of them,
therefore, lean heavily on fiction, gossip columns, detective stories, sensationalism,
cheap humour, sexy pictures and western comic strips. Some political magazines find
it more paying to write on factional fights and resort to who-on-whose-side kind of
political analysis. Similarly, most of the tabloids, which thrive on explosive, critical,
daring or expository reporting or titilating makeup, concentrate mostly on sex,
scandals, inflated rhetorics and fabricated juicy material. Some film magazines bank
on film politics and rumour mongering about the stars. They seek to thrive on
pornography, both in pictures and script.

A few journals carry humorous or otherwise light hearted stuff but generally these
constituents appear as an appendix rather than an integral part. Some periodicals of
course carry regular doses of contributed humour. Among them are Sunday, Mukta,
The Illustrated Weekly of India, Eve's Weekly, Dbaram Yug and Femina.

3.6.1 Giants Eat the Lion's Share

Advertising revenue is crucial for the periodical press. So a mad struggle is on to get
a larger and larger piece of the cake. The sudden increase in advertisement revenue,
especially on consumer g o ~ d smotivated
, the leading periodicals to improve their
production standards and editorial contents. As the colourful display of ads is
possible in magazines, a large number of advertisers are attracted to such magazines.
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to newspaper chains and combines of big business houses, get the better of the
smaller ones. The government has pursued a liberal advertising policy of offering
special rates to Indian language newspapers and small newspapers. It has also
extended t o them newsprint facilities, rebate from excise duties and so on but the big
papers still have an upperhand. Lack of adequate newsprint continues to be one of
the main problems for the small periodicals. The recently announced liberalisation
policy regarding the import of newsprint will give an added advantage to big papers
and rich units. The small magazines will have to trap the local or regional
advertising and bank on contents which are dear to their segmznted readers.

3.7 CIRCULATION PROBLEMS

The bright image of a magazine is one important factor which goes to build up its
circulation. Other factors are its appearance on time, its price and the distribution
network to ensure its availability to readkrs at home and on news stands. Income
from advertising may keep a magazine going for some period but if circulation
drops, for whatever reasbn, so would the advertiser's enthusiasm to buy space in it.
As bulk of the periodicals have low circulation, their financial viability constantly
remains in doubt. Most of the small and tiny periodicals brought out from the
mofussil areas survive from one publication to the next by sheer passion.

The high prRe per copy, a large number of readers sharing the same copy,
inadequate development of road transport in the interior parts of the country and
unsatisfactory distribution facilities limit the circulation of magazines. Besides,
illiteracy, poor purchasing power and low reading habits of the rural population are
the broad-based reasons for low circulation. These are the chronic problems of the
small periodicals.

3.7.1 Need for a Public Relations Therapy

Public relations and scientific promotion are new dimensions in the publishing trade
though these are still in an infant stage in our country. The adoption of proper
circulaton drives can make the magazines more acceptable to potential readers and
thus accomplish larger sales. The introduction of reader surveys can result in
improved contents of the magazines and thus promote their commercial interest. The
National Readership Surveys by the Indian Market Research Bureau and the
Operation Research Group already cover the press, radio, television and film media
to gauge the reading/listening/viewing habits and their socio-economic backgrounds.
Many of these ventures are primarily for advertisers. Only a few newspapers and
magazines independently conduct readership surveys with the objective of improving
the contents, writing style and design of their magazines.
There are some irritants which require PR application. The editorial staff does not
explain to the writers while soliciting an article, the nature, length, style and scope of
the write-up and the type of illustrations to be used. Other flaws are delayed
payments and replies, heavy editing without taking the author into confidence and
blunt refusals.

Most of the periodicals do not have even attractive readers' cblumns where the
readers could come out with their comments, suggestions and contributions. This is
important for establishing a two way communicationbetween the readers and
producers of magazines.
Poor payment in the case of articles perhaps explains the reluctance on the part of
well-known writers to accept magazine assignments. They accept these assignments
only when they do not have other lucrative assignments and mostly as a short term
arrangement.
With literacy increasing steadily and the country making economic progress, both in
rural and urban areas, there is a tremendous readership potential in India. Publishers
can adopt ingenious promotion techniques. They-need not make loud claims, but
resort to persuasive and credulous pleadings or appeals tied to the needs of the target
readers. Here are some promotional devices which could be employed profitably:
1 Promotion of sales on news-stalls, sales depots of other public places;
C
t Soliciting advance subscriptions by issuing appropriate direct mail literature;
! Simulation of the sale of advertising space;
i
Building up of goodwill or corporate image;
Promoting understanding of the contents of the publications;
i
Making editorial contents more effective and problem solving;
Seeking wider involvement of readers;
Making advertisements more attractive and creative,
1

Check Your Progress 4

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
I) What are the circulation problems faced by the pub1,ishers of small magazines?
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2) Mention five public relation tasks that the magazines should undertake to boost
the sale of their magazines.
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3.7.2 Challenges from other Media

Periodicals are exposed to competition from the electronic media, including video
magazines. Satellite TV and cable TV pose quite a challenge. These media are
captivating the mind and time of the people. To play its due role, the magazine
publishers must make their magazines still more attractive, vibrant and satisfying.
The sqaring prices are no doubt a great hinderance but that makes, it all the more
necessary for the magazines to step up their efforts to improve their quality, enhance
their popularity and ensure adequate circulation and advertising support.
 It is a professional obligation on the part of magazines to cater to the needs of
diverse readership, from the elite to the common man, from the urbanites to
ruralites, from people with deep interest in specialised areas to people with
supericial interest in many areas. They must also evoke brand loyalty. Oifferent
magazines in different areas and in different languages must evolve their own
promotional strategies based on readers' polls. In fact, what is important is that the
magazines should woo their readers by satisfying their curiosity and by giving them
the type of detailed information and lively entertainment which they wish to have.

3.8 STRATEGIC INFORM-iTIONAL AND CULTURAL

INSTITUTIONS
A periodical is a strategic informational and cultural institution. If developed on
sound editorial and management principles, it will endear ~tselfto the readers. It
should certaixily minor the society but not succumb to conformity o r mediocrity. It
should lie creative, educative and even controversial. It should speak its mind even at
the risk of becoming unpopular.
On issues of great concern to the public it should not hesitate to take a stand which
may offend the authority or a section of the readers. If a periodical makes readers
and public interest its major concerns, advertisers will come in a procession. A
combinatioh of bright ideas and attractive design accomplished through new printing
and layout techniques would result in more stimulating, attractive and saleable
periodicals. The planners should study the market and the reader's mind to evolve
the right formula, to determine the lines along which their magazines should give
information and education to the readers and serve the interest of advertisers. A
sound periodical cannot remain static, it should ensure continuous freshness,
improvement and enrichment in contents and presentation.
.
Check Your Progress 5
b

Note : i) Use the space given below for your answers.

ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1) What are the challenges posed by new visual media to the magazines? Write in
four sentences.
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
2) Why d o you think that there are good prospects of magazines as an
informational or cultural institution in our country?
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
-.......................................................................
I '

........................................................................

LET US SUM UP
India's periodical journalism has been the cornerstone of our press. This attribute
persists even today.
The terms 'periodicals', 'magazines' and 'journals' are used interchargeably. Broadly
speaking, they relate to publications which are published with a regular interval, say
a week, a fortnight, a month, two months or a quarter. These publications differ -
from the dailies, hi-weeklies or tri-weeklies in terns of format, contents and style.
Containing general or specialised information, besides entertaining material, they are
centrally stitched. They are more durable than newspapers but less permanent than
hooks. Ten million more copies are printed of magazines as compared to the number
L
I
of copies of dailies. They wear bright colours. The actual readersh~pof magazines is Vagaru e\ and [Link]&
t much more than the number ot copies sold because each copy of a magazines is read
by at least 20 people.
i
Magazines contain different shades of opinion. For that reason, they can stimulate
more critical and pointed discussion. They are called the 5th estate because of their
I indepth treatment and expository revelations. Owing to their colourful contcnts.
[Link] designs, tantalising covers and abundance of entertainment
material, some call them the T V of the printed-word comglunication. Interestingly,
however, the two weekly magazines of Kerala, Malayala Manorama and Mangalam,
published in black and white, occupy the top positions in India, commanding a
circulation of over a million. Both appeal to neo-literates and not-so-serious readers
and compensate for the I:ick of colour with a liberal doze of sensntionalism and
'
melodramatic novels of novice writers. Competitive promotional drivL.5 havc been
launched by various group5 of magazines and trade journals which at tinies cross
ethical bounds.
I
Besides slick production and titillating pictures and graphic\. a good m a g a ~ i nmust
~
he informative and educative. It should have the qualities of livelines\. cli~rityand
b
insight. Jt should carry probing investigative reports and should have an individual~ty
of its own. But most of the media observers and researchers find that barring a few
good, professionally produced magazines, the periodical press in lndia leavcs much
to be desired.

Among the ten broad categories of magazines. the news and current ai'fairs journal5
and literary journals abound but good science, technical. farm. and prot'essional
journals are few in number. So is the casc also uith journals for women. M c ~ of t thz
small and Indian langauge magalines lack prot'essional standaras. trained staft.. and
adequate circulation and advertising support. On the other hand, general interest
magazines attached to newspaper chains and combines of big business houses are
fully viable financially.

The reasons for low circulation of magazine'sare many. Bes~despauclt! of

purchasing power and low reading habits of rural people. high prices, sharcd
readership on a large scale. inadequate development of transport in the interlor parts
of the country and unsatisfactory distribution facilities account for low clrculat~on.
Z~'Smagazine in India touches seven figures in terms of sale of copies.

Nonerndess, the periodical press in the country has a bright and assured future
provided the publishers make their nagazines attractive,.readablr, entertaining and
instruments of creative and interpretative journaiism in various fields. By meeting the
needs of the diverse readership adequately, the publishers of magazines can ;issure
themselves of good circulations and advertising revenue. Readership s u r v q s and
market research can strengthen their sinews. Freshness. continuous i r n p r o ~ , ~ m ran'!
nt
enrichment hold the key to the bright future of magazines. N o vi\ual or other nicdi,~
can erode the future of sound professional and public spirited periodicals t~ec:iusco!
their inherent strength.

3.10 GLOSSARY
Bleed Pictures: Bleed plctures are those which appear in rnagazlnc\ tr~!~,mt-~l
o n two, three or four sides. Thc blocks of picturr are \I~phtly
bigger than the size of the paper. b'hcn thc printed plcrJr,.
are cut by a paper cuttrng blade they Iose the whltc h()rtJs!.
Cropped Pictures: Some pictures are cropped to eliminate the wcakzr part:; snc!
highlight the most interesting ~ l n dc!rarnatic p;ir.r\ h,.:i,r,. thril.
reproductior~.
Press in lndia 1989: The figures regarding I he ma;l,t~iaesa!!d rhci: c i r c ~ ~ l ,,!-
r: ..r~
taken from the thirty-third annl~alrc,port of the R L . : I ~ ~ ;%~. tIt . + ~
Newspapers rbr Ind;::.
Cover: Front p : g of rnagazin~.
Yellow Journalismi S?;:,:[Link]:~ii~~ngnew, b , i h :rr1ntu>is :~::> : ~ . , . ~ ~ ,-::)..
~.i! .
 r
3.11 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS : MODEL ANSWERS
( he* YW Progress 1
I
1) Magazines provide the readers with a more comprehensive :inalysis ol'an issue
of importance.
Magazines provide the readers with an opportunity to read relevant and
varied articles for a long time as immediacy is not an urgent factor for
magazine articles.

I1 2) A newspaper is more concerned wlth the dissemination of information. Whereas:

the magazine is concerned with the comprehensiveness of the presentation.
3) The newspaper is called fourth estate. The maga~inesthrough their critical
analysis of socio-economic rind political issuss put the public servants on the

i
spot. Hence, they perfc~rrna very important roie in the society like that of a
newspaper.

Check Your Progress 2

I) Literacy
New printing technology
2) In India one copy of a magazinc is usually read by at least LO people. Hence, the
number of the readers is 20 times more than the number of coples scld.
3) Illiteracy
llrban Centeredness
4) Educating people
Making the people critically aware of the socio-economic and political issues.

Check Your Progress 3

1) The answer will depend on the list you have created in Activity 2.
2) Every specialised area will have a limited readership. But for general readers a
little bit of politics, economics, story, comics, cine'ma and sports will have a
strong appeal. Knowing this characteristic of the public, many magazines have
opted for a mixed formula.

I 3) Some well-to-do magazines are venturing into vernacular editions. India Today is
having editions in five regional languages.

I The other trend in magazine journalism is that some magazines are bringing
out international editions with high incomes from advertising revenues.
ICheck Your Progress 4
I 1) The followings are some d the acute problems faced hy the small magazines:

I1 high price of a copy

weak distribution system
low income from advertising revenues
low readership
poor cover design and get-up
2) The magazines can undertake the follow~ngpromotional at.: :
~c;rics
, 1 Promote and subsidise news-stands

II Bring out posters and banners-these can be displayed in public places like
railway stations, train compartments, melas, streets etc.
Create a nct*ork among the newspaper distributors and sellers
0 Look for more advertisement
. - . . .
 9 Magazines and Periodicak

1) Television, Cable TV outfits and Coniputers havehrought about a formidable

challenge to the magazines in general. T o counter the challenges of visual media,
the latest printing technologies must be used by the magazines to improve their
get-up and printing qualities. Attractive and coloured cover-page and
photograpns can enhance the quality of the magazines. Lastly, attentJon must be
given t o the quality of the content and form of the articles.
2 ) The articles of the magazines are generally comprehensive and analytical in
nature. These articles help the readers to form an opinion on various political,
economical and social issues. The more citizens we have with such developed
and logical minds, the better it is for the country's growth and development.
.\