Statutory Warning – Reading TOI can be injurious to your Brain!!!!

The Times of India or the Old Lady of Boribunder as the sobriquet goes is one of the oldest newspapers in India and the largest selling English broadsheet in the world. But over the past decade this erstwhile newspaper of reasonably good quality has degenerated into a 3^rd class rotten tabloid format newspaper.

All serious news and content is trivialized by giving it a Page 3 look and feel. With headlines which talk abt the popular NRI names to Britney to wed Mr someone or the other being given more importance than a blast in Kashmir its no wonder that this downhill movement in the quality of this broadsheet is gathering more and more momentum.TOI has become more and more of a glam mag than a newspaper. If u ever needed to get the latest dough on Amisha Patel and Priety Zinta or Boris Becker’s girlfriend then TOI is a must read for you.Messrs Jain and co , please get out of the impression that everyone of ur readers is into the habit of reading only whets the latest lipstick color in vogue or where the Bollywood princesses had their hair cut.

Do u know whats the worst thing of all this is? People are actually getting addicted to reading this crap. The huge increase in sales for TOI just goes to prove my point. Are we going so brain dead that we are not able to differentiate between quality news coverage which is the responsibility of any newspaper and the despicable pieces the TOI hands down to us.

Im sure all of u remember the NASA exam topping student of India whom the President congratulated on TOI. The journalist didn’t even have the sense to check with NASA first if the there was any such exam in the first place. I must congratulate that kid,instant celebrity overnight. Way to go dude!!!

Im all for marketing, heck thats gonna be my chosen profession but selling editorials and headlines to the highest bidders is pushing on the limits of extreme marketing. Why don’t u just make an Ad mag instead then. At least have the guts to call a spade and spade.

A decent newspaper should also allow for critical feedback from its readers. But does TOI do that? No Sir they don’t. Not only do they not take the critical evaluation in their stride but they actually go to the extent of slapping their readers with libel suits to shut their gobs. The most recent point in case being the blog mediaah by one Pradyuman Maheshwari. These incidents will insinuate readers all the more. People from all walks of life have come out in support of Pradyuman ,as is clearly evident from the signing of petition for his cause and hundreds of blogs coming out to support him.

I guess what Vir Sanghvi said in his article in the Brand Reporter is true, the Newspaper wars between TOI,HT,DNA etc have just concentrated on increasing readership at all costs for the sake of attracting more and more advertising. For this purpose they had to make the newspapers so general in its appeal that the masses buy it in large numbers. And sadly those general features are fashion, movies and page 3 parties.

The day when the newspapers stop fighting for just readership numbers and concentrate on quality of articles and these advertisers start supporting them will being upon us the News revolution. All newspapers can co-exist on the basis of quality of their articles and the analysis they provide. Maybe then and only then will the heads of our youth be cleared of this entire Page 3 ruckus which is stagnating their highly capable minds.

Let hope the TOI can still be saved and prevent it from becoming the The Whore of Boribunder!!!