The Hindu : Front Page : It is more than a new look for <I>Business Line</I>

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 24, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

It is more than a new look for Business Line

Special Correspondent

The redesigned paper will try to attract new readers ... and try not to antagonise anyone: Mario Garcia

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata group, and Mario Garcia, President & CEO, Garcia Media, at the relaunch of Business Line in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: The Hindu Business Line sports a new look from Friday.

"The change you will see in your newspaper from tomorrow is more than a new look," said K. Venugopal, Joint Editor, The Hindu and The Hindu Business Line, at the launch of the redesigned newspaper on Thursday. "You will see new content: for instance, a weekly feature that offers insights for the young manager. The weekly supplement on marketing management, Catalyst, will be more sharply focused on issues of brand management, advertising and product promotion. It will sport a new name, BrandLine, to reflect the new focus ... But what will remain unchanged, we promise, will be our endeavour to present you a newspaper that values reliability of information over the speculative," he added.

Highlighting the rationale behind the change, Mr. Venugopal said that general newspapers, especially in mature markets, have had to adjust to induced change.

Imaginative response needed

"Business newspapers cannot be an exception. Which is only to acknowledge the fact that a young and vibrant newspaper such as Business Line needs to respond in new, imaginative ways. It has to serve its core readers who read, if not every page, most pages very thoroughly. It has to address at the same time other categories of readers: those with very specific, specialised, segmented interests and expectations; those who simply scan the pages for whatever they want or interests them. The fact is that not every reader reads every item in a day's newspaper," he said.

According to the internationally renowned designer, Mario Garcia, the new design was "functional, modern and easy to scan."

The redesigned Business Line will "try to attract new readers, try to make life easier for those who are already there and try not to antagonise anyone."

Highlighting specifics, he said that the `navigation bar' on the front page indicates the main stories on the inside pages. "There will always be an `offbeat element' on the front page, reminding readers that the world can still have fun. In addition to that the type is bigger, more legible and we have more element of white space. The supplements have become more dynamic, more magazine style — bigger photos, more graphics, more interesting use of graphics to guide you visually."

Redesign pushes us to improve content: N. Ram

The Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, N. Ram, who welcomed the gathering, said that this was the third design relaunch for The Hindu group of newspapers within a year. "There is more to come."

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

DEFINING MOMENT: N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the uncompromising application of journalistic and ethical values characterised the business paper.

Aside from the new look and the importance given to visual journalism, the redesign "challenges our journalism by introducing a platform that pushes us constantly to improve our content, deepening and widening our coverage of various things that matter to our readers," he said.

Respect for words, for precision and proportion in journalism, for good storytelling structures, for readability and easy, uncomplicated access to the journalism, for liveliness and the element of surprise — these values are placed at the centre of the redesign project, he said.

"In my opinion what defines Business Line is that it is the outcome of the conscious and uncompromising application of The Hindu's journalistic and ethical values to business journalism," he added.

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