Matthias Nass, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Die Zeit

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CHENNAI: The quality press is under attack from all kinds of commercial interests and technological developments, whether it is in Germany or in India, according to Matthias Nass, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Die Zeit, a German weekly newspaper with a standing of six decades.

Mr. Nass, who interacted with students of the Asian College of Journalism and journalists of The Hindu group of publications in separate sessions here, said that while he was for a meaningful cooperation between editorial staff and the marketing/advertising staff, there could be no compromise on the fundamental principle that ``the editorial side stays independent.''

He visualised a scenario wherein a journalist had to contribute to different forms of media at the same time — not just writing reports for the print version but also producing content for television, radio and online. Calling for changes in the way of functioning of journalists, Mr. Nass said journalists should contribute analytical articles too, and not just provide pure information.

Noting that readers and advertisements of the print media were moving to online at an ever faster pace, he referred to the declining trend in circulation of newspapers in several Western nations and to the assessment made in certain quarters that the end of the print media would begin soon.

``It [the print media] is not going to die anytime soon. However, the challenges for the quality press are dramatic, perhaps more so than at any other time after World War II,'' he said.

One way all the major newspapers in the West were trying to cope with the Internet challenge was setting up their own online editions. Some online editions already attracted more readers or ``users'' than their parent papers. In this context, he gave the example of the British daily, The Guardian. While the paper had 1.2 million readers, its online edition attracted 12.7 million users, Mr. Nass said.

Despite all the problems, most of the papers were still doing quite fine, earning double-digit profits. If the death of the newspaper were only a couple of years away, many business giants would not be betting their money on the future of the quality press. ``Not to mention private equity companies who have been investing just recently in German newspaper companies,'' the veteran journalist said.

Emphasising the need for preserving credibility of newspapers, Mr. Nass said today's readers wanted quality and that they be taken seriously.

Quoting a media survey, he said this showed that readers valued exclusive reporting and good writing. In Germany, politics was still at the top of the fields of interest, followed by science and technology.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu , said journalists needed to be oriented towards contributing for the Internet edition, before providing content for the print edition.

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