PUNE: While the all-time-favourites of Marathi households, the Diwali Ank (special magazines or editions created by several publication houses during Diwali) have still not lost its glory amongst the traditional readers, however, the lack of young readership has become a growing concern for the publishers.
This year, amid the rumours that Diwali Ank was losing its usual share of revenue from advertisements due to elections and recession, Rajya Marathi Vikas Mandal Director Anand Katikar has said these rumours are false. “Most of the prominent and most-read Diwali Ank are getting a good number of advertisements. Also, with printing becoming very affordable, several new Diwali magazines that are not as good in content quality too have hit the market. As per my knowledge, the others have been doing just fine,” Katikar said.
CONTENT IS KING
“When it comes to Diwali Ank, people look forward to reading content which is unique and qualitative. If a magazine fails to give that, they will obviously lose popularity. This is the reason why several magazines have shut down,” said Katikar.
“Around 250 to 300 Diwali Anks get published in Maharashtra every year. While some of these are available State-wide, some are distributed within the limited territory of a village, city or a district. And it’s not that only the old and established magazines have retained their popularity. There are several magazines that have been launched only a few years ago, and have still managed to capture a good readership,” he added.
LACK OF YOUNG BUYERS
With the culture of buying printed magazines and books gradually shrinking, Katikar said that the lack of young readership might affect the magazines in the coming years.
“It’s not that the young readers do not appreciate the articles in the magazines. When this content eventually gets published online or shared on social media, a month or two later, it gets a good response. Perhaps, the publishers should take this trend into account in order to make some shifts so as to catch the attention of more young readers,” he stated.
