Eenadu
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''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
-language daily newspaper of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
sold mostly in the states of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
.IRS 2012 Q1 Topline Findings p. 11
According to the
Indian Readership Survey The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) is the largest continuous readership research study in the world with an annual sample size exceeding 2.56 lakh (256,000) respondents. IRS collects a comprehensive range of demographic information and provides ext ...
(IRS) Q2 2019, Eenadu ranks eighth among the most circulated Indian-language dailies with a total readership (TR) of 1,614,105. It was founded by
Ramoji Rao Cherukuri Ramoji Rao (born 16 November 1936) is an Indian businessman, media entrepreneur, and film producer. He is head of the Ramoji Group which owns the world's largest film production facility Ramoji Film City, ''Eenadu'' newspaper, ETV Netw ...
in 1974.


Name

''Eenadu'' is a polysemic word which has two meanings in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
language "today/this day" and "this land".


Editions

Various editions of ''Eenadu'' exist throughout the Telugu-speaking region of India constituting the states of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
.


Ownership

Eenadu newspaper is owned by Ushodaya Enterprises Private Limited, a part of
Ramoji Group Ramoji Group is an Indian conglomerate headed by Ramoji Rao and headquartered in Hyderabad, India. Its businesses cover television and newspaper media, film production, financial services, retail, education and hospitality. In 1996, one of i ...
. As per the 2018 report of Media Ownership Monitor, Ramoji Rao and family own 97.56% stake in Ushodaya Enterprises. In terms of individual ownership, Ramoji Rao holds 42.26%, his eldest son Cherukuri Kiron holds 28.36%, and his daughter-in-law Cherukuri Vijayeswari (wife of the deceased younger son, Cherukuri Suman) holds 25.38% shares in Ushodaya Enterprises.


History


Early days in Visakhapatnam

''Eenadu'' was launched from
Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...
on 10 August 1974 by
Ramoji Rao Cherukuri Ramoji Rao (born 16 November 1936) is an Indian businessman, media entrepreneur, and film producer. He is head of the Ramoji Group which owns the world's largest film production facility Ramoji Film City, ''Eenadu'' newspaper, ETV Netw ...
, a businessman who had previously achieved success with Priya Pickles and Margadarsi Chitfunds. At that time, the ''
Andhra Prabha ''Andhra Prabha'' - ''Journalism first'' is a Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The newspaper is one of the oldest running Telugu-language daily newspapers of India. The newspaper ...
'', owned by
the Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
Group, was the leading regional newspaper. Initially, the circulation of ''Eenadu'' was limited. When launched in the city of
Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...
, it wasn't able to sell more than 3,000 copies a week. ''Eenadu'' found itself struggling to become a daily publication among publication. However, it was popular in certain regions and rivalry was still an issue. ''Eenadu'' hired a new set of directors to be part of its key decision and management group which drove it towards what it is today: the most highly circulated newspaper in the region.


Expansion to other regions

''Eenadu'' began with a print order of 4,000 copies, composed by hand and produced using a second-hand printing press. But by the time it was admitted into the
Audit Bureau of Circulations An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circula ...
in 1976, its circulation had already reached a readership of 48,000. By 1978, ''Eenadu'' surpassed ''Andhra Prabha''s circulation and, by 1995, two other rivals ''
Andhra Patrika Andhra Patrika was the weekly newspaper of the nationalist movement in the Telugu speaking region founded by Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao in 1908. It later transformed into a daily newspaper before it closed down in 1991. It helped to shape both mo ...
'' and ''Udayam'' folded, leaving ''Eenadu'' with over seventy-five percent of the audited circulation of Telugu dailies. When ''Eenadu'' expanded to
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
in 1975, it divided the city into target areas, recruited delivery boys three months in advance and handed out the paper freely for a week. During the 1980s, technology enabled ''Eenadu'' to spread over larger areas beyond only the main cities. Earlier, it was difficult to manage even the three editions of the 1970s (the Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Hyderabad editions) because the only communication facilities available to the publication at the time were the telegram, telephone, and teleprinter, all of which had limited presence in rural Andhra Pradesh.


Political impact and TDP support

Support of the
Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has foc ...
(TDP) by ''Eenadu'' has been recorded since the party's foundation in 1982. This has been attributed to Ramoji Rao's disdain for the Congress government, to the point that he planned to create a regional party on his own accord, and a personal rapport he formed with party founder and leader
N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...
, who he had first doubted but eventually saw political potential in. Another factor that has been cited is caste politics, with both ''Eenadu'' and the TDP being perceived as
Kamma Kamma may refer to: *Kamma (caste), a caste or social group found largely in Southern India *Kamma, India, village in Punjab, India *The Pali and Ardhamagadhi term for karma *Bava Kamma, a traditional Jewish civil law procedure (1st volume of Nezi ...
-oriented organisations and both Raos being Kammas themselves, although this view has been challenged. During the 1983 elections, the party and the paper formed a symbiotic relationship as ''Eenadu'' not only publicised, promoted and ran positive stories on Rama Rao's campaign, but also gave more direct support, such as utilising its network of journalists to inform and advise Rama Rao on local issues for his stops and designing party advertisements through Ramoji Rao's marketing agency. This coverage led to a massive increase in subscriptions, with ''Eenadu'' going from a circulation of 230,000 copies to 350,000 in the six months of Rama Rao's electoral campaign and becoming one of the state's most popular newspapers. The TDP would go on to successfully sweep the election, making Rama Rao the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and over half a million copies were printed of ''Eenadu'' to declare this victory. Reportedly, Ramoji Rao sent a bill to Rama Rao for 3 million (30 lakh) rupees for the assistance he had given to the campaign. In response, film personality
Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...
and industrialist
Gireesh Kumar Sanghi Gireesh Kumar Sanghi (born 8 March 1955) is an industrialist and politician. He was a Member of the Parliament of India for the Indian National Congress party representing Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. Sanghi ...
would launch pro-Congress newspapers of their own and eventually become members of the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
on the Congress ticket. When Rama Rao and his government faced crises and parliamentary revolts in the 1980s, ''Eenadu'' continually supported him and clamored for his restoration to power. Despite Rama Rao's growing unpopularity in the later part of the decade due to perceptions of failed promises, the paper refrained from criticising him before expressing some concerns about his leadership in response to his continued loss of public support and the Congress victory in the
1989 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election In the 1989 United Andhra Pradesh Assembly election, Indian National Congress swept the polls, winning 181 of the 294 seats in the Assembly. As the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Marri Chenna Reddy was elected the Chief Minister. The ...
. In the 1990s, as fissures developed between Rama Rao and his son-in-law and prominent party leader
Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu ( born 20 April 1950) is an Indian politician and current leader of opposition of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He was also the leader of the opposition of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 2004 to ...
, ''Eenadu'' ultimately took Naidu's side, publishing mocking portrayals of Rama Rao depicting him as being manipulated by his new wife
Lakshmi Parvathi Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvathi is an Indian politician and widow of N. T. Rama Rao. She was previously married to a harikatha artist Veeragandham Venkata Subba Rao. Later, she was separated from him and started living together with N. T. Rama Rao w ...
, and eventually played a key role in the internal party coup by supporting Naidu's power grab. This paved the way for Naidu to become the next Chief Minister and ensured a friendly relationship between the paper and his administration. During the reign of Congress governments, ''Eenadu'' went on the offensive and became their "chief critic"; both
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. Reddy was elected to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12t ...
and his son
Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972) also known as Y. S. Jagan or mononymously Jagan, is an Indian entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th and current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh since 30 May 2019. He is the ...
would "fight back" during their time in power. This took on multiple forms, from the 2004 investigation of Margadarsi for irregular financial practices to the launch of '' Sakshi'' in 2008 under Jagan Mohan Reddy's ownership as a "counter" to what his father, the CM at the time, claimed was "biased news" from traditionally TDP-supporting papers.


Further publications

With the introduction of
offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...
, photocomposing software and computers, ''Eenadu'' was able to launch editions in smaller towns like Tirupathi in 1982. From the 1980s, the news editor of ''Eenadu'' oversaw an enormous local-based news gathering and disseminating organization from his Hyderabad office. By the end of the 1980s, there were six substantial Telugu dailies running, and the business was highly competitive. In 1989 ''Eenadu'' introduced "district dailies ( tabloid edition)" to carry its presence not only into
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
towns like Rajamahendravaram, Karimnagar, Guntur and Adilabad, but also ''
taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
'' towns like Suryapet and
Tadepalligudem Tadepalligudem is a city in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Selection Grade municipality and the mandal headquarters of Tadepalligudem mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. Tadepalligudem is the second ...
. Each publication center required forty engineers to run its printing presses. ''Eenadu''s district dailies were based on market research asserting that heavy local content would generate new groups of readers and boost advertising revenue. Currently, the district dailies print local news specifically for each major location in the area, thereby negating the need for any separate local daily. Few special sections are published every day of the week. ''Eenadu'' later ventured into other markets such as finance and
chit fund A chit fund is a type of rotating savings and credit association system practiced in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan other Asian countries. Chit fund schemes may be organized by financial institutions, or informally among friends, relative ...
s (e.g. Margadarsi chits), foods (Priya Foods), film production (
Ushakiran Movies Usha Kiron Movies is an Indian film production company founded by Ramoji Rao in 1983. It is a part of Ramoji Group. This film production house has produced over 80 films with the majority of them in Telugu, along with a few in Kannada, Hindi an ...
), film distribution (Mayuri Films), and television (
ETV ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...
). All the businesses are organized under the
Ramoji Group Ramoji Group is an Indian conglomerate headed by Ramoji Rao and headquartered in Hyderabad, India. Its businesses cover television and newspaper media, film production, financial services, retail, education and hospitality. In 1996, one of i ...
.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

* {{Newspapers in India, Health Care=Bilingual (Telugu and English) Monthly Daily newspapers published in India Telugu-language newspapers Publications established in 1974 Newspapers published in Hyderabad Ramoji Group 1974 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Newspapers published in Vijayawada