Did you see what I did first thing this morning – a full page ad for Hindustan Times on the penultimate page of the Times of India? My jaw dropped and stayed dropped for a long time while I mused on the possible reasons :
Is this ToI’s idea of a dare? Or is the media industry taking the no-poaching-back-scratching agreements too seriously? Or has someone at ToI just goofed? Who is having the last laugh – ToI or HT or the reader?
And to think just yesterday Harini responded to my comment on her post Radio Go Go – My problem with media ownership in India is two fold: a) that it is an oligopoly behaving like a cartel. On the face of it competing at all levels, perpetually at each other’s throats. But colluding to ensure that nothing that introduces competition or consumer choice or efficiency succeeds.
The cartel moves in strange ways… If you know anything more about this, please enlighten me…
Long ago I stopped reading both. When they became bhai-bhai and started printing all glam stuff without any substance. So I really am amazed at what you have written.
Mridula, what exactly are you amazed by? They are competitors – they are both vying for a share in the same markets – and one runs a full page ad of the other…?
You are quite late on this, considering that you generally have the low-down on media matters quick enough. Read this and my comments there. I am also a co-blogger there.
(*And btw, I have no idea, how to add a Preview box. I thought, since you designed this site, you would know. You might be better off asking some other bloggers out there, who have their own domains. Probably it should be some simple script thingie. But I could be wrong*)
See, that’s the effect of no preview. A missing < / a > and you have this …Sorry for that overflowing link.
i wonder whether the MRTP commission is awake and alive. and why is hte FM not referring this to the commission.
btw, i nearly choked on my coffee this morning when i saw the ad!
Suhail, I have no idea how I missed this one – first thing I saw this morning was this ad and I have been wondering about it since…
so the readers get screwed while the ‘competitors’ laugh all the way to the bank?! and these companies dare talk of prosumers and the contribution of readers towards content… imagine a government-large mediahouses kind of collusion – a few large companies owning different media vehicles and not only cross promoting between their vehicles but across brands. oh?
Harini, we need to pull our socks and get back to mediamusings:)
Sameer, I need a preview function – where are you?
so let the blogging begin