…from hibernation!
I could give a lot of excuses for this two-month lull: hectic traveling, heavy workload, heightened pressures and so on. And true too. Yet there’s another hidden reason – my laziness!
I promise I won’t hibernate hereafter. You would see frequent updates here. If frequency means ‘every fortnight’.
I am probably making it sound like there’s a whole bunch of guys out there who wish to see me here often. I got a few calls; received more than a couple of reminders and presume there are a few good souls who wish to see me write often. God bless you nice souls…and hope you have a satisfying sex life till 80!
This time, I wish to continue on the Hindu Vs TOI issue that we discussed a few blogs back.
Times of India, indeed, has been launched in Madras on April 14th. It's too early to comment on what TOI has done, how people perceive it etc., Let’s give it some time and see how things unfold.
But what’s interesting is not what TOI has done. But how The Hindu has reacted.
The venerable ‘Maha Vishnu of Mount Road’ has slashed its price downwards. The weekday paper is now Rs.2.50 – down from the previous Rs.3.25. The Sunday edition is just Rs.3 vis-à-vis the previous Rs.4.50. Note the TOI is Rs.2 on weekdays and Rs.3 on Sundays.
You call it panic? You call it smart pricing?
I call it competition. I call it capitalism. The consumer can now laugh all the way to the bank. Even if it is to deposit a mere 75 paise every day!
All this makes me wonder why these newspapers were charging so high all these days; fleecing us all this time. Recall how these newspapers jacked up their price at every given opportunity, with an apologetic sounding due-to-increase-in-newsprint-rates-we-are-forced-to-increase-our-price blah blah.
To put things in perspective, newsprint prices have just increased world over by around 35% in the last few weeks.
Whatever be it, if any of you needed any proof on what capitalism can do to you and me, here is it in black and white….and literally too! Competition benefits consumers!
Now just imagine the scenario if only we let foreign newspaper brands launch their editions here. Envisage the ensuing competition. Visualize the consequent price war. Picture the payback to us consumers. Who knows, there might even be a newspaper that would pay us money to read it.
Wishful thinking you laugh?
Today if a Virgin mobile could pay us 10 paise for every minute of incoming call, why not a newspaper tomorrow pay us Re.1 for reading it every morning?
