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The internet in India was not available to private users until 1995. By 1998 there were only 48 daily newspapers that operated on the internet. By 2006 the number has steadily climbed to reach 116 newspapers and is predicted to grow as more people in India get access to the web. The first newspapers to adopt an online format were generally English speaking because they had more of a global audience. However, as more users gained access more Indian language papers began to surface. A lot of these new websites were generic versions of the daily paper and were not edited once published. They were operated by minimal staffs. In some instances a single editor would upload data to a third party pre-formatted interface which would allow stories to be published under general headings such as Local News, International, Sports, etc. A large majority of online newspapers in India don’t receive advertisement revenue for their web editions and, with the exception of the major papers, most websites are being operated at a loss. Most publications have been slow to incorporate modern web features such as video clips or imbedded audio. One of the biggest concerns is economic viability due to lack of ad revenue. India journalism sites have also been slow to adopt the modern practice of online purchasing. This means that when someone visits the website they are unable to order the paper directly or purchase products through advertisements.

Criticism
Many online newspapers in India are criticized for being hastily thrown together with little care from publishers about content. A majority of websites lack simple features such as “about us” or feedback. While the major publishers like the Times Group will list email addresses of its writers and editors many of the small daily newspapers only have a simple imbedded box on their website for feedback. This makes it difficult for readers to communicate with newspaper staff.

Online media with print products, such as OPEN magazine, have been instrumental in providing checks and balances on other forms of media. OPEN broke that Barkha Dutt, widely regarded as India’s top journalist, was involved with the Radia tapes controversy, which very little of the print media discussed. Radia, a lobbyist, was involved in corruption regarding the use and sale of 2G wireless spectrum. Her attempt to rehabilitate her reputation was hampered by the combative style she tried to do it with.

Times of India Group
The Times of India Group is the largest media conglomerate in India. Its flagship paper is the Times of India which is the largest English publication in the world by readership with just over 7.65 million daily readers. It is also the publisher of the largest business news paper in India, the Economic Times. The Times of India opened their web portal in 1999 and in 2003 they published an electronic version of their newspaper.

Some Indian journalists, such as luminary M J Akbar, have made the leap into online journalism. Akbar has been working in journalism since he joined the Times of India in 1971 and currently heads the Sunday Guardian is the Editorial Director of India Today Group and Headlines Today. The Sunday Guardian is notable for having made a successful pivot from being a print only paper to one which includes online content in their media portfolios. Today, M J Akbar is just one example of a growing number of journalists who have embraced online media while maintaining a strong presence in the print media market.

Dainik Jagran
Dainik Jagran has been India's most read newspaper for 23 consecutive years with a daily readership of over 16 million. It's the flagship publication of Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL), a large media conglomerate in India. JPL launched MMI online in 2008 to handle all of its digital offerings. Most notable is jagran.com which has recently aligned with yahoo.com to bring a large range of offerings to its visitors. The website can see up to 50 updates in one day. In 2006, INEXT was launched along with the website inextlive.com/. INEXT is the first bilingual daily news published in India. It currently publishes content from at least 9 different major cities. Besides managing content MMI Online is also actively looking for gaps in the web offerings so that it can bring new content to the country. MMI online also is working to transition India into web 3.0.