Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the lockdown decision by state and Central governments is hugely affecting the circulation of print editions of various newspapers all over the country.
The unusual situation has led the management of the Bengali newspaper, Bartaman, to announce that the print edition will be stopped for a while now. There won’t be any print edition from Thursday, March 26, it was announced today. The online edition however, will be available, apart from news through the app. The authorities have promised to bring back the newspaper’s print edition soon.
Bartaman – a newspaper started by journalist Barun Sengupta – also publishes two magazines, Shukhi Grihakon and Saptahik Bartaman, and these two won’t be published either for a while, it was mentioned in Wednesday’s edition.
Circulation of all big and small newspapers has been affected for various reasons under the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak. Sources in the industry said that circulation has dropped sharply – by 70-90 per cent – in the past week. There is also dearth of advertisements because business of advertisers has also been hit by the lockdown, fear and panic around the possibility of contamination.
There is a perception among many that touching newspapers may lead to contamination. Newspaper authorities have tried various ways to convince readers that this is not true. They have published photographs and shown in social media videos the entire printing process and how at every stage, newspapers are not touched by humans as they are machine printed and transferred carefully through people who have adequately protected themselves, and thus people reading them have no chance of contamination.
However, the outbreak has led to major panic, and people are not taking chances. Newspapers are piling up with distributors, agents and outside housing complexes, and even agents have refused to pick up the stock in various places. With transport reduced to a bare minimum, despite the clearance given to newspapers to remain outside the lockdown, those involved in the distribution business are showing a lack of interest, perhaps due to the readers’ lack of enthusiasm.
Officials in the management did not want to speak about the situation on record, but conceded that circulation had hit an all-time low. However, while Bartaman has taken the decision to not print newspapers for a while, others in the business have not yet taken the decision to stop print editions. But there are indications that more will follow suit in some time.
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