Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday 23 May 2016

Redesigning Newspapers ?



With arrival of dozens of news-aggregating Mobile Apps , hard copy news-papers are in danger of getting " extinct "


What will news-papers look like 5 years from now ?


Here is my prediction :


#   All news will become digital

#   These may appear on your bed-room wall or on a foldable blank sheet of
      plastic ( display device ) , whenever you choose to ignore your Mobile .

      Of course , VR device makers would want you to wear a headset  !


Now comes the FUN part  !


Currently , most hard-copy news papers group their news on pages titled :


City  /  Nation  /  Global - International / Sports / Politics / Entertainment etc


Tomorrow's digital news will get aggregated under following genres :


Scam /  Fraud  /  Fiction-like  /  Irony / Insult / Arrogance / Hope / Reform / Red Herring / Shame / Bravo / Future / Ego / Introspection / Ridicule / Bravado / Boasting / Insensitive / Scorn / One-up-man ship / Holier-than-Thou / Absurd / Tongue-in-Cheek / Laugh / Deja Vu ...........etc


To show you how such " re-categorization " can be so much more fun - and interesting - , I have compiled a few recent headlines , as follows :


RED HERRING

    Pak to charge Lakhvi


BOAST

*  Shah : BJP will dominate
*  Diggy says : Congress binds India
*  Gadkari : Our Ministry will contribute 2-3% to GDP growth


LAUGH

*  Mumbai Top Cop to probe Dawood's calls to Maha Minister
*  Onus of fallen bldgs on Assistant Chiefs : TMC
*  No failure is permanent : Sonia to Cong
*  " Industry " coined from Indus , says VHP man


HOPE

*   ED set to seize Mallya's assets
*   Bank Panel readies plan to resolve bad loan woes
*   Women's entry in Haji Ali gets Ajmer Sharif's support
*  Govt formulating scheme to provide compulsory power to all : says Goyal


FRAUD / SCAM

*   City mono rail running Rs 20 lakh loss per day
*   Govt took back 900 acres of grabbed land
*   More than half of the newly elected MLAs are crore-patis
*   Varsity staff arrested for selling answer sheets
*   PWD redoes newly built stretch on EEH
*   Not many paying toll : IRB to NHAI
*   Despite 1521 complaints, BMC issues notices to only 81 sites


TONGUE - IN - CHEEK

*   Son-rise interrupted, it's a bad heir day in politics


#   BRAVO

*   Sherpa climbs Everest for record 7th time
*   Kandivli woman chases , nabs molester


#   NON ISSUE

*   Push for vigil on dance bars
*   Septuagenarian couple having child , triggers debate
*   Kangana is 31 ( not 29 )
*   Rishi Kapoor : I am not against the Congress at all


JOKE

*  Expect less flooding this year , says BMC
*  Irla Nullah de-silting is perfect , says Civic officials
*  Telgi case convict seeks court nod to travel to Canada for son's
    convocation
*  Pak prosecution seeks autopsy reports for all 26/11 victims
*  Mumbai is rain ready , claims BMC
*  Civic body to launch new pothole tracking App on June 1
*  Black Money window not to accept " corrupt " money
*  Tharoor , Digvijay Singh ask Congress to attempt revival
*  Don't go slow on bad loan clean up : RBI
*  Consumers do learn from Ads
*  BMC attempts to stop sewage entry into Powai lake
*  Spot illegal sand mining in your area? Send email to Environment Ministry


SHAME

*   Congolese killed in Delhi after brawl for auto
*   Live wire put up by Govt contractor , kills man
*   Iran women cut hair short to dodge moral cops
*   Conviction rate of ACB-Mumbai , dips to ZERO with acquittals in all 29
     bribery cases


#   FUTURE

*   A wristband gives shock if you overspend
*   Google's sticky cars to pick up pedestrians they crash into 



Now , why do newspaper EDITORS want to wait for going digital ?


May be , following extract from Marshall McLuhan's book ( The Medium is the " Massage " - a typo for " Message " ) , will help them make up their minds :

" The Medium is the Massage demonstrates how modern media are extensions of human senses; they ground us in physicality, but expand our ability to perceive our world to an extent that would be impossible without the media ."


I am sure , as soon as just ONE newspaper experiments with this REVOLUTIONARY FORMAT , others will try to catch-up !


This format is designed to appeal to the sentiments and emotions of the readers , what Marketing Guru , Jack Trout describes as :


" Positioning is the place a product occupies in consumers' minds relative to competing products ". 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24  May  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs        



  

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