MUMBAI: Continuing the trend from the preceding quarter, Dainik Jagran and The Times of India are the most read publications in the Hindi and English language dailies respectively, according to the IRS (Indian Readership Survey) first-quarter report released by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and Hansa Research.

Among the Hindi dailies, Dainik Jagran?s average issue readership (AIR) has surged marginally while second ranked Dainik Bhaskar has lost out on readers. Hindustan comes in on number three having increased its readership as has fourth place holder Amar Ujala.

There was no change in the pecking order of the Hindi dailies. Dainik Jagran?s AIR has grown marginally to 16.412 million in Q1 from 16.410 million in the previous quarter. Dainik Bhaskar (AIR of 14.55 million), Hindustan (12.16 million) and Amar Ujala (8.69 million) followed.

Among the English dailies, the Times of India continues to hold its numero uno position.

TOI has garnered a total AIR of 7.65 million, slightly lower than the trailing quarter report. It is followed by Hindustan Times (AIR of 3.81 million), which is maintaining its strong growth. The Hindu (AIR of 2.23 million) saw a marginal dip.

Economic Times and Mumbai Mirror swapped places from the previous quarter with AIR of 792000 and 777000 respectively.

In the regional dailies, Malayalam Manorama continues to top the chart, though it has experienced a slip in AIR from 99.37 million last quarter to 98.75 million in Q1 2012. The only change in the ranking from the previous quarter is the interchanging of ranks of Gujarat Samachar and Dinakaran with the latter slipping ground.

Mumbai: Dainik Bhaskar has tied up with Time Magazine and Harvard Business Review (management magazine) to provide their content to its readers on a regular basis.

The "exclusive" content will feature in the Sunday edition of the Hindi-language newspaper.

The daily newspaper has completely revamped its Sunday edition content with a focus on management lessons to be applied in day to day life.

"It will contain wide spectrum of topics like health, fitness, career, self help, money management, politics, education, music, lifestyle, environment, good reads through columns by experts of the respective fields," the company said.

Additionally, Dainik shall also provide a separate segment devoted to women. Also there will be a Sunday Jacket, above the regular front page of the newspaper which will carry exclusive news analysis and ground reports.

Dainik Bhaskar group VP Sanjeev Kotnala said, "Our strategy revolves around being ahead of the curve. And hence the desire to enrich the reading experience and making it that much of joy - is our focus that directs us in our newspaper design. So, in addition to above changes, we do expect that the readers will appreciate the exclusive cartoons and photographs- that will not only bring smile to their faces but also help them focus and think."
 

MUMBAI: DB Corp, the publisher of Dainik Bhaskar, has posted a consolidated net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 454.06 million for the last quarter of the fiscal ended 31 March 2012.

The company?s net profit has stayed almost flat compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal (449.97 mn).

During the quarter, the company?s total income from operations grew by 13.63 per cent to Rs 3.61 billion, from Rs 3.17 billion a year ago.

Revenues from advertising grew by 5.4 per cent to Rs 2.63 billion, from Rs 2.49 billion in the earlier year. Circulation revenues grew 16 per cent to Rs 620 million from Rs 534 million.

The company?s expenditure jumped 19.68 per cent to Rs 2.98 billion in the fourth quarter of FY?12 as against Rs 2.49 billion in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

DB Corp MD Sudhir Agarwal said, ?On an overall basis, this final quarter has been in step with the momentum we set off at the start of this fiscal - focus on strategic expansions and consolidation. Over the year, DBCL accomplished roll out in major markets of Maharashtra by launching 5 new editions from Aurangabad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and most recently in 04 ? launch of Sholapur edition.

?With all new region expansions and launches under way, our strategic focus now is to enhance monetisation and to fully capitalise on our leadership in all markets. Innovation, market development and relentless focus on execution ? have been three important pillars of our growth strategy that have enabled us to deliver one of the most consistent and strong financial performances across the Indian print media space, in spite of 2012 being a challenging year for the industry.?

From the print business, the company?s net profit stood at Rs 448 million with Ebidta margins at 21.2 per cent with Rs 726 million.

The company?s radio business, which runs My FM, turned positive on the PAT level with a net profit of Rs 25.5 million. The Ebitda stood at Rs 52.4 million, while advertising revenues grew 10 per cent to Rs 146.4 million, from Rs 133.1 million a year ago.

MUMBAI: DB Corp, the print media company, has announced its association with Dale Carnegie, a global company that designs training programmes, to launch the Dainik Bhaskar School for Media Education (DBSME).

The school is aimed at providing an "exclusive career programme" designed for DBCL professionals to help build a pool of modern media professionals for the company and industry at large.

DB Corp, which publishes eight newspapers in four regional languages and is supported by a staff strength of over 11,500 employees across 13 states in India, will now have access to training and skill development techniques and facilities.

This association will also assist DBCL?s expansion programme. Dale Carnegie will benefit DB Corp?s employees to hone their skills, the company said.

In phase I, the emphasis will remain on training programmes which will begin first with the Editorial and Ad Sales team of the Bhaskar Group. This programme will cover a synopsis of the whole industry.

Dale Carnegie has a global experience of having worked with over 400 of the Top Fortune 500 companies. In India, Dale Carnegie has worked with 700 corporate firms and trained 90,000 Dale Carnegie graduates in the last six years.

DB Corp MD Sudhir Agarwal said, "This is a first of a kind initiative by a media group to partner with Dale Carnegie ? a world leader in enabling businesses to enhance performance and increase knowledge by imparting highly resourceful training and consulting services. We are delighted to join hands with the best in the training industry. This endeavour is an extension of Bhaskar?s vision to drive socio-economic change as the largest print media group and to help develop professionals attuned to the latest trends in media systems, processes and values. Presently, we will work with Dale Carnegie to design programs that will exclusively cater to the internal growing needs of professionally trained and job-ready manpower of the company, to sharpen our competitive strengths. At a later stage, we aim to offer challenging careers and training modules in media to aspiring youths in the country."

Current Focus:

Training programmes at DBSME will begin with the Editorial and Ad Sales team first of the Bhaskar Group. Very specific training modules underscoring editorial demands and requirements will be undertaken first to strengthen the functional skills of participants, followed by a similar programme for sales professionals that will focus on capability enhancement. The training programmes offered will be residential and initially accommodate 75 professionals.

The DBSME will be a comprehensive career programme for media professionals that familiarise students with all aspects of the media industry in India in an interesting and informative way. The programme focuses on core component of contemporary media sector including the editorial, sales, branding and marketing, administration, client service and media technology.