Gujarati newspaper Saurashtra Samachar acquired by Dainik Bhaskar Group

From Business Standard

Dainik Bhaskar Group, which earlier created a stir by launching its Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar, seems to be in an acquisition mood. In a Rs 7-crore (Rs 70-million) deal, the group has picked up 90 per cent stake in one of the oldest vernacular dailies in Gujarat, Saurashtra Samachar. Dainik Bhaskar will use the new acquisition to launch Divya Bhaskar's latest edition from highly competitive Rajkot city, hub of Saurashtra region.

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Deccan Chronicle to launch Chennai edition by Jan 2005, embarks on IPO

The Chennai edition of the Andhra Pradesh's largest English language newspaper is expected to roll out in January 2005, Business Standard
reports quoting PK Iyer, executive director of Deccan Chronicle Holdings.

Extracts:

Mid-Day Multimedia, the only listed newspaper company, has a P/E of 11. It reported a net profit of Rs 9 crore (Rs 90 million) on a turnover of Rs 93 crore (Rs 930 million) in 2003-04.

Deccan Chronicle made a profit of Rs 27 crore (Rs 270 million) on a turnover of Rs 122 crore (Rs 1.22 billion) in 2003-04...

...At present, DCHL is owned fully by brothers T Venkattram Reddy and T Vinayak Ravi Reddy.

NDTV to launch business channel

New Delhi Television Limited has filed an application with the ministry of information and broadcasting, seeking approval for a 24-hour business news channel, Business Standard reports quoting NDTV Director Sameer Manchanda.

"Since we launched the 9 am-4 pm business news on NDTV 24x7 two months ago, we have received a tremendous response. And during the last two weeks, according to industry reports, we have done better than CNBC," Manchanda said in the report.

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Traditional media's shortcomings pushing people to start blogs

"I started the blog because I was tired of giving in-depth responses to a media question only to have the result be what the reporter or columnist intended to write and I was just fodder to help them make their point. With the blog, I can present my position on a topic in its entirety and not have to worry about how they condense a two-hour conversation into 500 words."

- Mark Cuban, co-founder of Broadcast.com and owner of the Dallas Mavericks

(Source: iwantmedia.com)

Guy Kawasaki on the value of business publications

Guy Kawasaki, a former marketing exectuive at Apple and the founder of Silicon Valley investment bank Garage Technology Ventures, recently got a question from a 19-year-old as part of his Forbes.com Q&A column. The 19-year-old thought he was ready to do a start-up since he had "accumulated loads of relevant knowledge" by "reading business magazines and financial papers zealously since (he) was 13".

Here's (part of) Kawasaki's reply:

Why do you think reading magazines and papers means you've accumulated "loads of relevant knowledge"? You've accumulated loads of PR and the impressions of journalists who have never started a company.


This statement is even more true in India.

Click Here to read the full Forbes.com column.