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Sakshi (newspaper)

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Sakshi
Front page of Sakshi newspaper, 5 June 2024
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Y. S. Bharathi Reddy (Chairperson)
Founder(s)Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
PublisherJagati publications Ltd.[1]
EditorVardhelli Murali
Founded23 March 2008 (16 years ago) (2008-03-23)
LanguageTelugu
HeadquartersHyderabad, India
Circulation951,292 (as of 2022)
Websitesakshi.com

Sakshi (transl. The Witness)[2] is an Indian Telugu language daily newspaper sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was launched on 23 March 2008 by Jagati Publications Ltd. owned by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.[3][4][5]

Sakshi is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his political party—YSR Congress Party (YCP).[10] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[15]

The newspaper is a part of Sakshi media group which also owns the Telugu news channel, Sakshi TV.[16] It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19] As of 2023, it ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind its rival Eenadu.[20]

History

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Sakshi is founded by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy.[21] According to a CBI chargesheet filed against Jagan Mohan Reddy, the investments in Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV were quid pro quo bribes by those people who had benefited from their unfair deals with his father's government.[22][23][24][25]

Sakshi launched on 23 March 2008[4][26] with 23 editions — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.[3][5] At a price of ₹60 per month, Sakshi was marketed as a less expensive alternative to all other prominent Telugu dailies at the time which were priced at ₹96–100 per month.[3] To stand out from its competition, Sakshi adopted high-quality production values. It had 30-pages, all of them in colour broadsheet format. The paper's layouts were designed by Mario Garcia.[27]

Sakshi began with 23 editions published simultaneously — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.[3][5] It was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in colour for all editions.[28]

Of the total Andhra Pradesh Government budget of about ₹200 crore for print media commercials for the years 2008-11, Sakshi newspaper was allotted over 50% amounting to ₹101.63 crore.[4] This was attributed to the undue preferential treatment Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV received during the chief ministership of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.[4][29]

It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19]

Content

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Sakshi began with a focus on sports, education and business news that were underserved by existing dailies, as per its market survey done six months prior to the launch.[28] It devoted two pages for sports coverage when competitors only had one page or less. It also experimented with a four page business news pullout in 2009.[28]

Circulation

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From July to December 2019, Sakshi had an average daily circulation of 10.64 lakh.[30][31] It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind Eenadu and tenth in India across languages. For the period of 1H 2022, the circulation was reduced to 951,292, a reduction of 9.1% over two years.[20]

Criticism

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The newspaper is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party YSR Congress Party (YCP).[11][7][8][9] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[11][12][13][14]

The paper, along with its sister outlet Sakshi TV, is part of a recent trend wherein businesspersons-turned-politicians across India launched their own media organisations to influence public opinion to further their political interests.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Contact us | మమ్మల్ని సంప్రదించండి". Sakshi.com (in Telugu). 15 June 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ^ Ngwainmbi, Emmanuel K. (18 September 2017). Citizenship, Democracies, and Media Engagement among Emerging Economies and Marginalized Communities. Springer. p. 134. ISBN 978-3-319-56215-5.
  3. ^ a b c d Tata, Madhavi (7 April 2008). "We Are The News". Outlook. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "After CBI squeeze, govt stops ads to Sakshi". The Times of India. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Surender Kumar, Dhaleta (7 November 2008). "IRS 2008 R2: Andhra Jyothi top gainer in readership". afaqs!. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  6. ^ Benedict, Kay; A, Srinivasa Rao (8 September 2009). "Business links cast shadow on Jagan's chances". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2022. He launched a counterattack through his newspaper Sakshi defending his investments ....
  7. ^ a b Jeffrey, Robin; Sen, Ronojoy (29 September 2015). Media at Work in China and India: Discovering and Dissecting. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 978-93-5150-545-7.
  8. ^ a b Rodrigues, Usha M.; Ranganathan, Maya (26 November 2014). Indian News Media: From Observer to Participant. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 978-93-5150-464-1.
  9. ^ a b "YSR gets a much-needed "off" on Sakshi TV". Indian Journalism Review. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  10. ^ [6][7][8][9]
  11. ^ a b c "All you wanted to know about who owns the South Indian news channels you watch". The News Minute. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b A, Srinivasa Rao (27 July 2012). "Congress in Andhra Pradesh mulls its own TV channel, newspaper". India Today. Retrieved 25 October 2022. In the last one year, Jagan launched an offensive against the Congress government and the party through his media house - Sakshi television channel and Telugu daily.
  13. ^ a b Oskarsson, Patrik (19 September 2018). Landlock: Paralysing Dispute over Minerals on Adivasi Land in India. ANU Press. pp. 141, 179. ISBN 978-1-76046-251-2.
  14. ^ a b "Ex-minister Nara Lokesh files defamation suit against Sakshi newspaper". The Times of India. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  15. ^ [11][12][13][14]
  16. ^ Behl, Vinod (20 March 2009). "India's first HDTV channel Sakshi launched". Exchange4media. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  17. ^ a b "All you wanted to know about who owns the South Indian news channels you watch". The News Minute. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Sakshi Media Group appoints Vinay Maheshwari as Executive Director & CEO". Exchange4media. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Congress might soon join the list of political parties owning news channels". Mint. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Highest Circulated Dailies, Weeklies & Magazines amongst Member Publications (across languages)" (PDF). Auditbureau. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  21. ^ Menon, Amarnath K (26 November 2010). "Jagan Mohan Reddy: The Prince of Cash". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  22. ^ Nag, Kingshuk (28 May 2012). "Jaganmohan Reddy: Understanding his tale of dynasty and megabucks". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  23. ^ A, Srinivasa Rao (4 July 2012). "CBI files supplementary chargesheet against Jagan in disproportionate assets case". India Today. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  24. ^ "A timeline of the Jaganmohan Reddy case". India Today. 27 May 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  25. ^ Knieper, Thomas; Saleh, Ibrahim (11 May 2017). The Visual Politics of Wars. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4438-9381-7.
  26. ^ "Sakshi Newspaper Launch". The Hindu Images. The Hindu. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  27. ^ R. García, Mario (1 August 2008). "More than twelve million read the new Sakshi daily of Hyderabad, India". García Media. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  28. ^ a b c Rathore, Sumantha (13 November 2009). "Sakshi claims the No. 2 slot amongst Telugu dailies in AP, as per ABC; plans to add two more editions". afaqs!. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  29. ^ Nag, Kingshuk (28 May 2012). "Jaganmohan Reddy: Understanding his tale of dynasty and megabucks". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  30. ^ "2019 Highest Circulated Dailies, Weeklies & Magazines (across languages)" (PDF). Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  31. ^ "2019 Highest Circulated Daily Newspapers (languages wise)" (PDF). Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  32. ^ "A Delicate Handshake". Media Ownership Monitor India. 2018.
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