Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Bouquets and brickbats for FDI in print move

Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi and
M D Riti in Bangalore

The Union Cabinet's decision to permit 26 per cent foreign direct investment in print media on Tuesday met with mixed reaction with the India Today editor Prabhu Chawla welcoming the decision, saying it was a major step in economic reforms and the Delhi Union of Journalists expressing serious reservations ascertaining the Cabinet decision tantamount to a threat to the integrity and sovereignty of the country.

"It is one of the major steps in the direction of economic reforms and liberalisation which should have happened earlier, said Chawla maintaining that it was the pulls and pressure which has been delaying it.

On the contrary DUJ president S K Pande said: "Foreign direct investment in print media would lead to the killing of not only some of the bigger papers but also the total liquidation of small and medium newspapers."

In contrast to Pande, Chawla while asserting that by allowing FDI in print media the government has removed discriminatory treatment against print media as against electronic media which was allowed to fetch as much finance it wanted, said, "And, ultimately it would be the consumers and small and regional newspapers which would benefit from this measure because they will be getting the money and technology that has been denied to them so far."

Meanwhile, the DUJ has appealed to the government to retract the concessions it was continuing to give to the foreign media.

"We have always had an ideology that opposes MNCs," says Gauri Lankesh, editor and part owner of Lankesh Patrike, a leading Kannada newsweekly.

"However, only big English language newspapers are likely to attract foreign investment anyway. Which foreign company will want to invest in small, regional newspapers anyway? We have a special readership that only we can cater to and we do not need foreign investment to achieve that."

Lankesh's stance seems to be echoed by most media in Bangalore. The has three major English language newspapers, two of which are not Bangalore-centric but are national dailies with greater presences elsewhere. Karnataka's own truly homegrown English daily, Deccan Herald, published by The Printers

Mysore Ltd, however, is the one that has the greatest presence in Bangalore.

K N Shantha Kumar, editor and part owner of Herald and its sister Kannada publications, however, declined to be available for comment on the new policy on direct foreign investment into media.

Mammen Mathew, editor-in-chief of the Malayala Manorama group of Kerala, and its flagship English publication

The Week, also refused to comment directly on this issue. He directed his office to state, on his behalf, that Veerendra Kumar, editor of Mathrubhoomi, the Malayalam newspaper with the second largest circulation published from Kerala, had already issued a detailed statement on this issue. Mathew said that he fully supported Veerendra Kumar's stand on this.

"Everyone speaks about the impact of globalisation on the media," says Lankesh. "However, except for the very big publications, the rest of us are yet to really feel any impact of foreign money coming in. However, anyone wooing foreign investors will have to remember that the most important thing for any publication is its credibility, and not the revenue it generates : money will only continue to come in if the publication has good credibility."

Narendra Mohan of the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, a strong votary of liberalising the print media sector, said new avenues will be opened up for the Indian newspaper industry and especially for the language newspapers.

Mohan said the Cabinet decision would strengthen the Indian newspapers. "Though it may hamper the monopoly of some big English newspapers, democracy would be certainly benefited," he added.

Noted editor M J Akbar said readers will be in an advantageous position as they could avail of a wide range of periodicals from the world over.

Akbar said the board of Asian Age would discuss the possibility of foreign investments in the newspaper after which a proposal for this purpose would be considered.

T N Ninan of the Business Standard welcomed the decision and indicated that the London-based Financial Times may acquire equity in his newspaper.

Supporters of the decision also said it was a logical extension of liberalisation in other sectors.

With additional inputs from PTI, UNI

ALSO READ:
Govt allows 26% FDI in print media
Opposition against FDI in print media
Financial Times keen on taking equity in BS: Ninan
FDI in print may kill small papers: INS chief
CPM to appeal President not to approve FDI in print
More Money Headlines