The Independent is to be published in India, becoming the first British newspaper to be printed in the sub-continent. The Indy has yet to obtain the necessary government approval to publish a facsimile edition, but this is expected within the month. It is anticipated that it will then print 5,000 copies. Its owners, the Dublin-based group, Independent News & Media (INM) - run by Tony O'Reilly and his family - has already forged strong links in India, and this is seen as a natural, and sensible, extension of that relationship.
INM holds a 20.8% stake in the Indian media company, Jagran Prakashan, which will be responsible for publishing the Indy's Indian edition. Though it will be distributed only in Delhi initially, it is hoped that it will eventually appear in 25 more Indian cities. This breakthrough will, of course, enable The Independent to add its Indian copies to its foreign sales and, therefore, to its "headline" circulation. However, I understand that it will not result in a sudden boost to the overall sale because INM is planning to re-evaluate its current foreign sales at the same time and will cut out unprofitable sales areas.
INM is so pleased with its partnership with Jagran Prakashan that it applied last month to the Indian market regulator to buy a further 1 to 3% of the company. INM also plans to take a 20% stake in Jagran's coming radio venture. Jagran publishes the hugely successful Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, which boasts a readership of 22m and rivals Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun as the most-read paper in the world.
Shailesh Gupta, a Jagran director, said he believed there is "an existing market in India" for The Independent, adding: "The paper is known for providing unmatched editorial insights into global businesses, markets and economies and has maintained unrivalled journalistic standards worldwide". He explained that details about the print run, pagination and cover pricing had yet to be agreed "because the concept of facsimile editions is still new in India, and hence the business model is in the process of finalisation."
This has all the appearance of being a bright idea. O'Reilly moved shrewdly into South Africa and his Indian adventure is coming to fruition too. But will The Independent find a regular audience? Though its poster-style front pages often deal with global matters, many are home-grown and therefore of potentially little interest to Indians. On the other hand, perhaps the paper will contemplate taking on a small editorial staff in India to oversee content to ensure that it appeals to the local audience.
Whatever the case, this is yet another example of the way in which British newspapers should market their brands abroad. The Financial Times was the first London-based paper to internationalise itself. Now The Times is publishing in New York too. With papers winning new readers across the world through their websites, there is no reason why newspaper "brands" that are suffering from declining print readerships in the west should not carve out audiences in the emerging economies.
