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Srinivasan Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Ananda Vikatan, Tamil Nadu

Profitable in 100 days: Ananda Vikatan's digital subscription strategy

India's Ananda Vikatan has a long and rich history in print, but the publication has also been very active online, and launched a digital subscription model fairly early on, which quickly proved itself successful.

Ananda Vikatan was established in 1926 as a monthly publication. Over the years, it evolved into the Vikatan Group in the Tamil Nadu magazine industry. The Indian Readership Survey in 2017 saw Anada Vikatan as the second-largest circulated regional weekly.

In this interview, the group's Managing Director, Srinivasan Balasubramanian, tells us how the group forayed into the digital space more than 10 years ago, while still being profitable.

Indian media fights fake news in run up to Lok Sabha elections

India became a breeding ground for the spread of fake news in May 2017, when seven men were lynched in Jharkhand following rumours of a gang kidnapping of children. The police said they had not registered a single case of kidnapping. The men were killed over a rumour.

In India, the roots of misinformation are linked to a rise in nationalism and an overarching fear of children being harmed. Mob violence, fueled by doctored videos and fake images, has resulted in several injuries, and in some cases, fatalities.

One of the ways that misinformation has found its way into the news cycle is through the catalyst of WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform.

New report: A practical approach to blockchain in publishing

Is demystifying blockchain possible? WAN-IFRA recently published a report, in cooperation with Arcada University in Finland, that examines how the technology can be applied to news media.

The report, "Blockchain and the Future of News," highlights areas where blockchain could prove useful to publishers. The report is aimed at people wanting practical insights for where this emerging trend stands in publishing and where it might be heading.

Indian publishers discuss strategising print growth with digital space 

Zenith has predicted a glowing 2019 for India's journalism industry: Print ad revenue is expected to grow by 5 percent in 2018 and by 20 percent next year. Digital ad revenue is also expected to increase by 20 percent.

How believable are these numbers?