RIND SurveyJuly 2020 | Volume 41 | Issue 5 | Rs 50 www.pressinstitute.in A Journal of the Press Institute of - Research Institute for Newspaper Development

PHYSICALLY APART, BUT DIGITALLY CONNECTED VIA CLOUD Being digitally connected despite being physically apart is not always easy. But in the time of COVID-19, it has assumed an importance like never before. An example of how this can translate successfully on the ground is that of Publishing Company which decided to centralise their production workflow at one cloud-based hub and install across all of their print sites ProImage’s NewsWayX Workflow System with virtual, cloud-based HTML5 technology forming the core of its capabilities. The hub is integrated with Tribune’s own, pre-existing cloud where now each print site can log into ProImage’s central system and manage their own production workflow, independent from each other. With NewsWayX, edition planning is centralised so a layout file is imported and an edition plan is automatically created for each of the print sites. The software also benefits the production staff, helps increase efficiency and saves time. Picture shows Kurt Moody, manager, regional QA plate pagination and pressroom, at work. See page 23 for more.

1 Boettcher India Pvt. Ltd. Unit 259-260, Second Floor, Tower-B, Spazedge Building, Sector-47, Gurgoan-122002, Haryana (India) Phone: +91 124-4001794, 4003512 22 E-mail: [email protected], www.boettcherindia.com FROM THE EDITOR Digital news platforms have never really had it so good

ne of the more recent developments in the Indian different types of content. Five years ago, Aftenposten made a news publishing business has been the success of strategic decision to focus on user-payment and user-revenue Onews websites that carry reportage and opinion. and found Norwegians ever willing to pay for online news. Websites like Scroll, , The Citizen, The Print, The However, offering news and opinion is one thing, analyzing Quint and The News Minute may have each started in a the results quite another. There is always homework to do at small way some years ago with limited funding but, today, the end of the day. Aftenposten makes extensive use of data they are news websites that have a standing, are followed by and analysis tools to see what kinds of articles are converting a dedicated readership and are able to sustain themselves now as well as what kinds of articles people are reading and thanks to a dedicated subscriber base. Senior journalist converting on. According to Veseling, it also uses strategic Usha Rai who listened to Siddharth Varadarajan, one of the collaboration to plan for the next six months or the next year, founding editors of The Wire, speak at the Digital Media India or even the year after that. Now, how many newspapers do conclave in Delhi earlier this year, mentions that The Wire’s that! monthly readership is around 2.25 million and YouTube viewership 40 million – staggering figures indeed. Today, The ************************ Wire is among the top 125 YouTube current affairs websites of the world, a remarkable achievement made possible by Who would have ever thought that a microscopic novel focusing on select areas, Rai points out, such as science. The coronavirus could bring the world to its knees! And that the Wire has won several awards for its journalism. Clearly, the disease now called COVID-19 for which there is no medicine coverage by some of these websites has had impact. Rai says or vaccine yet would bring life to a standstill. The newspaper some 40000 readers have funded and continue to fund The industry has been battling hard against the odds, producing Wire regularly with small amounts. Significantly, a third of the newspaper and trying to get it through to readers. But The Wire’s revenue comes from its readers/ viewers. with a virtual collapse in the advertising market and many readers choosing to keep away from the printed paper, the ************************ challenges facing news publishing houses are immense. WAN-IFRA India’s Elizabeth Shilpa, while speaking with Readers and viewers in India are getting used to paywalls Indian publishers, finds that the sudden economic downturn now. Some newspapers offer free articles but there are limits has forced businesses to cut back on advertising, hitting each month and sooner than later you hit a paywall. Some newspaper revenue hard. To add to the woes, suspension publications elsewhere in the world have made COVID-19- of public transport has forced several publishers to stop related articles free but am not sure whether that’s the case circulation in many cities, resulting in distribution and in India. If online readers of Indian newspapers are waking circulation taking a hit. But publishers are coming together up only now to paywalls, those in the developed world have to face challenges. In Mumbai where has long got used to them. For instance, in Norway, paywalls first two plants and Times one, both giants have come began appearing in 2011 and in two years several newspapers to a broad understanding for reciprocal arrangements, Shilpa had metred paywalls. That Norway was historically a points out. Every cloud has a silver lining. subscription-friendly and news-consuming country helped. WAN-IFRA senior editor Brian Veseling provides the Sashi Nair example of Aftenposten, a leading daily newspaper in Norway, [email protected] which earns 70 per cent of its web sales thanks to a paywall. Aftenposten is the largest subscription newspaper in Norway with about 238000 subscribers, with 119000 (exactly half the total number) being digital. Veseling mentions Aftenposten’s Sidney Glastad stating that it is critical to understand what kind of content converts and how long people stay on

Boettcher India Pvt. Ltd. Unit 259-260, Second Floor, Tower-B, Spazedge Building, Sector-47, Gurgoan-122002, Haryana (India) Phone: +91 124-4001794, 4003512 July 2020 Survey 3 E-mail: [email protected], www.boettcherindia.com RIND RIND Survey July 2020 | Volume 41 | Issue 5

The Wire steadily carves out a niche in the digital space 5 Usha Rai

A look at how Aftenposten drives digital subscriptions 8 Brian Veseling

How Indian publishers are fighting plunging revenues 11 Elizabeth Shilpa

Racism, misinformation, inclusion: Ethically covering the pandemic 13 Neha Gupta and Simone Flueckiger

How JOTA plugs gap in coverage of government institutions 17 Simone Flueckiger

‘Efficiency and automation will be even more critical this year’ 19 Jonathan Malone-McGrew

Industry Updates 22

General News 39 C o n t e s

Cover page image: ProImage

4 RIND Survey July 2020 The Wire steadily carves out a niche in the digital space

With 2.25 million readers and 40 million YouTube viewers in January this year, The Wire has become India’s premier digital media platform. However, when it was launched in May 2015 with commitment to public interest and democratic values, it was seen as an experiment in news media. Several questions were asked and continue to be asked – where would the money come? Would readers ever be ready to pay for content? When will the digital media bubble burst? Usha Rai reports on The Wire’s success story

peaking at the Digital Media India 2020 to provide livelihood for thousands. The power conference earlier this year in New Delhi, of the media was used to graphically depict this SSiddharth Vardarajan, one of the three dehumanising profession and the story behind the founding editors of The Wire, spoke of the deaths in India’s sewers. journey so far and the challenges faced. The Wire Jammu & Kashmir has been another area of its is published in four languages – English, , interest. After August 5 and the abrogation of and Marathi – and reaches 10 million readers Article 370, The Wire trained its media lens on and viewers every month. It has won over a dozen Kashmir with daily reports from the Valley and awards for its journalism and its coverage has had news analysis. Since the big media had abdicated impact. its responsibility of reporting the situation in J&K With its motto of good journalism, caring for and accepting the government line that all was people and society, a year and half ago The Wire well, The Wire capitalised on the niche to report launched a project called Grit, a sub portal of the truth, says Vardarajan. A whole section of the The Wire, on manual scavenging. It showcased Home page was devoted to Kashmir. how despite a government ban and the Supreme Vardarajan sought to demolish the popular Court censuring the inhuman practice, it continues perception that The Wire was anti-BJP. We are not anti or pro government or any political party or person. We are wedded to democratic values and as journalists believe we have an adversarial role viz a viz those in power. “Our role is not to applaud or cheer but to question.” Finding it was getting a lot of articles from young people wanting to express themselves, Live Wire, a youth portal was started. The readers/ viewers and contributors of the portal are young people many of them from university campuses. They write on

Photos: WAN-IFRA Photos: life style, poetry, arts, sexuality and creativity. The Siddharth Varadarajan speaking at the conclave. proposal to have live events with youth and connect

July 2020 RIND Survey 5 with them, however, has not worked out very well “If you give credible, independent journalism, because of lack of funds. However, for example, people will pay for it,” says Vardarajan. However, on payment of Rs 100/ Rs 200 per head, an event it’s an uphill battle. The rest of the money comes was held for young people to connect with activist by holding events, grants from philanthropic Shehla Rashid. organisations and donations from high network The Wire, Vardarajan feels, has been successful individuals. There is no bubble to burst (says in its video programming and is an amazing way Vardarajan) with 10 million unique readers every of engaging with young audiences. Viewership and month in four languages, 12 million page viewers readership of The Wire shoots up when there are every month, eight million unique video viewers of elections or major political developments. Monthly its YouTube channel and 117 million minutes spent readership is around 2.25 million and YouTube every month on the Wire’s YouTube channel. viewership 40 million. Digital video growth has been exponential. A Today, The Wire is among the top 125 YouTube profusion of independent media, digital journalism current affairs websites of the world. This was platforms have risen because of the product/ made possible by drilling down or focusing on market gap left by mainstream media, Varadarajan select areas. While most digital platforms are full maintains. Almost every week new digital media/ spectrum and include Bollywood, sports, current website continue to come up with support from the affairs, like TV channels, The Wire has carved out public. “This is because big TV channels and most its own space and kept it small. One of its focus newspapers have dried up as a source of credible areas has been science and of the 50000 articles information and analysis.” , Indian carried by the Wire, a fourth have been from its Express and still do important science team. journalism. The Wire’s readers/ viewers are paying for its What is it that enabled The Wire to grow and journalism. Some 40000 of them have funded and scale up? Having three founding members/ editors continue to fund regularly with small amounts. A ensured it was not just any one person’s ego play. third of the Wire’s revenue comes from its readers/ “We chose to be non-profit. Not more than 20 viewers. In a good month, like the month elections per cent of earnings can be commercial.” At the were held, it garnered Rs 30/ Rs 32 lakh. same time we did not want the non-profit aspect

Part of the audience.

6 RIND Survey July 2020 of our journalism to affect our video growth. We If The Wire could get 30000 regular monthly are doing better than Republic TV and Times TV. subscribers, paying Rs 200 to Rs 500 a month, it There were 10 million viewers for one anti-CAA would be financially stable. However, it has only protest video. The Wire’s transparency, visible 8000 to 9000 monthly subscribers so far but hopes journalism and public engagement has also fuelled to achieve its target of 30000 in the next two and it growth. a half years. The Wire has also been holding Answering questions on the financial stability of ticketed events like talks by Ravish Kumar, Ram The Wire, Vardarajan said The Wire was set up Guha and Arun Shourie. The tickets for Shourie’s with three years funding from a based event were priced at Rs 500 and Rs 1000 and drew Public Service Media Foundation and at the end of a full house. However, the effort to do seminars in the period it hoped to be self-sufficient but there smaller towns on the CAA did not work out. was a shortfall of 30 per cent and a scramble to What did work were the Karan Thapar interviews find the money. Fortunately people helped out. for The Wire…. they got sponsors. Even the Naseeruddin Shah interview with Editor Sidharth Bhatia was well received and had a sponsor. Attending the Harvard India Business Conference recently was also useful in meeting up other players in the digital media platform, he said. Answering another question on the cost of litigation, Vardarajan said some Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh was spent since its inception, though the legal counsel was pro bono. There was travel cost to distant places like Mizoram, Bhuj, etc and the cost

of hiring local lawyers. There are challenges but it is clear that there is no looking back for The Wire.<

A question for the speaker. (The writer is a senior journalist who lives in New Delhi.)

A business story that spurred The Wire’s growth Pulls and pressures from the government have not dented The Wire’s appetite for compelling journalism. In fact, The Wire saw a spurt in its viewership in 2017 when it did a story on the business affairs of Amit Shah’s son. For The Wire, it was a routine story of the son’s business affairs drawn from the Registrar of Company’s filing made by him. The reaction by Shah, his son and the government drew public attention to the story. Then a Minister held a press conference to denounce the Wire and the story went viral. It was translated and picked up by different media outlets. The Wire’s viewers and subscribers soared. “We have not looked back since. Our growth is testimony to the fact that pulls and pressures, such as there have been, were counter-productive for the government,” says Siddharth Vardarajan. However, there was an attempt to create a fear psychosis so that companies are scared to advertise on the

website. In fact, major political developments in the country have spurred the growth of The Wire. <

July 2020 RIND Survey 7 BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

A look at how Aftenposten drives digital subscriptions

In a WAN-IFRA webinar recently, Aftenposten’s Sidney Glastad told approximately 100 participants about Aftenposten’s digital subscription strategy, what’s working for them and offered a look at what they’ll be focusing on this year. Brian Veseling had listened in and filed this report

ur primary acquisition driver today is our content,” says Aftenposten’s “OSidney Glastad. “Our paywall is where we get about 70 per cent of our web sales, and that makes it really important for us to understand what kind of content converts and how long people stay on different types of content. The way we work has evolved around that content.” Glastad joined Schibsted in 2017 and is acquisition manager at Aftenposten, the leading quality daily newspaper in Norway, where he is in charge of customer acquisition strategies. To do this, he works closely with the editorial team. Aftenposten is the largest subscription newspaper in the country with approximately 238,000 subscribers, with 119000 of those being purely Today, however, those figures have tightened digital. The paper has a staff size of about 150 considerably and he said 70 per cent of readers in people, most of whom are based in Oslo, with Norway hit one or more paywalls a week. “There’s correspondents in Brussels, the Middle East (West not a lot of people left who don’t understand that Asia), Russia and the United States. paying for news is important.” Paywalls first began appearing in Norway, historically a subscription-friendly and news- Going all in on user-revenue consuming country, in 2011. By 2013, several In 2015, Aftenposten made a strategic decision to newspapers had metered paywalls, although “many go all-in on user-payment and user-revenue, Glastad of them were quite porous and you could often said. “A couple of months later, we launched our read 10 articles a week,” Glastad said. hybrid model,” he added. “We had a meter model,

8 RIND Survey July 2020 where you could read eight articles per week. It was Extensive use of data, analytical tools quite porous at the start. We also had some content To make the most of their content, Aftenposten areas that were premium.” makes extensive use of data and analysis tools One of the other things Aftenposten did was throughout the organisation to see what kinds of to have key articles on Facebook as ads. “That articles are converting right now as well as what delivered our content to hundreds of thousands of kinds of articles are people reading and converting people – content that we knew converted users on on, Glastad said. They are also constantly looking our site, but our site was just too small to reach at what kind of changes they can make to the out to the number of people that we needed to content to make it convert even better. convert,” Glastad said. “Can we change the wording on the front, can we A couple of months later, they tightened up the change the pictures?” Likewise, they have regular meter, changing it from eight articles a week to six, meetings to look at what is going to be published “which also gave tremendous results,” Glastad said. in the next couple of weeks that they can tweak in “After a while, we also started to increase the share terms of getting the most number of conversions of premium articles on our front page because we on it, he said. saw that the more of that content that was locked, For example, they used to publish series of the more sales we had.” articles every Monday for perhaps three or so Fast forwarding to mid-2018, Aftenposten moved weeks. Now, however, he said Aftenposten has into another model. “We are primarily a freemium started publishing all the articles in a series, so that site, and our meter is smaller,” Glastad said. “Our people who are really interested in a topic are able meter was basically our primary sales force, but as to binge on the content. “But we still also publish we moved up the curve, we saw that sales from them every Monday over three consecutive weeks, the meter were becoming less and less relevant and so that we got both the people who are interested sales from premium content were becoming more in the content right now and want to binge on it, and more important.” and also the people who just want to discover the At the same time, Norwegians have become content on our front every week,” he said. more willing to pay for online news, and this is Furthermore, they use medium term planning also helping. And in the case of Aftenposten, it is to look at how we’re going to work over the next not a cheap subscription. Glastad said the monthly couple of months. “We have meetings every three digital subscription is about 25 euros, but that, of months where we look at the different teams on the course, they do a lot of A/B testing and cheaper editorial staff and see what their publishing plans campaigns to convert. are and what kind of articles they are working on. “We’ve seen that the distribution of income at Aftenposten has grown radically,” Glastad said. “Back in 2009, almost 60 per cent of our revenues came from ad revenues, but now, almost 80 percent of our revenue comes from circulation and user subscriptions. That’s a tremendous change, and it’s been spured on by our change in strategy.” Glastad added that Aftenposten’s paywall is where they get about 70 per cent of its web sales, “and that makes it really important for us to understand what kind of content converts and how long people stay on different types of content. That basically means that the way we work today has evolved around that content.” A Galstad slide highlights Aftenposten’s strong point.

July 2020 RIND Survey 9 “We generally discuss how we can move those Looking ahead to this year, Glastad said around and if there’s a huge article, maybe we can Aftenposten will be focusing on two main areas: split it up into a series, if there’s a podcast attached Engagement and Acquisition. For engagement, to it and that kind of stuff. We try to make a plan they will be looking at ways to leverage all signals across our divisions so that we have the optimal that can help them to decrease the likelihood of way to publish it for sales and engagement.” subscribers churning. They are also planning to increase “snackable” content, such as quizzes, he Strategic collaboration to plan months, year said. ahead In terms of acquisition, among the areas they will Aftenposten also uses strategic collaboration to be experimenting with are putting podcast content plan for the next six months or the next year, or behind their paywall and creating partnerships with even the year after that, Glastad said. “That goes non-competiting brands as a way of prospecting more into what kinds of areas we could cover that for new audiences. They are also looking at new might be profitable. Do we see other kinds of areas of content they could focus on, such as

content that maybe we should cover more closely? around parenting. < What is the next type of content that we could put behind the paywall? We have a model right now (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA Blog / World News where 30 percent of our content is premium and Publishing Focus. The writer is senior editor, the rest is metered, so, what’s the next piece of WAN-IFRA, Frankfurt, Germany.) content that we can make to make that percentage go up to 35 percent?” Among the tools they use is one they call Insight. “It’s basically our real-time conversion tool,” Glastad says. “This is something that the entire Shreyams Kumar is MD, organisation looks at, and it’s one of the key factors for our success the past couple of years, and it was PV Chandran chairman developed in-house here at Aftenposten.” He said Insight focuses on several key metrics, including: In an official communication, • The top 3 articles during the past 30 minutes has announced that the board of directors, at • Top 5 articles today (this determines which its meeting, has elected M.V. Shreyams Kumar articles they use for Facebook ads) as the managing director of the company. PV • Total sales today against the target (Aftenposten Chandran is the new chairman of the Board of has a target of 150 subscriptions each day) Directors. The company also said that Chandran • Percentage of paid content on top of the page. will continue to function as the whole-time director. Another tool spotlights engagement, and measures key areas across all subscribers on Aftenposten, In addition to this, the company also shared that including volume (how many articles a user have the managing editor, P.V. Gangadharan, presently read during the past 4 weeks) and frequency. Yet director, has been appointed as the whole-time another tool looks at popular articles, how many director. Mayura M.S. has been elected whole- articles were finished and how many sales they got time additional director. per day. “Each department has its own dashboard where they can follow the metrics that are important (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) to them, and they have been involved in creating the dashboards.”

10 RIND Survey July 2020 BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

COVID-19 How Indian publishers are fighting plunging revenues

Like many other countries around the world, India has been under lockdown due to COVID-19. The country is a typically strong newspaper market. Elizabeth Shilpa talks to publishers to gauge how their business is faring during such challenging times. Uncertain about the future, publishers, she finds, are planning what they can for the short-term and revising as needed

he sudden economic downturn has forced businesses to cut back on their advertising, Tthe major source of revenue for Indian newspapers. On top of this, the suspension of public transport has forced several publishers to stop circulation in many cities for the time-being. Says Mohit Jain, executive president at the Times Group: “Industries are shut. Consumption has got limited to the very basic. Obviously, it becomes difficult for the advertisers to continue with their expenditure.” “The situation clearly has massive industry implications for revenue with advertising revenues our products not only disseminate fact based and being under severe stress,” says a spokesperson verified news but are also safe thanks to all the from The Hindu Group. Direct ad sales, which safety measures in place.” heavily depended on face-to-face meetings with While the Central Government in India has clients and ad-agencies have been affected and are declared print newspapers an essential service, Jain now being re-adjusted to optimise business without says distribution and circulation are suffering due meeting in person. to the suspension of traffic. Likewise, increasing “Our primary focus during this time has been instances of newspaper delivery boys refusing to on ensuring we reach our subscribers safely and step out or being hindered by local authorities have on time and ensure we educate subscribers that been disrupting the distribution process. Added to

July 2020 RIND Survey 11 this, the fear some people have about newspapers “We are not collaborating for content as of now, but being potential carriers of the virus, makes it harder for other industry efforts like how we can deal with for publishers. unions collectively to ensure smooth distribution,” Jain says. He also noted that newspapers are Tough times for digital, too collectively talking to the government as well as On the digital-side, publishers are also struggling joining hands to diffuse fake news against printed with getting advertising. “There is a definite slow newspapers. down in ad revenue with no decisions being taken and several deals being stalled for now,” says Ritu Mutual printing arrangements Kapur, CEO, . In Mumbai where The Times of India has two For The Hindu’s digital operations, the direct plants and has one, the publishers revenue that is generated from feet-on-street by have come to a broad understanding for reciprocal the sales team has seen a negative impact. Even arrangements. “If your factory gets shut down for programmatic revenue, most of the advertisers because there is a case of COVID-19 infection have marked COVID-19 as a negative keyword at your plant and you are unable to print for 3-4 resulting in negative impact on the pandemic- days, then probably we can help about it, that’s the related content, which is witnessing a huge surge, understanding,” Jain says. the company spokesman says. A silver lining is the boost in traffic for digital The Wire, which follows a donation-based players. Kapur notes that their health site Quint business model, has not faced a significant impact Fit has seen a surge in traffic. The Hindu has seen on the ad revenues. Although one of its recent a 15-20 per cent spike in online traffic. “There is events had to be cancelled, it had a limited impact a larger interest in COVID-19 stories. Moreover, because events do not form a major share of the as The Hindu is a trusted source of information, company’s revenue. the number of articles which people are sharing on However, Sidharth Bhatia, The Wire’s co-founder, social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp says that a sustained impact of the pandemic on has also seen a spike,” the company’s spokesperson the economy would have repercussions for them. says. “If the economy suffers in the medium term, it “While we have doubled the number of free will impact us too, even though we are mostly articles available to any user on The Hindu’s website donation-led, not revenue-led. There could be a to 20, there still is a growth of about 30 per cent in drop in donations and revenues – we will have to digital subscription,” the spokesperson adds. watch out for that.” Bhatia of The Wire notes that while there has The Times of India has set up a ‘business been an increase in traffic to their website, it’s too continuity’ team to tackle many of the challenges. early to say how much of that is due to COVID- “We are trying to integrate various parts of the 19 impact and whether it would sustain. Uncertain organisation to provide internal infrastructure about the future, publishers in India, like those in terms of IT, HR, administration and our throughout the world, are planning what they

procurement,” Jain says. “Then we try to work with can for the short-term and revising as needed. In the editorial staff so that we can split the desk in two Kapur’s words, “We are playing it by the ear – week< different locations – so that in case somebody has on week.” to be quarantined there is an alternate desk where people can operate till those from the other desk (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA / World News Publishing recover. In the distribution area, we are working Focus. The writer is a business analyst with with the trade to try and lend support.” WAN-IFRA South Asia based in Chennai.) In fact, several newspapers have also come together to try and ensure unhindered distribution.

12 RIND Survey July 2020 BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

COVID-19 Tackling misinformation and ensuring every voice is heard

Three editors on the frontline of covering the COVID-19 pandemic joined Fergus Bell, CEO of fathm, in a WAN-IFRA webinar to share insights into how to improve the quality of coverage and distance journalism from the sea of misinformation. Neha Gupta and Simone Flueckiger report

perating a remote newsroom, with all journalists focused on a single story, is O an unprecedented occurrence. Editors from Spain, South Africa and the UK share how they are going about their jobs. Here are their top takeaways on how to produce useful, accurate journalism and more considered responses around the audience, racist and nationalistic framing, debunking misinformation and the integrity of COVID-19 data. ● María Ramírez, director of Strategy at El Diario, Spain: Listen to your audience and tell them what they need to know. It is rewarding ● Anna Johnson, The Associated Press’ news for journalists to be present for their consumers; director for Europe and Africa: The pandemic our jobs have never made sense like they do now. affects human fate, and we must ensure that the ● Mia Malan, founding editor and Director of news is accurate and transparent. The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, El Diario’s coronavirus coverage is focussed on South Africa: Do fewer stories and do documenting the difficulties the country’s health meaningful stories with context. There’s so system is experiencing due to the huge number much information and it’s just not all useful. Do of incoming COVID-19 cases. The company has something that makes data meaningful or gives started a daily newsletter on coronavirus, and is it a human face. answering readers’ questions about the outbreak.

July 2020 RIND Survey 13 In South Africa, Malan noted how the incomes, those from rural Spanish communities, government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and people who don’t have access to the internet has made it easier for public service journalists to and hence, aren’t well informed. operate compared to other health crises. Anna Johnson: We have made focussing on “With our HIV epidemic, the government’s inequality a priority at the Associated Press. response was at first essentially based on quack We’re looking at the pandemic through that lens science, and journalists who opposed the president’s – not merely covering the virus itself, but also the views were considered the enemy of the people,” global economic impact, which will be far more Malan says. However, the government’s response damaging on people who are already vulnerable. to COVID-19 is grounded in science, and the We are ensuring our COVID-19 coverage is being media is seen as an ally, she says. told from as many parts of the world as possible, For Anna Johnson, covering what’s happening proactively seeking stories, and making them behind closed doors – inside hospitals, nursing textually and visually compelling. homes, and people’s own homes – is one of the biggest challenges. One of the main things that has come out recently is a racist, nationalistic framing for How are you ensuring that coverage reflects all the virus. How do you report on this issue of the people that are affected by this, and not when it’s coming from official sources, whose just the people that are shouting loudest? statements must also be included? Mia Malan: In South Africa, COVID-19 Ramírez: Racism has not affected Spain as it has happened almost the wrong way around. Normally, affected other parts of the world, which is thanks it would be the poorer people who fall ill because to the positive attitude of the government and they’re more vulnerable to disease. But with the Opposition. At the beginning of the outbreak, COVID-19, it was brought in by wealthier people when Chinese businesses were going through who could travel, and it was seen as a middle class a slowdown, local politicians jumped in to tide disease, initially. There’s a huge discussion going them over. A problem that journalists do face here, on about making poorer people realise that they however, is of access. During press conferences, are really vulnerable to it. the prime minister will only take questions through The kind of reporting that we have done to have the spokesperson, which has eliminated our their voices heard is to highlight, for example, chances of interaction with the ministers, essential communities’ townships that can’t prevent for getting the tough questions answered. We have themselves from being infected because they don’t now formally signed a manifesto asking for this to have access to running water, or can’t maintain stop. social distancing because many people live in a very Johnson: Racism is an important aspect of the small space. As the outbreak progresses, we will pandemic and gets challenging especially when increasingly hear the voices of vulnerable people dealing with people in leadership roles. Our efforts as it transforms from a middle class epidemic into are, hence, focused on fact-checking every bit of a poorer epidemic. South Africa also has a very information constantly, in real time – about how high HIV and TB infection rate. The fate of these the virus has evolved, who it is affecting, the vulnerable people is unknown, due to lack of data terminology – regardless of the source of that from first world countries. information. We also ensure that our reportage María Ramírez: Historically, covering vulnerable includes a variety of voices. people has been the focus of El Diario. Currently, our reporters who are out in the field are also How are you covering communities that are not focusing their reportage on how the pandemic digitally connected? Are you sending people is affecting the homeless, people drawing low out, and how are you keeping safe?

14 RIND Survey July 2020 Malan: I’m not sending my staff out because the years, our health reporters have developed the of safety precautions. But we have done entire instinct to concentrate on stories that emerge from narrative features over the phone. That’s something patterns rather than amplifying bizarre standalone new, normally we’d go out to the community. But claims. we’ve taken someone into the community just by Johnson: Our reportage is about concentrating having very long phone calls. on something that starts to gain traction and then Ramírez: We are sending our journalists out, fact-checking it, for which we have a dedicated however, we have made field reporting voluntary team. We also have a boilerplate – origin, context, and with the right safety precautions and equipment symptoms, treatment – in all our reports that gives in place. About 20 per cent of our newsroom has our audience context about the virus. We also been hit by coronavirus; the silver lining to that, fact-check official statements to make sure that perhaps, is that those employees will have immunity amplified information is verified. once they recover and add to our coverage. Johnson: We, too, are sending our journalists out Do we need to take ethical considerations into to the field, but are also looking at alternate ways. balancing access to information and a captive So, either our reporters are on field, with the right audience that is desperate for information? protective gear, or covering the pandemic through Ramírez: Spain has registered several cases of virtual interactions. A major concern is to not let people suffering from anxiety and panic attacks go of a story simply because we can’t cover it from because of the sheer intensity and quantity of the field. information. A constant debate that journalists must tussle with is covering the most disturbing What are the trends you’re seeing around and darkest aspects of the pandemic, while trying misinformation in your respective regions? to make sure that the tone of the reportage is calm, How are you striking that balance between positive and not sensational. People tend to believe addressing misinformation and giving it information given out by figures of authority. It is additional airtime? imperative that journalists are careful and thorough Malan: We have produced a video on myths. with their reportage, regardless of how grave it is, We specifically didn’t write the story because we even if it comes from public officials. wanted it to be accessible to more than just literate people. Our normal audience is decision-makers, News organisations are showing and comparing but in the case of coronavirus, we’re trying to data from different countries, which has been reach a broader audience. For decision-makers, we collected with different standards. Is that a do more sophisticated stories about debunking the danger and how do we mitigate that? science of treatments that are not proven. Malan: I think where it gets confusing is when But we’re making very conscious decisions to you compare testing, countries don’t test at the not cover all rumours because you can cross that same rate. And the number of infections a country line where you actually make people more aware picks up really depends on the number of people of them, and they start to believe it. So we’re very they tested, so it is hard to compare. We try to do it selective about that. It’s not even 10 percent of our in an as meaningful way as possible, and if there is coronavirus coverage. data that we think can’t be compared, we just don’t Ramírez: At the beginning of the outbreak, Spain do it. witnessed misinformation regarding the origin of the virus. Now, the misinformation revolves How do you balance the risk of sending people around treatment and symptoms. El Diario is in out versus being beaten on a story? a partnership with fact-checking organisations, Johnson: It is not worth putting reporters at risk, which help us verify information we receive on simply to cover a story. Discussions about safety WhatsApp and other sources. Besides, through and having the right personal protective equipment

July 2020 RIND Survey 15 (PPE) are a precursor to every time a reporter goes (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA / World News Publishing to the field. While it’s a fast developing story, we Focus. Neha Gupta is a multimedia journalist with must also slow down. This situation is a marathon, WAN-IFRA South Asia based in Chennai; Simone not a sprint. We need to think hard about how we Flueckiger is a reporter for WAN-IFRA based in

approach stories – cover them immediately or wait Frankfurt.) and see how they pan out. <

World Editors Forum, Temasek Foundation launch new fellowship programme for media leaders The new Young Media Leaders (YML) Fellowship Programme, an initiative of the World Editors Forum Asia Chapter, the regional network in Asia for editors within WAN-IFRA, and supported by Temasek Foundation, launched recently with its inaugural class of 30 fellows. The fellowship programme seeks to nurture the next generation of media leaders who are committed to shaping the regional future. The aim is for YML Fellows to contribute effectively to the pursuit of good journalism, foster dialogue and greater connectedness among one another, and build up newsrooms to meet the needs of their societies in these uncertain times. The inaugural class of YML Fellows comprises young, high-potential editors and journalists from across the region nominated by their newsrooms. They will gather online over the next six months to share experiences, exchange ideas, amplify the impact of news reporting, and learn to lead in an industry transformed by technology. This is especially relevant as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to batter global economies and threaten the future of the publishing industry. “This fellowship aims to nurture the next generation of media leaders who can contribute effectively to the pursuit of good journalism and build capacity in their newsrooms to meet the needs of their societies in these uncertain times. We want to expose Asia’s future media leaders to the diverse challenges facing the media industry across the region and provide them the opportunity to network and build partnerships to share best practices and improve capabilities” says Warren Fernandez, president of the World Editors Forum and editor-in-chief of The Straits Times in Singapore, who mooted the initiative. “The world’s and Asia’s top news publishers meet regularly at over 50 WAN-IFRA events and meetings annually. With the Young Media Leaders Fellowship in Asia, made possible through the generous support of donors such as the Temasek Foundation in Singapore, we are now able to create a similar platform for the next generation of industry leaders, says Thomas Jacob, COO, WAN-IFRA. “The media is well-placed to contribute to the shaping of the narrative of our times. By tapping on a strong network of media leaders across the region, newsrooms can draw on one another’s strengths to achieve greater impact. We hope that fellows can use the opportunities given to grow, and be empowered to build up not just their newsroom but also to contribute to thought leadership to shape the challenges in our society,” says Lim Hock Chuan, chief executive of Temasek Foundation Connects. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the YML programme will take place mostly through online platforms. Participants will gather in Singapore in January 2021 for the fellowship finale where the Asian Media Leaders Summit will be held, conditions permitting. From India, Deepanshu Taumar, senior correspondent, ET Auto, and Vasudevan Mukunth, science editor, The Wire, have enrolled. (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA)

16 RIND Survey July 2020 BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

COVID-19 JOTA plugs gap in coverage of government institutions

With more than a million registered lawyers, millions of lawsuits, and thousands of law firms, the Brazilian society is highly judicialised. Sensing a market opportunity, a group of journalists who previously worked for national media outlets came together in 2014 to launch JOTA, a news site specialising in the country’s judiciary, executive and legislative branches. Simone Flueckiger has the story

JOTA co-founder Felipe Seligman worked at Folha de S Paulo covering judiciary-related matters when he realised he wasn’t necessarily able to provide certain audience segments with the in-depth analytic and technical information they needed. “For the average reader who just wants to be well-informed, a lot of what we were covering was very technical and difficult. So we didn’t have a big readership for these kinds of articles,” he says. “On the other hand, we had people who needed more in-depth information because they were some 60 people today with offices in Brasília, São working in that field, such as lawyers or investors. Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. You were in limbo, writing for an audience that In 2019, it bagged WAN-IFRA’s World Digital didn’t necessarily want to read that coverage, while Media Award for Best Digital News Start-Up, with not being able to go into enough detail for the one judge calling it “a product of unquestionable people who wanted to. That was the motivation quality that stands out for its business model.” behind creating JOTA.” JOTA is targeting both individual subscribers as Initially focused on covering the judiciary only, well as corporate clients with different subscription JOTA quickly proved successful (the site was offers. After registering, readers get access to 10 profitable just a year after launch), which led it to articles per month for free, as well as to several expand coverage to all branches of government. newsletters. Its staff has grown from just five people initially to

July 2020 RIND Survey 17 An individual subscription costs 19.90 real per (JOTA Debates) companies and foundations can month (about €4.40), and encompasses articles sponsor independent and balanced content, online on the website, a daily analysis of news from and offline, to shed light on specific technical issues. the legal field, and several newsletters. JOTA has “Google, for example, could sponsor a section on some 600000 unique visitors a month, and a base our website to discuss freedom of expression. We of 300000 registered readers. Every month, some then follow discussions, rulings, and bills that might 15000 people sign up for free, Seligman says. want to restrict or broaden the rules regarding freedom of expression in Brazil,” Seligman says. A product-oriented organisation But JOTA is offering its pro subscribers more The most important revenue stream, however, than just in-depth reporting. With the help of is the pro-subscriptions aimed at companies its data science team, the outlet created a poll and corporations, which make up 70 per cent of aggregator, leveraging an algorithm to combine JOTA’s income. “We have a very product-oriented different election polls to predict whether or not organisation, so we always put our readers, our certain bills will become law. “For instance, if you consumers in the centre, and think about their are an investor and there is a bill that might impact needs,” says Seligman. “How can we evolve the investment environment, you can follow the constantly to make sure we can address their needs, algorithm to find out how likely it is to become law. not only today but tomorrow and in the long term? We have more than 90 per cent accuracy in every That’s our mindset. That’s why we keep evolving,” prediction.” he says. JOTA also launched a Twitter bot (@ruibarbot With this in mind, JOTA offers its customers a named after famous Brazilian jurist Rui Barbosa, wide variety of products to choose from to ensure which flags high profile lawsuits anniversary dates. all of their informational needs are met. They can With more than 200000 followers to its main subscribe to three themed packages (or verticals): account (@JotaInfo), Twitter is one of the most JOTA Tributário, which focuses on tax issues, JOTA important social media platforms for JOTA. Poder, which deals with governmental institutions, “Sometimes we do special coverage exclusively on and JOTA Saúde, which tackles health-related Twitter. We don’t even link to anything there, we topics. just use it because we know it’s good for our brand. Each comes with three subscription options We got quite famous in Brazil for using Twitter to (basic, essential, and complete), which provide cover sessions and report directly there,” Seligman different services. says. For example, the ‘basic’ option for the tax vertical With a business model reliant on subscribers, includes a morning newsletter featuring the most JOTA continues to try and anticipate their needs, important news related to tax matters from JOTA finding new ways to convert and retain them. and major newspapers, as well as unlimited access One top priority is to create a more personalised to the website. The ‘complete’ option also includes environment. “We would like to create our own reports and behind-the-scenes information on the environment, our own terminal in which a person outcomes of judgments at the Supreme Court, as can personalise the information they want to well as of the sessions at the Superior Chamber of receive, what they don’t want, and which topics

Tax Appeals. are important. We want to offer more than just a< website,” he says. A personalised offer for subscribers The outlet has also been working with branded (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA Blog / World News content in the form of sponsor discussions, which, Publishing Focus.) along with individual subscriptions, account for 30 percent of revenue. As part of JOTA Discute

18 RIND Survey July 2020 ‘Efficiency and automation will be even more critical this year’

If drupa had not been postponed, Solimar Systems would have announced and demonstrated new products during the event. Instead, the products have been released more quietly than originally planned but with the same level of excitement and importance for Solimar Systems and its customers, says Jonathan Malone-McGrew

s we counted down the seconds to flexible workflow to maximize productivity and midnight on New Year’s Eve 2019, I was profitability. Aprobably not alone in imagining the halls So, this is not a ‘here’s what you could have won’ of drupa stretched out in front of me as I pictured reveal, as our customers and prospects can still the year ahead. It is a huge disappointment not benefit from every product listed below. to be among the crowds of print professionals, surrounded by the latest industry innovations and SPDE Essentials 9.1 immersed in inspiring applications and technology SPDE Essentialsis a new edition of SPDE that demonstrations. features only the essential elements necessary However, we are certainly not now standing still to support several common workflows. It is this year, waiting for April 2021. Solimar Systems configured and controlled in the SPDE Essentials has launched its drupa product line-up and the Manager, which is a simplified version of the latest releases, featuring a host of benefits designed System Manager with some options removed to to further streamline and optimise print workflows, provide a more focused interface. SPDE Essentials are now commercially available. Enabling printers is targeted for users who need crucial functionality to work smarter, more efficiently and with increased and job management of SPDE without the automation has always been key, but this year, it specialised capabilities of the full product. will be even more critical. Our latest solutions have Built from the technology of the Solimar Print been developed to help printers operate an efficient, Director Enterprise print management solution, SPDE Essentials is a new edition that benefits companies by providing a capable and proven print management system that is positioned for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMB). This edition can manage and convert the most common print file formats – PostScript, PDF and VIPP. Additionally, Essentials can be paired with our PDF optimisation technology to create ReadyPDF Prepress Server or it can also be paired with our secure printing protocol bundle to create IPP Secure Print Server. SPDE Essentials offers print environments a way to onboard their work, manage it through Solimar Systems products enable printers to work user queues and release work to printers within efficiently and with increased levels of automation. the shop while having visibility over the entire

July 2020 RIND Survey 19 process. However, we know that print shops and can provide near real-time status updates to the their requirements change over time, so SPDE business and recipients of the printed materials. Essentials may also be upgraded to the more By saving time, errors that can cause penalties to powerful and fully capable Solimar Print Director the business and reducing the expense of customer Enterprise print management solution. service activities, organizations can see an impactful return on investment. SOLitrack v2.3 Additionally, SOLitrack in this new release has In the latest release of the Solimar tracking, capabilities both in the server-client and in the reporting, visibility and accountability solution, our mobile web-based dashboard to make it possible team has developed new capabilities and integrations to associate content with pieces being produced. to facilitate the ability to track individual ‘pieces’ This can be used to add tracking information, such within a larger ‘job’ or body of work moving as priority mail in the United States or for services through a print production environment. The like DHL or FedEx internationally. Another use for ability to know that every unique piece within a this feature is to be able to attach special handling job that contains possibly hundreds to thousands instructions or other attachments that need to of records is not only valuable to print managers accompany the file. Further, since notes can be and customer service representatives, but it is also added as the piece moves through the production important for many industries that must comply process, it is also possible to use it for a lightweight with government regulations and contractual proof and approval process. obligations that items must be kept secure and accounted for as they are being produced. SOLsearcher EnterpriseV3.9 The new Solimar Piece Level Tracking (PLT) SOLsearcher Enterprise (SSE) is a powerful and solution not only keeps track of the individual highly secure electronic document delivery and web pieces within a large job, but it also is able to presentment solution that enables organisations to integrate with camera systems to provide tracking effectively index, store, search and retrieve large and audit information after the printing process collections of transactional documents. and during the finishing and delivery process. This Designed to complement or replace existing means that a body of work can be tracked from the print processes, SSE allows clients to access critical time it comes into the print environment, through business documents and reports via the web prepress, printing, finishing and the processes to securely. In addition, its unique email notification push it into the delivery stream. system provides an effective report routing facility, More importantly, if a piece is damaged, our informing users when a requested report is available. solution can also facilitate automatic reprints, The new ‘Re-index files within an archive’ action as well as, manual reprints while providing full in the Document Archive Management Wizard visibility to where that individual damaged piece is makes it possible to re-index all of the documents in the reproduction and re-entry into the delivery in a specified archive. stream process. For the pieces that are completed This is especially useful when you augment a without problem, production managers and Document Archive (update its SDX template file). customer service representatives are able to see After you augment the archive, you will want to where the piece is in the process, including delivery re-index all the documents currently in the archive to the end-user with the right setup and execution. to capture data for any new indexes added. This The ultimate benefit is time savings for the process will avoid the extra effort to locate all the organisation because there is less time spent documents, delete the existing documents, and researching individual pieces or unique pieces re-submit them. within different jobs, an organization can prove WCAG-compliant web client . Basically, this that the piece was produced and delivered and they means that it is compliant to the accessibility

20 RIND Survey July 2020 standards for those with low or no vision and meet the WCAG-compliant requirements. You need to use screen readers or other assistive can find more details on WCAG at: https://www.

technologies to navigate the web client. Since SSE w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/ < has a customer and CSR portal concept, there are web interfaces that users interact with. These now (The writer is senior director of Engagement at Solimar Systems.)

IRS 2019 Q4: Top publications retain lead positions The IRS 2019 Q4 released recently shows publications which have been holding the top ranks in the Indian Readership Survey continue to maintain the lead. The Q4 data, which covers a sample of 327661 Indian households, shows continues to be the most read Hindi newspaper in the country while The Times of India retains its numero uno position in the English category. While Dainik Jagran clocked a TR (Total Readership) of 68667 in Q4 against 70430 in the previous quarter, TOI has witnessed a growth in its TR from 2776 in Q3 to 2894 in Q4 in the Mumbai market. stood at 52429 against 52622 in Q3. The third most circulated daily Hindustan recorded a TR of 49890 in Q4, in Q3 it stood at 51308. Amar Ujala that had a TR of 44797 in Q3 saw a TR of 44196 in this quarter. At the 5th position is with a TR of 17763. In Q3 it had recorded a TR of 17849. Interestingly, Daily Thanthi and at the sixth and seventh positions have both seen an increase in their TR. While Daily Thanthi’s TR picked up from a 25758 to touch 26314 in Q4, Lokmat has clocked 22343 in Q4 against Q3’s 21765. Amongst the English dailies in the Mumbai market, TOI was followed by Hindustan Times which has also seen a jump in its total readership from 1884 to 2042 in Q4. HT has maintained its lead in Delhi, followed by TOI. However, in the Delhi market, The Hindu has witnessed a rise in its TR between the two quarters of Q3 and Q4 with the number growing from 526 to 545. Coming to the Hindi market, in Uttar Pradesh, the top five spots were occupied by Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, and . In Bihar, Hindustan, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, and Aj are among the top five names. In Chennai, TOI again led the chart followed by The Hindu with both papers registering a growth in TR. In the Kolkata market, both Telegraph and TOI, the top 2, have seen a growth in numbers. Moving on to other large markets, in Kerala, Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, , and are among the top five dailies. In Maharashtra, Lokmat, , , Punya Nagari and have taken the top five spots. In West Bengal, Ananda Bazar Patrika, , Ei Samay, Uttar Banga and have maintained their foothold as the most read dailies in Q4. Taking stock of the readership trends for magazines, India Today (English), India Today (Hindi), Samanya Gyan Darpan, Vanitha (), Pratiyogita Darpan (Hindi) are among the top five. The Q4 study has highlighted that the Internet continues to gain in numbers with more number of Internet users in rural than in the urban markets. The study also shows that radio listenership has been growing with TV viewing too showing growth even on a very big base. However, newspaper readership has seen a slow decline with the trend being across Hindi, English and regional markets.

July 2020 RIND Survey 21 Industry updates

● Use Less Ink on Every Print: Developed in-house Fujifilm launches by Fujifilm specifically for the Acuity Ultra series, Acuity Ultra printer UVijet inks offer an impressively low cost-in-use. Its high density colours and 3.5 picolitre drop size Fujifilm India has announced the Indian launch result in ink usage typically 20 per cent lower than of its new superwide format system, the Acuity competing products. Ultra. The UV-curable roll-to-roll printer uses Uvijet ● Greenguard Certification: Fujifilm’s solvent-free GS inks, a solvent-free chemistry that is both fully and Greenguard-certified Uvijet inks meet some emission compliant and Greenguard approved. of the world’s most stringent emission standards, Unlike anything currently available on the market, resulting in a safe UV ink that will help you win the Fujifilm Acuity Ultra provides increased size more business from brands that are committed to and quality to significantly boost the profitability of their own environmental standards. high-end interior graphics production. Built around Says Ramprasad: “The Fujifilm Acuity series has Fujifilm’s solvent-free UV curable inkjet technologies, long been known for its quality and reliability and, it offers near-photographic levels of image quality by adding this super-wide model to the range, we are with tighter registration and higher production speeds, offering our Indian customers a big step up in quality at a price that is set to shake up the super-wide format and productivity. If you have any further questions or marketplace. wish to request sample prints to examine the quality The Acuity Ultra represents the culmination of for yourself, you are invited to contact an Acuity extensive market research to understand the needs Ultra printer expert at our Fujifilm India office.” of super-wide format print producers and the Fujifilm Corporation since its founding in 1934 challenges they face both today and tomorrow. The has built up a wealth of advanced technologies in the same challenges, says Fujifilm India, are perfectly field of photo imaging. Fujifilm Graphic Systems aligned with Indian PSPs looking to take their print is focussed on delivering high quality, technically business to the next level of quality and operational advanced print solutions that help printers develop profitability. competitive advantage and grow their businesses. According to by S.M. Ramprasad, executive VP at The company’s financial stability and unprecedented Fujifilm India, the Fujifilm Acuity Ultra is the perfect investment in R&D enable it to develop proprietary next step for the Indian wide-format digital print technologies for best-in-class printing. These professional. Here are some key features: include pre-press and pressroom solutions for offset, ● Performance & Profitability: Capable of print wide-format and digital print, as well as workflow speeds up to 402 square metres per hour and software for print production management. Fujifilm offering unbeatable cost-in-use, the Acuity Ultra is committed to minimising the environmental gives you the performance to profit from both impact of its products and operations, proactively interior and exterior applications with almost working to preserve the environment, and strives to photographic print quality (402 sq m per hour is educate printers about environmental best practice. the maximum speed for the 4-colour version). ● Industrial Build Quality: Engineered for reliable print production, all day, every day, in any environment, the Acuity Ultra UV roll-to-roll is close to being the perfect super-wide printer to meet the specific challenges of the Indian market. Fujifilm Acuity Ultra superwide UV roll-to-roll printer.

22 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates

The group has already received several awards for Printing Branch relies on the high quality of their printing. “We focus on our QIPC automation customers, consider green development important and give priority to quality,” explains Lan Ning, Printing Branch, part of Gansu Daily Newspaper deputy manager of Printing Branch, choosing QIPC. Group, has been using QI Press Controls’ (QIPC) “We constantly make our employees aware of the automatic colour register system mRC-3D for over importance of quality and environmental protection a year. The Chinese printing company is pleased and consider it important with our partners”. with the speed, stability and efficiency gains that the QIPC remains very active in the Chinese market. automation of the Dutch specialist for the printing The local head office was replaced by an intensive industry has yielded for their production process. cooperation with local agents such as Gämmerler, an Printing Branch now has four QIPC installations agent who knows the Chinese market and all its needs at its disposal: one on a 2010 Goss Magnum 45 through and through. The order placed by Printing press, one on a 2015 Goss Magnum 45 press and Branch more than a year ago was a first success of two on a 2019 Goss CC system. “Thanks to QIPC’s that collaboration. “We still see a lot of potential continuous investment in new technology, the in the Chinese market,” says Erwin van Rossem, system is very user-friendly,” says Lan Ning. “The Director of Global Sales & Marketing at QIPC. “So advantages of the mRC-3D system are the speed we remain active there, even in this challenging period. with which everything works, the stability and the We see the positive feedback from Printing Branch as reliability. In addition, we can work more efficiently encouragement. and the workload of the operators has been reduced”. The investment in new press automation, in 2019, of Printing Branch, was part of a large-scale Tribune sites make use of modernisation within the company. Printing Branch combines newspaper and commercial book printing ProImage NewsWayX and is the largest newspaper printer in the north western provinces of China. It currently prints more Virtual, remote connectivity has been proven than 60 newspapers and magazine titles, including to be a live saver for many companies and their People’s Daily, Gansu Daily, Global Times and employees as well as people all over the world during Lanzhou Morning News. the COVID-19 pandemic. While not being a new respective company /PR agency Materials in this section: Provided by A view of the Printing Branch printing plant.

July 2020 RIND Survey 23 Industry Updates

concept, it became painstakingly clear how important now benefit from the improved image quality and it is to be digitally connected despite being physically reduced CMYK ink consumption that ECO provides. apart. The same concept applies to ProImage’s Tribune Publishing and their six print sites all NewsWayX workflow products where virtual, cloud- had accumulated different workflow systems and based HTML5 technology is at the center of its core different versions over the years. They were dealing capabilities. with over 70 servers across those six print sites This feature is one of the main reasons, the Tribune which is understandably a very difficult and time- Publishing Company decided in late summer last year, consuming maintenance task. The goal was to to install the NewsWayX Workflow System across all implement a single, standardised application across of their six print sites (Chicago Tribune, IL, Hartford the sites and with it reduce the number of servers. Courant, CT, Baltimore Sun, MD, Sun Sentinel, FL, A centralised, cloud-based system for ad managers, Virginia Pilot, VA, and New York Daily News, NY). rips, and OnColor ECO was needed that would allow Each of these Tribune sites will have their own a reduced footprint and uses a web browser so the local workflow that includes servers, RIPs, edition system could monitor production from origination to planning, and output management to their individual, print sites, regardless of their location. In addition, all local CTP devices. But instead of upgrading their sites needed to run on one, unified Windows Version legacy workflow systems at each of those six print – in this case, Windows 2016. sites, Tribune Publishing decided to centralise their Jhon Marte, director Technology Department production workflow at one cloud-based hub. The Tribune Publishing that oversees the entire NewsWayX hub is integrated with Tribune’s own, pre-existing project from the IT-side, states: “We compared the cloud where now each print site can log into product with those of other competitors and we ProImage’s central system and each manage their found ProImage being very flexible, very user-friendly own production workflow, independent from each other. in the UI and it is a well-known product in the market. The central system - NewsWayX - uses HTML5 This and our previous working relationship helped us and is web browser-based, enabling users to monitor make this a fairly straight forward decision.” production status from different print sites and from As Jhon Marte explains, the primary NewsWayX any location. HTML5 supports the building of more workflow system is located in the cloud where all diverse and powerful web sites and applications and, print sites are connected. In addition, there is another in this case, allows newspaper production operators hub on the premises of their Chicago, IL data center to access their NewsWayX workflow from anywhere. with a duplicate set of licenses. This hub functions Staff can log in from different computers at work, in as a disaster recovery hub in case the primary hub the production area, and even from their laptops at fails or is not accessible. Files are copied to their DR home to monitor and work on production flow. (disaster recovery) system throughout the day each With NewsWayX, edition planning is centralised day so if needed it can become the primary hub with so a layout file is imported and an edition plan is little to no loss of data. automatically created for each of the print sites. Implementation of the system was an overall smooth Centralised RIPs process PDF files and create soft process. Since Tribune Publishing with its multiple proofs of pages and plates. Custom impositions are print sites is such a complex set-up, customisation of created for each site along with unique furniture, text, ProImage’s system was needed on several occasions. and barcodes that are burned onto the plate image. Specific tables and particular integration with their Ink presets are routed to the sites that require them. press control systems were needed which ProImage’s Another great benefit is that all print sites can take software team custom developed for them. Each print advantage of ProImage’s ECO ink optimisation site was moved over individually by migrating all of software that the Tribune already had for some of their products to the new system. Once that was done the print sites. However, by centralising, all sites can successfully, then they moved on to the next print site.

24 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates

The overall time frame for the implementation was they would have to work with 16 or more templates set to about one year. per account. Besides the obvious benefit of a cloud-based based system and with it the independence from specific locations, NewsWayX also provides many benefits New Commander CL for for the production staff. The brand new dashboard and Press Tree views increase efficiency and time Switzerland savings. The dashboard presents a more efficient Swiss media house Somedia Partner AG is investing version handling as well as status tracking from the in a highly automated newspaper press from Koenig tree view. It was designed to save valuable time for & Bauer. A Commander CL will be installed as the print plant managers and operatives and allows replacement for a competitor’s press at the print them to see the status of their entire production with centre in Haag in St. Gallen Rhine Valley and is a single view. scheduled to come on stream in summer next year. Kurt Moody, production manager of the Sun- The Commander CL comprises three four-high Sentinel in Florida can confirm this: “We can build towers, a KF 5 jaw folder, a section stitcher and three our own custom dashboard and can see with a glance Pastomat reelstands with a stripping station and where our different jobs are, track the jobs from one Patras A paper-reel transport system. process to the next and RIP the publication for plate The new press will then be used to print more than output. What I really like, is we can have multiple 120000 daily and weekly newspapers every day. Says tabs (for multiple jobs) open within NewsWayX Urs Zieri, managing director of Somedia Partner AG: and lay them out across our screen and have all the “We wanted to, and indeed needed to, invest in a new information right in front of us without having to press. The discussions with Koenig & Bauer were scroll through different views and tabs - we basically straightforward and focussed on partnership from can build our own custom dashboard.” the very beginning. The overall package simply felt In addition, Kurt likes the flexibility he has with the cloud-based system: “I can log out on one computer and move to a different computer that’s closer to the imagers or even on my laptop, I can log in to NewsWayX and it opens up exactly the way I left it. I don’t have to rebuilt or re-open up anything again. In addition, there are tabs I keep open all the time, so wherever and whenever I log back into NewsWayX my work is there.” Another feature that facilitates the work of the production department is the ‘normalisation’ feature. When the file goes into their pre-existing templates it will scale - enlarge or reduce - to what the operator tells it to for that template. It cuts down on the Shortly after signing the contracts (back row, l-r): Stefan Segger, overhead of templates and allows them to work sales director, Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed; Urs Zieri, with a very small quantity of templates which in managing director, Somedia Partner AG; Bruno Rothmund, return reduces the time it takes to set up a new job. press manager, Somedia Partner AG; Peter Rickenmann, With all the different accounts and jobs - six major managing director, Koenig & Bauer (CH) AG; (front row): newspapers alone plus many other newspapers and Günter Noll, sales manager, Koenig & Bauer Digital & commercial accounts - they can reduce the templates Webfed, and Paul Frei, supervisory board president, Somedia to two for each publication. With a different system, Partner AG.

July 2020 RIND Survey 25 Industry Updates

5000th InlineDensity Control camera installed

Waste will soon be a thing of the past in the commercial printing world because the measuring systems from manroland Goss and grapho metronic are becoming ever more prevalent. Within the scope of a comprehensive retrofit of a Lithoman press at Weiss Druck, manroland Goss together with grapho metronic, the market leading subsidiary responsible for measuring and control technology, have installed the 5000th inline ink density measuring camera on a printing press – a record. InlineDensity Control from manroland Goss/ The new Commander CL will be starting production at grapho metronic has already been the natural enemy of Somedia Partner AG in Haag in the second quarter of 2021. waste for many years and has set standards worldwide for excellent print quality. The system ensures fully automated, highly precise, standard-conforming ink right. We are convinced that it was the right decision density measurement, which improves the quality of to go with Koenig & Bauer.” the printed product immensely. Over the past years, European newspaper printers Since the introduction of the product in the After- have frequently opted for presses from the highest Market sector in 2015, 50 webs have been retrofitted performance class made by Koenig & Bauer. “Given the situation presented by market developments, we are delighted to see that companies like Somedia Partner believe in print and are making investments. We are also very satisfied with the level of orders we have received for newspaper presses. Further projects are in the pipeline and decisions are expected soon. Above all, the products currently in high demand when making new investments are flexible, practice-oriented and automated presses, and we have an outstanding image in this respect with our trio represented by the Commander CL, Commander CT and Cortina,” says Stefan Segger, sales director at Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed. Down with waste: the 5000th InlineDensity control ink Somedia Partner AG comprises three independent density measuring camera was installed on a Lithoman at publishing companies: Somedia AG, Sarganserländer Weiss Druck. Druck AG and Vaduzer Medienhaus AG. Together, they produce eight regional daily titles, including which shows that the benefits of this technology have the Südostschweiz, the Sarganserländer and the been recognised by customers worldwide, and they Liechtensteiner Vaterland. At the weekend, the almost have simplified and improved their own production. 50 employees at the Somedia Partner print centre in And it is not only manroland Goss customers who Haag also produce two weeklies, the Liewo and the are complementing existing presses with control Schweiz am Wochenende. technology, presses from competitors have also been

26 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates equipped with InlineDensity systems and other control systems with great success, both on older and newer presses. When it comes to Weiss Druck, we can claim that a renowned and long-term partner of manroland Goss has decided for retrofitting with ink density measurement in order to improve quality, reduce waste and thereby provide their customers with even more efficient and profitable production. A five-colour Rapida 106 with inline coater. It will allow particularly economical production catering to the high-quality L/M/B Louko fires up a finishing segment. second Rapida 106 Multiple washing and coating circuits used in the coater allow the conversion from conventional to In mid-May, the Nuremberg-based company UV coatings or vice versa to be completed faster. L/M/B Louko began work on installing a new Moreover, the new press boasts the same equipment Rapida 106 featuring five printing units, a coater, features as the Rapida 106 already being used in and hybrid facilities for both conventional and UV production. EES (Emission Extraction System) helps finishing. This state-of-the-art, high-performance 3b to eliminate any potentially unpleasant odours in the press is joining a nine-colour model from the same area of the delivery, thereby improving the workplace series which has already been in use at the company atmosphere for the operator by reducing finishing- for the past three years. related emissions. While the existing press, with its perfecting unit The primary objective of the new press is to print and additional inline coater, is specifically designed the same production volume as before but in just half for printing covers, the company’s latest investment the time. This will be accompanied by a substantial will, above all, allow economical production of jobs reduction in material consumption and a significant requiring a high level of finishing. This includes the improvement to energy efficiency. full range of conventional and UV coatings, such as A wealth of experience gained since the most drip-off and matt/gloss effects, as well as finishing recent Rapida 106 was installed shows that these with gold or silver-coated PET film. ambitious goals can be achieved. Production output has increased phenomenally. Managing director Oliver Stapfer has never had a reason to question the purchase: “At the time, it was a decision critical to the company’s survival.” The long Rapida 106 clocks up 60 million impressions year after year. Monthly performance reports show that the press is running at speeds over 16000 sheets/ hour for a third of the production time, and at more than 12 000 sheets/ hour for 95 per cent of the time. In April 2020, the sheet counter stood at 184 million impressions. All this has transformed production beyond recognition. Printing operations at L/M/B Druck’s facility in Nuremberg primarily cater to high-volume Managing director Oliver Stapfer in front of the new Rapida covers, order cards and supplements for mail-order 106 during its installation. companies with a primary focus on fashion and

July 2020 RIND Survey 27 Industry Updates

faster, and are surprised to see sellable products arriving at the delivery after just a few sheets. Despite a high level of what are generally long runs, fast plate changes are increasing in importance. The magazine and brochure component business is undergoing a major upheaval. Versioning – not only in terms of languages – is on the increase, and more and more new customers are requesting highly individualised supplements. Small codes in the black imprinting of magazine supplements are also being used to identify where the order form has come from. Companies can then analyse this data to determine A nine-colour Rapida 106 with perfecting unit, an additional who reads what, and to predict the anticipated coater and extended delivery has already been in use at L/M/B response rates from the individual magazines. Louko in Nuremberg for three years. At L/M/B Druck in Nuremberg, everything is electronics. The production schedules are extremely optimised for high performance. A large proportion tight. In many cases, the data arrive by noon. This of the work is subject to regular, repeat orders. requires an initial run to be completed by 8 pm the However, these jobs are rarely for final products, same day, with the remainder often due just 24 hours and instead almost always involve specific print later. And these jobs can easily comprise up to 500000 components which are turned into finished products printed and folded copies. The capacity available to elsewhere. This approach distinguishes L/M/B Druck the Nuremberg specialists allows up to 600,000 sheets in Nuremberg from many other classic commercial a day to be printed. printers. At the same time, it guarantees a good basic The exceptional performance of the Rapida level of utilisation of the company’s capacities. 106 has helped to significantly reduce the levels of The 45 L/M/B Druck employees work in up to stress involved in what are often hectic production three shifts at the company’s Nuremberg facility. processes. The DriveTronic feeder, which is highly Another 22 are based in Herzogenaurach. This is praised by everyone at L/M/B, helps contribute to where the company’s classic commercial printing this: where the paper used to be brought into the business is based, which operates a mix of half-format storeroom 48 hours prior to the scheduled start of presses and digital printing systems. The combination production before being moved into the press room of different equipment options at the two locations to acclimatise for the last 24 hours, it can now be allows an exceptionally broad product portfolio to be delivered just-in-time and be loaded directly from the offered. lorry into the press. And this is even possible in winter, despite the significant differences in temperature and manroland Goss centralises humidity. Furthermore, the Rapida 106 facilitates considerable service at Durham facility savings in terms of waste. Even when customers are present for press passes and the press is being adjusted manroland Goss Americas, a subsidiary of by eye – to cater for their specific requirements, 200 manroland Goss web systems GmbH, the leading sheets in total are sufficient to complete the whole web offset press manufacturer, has relocated makeready process. The customers are consistently its bindery and post-press equipment service amazed to witness how quickly the press adapts to organisation in Effingham, Illinois to its Americas the colour specifications. They say that they would headquarters located in Durham, New Hampshire. never have believed how automatic regulation using This will primarily benefit their customers: The new QualiTronic ColorControl makes everything so much centralised structure will enable the Durham based

28 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates engineering and customer service teams to fully utilise the potential of the established manroland Varioman machines and Goss service and support infrastructure. As a result, environmental protection faster response times and improved 24/7 support of their bindery and postpress portfolio. Sustainability is the future. Only a few years ago The Loudon Machining facility was established in far too few printing companies were committed to 1982 and served as manroland Goss’s bindery and environmental protection. Now manroland Goss post-press service, rebuild, and custom machining has come up with the convincing concept of the facility. The consolidation of service competence at Varioman. a central location in Durham will provide customers The requirements for environmentally friendly with the proven manroland Goss service offering from production and product packaging are constantly a single source. This structural reorganization will changing due to stricter marketing regulations. The enable the service teams to respond even faster and Varioman presses have been specially developed for more efficiently to individual customer requirements. packaging printing and are thus – in addition to the “While we will dearly miss some of our teammates increasing variety of brands and designs as well as and our connection to the Effingham community, the strong retail competition – designed to meet new we are very excited about the positive impact this environmental and recycling requirements. transition will have on our business” says Dave The printing technology of the Varioman is based Soden, managing director, manroland Goss Americas. on the offset printing process. In contrast to flexo “By leveraging the experience and expertise of our Durham based engineering teams, we will be well positioned to provide tailored retrofits and support obsolescence management of our customers post- press equipment, helping them extend the life of their assets and maximize overall equipment performance”. Jason Elliott, VP Sales adds, “Consolidating our operations has resulted in a central location for our engineering, parts, and service support teams. This With the Varioman presses, manroland Goss convinces in the will increase coordination of our customer related area of sustainability at a high level and sets a sign for a strong activities and improve our ability to address our future. customers’ needs around the clock.” “I am very pleased that we have been able to retain and gravure printing, this process does not require much of the talent from the Loudon organization the printing units always to be cleaned of ink, which and in addition, add new members to our team to results in significantly less ink waste. The excellent grow this business and provide sustainable service register accuracy of the Varioman offset solution and support into the future” says Soden. provides the basis for high-quality printing with The manroland Goss Group is the leading supplier standardized 6- or 7-colour systems (expanded colour of web-offset printing solutions. The company gamut). This completely eliminates ink changes and provides system solutions for highly automated press also the washing agent and ink consumption. and post-press equipment, Engineered Solutions for If you decide for a Varioman with electron beam mechanical, automation and closed-loop upgrades curing, you will benefit from much lower energy for all types of presses, service solutions for parts consumption compared to conventional hot air based and labour, tele-support and service level agreements drying. Next to lower power consumption you benefit 24/365, and e-commerce solutions for all suppliers to from several more advantages. Thanks to the high- the web offset industry and beyond. performance ink curing, the surface of the printed

July 2020 RIND Survey 29 Industry Updates

product is already scratch-resistant and glossy and project management of the GWS colleagues based in often no further coating layer is required. The electron Waalwijk. beam ink is not only inexpensive due to the higher “This relocation project was a best-practice example mileage per kg, but can also remain wet in the unit. for good team work within the manroland Goss This saves the need for daily cleaning, which means group,” says Thom Ringsma. In the meantime, less ink waste and reduced use of cleaning agents. Senefelder Misset Doetinchem has decided to also However, the lower cleaning costs are surpassed here contract manroland Goss for a TeleSupport service by another green advantage: Significantly less use of of their Lithoman presses in Doetinchem. solvents. The printing ink used is even completely solvent-free. Solimar Systems launches Record time for press ReadyPDF Prepress Server… relocation Solimar Systems, provider of leading workflow solutions for print production and digital GWS Printing Systems (GWS), the manroland Goss communications, has launched the Solimar ReadyPDF subsidiary for press relocations and used equipment, Prepress Server. This intuitive, pioneering solution just finished a successful relocation project ofa enables users to overcome numerous production commercial Lithoman press in the Netherlands in inefficiencies associated with PDF files, and benefit record time. from increased automation, enhanced quality control In the course of certain changes in the media and a more streamlined, profitable production landscape of the Netherlands, Thom Ringsma, owner process. of the renowned magazine printer Habo da Costa ReadyPDF Prepress Server is a PDF-centric based in the city of Vianen took the opportunity production print manager that features a host of to restart a closed location in Doetinchem for invaluable file cleansing and optimisation capabilities, strengthening his printing business. At the same time, including font embedding, consolidation and the assets of a printing plant in Weert were taken replacement (including subsets). The server leverages over by Ringsma, whereby GWS Printing Systems, Solimar’s nearly 30 years of experience in output the manroland Goss partner for used equipment and management and distribution. This solution enables worldwide professional partner for press relocations, increased colour space control and ICC profile was contracted to sell the equipment on behalf of his application. It also enables easy removal or optimised holding company. inclusion of XObjects and improved document In the scope of the project, a used Lithoman 72-pages sited at Weert was chosen to be moved to Doetinchem to start the production there. As the business plans of Ringsma were very tight, the decision to also opt for GWS as the right partner to handle this was made very quickly. Due to an extraordinary team work between the Senefelder Misset Doetinchem BV team and the GWS crew, a relocation in record time was enabled. In a period of just over four months, the press was up and running again at the Doetinchem plant. The start-up and training at the new location was performed by the The ReadyPDF Prepress Server delivers significant production specialists from manroland Goss Augsburg under the workflow efficiencies and increased ROI.

30 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates structure to overcome downstream processes or are numerous, and at a time when businesses need device issues. to streamline their operations to increase profitability Jonathan Malone-McGrew, senior director of and competitiveness, it’s an ideal tool. As such, we Engagement, Solimar Systems, explains, “PDF files are offering free trials of PDF optimisation and other are one of the most popular print file formats, but the solutions in our portfolio to enable more printers file is often not well-formed when the printer receives to evaluate their workflow and make the necessary it. Our ReadyPDF solution effectively identifies, improvements to future-proof their businesses for optimises and fixes many of these typical issues, continued success.” enabling a smoother, faster and more cost-efficient production workflow. We know customers can reduce job onboarding from 20 minutes to 20 seconds using … and Secure IPP Print our solutions and, therefore, save many valuable hours of processing time every day.” Server Additional system highlights include the ability to downsample and cache image resources, control Solimar Systems has also launched the Secure transparencies and flatten layers. What’s more, a new IPP Print Serverfor digital print environments. obfuscation feature allows users to jumble all text The server delivers support for encrypted data content in the PDF. This capability allows businesses transmission using the Internet Printing Protocol to conceal confidential data and ensure adherence to GDPR, the California Data Protection Act and other data protection guidelines when sending files to third parties for review or testing. “The launch of ReadyPDF Prepress Server could not have come at a better time for the industry,” says Mary Ann Rowan, chief experience officer, Solimar Systems. “During the COVID-19 crisis, businesses are facing significant limitations on staffing their print facilities and automation is, therefore, key to production continuity. Our ReadyPDF solution has a templated approach to PDF optimisation and correction enabling printers to automate onboarding The IPP server for digital print environments. of production work.” As many blue-chip brands and multinational (IPP) in addition to enabling print job optimisation corporations are increasing their digital communication and workflow automation. The flexible solution to improve responsiveness and decrease environmental enables companies to better comply with data security impact, the ReadyPDF solution provides timely help regulations, policies and best practices including with optimising file sizes by reducing font and other resource volume and downsampling images to lower GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation and resolutions typical in electronic presentation. CCPA, the California Consumer Privacy Act. “ReadyPDF server can be used to optimise print It is commonplace for host systems to transmit data files for e-delivery, enabling printers to provide their to printers over unencrypted channels using protocols customers with a flexible service. Reducing file sizes like LPR, IPDS, shared folders and JMF/ JDF. Secure also minimises storage costs, and ReadyPDF server IPP printing leverages on-the-fly data encryption to can simultaneously create an archive and a print protect print content from network ‘sniffers’ that can version of a PDF. This makes the process of storing expose sensitive information embedded in print data. and locating archived files more efficient,” Rowan In addition, the Secure IPP Print Server provides says. “The benefits that ReadyPDF server provides more granular feedback on job status than alternative

July 2020 RIND Survey 31 Industry Updates

workflows, allowing systems that support IPP to science statistics on behalf of the German Federal provide more accurate and timely information about Ministry of Education and Research. the actual disposition of work. Since 2014, Stifterverband has awarded the Says Jonathan Malone-McGrew, senior director of Innovation through Research seal to companies Engagement at Solimar Systems: “Secure IPP Print that take part in a biannual census on research and Server provides users with a means to do this, enabling development in the German economy. After taking them to operate with complete, end-to-end workflow part in 2016, ppi Media has renewed its support of security. The system also benefits from Solimar’s the initiative after making more strong investments in renowned expertise in job tracking, reporting, as well research and development in 2020. as streamlining and reducing workflow inefficiencies, The manufacturer focuses on the creation and when integrated with other cutting-edge Solimar development of software solutions for media solutions.” produced by international publishing houses. The “The launch of Secure IPP Print Server is in direct solutions developed by ppi Media are used to response to our clients’ requests for help to better produce publications like the New York Times, BILD secure digital content and documents in transactional and Dainik Jagran, one of the most widely read daily and variable data print workflows,” says Mary Ann newspapers in the world – as well as around 80 per Rowan, chief experience officer at Solimar Systems. cent of all daily newspapers in the German market. “At present, printing is too often vulnerable to gaps As one of the leading service providers in the field in end-to-end security. This print server can run as of automated newspaper production, ppi Media an automated, ‘lights out’ service, securing incoming is playing an important role in maintaining press and outgoing print data, providing governments, production and protecting critical infrastructure enterprises and print service providers around the during the ongoing corona crisis. Says the CEO of globe with additional confidence in the security of ppi Media GmbH, Hauke Berndt: “Research and their production processes.” development is crucial for our company and the For nearly 30 years, Solimar Systems has been media industry. delivering solutions to organizations that process Thanks to the constant review and development of high volumes of sensitive, personal data. These our solutions, we’re able to continue providing media solutions provide mission-critical workflow companies with the best possible support in the capabilities in secure environments. They feature current situation and ensure the smooth continuation granular, rights-based access controls, as well as of the newspapers and magazines produced by our password-based document controls such as PDF customers”. encryption. Secure IPP Print Server leverages these ppi Media develops highly efficient solutions reliable, comprehensive systems and incorporates and services for media companies. The owner- new functionality to ensure an increased level of data managed software house was founded in 1984 and security. has since become the leading workflow specialist for automated newspaper production. Eighty per cent of all daily newspapers on the German market are ppiMedia receives recognition produced using products developed by ppi Media. Media companies in Europe, Asia, Africa and the for innovation USA use the firm’s solutions in their daily work for the planning, production and editorial workflows of The Stifterverband association has once again their digital and print products. presented ppi Media with its Innovation through Research seal. The basis for the award is an annual survey conducted by the association’s department for

32 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates

& Bauer’s claim as a leading partner to the print Koenig & Bauer celebrates industry,” says Dagmar Ringel, head of corporate award series at virtual fair communication and marketing at Koenig & Bauer.

With its new Rapida press generation, Koenig & Bauer offers proud proof of the power of industrial Koenig & Bauer Board has design. The new flagship of the company’s sheetfed offset portfolio has already picked up two coveted new spokesman design awards. And consistent implementation of a brand management concept has likewise earned Andreas Pleßke has been appointed as the praise from competition jury members. The good management board spokesman for Koenig & Bauer news crowned the virtual fair event Koenig & Bauer AG with effect from 1 January 2021. The company’s LIVE. supervisory board appointed him to this position, in The presentation of the Red Dot Design Award which he will remain until the end of 2025. Pleßke on 22nd June kicked off the second week of Koenig is currently the board member for Koenig & Bauer’s & Bauer Live. Broadcast as an online stream, the Special segment. event was a perfect opportunity for the company Pleßke succeeds Claus Bolza-Schünemann, who is to showcase its latest product innovations for the leaving the management board on 31 December 2020 print industry. One undisputed highlight was the after reaching the designated retirement age. Bolza- new Rapida press generation for the sheetfed offset Schünemann has served the company for 28 years, segment. “Our newly developed machine will set which included nine years as CEO and President. new standards in the printshop, not only technically The supervisory board has expressly thanked but also in its design,” said a clearly delighted Ralf Claus Bolza-Schünemann for his long-standing Sammeck, member of the executive board of Koenig and exceptionally successful work on behalf of the & Bauer and CEO of the Sheetfed business unit, Koenig & Bauer Group: “The leadership of Claus during the product presentation. Bolza-Schünemann, the great-great-great-grandson Clear lines, generous glass surfaces and an overall of the company founder, has allowed the management appearance characterised by the brand colours team at Koenig & Bauer to develop and implement of Koenig & Bauer also convinced the jury of the far-sighted strategies. He has guided the company international Red Dot Design Award. They identified with foresight and sound judgement, also bringing the Rapida as the Best of the Best in its category and it through times of uncertainty,” said Prof Raimund honoured this achievement with the competition’s top prize. In addition, Koenig & Bauer was already announced as a winner of the iF Design Award for the new Rapida generation in February. The award ceremony at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin was originally planned for May but then fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the new generation of its sheetfed offset presses, the oldest press manufacturer in the world has added yet another decisive aspect to the relaunch of the Koenig & Bauer brand which began in 2017. In terms of machine design, too, the company is committed to strengthening this brand identity. “Consistent implementation of the brand identity, Claus Bolza-Schünemann is handing the management baton also with regard to product design, underlines Koenig over to Dr Andreas Pleßke with effect from 1 January 2021.

July 2020 RIND Survey 33 Industry Updates

Klinkner, chairman of the supervisory board of inkjet delivers an equivalent level of output quality Koenig & Bauer AG. Bolza-Schünemann will preside with superior ease-of-use and flexibility. Acuity users over the flagship fair, now postponed until April 2021, may also discover environmental benefits over other as President and act as an ambassador of Koenig & technologies thanks to the system’s extensive material Bauer. compatibility. With its decision to appoint Pleßke as management Says S.M. Ramprasad, executive VP at Fujifilm board spokesman, the supervisory board has opted India: “We are all of course familiar with printing for for continuity. Pleßke has made a decisive contribution retail display and exhibitions, but as those markets are to the company’s successful growth trajectory, having in a period of emergency, the forward-thinking PSP been instrumental to the implementation of the needs to look beyond their regular everyday print restructuring program Fit@All in 2014-15 and been production and explore new opportunities. appointed as a member of the supervisory board, “Sustainability is another important consideration before subsequently assuming a position as director for PSPs. For example, the Fujifilm Acuity is ideal and board member for the Special segment. He is for the production of polyethylene banners and now expected to lend a similarly significant impetus polypropylene as a PVC alternative, which will be to the company’s strategic alignment and to increasing an increasing requirement for big brands wishing the operating profitability and performance of the to go PVC-free as part of their own environmental Koenig & Bauer Group. initiatives.” It is expected that the Acuity book, in particular the hard copy edition, will provide valuable information Fujifilm inspires with free and ideas for customers as much as for PSPs. Says Ramprasad: “Serving both as a visual guide full of Acuity book application images and ideas, and also as a more detailed technical resource, the Acuity book is a great Fujifilm India has released a 92-page book packed source of inspiration. Not only for you as a printer, with inspiration and motivation for print service but for your customers who might themselves be providers (PSPs) considering their next move. The looking for new ways in which digital print might expansive guide focuses on the Fujifilm Acuity open new opportunities, greener production or cost- flatbed printer series, a natural and versatile choice for effective options.” forward-thinking businesses. The 92-page Acuity book is available for free Available to download free of charge, with hard download at: https://www.acuityultra.in/download- copies distributed on request, the book begins by our-acuity-book/. Hard-copy versions are available outlining the technical advancements of the Acuity by request from Fujifilm. followed by an inspirational insight into potential applications together with real-life customer case studies. It looks at the market for high-quality sign and display work - such as safety and social distancing signage where demand is currently increasing - while also exploring the profitable vertical markets of interior decor, metal decoration, packaging prototypes, membrane switch graphic overlays, thermoformed plastics and creative effects. Not only is it increasingly important for PSPs to consider diversification into new markets such as these, it can be an exciting proposition thanks to the versatility offered by digital inkjet technology and Fujifilm Acuity flatbed printer series - a natural and versatile inks. Compared to screen and litho printing, digital choice for forward-thinking businesses.

34 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates

based inks all had to be taken into consideration in Evo XG for German gift the technical configuration for a new press. wrapping manufacturer Says Arno Vogelhuber, senior sales manager at Koenig & Bauer Flexotecnica: “We accepted the Zöllner-Wiethoff GmbH is investing in a CI flexo challenge posed by the customer’s special requirements printing press from Koenig & Bauer. The ultramodern and, over the course of the project, have demonstrated Evo XG 8 + 1 is scheduled to enter production in that we are the ideal partner for Zöllner-Wiethoff. early 2021 and will be used to print wrapping paper Presses from Koenig & Bauer stand for sustainability, of all kinds. quality and performance on the basis of an optimally The Evo XG is a highly automated flexo printing suitable technical equipment.” press embodying top-class technologies for production Zöllner-Wiethoff GmbH was founded by Franz speeds up to 600 m/ min. Consistent automation Zöllner-Wiethoff in Oberlauter in Northern Bavaria paired with a robust and ergonomic design is the key over 70 years ago and is currently managed by the to exceptional performance in terms of both quality third generation of the founding family. The company and productivity. has been printing exclusively with water-based inks “We attach particular importance to the ecological for more than 20 years and has developed into one and quality aspects of our products. The Evo XG is of the most significant manufacturers of high-quality here precisely the kind of machine we were looking sustainable gift packaging in Europe. More than 200 for. We are convinced that we have made the right million metres of gift-wrapping paper are printed decision and that we will now be able to further every year. strengthen our position European market leaders,” says Jürgen Popp, owner and managing director of Zöllner-Wiethoff. The company’s use of a wide range Color-Logic certifies Blue of different papers, some with a high proportion of recycled fibres, along with a seemingly endless Sky Digital printer diversity of designs printed exclusively with water- The latest output device certified for use with the Color-Logic Process Metallic Color System is the model BSUV-1115 printer manufactured by Blue Sky Digital in Taiwan. Commenting on the certification, Color-Logic Director of Sales & Marketing Mark Geeves says: “Our certification of the Blue Sky Digital printer is testimony to the fact that the Color-

Relationship based on trusting partnership from the very beginning (l-r): Arno Vogelhuber, senior sales manager, Koenig & Bauer Flexotecnica; Jürgen Popp, owner and managing director, Zöllner-Wiethoff GmbH; Markus Haas, technical manager, Zöllner-Wiethoff GmbH. Picture was taken before The Color-Logic certification test form printed on the Blue Sky the corona pandemic. Digital printer.

July 2020 RIND Survey 35 Industry Updates

Logic process is compatible with a wide variety of are manufactured carbon neutral with 100 per cent printers regardless of manufacture. We are pleased to Green-e certified renewable electricity. The paper is welcome Blue Sky Digital to the Color-Logic family. recyclable in the curb-side mix paper recycle bin. The Blue Sky Digital BSUV-1115 is one of a family Astrolite PC 100 is available now and is distributed of UV inkjet printers utilising the Ricoh industrial throughout the US and Canada. For more information inkjet nozzle. Blue Sky Digital printers are distributed about Monadnock Paper Mills and the new products, by Compose System of Hong Kong. Several format you can visit www.mpm.com. dimensions are available. Monadnock Paper Mills (MPM) provides and custom engineers a diverse range of products including technical/ specialty papers, and premium printing and packaging papers for leading brands Recycled selections for HP worldwide. The company’s ENVIPortfolio of Indigo sheetfed presses products features fibre-based solutions that replace plastic for uses such as gift cards and tags. Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc has announced a new line of RIT HP Indigo 3-Star certified media made with 100 per cent post-consumer waste (PCW) Warwick Printing store has recycled fiber. The line includes uncoated and coated options under its flagship Astrolite PC 100 line of striking Drytac graphics fine recycled printing papers. Astrolite PC 100 Digital+ for HP Indigo is available Warwick Printing has installed a huge storefront wall in weights ranging from 80 lb. text to 130 lb. double- graphic using Drytac ReTac, building excitement for a thick cover. Astrolite PC 100 Velvet C2S with a new beauty store. Founded in 1995 as an offset press universal coating optimised for HP Indigo (LEP), dry commercial printer, Warwick Printing has increasingly toner (EP) and offset lithography presses are available moved into digital printing and adopted wide format in weights ranging from 80 lb text to 150 lb cover. technologies in the last two years. This has helped the This single ply 150 lb cover is unique to the industry. Lethbridge, AB business to increase its client base and All products in the Astrolite PC 100 line have a to offer new services to its existing customers. matching shade. The surface is crafted using the In March 2020 Warwick Printing undertook a best formulation chemistries for optimal LEP print substantial wall graphics project to promote a new performance. The velvet coating provides an exquisite Sephora store in Park Place Mall in Lethbridge. matte print surface that is unlike any other coated Sephora sells cosmetics and beauty products from fine printing paper. The grades are available in a full over 2600 stores in 34 countries around the world, range of sizes including 12 x 18” to 29.5 x 20.75” to attracting loyal customers and a significant following accommodate the full portfolio of HP Indigo sheet online. fed digital presses. “Today more jobs require shorter runs and variable data with the print quality that HP Indigo presses afford,” says Julie Brannen, director of Sustainable Innovation for Monadnock. “Because of the high quality of Monadnock’s PCW recycled papers, there is no longer a compromise between quality and the environment.” All of Monadnock’s fine printing papers are Forest Stewardship Council certified (FSC C0018866) ensuring responsible use of forest resources. They Building buzz for new store with striking Drytac graphics.

36 RIND Survey July 2020 Industry Updates

Creative Silhouettes scores Helping graphics with Drytac Polar Grip withstand deep cleaning

Creative print company Creative Silhouettes has For anyone giving their site a deep clean, or simply completed an attention-grabbing project for Hobo, sprucing things up during downtime, it’s important printing and installing graphics in ten new stores in that disinfectant chemicals don’t cause damage just seven days. To ensure consistent results across a to signage and displays. Wall murals, decals, floor range of environments, Drytac Polar Grip was used graphics, window displays and signage may all need across the whole campaign. cleaning, but how to approach this will depend on the Established in Vaughan seven years ago, Creative graphics material, especially that of its overlaminate Silhouettes specialises in wall graphics and decals. product. Seventy per cent of its business is large self-adhesive An overlaminate is used to enhance graphics but is vinyl for offices and retail stores, 80 per cent of which also essential to protect an underlying image or surface is also installed by the team. Apple, Ubisoft, TMX from damage caused by UV exposure, scratches, and Oxford Properties are among its big-name clients. graffiti and indeed cleaning chemicals. In April 2020, Creative Silhouettes completed a Drytac’s range includes several types of major project for Hobo Cannabis Company, which overlaminating films, all of which will withstand was opening ten new stores in the Greater Toronto cleaning with everyday commercially available Area as part of a 30-branch expansion across Canada. cleaning agents and disinfectants, but for more intense As each retail space was different, Creative Silhouettes cleaning it’s important to check the film’s chemical needed a vinyl product that could meet every demand. resistance. The majority of customers will be using Says Giovani Pereira, project manager and business a PVC, polyester or polypropylene film, all of which development at Creative Silhouettes: “Our deal with have different levels of chemical resistance. Hobo was to wrap ten entire stores regardless of PVC has good resistance to aliphatic alcohols such the surface of the walls, and every one had different as isopropanol, a widely used disinfectant within surfaces, such as brick, stucco, painted wood and pharmaceutics and hospitals and dilute acids/bases rusted metal. ND Graphics are our primary supplier found in common cleaners like bleach. However, of vinyl and equipment so we went to our contact organic solvents such as ketones (for example Dwayne Burton for advice. He recommended Drytac acetone), aromatics like toluene, and esters should be Polar Grip and we undertook several print and install avoided as they will damage the PVC material. tests on all rough surfaces, including floor, and they Polypropylene (PP) has a similar resistance to that all worked well.” of PVC and is also durable against esters. PET can Creative Silhouettes printed the black-and-white withstand cleaning with all of the above, including wall graphics with photographic details on its HP organic solvents. Latex R1000. Drytac Polar Grip is an 80 micron Regardless of your type of film, ensure that you (3.2mm) white polymeric self-adhesive PVC vinyl wash your graphic with a soft non-abrasive wipe designed for interior and exterior wall graphics, to avoid surface damage and scratches. Even the offering durability of up to five years. Its high-bond toughest overlaminate will suffer from attention with adhesive is compatible with a wide range of surfaces a rough brush. Be sure to take care with exposed including metal, plastic, wood, glass and brick and has edges; chemicals and liquids can detrimentally affect been rated for fire safety to meet the requirements of adhesives if given the opportunity to ingress. public spaces. It performs brilliantly with latex, UV, solvent and eco-solvent printing technologies and is (From blog by David Morgan, technical assistance at available in White and Gloss finishes. Drytac.)

July 2020 RIND Survey 37 M.P. Veerendra Kumar passes away M.P. Veerendra Kumar, 83, Rajya Sabha MP and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) leader, passed away recently in Kozhikode after a cardiac arrest. He had been suffering from age-related illnesses for some time. Veerendra Kumar was the managing director of the Mathrubhumi Group of publications. He was also a trustee of the Press Institute of India. He is survived by wife Usha, daughters Asha, Nisha and Jayalakshmi, and son M.V. Shreyams Kumar, a former MLA, and Kerala State president, LJD.

The Hindu Born at Kalpetta, now in Wayanad District, to socialist leader and planter M.K. Padmaprabha Goudar and Marudevi Avva, Veerendra Kumar had his early education Photo: at Kalpetta and Kozhikode before getting a master’s degree in Philosophy from Veerendra Kumar Vivekananda College, Madras, and an MBA from Cincinnati University, Ohio, U.S. He had got a membership of the then Socialist Party from Jayprakash Narayan and had been an all-India treasurer of the Samyukta Socialist Party between 1968 and 1970. Later, he became part of the Janata Party and the Janata Dal. Veerendra Kumar was jailed during the Emergency and his assets confiscated by the government. In 1987, he became an MLA and the Minister of Forests in the E.K. Nayanar Cabinet, but had to resign within 48 hours. His first order reportedly was against cutting forests. He had always been opposed to the neoliberal economic policies and fought for environmental protection. In 1996, Veerendra Kumar was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kozhikode and became a Union Minister of State for Finance and later Union Minister of State for Labour in the United Front Governments led by H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. He was elected to the Lok Sabha again in 2004. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha since April 2016. For decades, Vireendra Kumar was an innate part of Kerala’s social and political life, mostly popular through his award-winning writings and speeches, powerful journalistic role as the chief of Mathrubhumi, and as a politician wielding power. Widely seen as someone who commanded respect across political flags, it allowed him make the rare switching from the Communist camp to the Congress camp once, and then jumped back to the Left fold. Though Veerendra Kumar was part of the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front since its inception, he and his party switched sides and joined the Congress-led United Democratic Front after differences of opinion with the Left leadership in 2009. He came back to the LDF some time ago. He had been part of the Janata Dal (Secular), Janata Dal (United), Socialist Janata (Democratic) as well as the LJD at various times. Veerendra Kumar became a director of the Mathrubhumi Group in the late 1970s and soon took charge of its management by the mid 1980s when the company was passing through turbulent times. He was associated with the Indian Newspaper Society as well as the Press Trust of India. Apart from his exemplary political career as the leader of several socialist outfits, Veerendra Kumar was also an acclaimed writer, orator and thinker. A prolific author, he had written books on subjects such as politics, philosophy and economics. His books ranged a diverse swath of topics ranging from Mahabharat to Amazon rainforests to the fall of Soviet Union, which helped build a broader and subtler understanding of history for generations of Keralites. He was a recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (for his travelogue Haimavatha Bhoovil) in 2010 and the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award. (Based on reports in / The Hindu/ )

M.V. Shreyams Kumar is member of PTI Board

The Press Trust of India has appointed Mathrubhumi Managing Director M.V. Shreyams Kumar as a new member of its board of directors. The appointment has come into effect from June 5. Kumar was appointed in the casual vacancy due to the death of former Mathrubhumi Chairman and Managing Director M.P. Veerendra Kumar. Kumar is also the Central Executive Committee member and Kerala Regional Committee Chairman of the Indian Newspaper Society. He is also serving as the Global VP of the International Advertising Association, executive committee member of News Broadcasters Association, and president of Kerala Television Federation. (Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

38 RIND Survey July 2020 General News

World News Day sets 4. Devote an editorial to why #NewsMatters. 5. Pool and publish high-impact content from 100 ambitious global target newsrooms. (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA) Highlighting journalism’s importance in an age of misinformation, the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) and the World Editors Forum Strategic prog for Asian (WEF) — with support from Google News Initiative — aim to have 100 media supporters from around media houses the world, up from 40 last year, for World News Day 2020. The annual global event is to take place on Amid a Covid-19 pandemic that has crippled global Monday, September 28. economies and is threatening the future of the media Modern-day news consumers are presented industry, 10 news media groups from six Asian cities with unprecedented opportunities to interact with are embarking on WAN-IFRA’s inaugural Newsroom diverse news and information sources, but with the and Business Transformation 2020 Programme. prevalence of falsehood parading as truth, particularly They include: relating to the coronavirus pandemic, it is becoming harder to discern fact from fiction. World News Day 1. Bangkok Post 2020 aims to raise public awareness of the critical 2. Bisnis Indonesia role that newsrooms and journalists play in helping 3. Kompas Media Nusantara people make sense of — and improve — the rapidly 4. Philippine Daily Inquirer changing world around them. 5. Sin Chew Media Corporation Last year, almost 40 outlets from around the 6. Singapore Press Holdings world — including such internationally-renowned 7. The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd organisations as The Globe and Mail, The Straits Times, 8. The Jakarta Post Süddeutsche Zeitung and the South China Morning Post 9. The Manila Bulletin — took part to draw attention to the vital work of 10. United Daily News professional journalists and newsrooms, and the impact they have in the communities they serve. This first-of-its-kind programme for Asian news But World News Day 2020 aims to be bigger, better organisations brings together one senior editorial and more impactful— the Canadian Journalism and one senior commercial executive from each FoundationF and the World Editors Forum are publisher for five months of training and coaching committed to securing the participation of more to equip them with the insights, know-how and than 100 newsrooms from around the globe. Here tools to execute a transformation strategy in their are five ways you and your newsroom can get organisations. The curriculum covers Journalism, involved and add your masthead as a supporter of Operations, Design Thinking, Organisational Culture this global event: and Audience Engagement. 1. Run a #WorldNewsDay ad in your publication “Our goal is to help Asian media companies become (we will provide the creative). agile and responsive to the changing consumer 2. Share your stories of why #NewsMatters on needs in the digital age. With the close guidance #WorldNewsDay. and mentorship from experts, the programme will 3. Solicit an opinion piece from a source who accelerate the transformation process and equip the has been impacted by journalism to run on media companies with the skills needed to navigate #WorldNewsDay.

July 2020 RIND Survey 39 Other News

the increasingly complex media landscape,” says to accommodate additional registrations due to Thomas Jacob, COO of WAN-IFRA. increased interest and demand. “We recognise that news organisations are under The Advanced Leadership program will arm pressure to transform and build thriving digital executives with the knowledge, skills, and abilities publishing businesses and this is even more complex necessary to successfully transform their companies with the additional challenges during Covid-19. We and generate continued success in a disrupted industry hope that through our partnership with WAN-IFRA, that is facing radical changes in technologies, markets, the Newsroom and Business Transformation Asia and financial models. 2020 program will assist newsroom leaders with The graduate-level curriculum will prepare leaders business transformation while continuing to produce to develop strategic frameworks to reinvent their important, meaningful journalism that serves and organizations and create new business models based informs our region,” says Anjali Kapoor, director of on an innovative vision for the future. Upon successful News Partnerships, Facebook Asia Pacific. completion, participants will receive an executive Participants, whose job titles include COO, VP certificate from the George Mason University School of Convergence, GM of Marketing, editor-in-chief, of Business. executive editor and deputy editor-in-chief, will now “Today, more than ever, creating the capability to meet online every fortnight from June to October transform and adapt your business to a variety of 2020 for lectures by the programme leads, talks by circumstances and opportunities is critically important guest speakers, group sharing and brainstorming to long-term success,” says Thayer Long, president sessions. Well-known media consultant and researcher of the Association for PRINT Technologies. Grzegorz Piechota and 28-year news veteran and former managing editor of The Times of London, George Brock, helm the programme, while global Table Stakes Europe digital creative business school Hyper Island will teach the Design Thinking modules. launched “This ambitious programme, which is made possible by the Facebook Journalism Project, was originally WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News designed to begin in March 2020 and take place in Publishers, is launching round two of Table four cities over six months. However, since the start Stakes Europe in partnership with Google News of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have worked with the Initiative. The one-year transformation and coaching coaches to revise it with the additional urgent needs programme for regional and local news publishers of the news industry in mind: how to lead during will welcome 24 participating news enterprises, the crisis, accelerate digital transformation, diversify growing from fourteen in the previous edition. The revenue sources and adopt agile work methods,” says sessions will start in October 2020 and publishers Mr Jacob. are invited to apply now. Table Stakes Europe uses a (Courtesy: World News Publishing Focus) performance challenge as the basis for participating news enterprises to identify and close shortfalls in their core digital capabilities. APTech updates course Funded by the Google News initiative in its two first years in Europe, the initiative will provide start date an opportunity for 24 local and regional news enterprises to identify and make significant progress The Association for Print Technologies (APTech), in addressing their greatest current challenges. The in partnership with George Mason University School Table Stakes manual is for local news organisations, of Business, announces today they have updated identifying what’s required to play and win the game the start date for its Advanced Leadership Program of news in the 21st Century.

40 RIND Survey July 2020 Other News

The programme runs for one year during which with commentary from Chrissy Towle of the Google participants learn and develop skills and capabilities News Initiative and Earl Wilkinson of INMA. to improve not only their journalism but also their The INMA Global Media Awards competition economics. Table Stakes uses a performance challenge rewards innovation and excellence in growing as the basis for participating news publishers to audience, brand, and revenue. From the competition’s identify and close shortfalls in their core digital 922 entries from 262 news brands in 44 countries, capabilities, the so-called ‘table stakes’, an analogy to Global Media Awards were announced for news the money, or capacity, needed to have a seat at the media companies from five continents — with the take in a poker game. The first Table Stakes Europe most emotional moments coming from the responses round will conclude in October. to the coronavirus and its economic impacts. From (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA) 185 finalists, 32 were selected first-place recipients. Some 42 media experts from 20 countries judged the competition in February and April, focusing on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong Sakal Times, Gomantak creativity, innovative thinking, and winning synergies Times close across media platforms. INMA added a just-in-time category to its Global Media Awards to reward Sakal Media Group will be shutting down operations initiatives in response to the COVID crisis. A total for Sakal Times and Gomantak Times, according to latest of 98 news media companies entered, of which 12 media reports. Sakal Times, the Pune-based English made the list of finalists. daily, is said to have published its last edition on May Ten regional Best of Show winners, selected by 27, whereas the Goa-based Gomantak Times would judges from first-place recipients, were: have ceased operations on June 1. Media reports • Best in Africa: Volt Africa for “Volt Africa” also suggest that the company also has no plans to • Best in Asia/ Pacific, Regional/ Local Brands: The continue with the digital editions of both papers. Press/Stuff for Christchurch Mosque Shooting The employees of both the dailies were taking salary Coverage cuts since the commencement of the lockdown. With • Best in Asia/ Pacific, Global/ National Brands: 45 of their editorial staff laid off, the papers were also NZME for The People Programme sharing resources with their Marathi divisions. Sakal • Best in Europe, Regional/ Local Brands: Amedia in Times began its circulation in May 2008. Gomantak Norway for Converting Existing Print Subscribers Times was started in Goa in 1986 and was taken over and Gaining New Customers by Sakal Papers in 2000. • Best in Europe, Global/ National Brands: (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) Expressen in Sweden for Ready, Set, 70,000! How Expressen Went from 0 to 70000 Subscribers in a Year • Best in Latin America: Grupo Semana in Colombia INMA unveils Global for D.C. La Vuelta por Bogotá • Best in North America, Regional/ Local Brands: Media Awards winners Newsday Media Group for Long Island Divided • Best in North America, Global/ National Brands: INMA has announced first-place winners in the The New York Times for Women in Congress 2020 Global Media Awards competition, with the • Best in South Asia, Regional/ Local Brands: ABP grand prize presented to the collective work of news in India for “Changing the Prayer and Praying For media companies in their inspirational response to the Change COVID-19 crisis. The announcement was broadcast • Best in South Asia, Global/ National Brands: globally on multiple channels. Jamaican TV host Jagran Prakashan for The Generation That Could Terri-Karelle Reid emceed the awards announcement, Save Us

July 2020 RIND Survey 41 RIND Survey EAE Retro t A journal of the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development Visit www.pressinstitute.in Specialist in retro tting R.N.I.No.33715/80.Postal Registration No. TN/CC (S) Dn/203/018-20 licenced to post without prepayment under WPP licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-615/2018-2020

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Senior Manager - Finance Production security Competitiveness Transparency and profi tability & Administration Usually, the trigger for a Retrofi t is a latent Once you have restored production In one fi nal step you will provide maximum D. Guruprasad Rao or acute risk to production reliability. It will reliability, you have the option to transparency and cost-effectiveness for [email protected] be restored by successive modernisation retrofi t your press in a second step with your production through the use of effi cient and/or through retrofi tting the following components which will make your products workfl ow and management information Last date for receipt Design & Layout Advertisement Tariff components/modules: more competitive: systems: of material V. Kathiravan Full Page: Control technology Quality Management information system 15th of every month • • • • Drive technology • Remote adjustment of ink/water/ (MIS) Advertising B&W Rs. 6,000 • Control console technology registers • Planning and presetting system D. Guruprasad Rao Colour Rs. 12,000 Material (images / pictures in Reelstands Colours Maintenance 300 dpi and text in 600 dpi) • • • Control systems Despatch Half Page: as a PDF file (created in CMYK), • B. Rajendran autom. plate production can be sent to • B&W Rs. 3,000 [email protected] Colour Rs. 6,000 or by CD to our address Full retrofi t on controls, drives and RTP PII-RIND does not take responsibility for • returning unsolicited material. It may not always (Plus 5% GST) • Off the shelf spare parts availability be possible to reply to senders of unsolicited material. Opinions expressed in this publication Overseas • Planning reliability by support guarantee of 10 years do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor Annual Subscription or publisher. Full Page : USD 450 • Increased production security, competitiveness and profi tability Half Page : USD 250 India : Every effort has been taken to assure that 12 Issues Rs. 600 the accuracy of information contained in this (Plus 5% GST) 36 Issues Rs. 1,500 publication is based on reliable sources. All trade marks and trade names mentioned in this Mechanical Details magazine belong to their respective owners. In Overseas : case of error, editor/publisher shall not be liable Page : 185 mm x 255 mm USD 50 QIPC-EAE for any loss or prejudice caused to the reader. The Bleed : 210 mm x 280 mm publisher reserves the copyright of the materials after trimming www.qipc.com - www.eae.com published in the magazine. No part of the articles Please note that the cheque or or photographs can be reproduced without the demand draft or at par cheque prior permission of the publisher. All disputes will Vertical half page : payable in Chennai, for the Our local of ce: be subject to the jurisdiction of Chennai only. 93 mm x 255 mm subscription amount should be drawn in the name of Press QIPC EAE INDIA PVT. LTD. Horizontal half page : Institute of India ONLY and NOT Published by Sashi Nair on behalf of Press Institute of India - Research Ashwamegh Industrial Estate, Block No. 394, Plot No. 2 Institute for Newspaper Development (PII-RIND), Second Main Road, 185 mm x128 mm in the name of the magazine. CPT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600 113 and printed by Sashi Nair Opp. M.N. Desai Petrol Pump, Sarkhej - Bavla Highway at Lokavani Southern Printers Pvt Ltd, 122, Greams Road, Chennai 600006. Editor: Sashi Nair Post: Changodar, Taluka: Sanand Ahmedabad - 382213, India 42 Survey July 2020 Phone: +91 9904 79 4422 42 RIND [email protected] - [email protected] EAE Retro t Specialist in retro tting

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Production security Competitiveness Transparency and profi tability Usually, the trigger for a Retrofi t is a latent Once you have restored production In one fi nal step you will provide maximum or acute risk to production reliability. It will reliability, you have the option to transparency and cost-effectiveness for be restored by successive modernisation retrofi t your press in a second step with your production through the use of effi cient and/or through retrofi tting the following components which will make your products workfl ow and management information components/modules: more competitive: systems: • Control technology • Quality • Management information system • Drive technology • Remote adjustment of ink/water/ (MIS) • Control console technology registers • Planning and presetting system • Reelstands • Colours • Maintenance • Control systems • autom. plate production

• Full retrofi t on controls, drives and RTP • Off the shelf spare parts availability • Planning reliability by support guarantee of 10 years • Increased production security, competitiveness and profi tability

QIPC-EAE www.qipc.com - www.eae.com

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QIPC EAE INDIA PVT. LTD. Ashwamegh Industrial Estate, Block No. 394, Plot No. 2 Opp. M.N. Desai Petrol Pump, Sarkhej - Bavla Highway Post: Changodar, Taluka: Sanand Ahmedabad - 382213, India Phone: +91 9904 79 4422 [email protected] - [email protected] 44 Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under 33715/1980. Postal Registration No. TN/CC(S)DN/203/18- 20. Licenced to post without prepayment under WPP Licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-615/2018-2020. Date of Publication: 1st of every month