re: Is Analysis the new News?

Sanjay Kumar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:10:25 GMT

Have been back in India for a year after working in Europe since 2002,and have experienced two major changes : the difference in what is news here and the difference in what is newsmedia now in India. The news channel on the TV have proliferated : both on the general and the business news. The print media has also proliferated, but are no longer dominated by the old groups like the TOI and the India Today. The Mint and Outlook are definitely better read than the ET and India Today. I would hazard an opinion that this is because both carry better analysis- deeper and varied - and thus support your hypothesis. Is it any wonder that what I missed most in Europe was Prannoy Roy's The World This Week : at one place, one could get news and subtle analysis by what was included and what was not. So, up the ante and get the ability to generate better analysis, as suggested by Michael Josefowicz.

re: Is Analysis the new News?

Michael Josefowicz — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:05:02 GMT

You ask "Does this mean that every newspaper should aspire to become the New Yorker?" The short answer is yes. But, the real problem is one of excellence. For those who love to read, the New Yorker is pretty excellent. Their readers have the expectation that they will find at least one or two things that are both beautifully written and present a new way of looking at something. The New Yorker has both the audience and the talent to be able to embrace the "read for free, pay for print" model and seem to be doing fine. Most "analysis" in most newspapers most of the time tends to be talking heads and the latest version of the conventional wisdom. So, when you say, "How do we generate, position and sell analysis as profitably as possible?" I would suggest every newspaper concentrates on "generate." Given the internet and the blogosphere, marketing and positioning are subsidiary issues until you have the product.