Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the print media industry in India: A study Jain Dhriti1,*, Ladda Ishika1, Chopra Aahana B.2 1Students, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India 2Assistant Professor, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India *Corresponding author email id: aahanabhatnagar@ip.du.ac.in
Online published on 12 April, 2023. Abstract India is one of the countries where citizens are still heavily dependent on Print Media for news consumption and information dissemination. The print media still stands for its objectivity, fairness and bias-free reporting, but with Covid-19 lockdown, the Print Media Industry was one of the most impacted. Analyzing the first quarter of 2020–21 (FY 2020–2021) April-June, the newspaper market of India shrank significantly. In this period, the players in the print market suffered an average of 67% decline in revenue, according to a report by Ind-Ra (A research firm). The report also stated 76% and 32% decline in revenue from advertisements and circulation respectively. The unprecedented lockdown came down very harshly on the industry as 1) print houses were unprepared for the drastic digital shift, 2) the industry was already crippling due to increased digitization, 3) the main source of income i.e. advertisements also reduced due to the economic slowdown. The Indian Newspaper Society also reported that the industry has already been running on the loss of approximately Rs. 12,500 crores as of 12 December 2020. Several newspapers halted their printing as soon as the lockdown began for around 3 months and the thickness of a normal newspaper compared to pre and post-pandemic levels also decreased. This led to a drastic change in the revenue, subscription and news dissemination models of print media companies. One of these changes was the increased digital presence of print media houses. This research aims to analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the print media industry and how they were pushed for some institutional and technical changes to adjust to the new Indian consumer behavior pattern that took shape during the pandemic. The research also focuses on the impact of pandemic on print journalists and working professionals of the print media industry. This exploratory research adopts the mixed method approach. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, the study aims to evaluate the emerging trends in print media and it also aims to provide recommendations for working professionals to work with the new age system, post pandemic. Top Keywords Pandemic, Print Media, Covid-19, Newspaper. Top |