Gujarati: ‘Chequebook Journalism in Reverse . . .’

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More than any other Indian language, Gujarati has produced a press with a reputation for profit-seeking, corner-cutting and raw vigour. It has two additional characteristics. The Gujarati press has experienced the benefits of having ‘its own’ - i.e., a Gujarat- state government since 1960. And since the 1970s, it has been part of perhaps the most economically dynamic region in India. The Gujarati press lacks sophistication and polish. Comparing the front pages of its two major dailies, Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar, with the major dailies of Kerala or West Bengal leaves an impression that one is looking at almost a different genre. Major Malayalam and Bengali dailies follow neat and sober tenets that make them look like their serious counterparts in Britain. The two great Gujarati dailies, on the other hand, are a cacophony in print: banner headlines, bright colour, small and often gory photographs. It is a mix that works, just as the Punjab Kesari formula works in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. It is another example of the need to match international technology to local predilections, as The Times of India found when it tried to start a Gujarati daily of its own. ...cont´d

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