There are occasions when pride is a legitimate emotion. We at Talk Media are truly elated that with last week we completed a dozen years of eventful and exciting ride as a corporate entity. What began with a single Talk — T Nagar Talk — has now grown and galloped to 20 Talks covering the looming length and burgeoning breadth of this wonderful city of Chennai and its suburbs. Our collective weekly circulation is now pegged at an enviable 8 lakh households, and is spread over a readership of 32 lakhs plus! This from the seed of a single Talk in T Nagar, covering 42,000 households in mid-2004.
Even now, on a given Chennai weekend, the Talks are way ahead of the print peers by miles. In saying this I am not inhibited by the fact that the said circulation is spread over twenty areas and represented by twenty different Talks. Yes, each Talk is an entity by itself, but several common threads run through them …a sort of Unity in Diversity, giving the advertiser the rare choice of micro-targeting his marketing efforts. This is, dare I say with all humility, something that is impossible with other publications.
As an entrepreneur-journo, when I set forth on this venture there were any number of scathing sceptics trying to (well-meaningly only) dissuade me from committing this hara-kiri. But I was unfazed. The bravado was because I had nothing to lose, in any case. For the likes of us, surviving by the day and for whom meeting deadlines is far easier than making ends meet, journalism is a passion that literally consumes. Also, the reality was auto-suggestion and re-invention were the keys to keep oneself going. Though this ‘honourable’ profession did command some residue respect and respectable reach, we realised that preach and teach we cannot from the pulpit but only from being among the public.
In the era of intrusive internet, no one was going to pay for news anymore. And ‘Talks’ were our way of acknowledging the trend as also the fact that even in a global village, ‘local’ is still many people’s world. After all, it can be argued that climate summits have been in some part spurred by the pollution in Koyambedu. Aside from the news journalism point of view, as a qualified chartered accountant and cost accountant, I have always followed with keen interest the turbulence and tribulations that small and neighbourhood businesses go through. It was my dream to come up with a viable vehicle that well and truly carried the marketing message of the small businesses. After these 12 years, I firmly feel Talks have done more than their bit to shore up and sustain local and neighbourhood entrepreneurship. It is a medal of achievement that we at Talk wear with Olympian pride, a medal presented to us by our valued advertisers and readers.
All through this journey of 12 years, despite the overwhelming pull of the market dynamics, if we feel committed and confident about our ‘product’, it is because of the premium we have placed on 3Cs: Colour, Content and Circulation to satisfy both readers and advertisers. And we have another 3C news mantra: Civic, Culture and Children. For over 12 years now, you have been treated to this menu with nary a respite. And I am not offering any relief now, as we are surely looking for expansion. The immediate goal, of course, is the one million mark. Ten lakh in terms of household reach in a single city will be an epoch-creating accomplishment. As we plan to grow, we are only too aware of the challenges and responsibilities that lie ahead.
Local content and macro views may seem an interesting mix, but true success for a grassroots media like Talk is in being interactive. Participative journalism is what we are seeking to encourage and we want readers to air their views, particularly on local issues. We urge you to reach out to us in words and pics, on print and, of course, on other platforms that we shortly hope to unveil.
I take courage from the fact that all through we have been encouraged by your response and support and we have reason to believe that we have not just evoked your interest but also impacted your lives. We feel deep gratitude and endless pride in being a part of your household and a citizen of your neighbourhood. We also feel responsible, as a social media, albeit on print, to highlight your micro and macro causes so that some redressal is forthcoming from whomsoever is concerned. Also, at the risk of sounding arrogant, we think it is our duty to ensure that the official authorities are accountable to the masters they are answerable to, that is, You.
Here is wishing you, and wishing us, a joint joyful journey.
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