By Suroopa Chatterjee, Kolkata-based Writer

There was a time when mornings were all about family conversations around the breakfast table, with refreshing sips of tea and gentle arguments over who would get the morning paper. 
The first Newspapers were the elixir that started off the day with headline news, the sports pages, the feature section, and brain-wracking sudoku or crossword puzzles. Everyone had a favorite page that fulfilled their need for a morning indulgence.

Newspapers were a rich and unavoidable element of life till the world was invaded by the World Wide Web and converted everyone from ordinary citizens to netizens. What was once an early morning, leisurely indulgence completely changed dimension as the world saw the gradual shifting of platforms in terms of how news is produced, provided and consumed. 

The millennials, fed on digital technology with instant and constant access to the net, prefer to lap up news from their screens. In a way, this has split up the close bonding across breakfast tables and caused a readership category divide. Content delivery has undergone a lot of change and digital platforms, apart from selling news, have also become market-centric as business and e‑commerce sites use this medium vicariously to reach their target audience.

The online reader’s reading flow is often interrupted by messages, adverts, pop-ups, and interactive links that can affect both focus and attention span.
The digital audience wants to be infused straight away with the news content and spend no more than a few minutes over a particular news story, unlike traditional readers of the print format who seem to have more time.

So, while digital media has caught on very quickly in our daily routine, there seems to be a sort of battle between editors, who want to draw the audience towards the story, and marketers who want that same audience to pay attention to the product they’re highlighting.

Over the years, publishing houses have slowly switched from print versions to online versions which also have brought in new forms of journalism. While the switch over has not been complete or easy, various forces like revenue, market trends, readership preference, and the type of content a particular publishing house or portal is focused on are slowly driving change.

The Covid effect accelerated this slow change to a large extent when the world saw many print editions of numerous publications close down and switch to online editions which also brought job cuts for many. Revenue losses—owing to decreased adverts—also forced many print editions to do away with their feature or weekly or weekend pages, further fueling new formats. 

Photograph: Sean Gladwell

The magazine industry has been going through a hard phase owing to revenue issues, often considered unprofitable by publishers.
Many popular print magazines, before completely transitioning, gently infused their steady readership with online options for their digital versions with subscriptions, one example isVogue magazine.

Many saw the advantages of going digital earlier and started the process since a print magazine involves the cost of print, distribution and final delivery or sale by vendors. Unsold copies incur a loss. Digital methods help publishers avoid this, since distribution is over the web, bypassing suppliers. Digital options involve an initial investment in software and trained staff with updated skill sets. 

The greatest power of digital publication is achieving global reach and establishing the company as a good brand from a global perspective. Also, interactive content with the audience makes the publisher aware of customer preferences and also understand readership volume. 

Magazines in India are trying to adopt innovative marketing strategies and tie-ins. There is still a niche market for good English-language and high-quality content magazines. Many vernacular magazines however have suffered a blow with complete withdrawal as buyers have dwindled with many switching to the web as a reading platform. 
In light of the pandemic, Worldwide Media, India suspended the print edition of its much sought after publications: Filmfare, Grazia India, Femina, Lonely Planet Magazine India, GoodHomes and Hello!

One can read the digital magazine anytime, anywhere. From a green, environmentally-friendly point of view going digital prevents paper waste and allows preservation of forests: digitization is playing a significant role in avoiding unnecessary wastage. Above all, the new normal innovations in business models will ensure long term sustainability and support eco-friendly practices which experts say are ultimately good for humankind.

While there have been expectations of a digital wave completely taking over the print media for a few years now, the latter still manages to have a steady readership owing to certain human aesthetics and age old habits. The joy and sensation of touching paper and glancing across a familiar typeface of a cherished publication are a daily compulsion for many readers who can’t completely reject hard copies just yet. For all the positives or advantages the digital platform provides, like instant news and speed, print newspapers still hold a sizable readership.

So has the COVID effect rung the death knell for print media? Not quite, says a senior journalist from a prestigious Kolkata publication. According to him, “Print media in India should shed all its complacency and pull up its socks to take on the digital media head on. It is not an easy task, but given the huge readership of the print media it is not an impossible target to reach. The first thing we should do is to change the style of presentations. The write ups should be pithy, profound and informative.”

Adding to the sentiment of the gradual conversion of print to digital Roshni Mitra, Mumbai-based media and communications professional, rounds it off eloquently by saying: “Having known the romance of print, it has been a slow and almost reluctant adaptation to the digital world. But adapt yourself until your gradual realization sets in that you cannot function without the digital medium and neither will the world around you. 
The perplexing thing about Covid is that the issues that were already hovering around in the background just got fast-tracked further. And humankind, when forced to adapt, tries to reconcile with the change after fishing out its positive aspects. And, the world of digital sure has many. From the fast updates that it imparts, to its democratic nature (it’s a two way communication medium), to the fact that it is eco-friendly, all adds up to it being on the list of spends for media planners whose budgets have, in any case, been slashed. 
While in India, there are still takers for the world of traditional media, where you lean back and indulge, reality makes you behave differently. In my opinion, unfortunately, the digital has taken over from print and will continue doing so rapidly. Yet, a part of the traditional mien will still remain, rooting for print, in a token sort of way.”

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By Suroopa Chatterjee, Kolkata-based freelance writer

Kolkata, the “creative bowl” of India, which was once accustomed to political strikes, bandhs and partial urban standstill in the past, was much unprepared for the March that unfolded. The potency and power of an unseen might, COVID-19 was something that literally jolted vibrant city life into a deadly stillness. Suddenly the streets were deserted, the quintessential Kolkata warm human elements gone, leaving the echoes of a life that was. 

Into the sixth week of a national lockdown that paralyzed the old world, a new world has emerged with streets that look cleaner, trees that look greener, the sky that seems clearer and chirping birds that seem happier with less human intervention. While the world wakes and debates on the wrongs and rights of the past and present, two things stand out as we step into the future, history has shown us that great sufferings or changes invoke us to shed our old selves and also in the process help us in carving a new tomorrow. It compels us to reflect, re-orient and re-design our tasks ahead. 

While India’s most populous neighbor is known as the “world’s factory”, India itself is largely seen as the land of Information Technology. And in this silent warfare between the virus and human life, humans have taken to IT as never before to cope with their lives. A generation largely used to traditional methods of business and communication has been literally pushed into adopting and surviving through the use of IT. E‑commerce sites, social media platforms, smart phones, the use of robotics, digital apps, chat rooms, virtual conferencing through Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams are the norms these days in virtually all sectors across society.

There is a huge focus on digital adaptations in India, like the rest of the world, and the pace at which these are adopted will increasingly accelerate in the coming days. Education, retail, the healthcare industry, legal sectors, agri-commerce, manufacturing, logistics, banking services, transportation, and even cultural sectors are overhauling old systems and infusing digital connections to minimize the social distancing that has become necessary.

According to Delhi-based Prateek Shah, Digital Defynd “India is a big market, and Jio the fastest growing internet provider. The partnership is Facebook and Jio coming together to perhaps build a China like WeChat platform which becomes the go to place for Indians whenever they need to search/buy/transact online. There’s been a global surge of people taking to the online space, to look for recipes, catch up with friends, learn something new, or most famously – watch a ton of entertaining content on streaming applications. There’s a definite shift in how people look at technology, and they are beginning to realize that life doesn’t require them to physically be everywhere to do a certain thing. A lot of meetings are happening online, a lot of work being done via emails. Part of this trend will continue even once we are out of the current crisis.”

“Companies that are using technology and rethinking their business model for the future by fast-tracking digital transformation will be the ones ahead of their competition. Those that were resistant to the concept of a distributed workforce have been forced to allow working from home, so work can still be done while taking precautions to halt the spread of the virus. While some companies will eventually go back to rigid work-in-office policies, it’s expected that some will realize the benefits to employees and that in fact, it can be done effectively. During the pandemic, governments started providing information on their national portals, mobile apps or through social media platforms. A review of the national portals of the countries showed that by 25 March 2020, 57 per cent (110 countries) have put in place some kind of information on COVID-19, while around 43 per cent (83 countries) did not provide any information; but a further analysis showed that by 8 April 2020, around 86 percent (167 countries) have included information and guidance about COVID-19 in their portals. Even in education systems, digital platforms play a huge role as schools are commencing digital classes to ensure students don’t miss out their lessons due to lockdown. If nothing else, they will have valuable experience about what is needed and how to accommodate ourselves to the new digital aided working, to satiate our needs in the future when it’s required again due to another outbreak or other reasons”, stated Nadeem Ahmed Head — Site Maintenance & Technical Design at Allindia Technologies Limited, Kolkata.

Healthcare consultation has been an essential service that has established new paradigms to adapt to the new normal. Dr Sushma Ayyalasomayajula, General Practitioner/Primary Care Physician in the UK, had to cope with this change from the second week of March, when the UK began its lockdown. While most stayed home, she and others in her fraternity continued to go to work. All face-to-face appointments were converted to tele-consultations. “As days went by, the digital help we received really helped our situation. Thanks to technology we can do video consultations for those who need to be seen with skin conditions, children who are unwell and need medical attention. Use of text messaging service for sending blood forms, sick notes etc. as an attachment has reduced the burden on the postal service. I do believe the way we work will change forever once the lockdown lifts”; she adds.

For our happiness the “human touch” cannot be written off… “The Pandemic has shown us that we can do things remotely. Physical presence is not a necessity and a lot of things happen effectively and efficiently online. I believe this is possible because we have had decades of physical, human, face-to-face interaction and a lot of skill sets have been passed down via generations which have enabled us to trust one another over a virtual space,” feels Bangalore resident Tushaar Shankar, host of the “The good vibes” podcast and The Tushaar Show. His podcast has been trying to reach out and assure people and give them hope in these confusing uncertain times.

India has seen a stream of poetry in recent days from the pens of actors, journalists, students and of course poets in a way that has brought the world much closer in a reassuring, human embrace. Internationally-acclaimed, Kolkata-based poet Sonnet Mondal, penned five poems on the global lockdown. The poet, who is also one of the founding directors of Kolkata’s International Poetry festival, Chair Poetry Evenings, states, “There can be no better inspiration for poets and writers to articulate through their pen than this time of crisis.  At present humanity is going through a test, as to how humane they can be to themselves and to others and how much they can sustain in the face of some unprecedented situation. The crisis has not only unmasked the helpless arrogance of the whole human race in front of nature, but has also highlighted the crude realities that a lot of people face in regard to their existence.”

Photos by Arpita Majumder

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