The Hindu : Front Page : Ergo to become online-only publication from August 1

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Friday, Jul 31, 2009
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Ergo to become online-only publication from August 1

Special Correspondent

Chennai: Ergo, the free tabloid brought out by the publishers of The Hindu, will end its print run this month and become an online-only offering. The experimental publication with a controlled circulation of 55,000 has been coming out five days in the week since December 2007. It is targeted at young professionals working in an area of greater Chennai with a high concentration of IT and ITES offices.

Ergo will continue on its www.goergo.in platform and will be available at The Hindu’s newly designed website, which is scheduled for launch in mid-August.

Economic slowdown

The decision to discontinue the all-colour, minimum-16-page print edition of Ergo reflects the realities of the economic slowdown, with its adverse industry-wide impact on advertisement revenues. The decision to continue Ergo online reflects the view that digital journalism has a promising future in India.

The last printed issue of Ergo, dated July 31, 2009, will be the 408th. The publication’s popularity is indicated by its daily circulation of 55,000 copies and an estimated readership of 100,000-plus readers working mostly in IT offices located along Rajiv Gandhi Salai (the erstwhile Old Mahabalipuram Road) and the Ambattur corridor. The distribution of copies has been on buses and at a number of convenient points so that it could be picked up and read en route to work or during office breaks.

The free newspaper’s content has been tailored to fit the requirements of the young IT professional living life on the fast lane. Predominantly lifestyle and entertainment oriented news has been provided in compact, highly accessible, and interesting forms.

Interactivity

A standout feature has been Ergo’s interactivity with its readers. Through an innovative approach – imbibing the principles of Web 2.0 – it introduced successful columns for user-generated content.

Over the past year and half, readers have sent in more than 30 gigabytes of images in a bid to see them published in the tabloid. Apart from providing a platform for the expression of their talent, Ergo has collaborated constantly with its readers for its articles. On average, the publication receives close to 100 e-mails a day from readers.

The expectation and hope is that this bond with a growing community of ‘goergo’ readers can be retained and strengthened online.

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