Close-Up 2010

None of the staff members are native speakers, but nevertheless, the Times of India is the world’s largest English-language newspaper. A newspaper crisis is unheard of here. A look at the work in the newsroom. By Anja Wasserbäch

Everyone is clapping. Not Mansi, though; her keyboard fell on the floor from the pullout shelf under the desk. No one knows where this ritual came from, but it is probably the only one – besides the walk to the canteen – that is repeated every day. If something falls on the floor in the newsroom at the Times of India in Mumbai, everyone claps.

No day is typical for the Times of India. Workers come more or less when they please. Depending on the distance, getting to the office can mean two hours on the train. Interviews and appointments are gladly taken care of beforehand. The Times of India newsroom is situated in the centre of Mumbai across from Victoria Station, which was one of the targets of terrorists in November 2008.

Derek D’sa is the assistant executive editor of the paper; he is the central coordinator. He decides which stories will appear on what pages and in what length. About 150 reporters, journalists and desk editors work in Mumbai and a few more in Delhi. All over India, the Times of India employs over 1,000 people in its offices. “We have the country’s largest network with the best reporters,” says Derek D’sa and he knows what he’s talking about. There are many – very many – people here in the newsroom. At peak hours there may be up to 150 and it hums like a beehive.

There are journalists for special fields, journalists responsible for certain subject matter such as knowledge, crime, sport or local news. There are reporters and writers. “We used to have one reporter here who was responsible for crime, now there are six of them,” says Derek D’sa. Over the past ten years, reporting – whether political or local – has been redefined. While earlier, press conferences were attended, today they seek out exclusives. “I don’t want an article you can read in any paper,” says D’sa. Regardless of the subject matter – whether education, children, crime, traffic or health – a new approach and new facts should always be found. That is why D’sa needs specialists who are well informed about their topics.

One in four is illiterate

A lot of typing is done here in the newsroom of the Times of India, but not just on the computer keyboards. The mobile phone is used far more as a means of communication than in German newsrooms. Anyone who is in the field texts their editor to tell them whether their topic is worth a story or not, as the case may be. Here in the newsroom, phones are constantly ringing.

In addition to the editorial journalists, who check the facts of a story and assess its relevance, there are also desk editors, who do not write articles. They do the page layouts, copy-edit and proofread the articles. At times, it is a lot of work because English is no one’s native language here. Each of the journalists speaks a minimum of three languages; two of them are English and Hindi. Without Hindi it is impossible to do research in Mumbai.

And each of the journalists skims over at least three newspapers every morning; the journalists for the news page read twice as many. They need to know.

Although 25 percent of the population in India can neither read nor write newspapers have high status here. An issue of the Times of India costs five rupees or eight eurocents. The Internet is just as widespread in India’s cities as in Europe, but is no competition yet for print media. Newspaper crisis? What newspaper crisis?

The newspaper is not the only business

Anyone who can afford it subscribes to a number of newspapers. But, even the lower class reads papers daily. People talk about what is in the newspaper. Reading the newspaper and the tactile experience are a tradition that no one would want to do without.

The history of the Times of India begins in the year 1838, when it appeared twice a week as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. It was converted to a daily in 1850 and in 1861 editor-in-chief Robert Knight had a number of titles published in one to give his paper a nationwide character: The Times of India. Today, the ToI is produced all over the country, but mainly in Delhi. There are a number of different city editions.

Money is not only made with the newspaper, though, but by many other companies under one roof. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. – or BCCL – sells music under the umbrella of Times Music, has its own radio station, a website with an e-newspaper, a separate online job portal, a real estate page, a number of television stations, the entertainment channel Zoom and the news channel Times Now, a tabloid insert and a matchmaking website. In 2006 the press company first published a newspaper edition for mobile phones.

Mobiles ring, text messages are written. “Is your story in tomorrow’s?” someone calls across the rows. Others are arguing about the spelling of a name. It is like it always is in every newsroom. Then a keyboard falls on the floor and everyone claps.


The journalist Anja Wasserbäch from the „Stuttgarter Nachrichten“ reported from Mumbai.