In 2015, a senior government official approached this newspaper with a story. He was sure that it would not be published. The story had to do with the media itself, and referred to the phenomenon of ‘ghost newspapers’.
The documents in his possession exposed the murky operations of these newspapers. These were newspapers that disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared, and dealt with little news. On paper, they were called ‘small newspapers’ and were in the business of making a quick buck. Officials were privy to this business but they could do little to stop these papers from thriving.
On paper, there are rules that govern the registration of newspapers. It is the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI)’s preserve to register titles, check their authenticity, and keep a watch on claimed circulation figures. In practice, the phenomenon of ‘ghost newspapers’ mocked these rules. Officials in the government hinted at a collusion between those who handed out government advertisements and those who were in the newspaper business.
The list of newspapers to which advertisements were given was maintained in the records of an organisation called the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), which has been renamed as the Bureau of Outreach and Communication and comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The Bureau empanels newspapers according to their circulation. Advertisements are doled out accordingly.
Officials in one of the ministries had meticulously checked out the credentials of the newspapers. In the process of collecting information, there were a few surprises in store for them. There were more than 190 newspapers bearing the same content and yet appearing under different names. There were also newspapers that were being published in the same press. How they had passed the scrutiny of officials was a mystery.
Quite predictably, officials at the DAVP and RNI clammed up when I reached out to them. I sent emails, but got no response. A few people in the small newspapers industry admitted to the existence of ghost newspapers, but that was all. Going through these documents was a revelation for me, as there was no connection between the newspapers that had received government advertisements and those that were empanelled by the DAVP.
India has among the highest number of newspapers in the world. This is a highly regulated business. From 99,660 in 2014, the number of newspapers has soared to above a lakh since. The phenomenon of ghost newspapers will continue to be a challenge in the coming election, just as paid news and fake news was in 2009, when advertisements appeared as news, and in 2014. These problems have only got exacerbated since then. As India goes into poll mode, news on TV, print and online will be consumed with interest. It will be in the interest of democracy to ensure that news is not up for sale.
