At the International Newsmedia Marketing Association conference in New Delhi, held last November, it was reported by the Times of India that although the global picture for the future of newspapers is not that rosy, South Asia is witnessing the sunrise of print media.
A futurist, Ross Dawson, has predicted that extinction of newspapers in 52 countries between 2017 and 2039, with the last of the printing giants closing in the United States in 2017. It was noted that none of the South Asian countries were on the list.
In the fifteen sessions that followed, it was emphasized that there is a need to increase readership by customizing products for readers, connecting with young readers and not allowing advertising to influence the editorials.
One of the last speakers, Earl J. Wilkinson, CEO of a major firm, said that receiving news on cellphones will become the preferred mode in the future, given mobile penetration, more so with 3G coming, and that newspaper organizations will have to tailor news to serve rthrough this communication tool
India’s demographics provide ample reason to get excited about the Internet market’s potential for stellar growth there. But if New Delhi doesn’t address basic infrastructure snags, this new frontier won’t fulfill its high promise.
In an online Wall Street Journal report last October, it was stated that about 70% of India’s people live in villages and a staggering 84% of them aren’t yet aware of the Internet. India’s economic growth rate is one of the fastest among the world’s largest economies but only 52 million people - just 5% of the total population - were using the Internet in 2009. Still it is double the total three years ago showing the potential in rapid urbanization and and a predominately young society.
Inadequate internet infrastructure in the country’s rural areas is a big deterrent. More than half of India’s population doesn’t have access to electricity. Even in cities only 32% of the population is computer literate and only 4% of Indians owned personal computers in 2009 compared with 20% in China.
BBC News speaks of the vast mass of the rural poulation which remains impoverished, with their lives continuing to be influenced by the ancient Hindu caste system.