Newspaper readers in the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are in for a rude shock from September 1, with the prices of daily newspapers are all set to shoot up sharply.
According to reliable sources, the managements of almost all the newspapers have decided to increase the prices of their respective dailies, whether it Eenadu or Andhra Jyothy or Sakshi.
The cost of the newspaper is expected to go up from the present rate of Rs 5 to Rs 8 during the week days and Rs 10 on Sunday.
Even the English dailies are no exception. Though their prices are comparatively lower, they are also likely to increase the prices with effect from September 1. A decision to this effect was collectively taken by the newspaper managements at a meeting recently.
Well, the newspaper managements are also under severe financial constraints. The biggest constraint for them is the abnormal hike in the cost of newsprint due to high import duties.
In the last few months, the cost of newsprint has gone up from Rs 30,000 per tonne to Rs 66,000 per tonne.
The transportation cost also has gone up steeply due to huge increase in diesel cost and above all, high GST rates.
What is more, the advent of digital media has cut into their profit margins, as the advertisers are now going in for web media, which has wider reach than the print media.
Moreover, the online commercial activity has also brought down the necessity of the commercial establishments to advertise their products.
So, the media managements are forced to depend mostly on the government advertisements for their revenues and in the process, they are forced to compromise on their independent journalism.
And finally, the establishment cost also has gone up rapidly due to increasing wages. As a result, most of the top newspapers have either sacked their high-salaried employees or cut down the number of pages to reduce the newsprint cost.