Opinion - News Analysis   

Sustenance and surplus: the key

Alert, watchful, critical as our readers are, there is no part of the paper that escapes their scrutiny. Some of their views, comments and concerns on the news content find a place in the paper as corrections or in my weekly column. Another set of reactions gets no such public airing. These relate to advertisements. Though this is not part of my area of operations, readers keep contacting me. Their communications are forwarded to the Advertisement Department, which responds promptly and constructively to the comments and criticisms.

They are not on a large scale, but there appear to be misconceptions about the acceptance of advertisements, the link between editorial and advertisement, and the economy of newspapers. My attempt is to offer some answers and clarifications.

First some fundamentals: advertisements sustain a newspaper. In the case of The Hindu they contribute approximately 80 per cent of the revenue, the realisation from cover (sale) price being 20 per cent. And second, a newspaper is a commercial venture that has a very large employee-force; besides meeting running costs, the venture must generate a surplus to invest in improving its technology-based infrastructure.

How carefully readers scan advertisements was seen when one of them pointed out a mix-up in the classified column — an insertion for cooks appearing in the computers column, and again under "home appliances", but not in "services" where it belonged. The reader termed the advertiser lucky to get two insertions for the cost of one, and unlucky because they did not appear where they ought to. The paper was the loser, he added. Spotting this in the voluminous Sunday classifieds section is a remarkable effort.

The repetition of quotes, which sometimes fill up the odd space in the advertisement columns, and the inappropriateness of some quotes get noticed and commented upon. Such irritation can be avoided "if only editors applied their mind," says a reader.

When the first "wrap around" advertisement — a display surrounded by editorial matter — appeared in The Hindu, there was a howl. "Eye-gouging rather than eye-catching," "never expected The Hindu to resort to such gimmicks which other papers did": there were some opinions. This is mixing news with advertisement, and once the distinction is lost, the value of the newspaper is lost; it is acceptable in supplements, but not in main news pages, so went the comments.

Full page advertisements on the last page provoked the ire of more than one reader, who felt the basic character of the paper was the first and the last pages, and this was compromised in such cases.

Obscenity and vulgarity, as perceived by them, have readers protesting. Some displays in the newspaper, read by all members of the family, are embarrassing for them.

One comment, by Ninad Bondre, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, deserves to be cited in some detail: "The use of the female body to sell a product is nothing new and is all too common. Those concerned with gender equality need to be aware of this and attempt to change it. Women of only a certain body type are portrayed constantly and implicitly made to be objects of desire for a male audience. The Hindu has always set high journalistic standards and respect for the paper would increase if it would be mindful of the subtle and indirect ways it might be used for affirming a particular portrayal of women. The Hindu's online version is far more mindful of this than other papers. I can certainly understand the economic compulsions leading to such advertisements. It would be appropriate of the newspaper to support the efforts to change traditional and unquestioned gender depictions."

The on-line versions had other critics who found the pop-ups, banners and other forms of advertisement irrelevant and irritating. One of them asked whether these were done by the agencies without the paper's approval. A visually impaired reader who uses a screen reader to scan the paper found "spywaves and advertisement flakes that kept popping up, causing obstruction to my smooth screen reading." The response from The Hindu to such complaints has been positive; most of the animated ads and pop-ups have been removed from the web editions.

Why are death display advertisements on one page and death announcements on the sports page? (One reader objected to calling these advertisements; "notice," "announcement", sound better to him.) A congratulations display by the side of a death notice was found to be inappropriate.

Readers also point out flaws in the language used and sometimes question facts. Expressions like "surveyed by" (for survived by) and "bereaved by" catch attention; as also a 3 km long bridge being referred to as a three metre bridge in a full page advertisement.

An article criticising the obsession with body flab one day, and an advertisement for weight loss programme in the same space the next day — is this not being hypocritical, a reader wonders. A front page display asking "Can you prevent heart attacks?" and answering, "yes, you can," with a scan, leads to a question: is this ethical?

Articles in "Opportunities" on Wednesdays, which are outsourced, invite a variety of opinions — they are useful; some are high-brow; the language is tough, is only for metros, and an easier style is needed for rural areas and so on.

The interest is varied; the scanning is deep; the criticism needs a response. That will be for the next week.

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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