Bombay reeling under the newspaper deluge

Were you one of those stuck in the Bombay rains without a ToI? Lucky you.

Or one of those even luckier ones to receive helpful hints from Airtel on finding where the nearest coffee shop was…?

Rashmi Bansal says stop selling for once – SMS from Airtel: Stuck in the rain? (half of Bombay is , today!). Dial 501 for information on the nearest coffee shop.

%&^%$$*. Would it kill them to provide some useful info instead. Like which train lines are down, when the water is expected to recede etc etc etc?

It would not kill them, but then that would just not be in keeping with tested and proven cellphone marketing strategies… Imagine trying to provide socially useful information… (why do I have this uncomfortable feeling that Airtel belives that information about the nearest coffee shop is s.u.i)

And if you think only Airtel has behaved irresponsibly, it is because they were the only network to survive in Bombay during the first 24 hours when everything else went kaput. (I know from repeated franctic attempts to call my husband in Bombay)

And Uma writes of how the people of Bombay have survived an even greater tragedy than the rains – living without ToI for a whole day. Gasp! Nature can be so cruel…Thousands “marooned without ToI”.

I guess it would have been a lot of help to those stuck on the roads – as toilet paper, I mean…

Marketing above all. Everything else be damned.

There has been so much said and written about the paper wars in Bombay that it seems superfluous to say any more. (but then, when have I ever let that stop me ? :))

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One newspaper, with a history of being the mouthpiece of the Congress (the Indian National Congress, not the family owned private limited company that it is today) plans a dhamaka launch in Bombay – from hundreds of stories they could have used, they chose one that was sure to stir controversy and communal sentiments – the Salman Khan tapes – why after all these years, like a greedy child holding on to a toffee – to be savoured – for maximum pleasure – or in this case, impact.

Because the launch is in Bombay – and the twin themes of bollywood and bhai log are closer to Bombay than anything else. Showing Bombay in a new light – never mind how much such “scoops” take journalism as a whole into darkness…

And then the other, the one without which people felt marooned the last couple of days. Why was the Mumbai Mirror launched at all – is there a need for such a newspaper in the market? This was clearly Bennett and Coleman’s way of anticipating the DNA attack. In other words, a pre-emptive strike… Flanking the market – we have a newspaper and a tabloid. Either way, we are prepared for DNA – the newspaper with the marketing brain and muscle of two media giants behind it…

Except it didn’t quite turn out that way. Sensible people across Bombay turned around to ask why the group needed a second tabloid when there was already one in the form of ToI. Surey, tabloid is not just about size but about content too… And if it just about size and local news, then Mid Day was already there in the market and there to stay.

Therefore, the ‘free with your daily newspaper’ strategy… I wonder how long ToI can go on with this scheme, as deep as their pockets go… What happens when the sampling stops – and people discover what is really in their DNA…?

And that also makes me wonder about DNA’s launch strategy – hornets everywhere, just waiting for their nests to be stirred…