Dainik Bhaskar has undergone a major design overhaul and content change in a bid to be more appealing with the youngsters. The new-look paper hit newsstands on May 25, 2009 and the changes were based on extensive six months research findings.
K Yatish Rajawat, managing editor, Bhaskar Group, said, “We at Bhaskar believe that readers are not unjustified in expecting something new and better everyday from the largest newspaper group in the country, at times they look forward to Bhaskar redefining the category and the trends. This is the first time ever that a newspaper is revamping all of its editions at one go. Not just the design, we are also changing the content to give it a fresh feel. The redesigning has been done internally by the Bhaskar design team, which is the best in the country.”
Sanjeev Kotnala, outgoing VP, brand communication, Dainik Bhaskar, said, “Bhaskar Group believes that in its achieving the status of being the largest read newspaper group in the country, a large part of the credit goes to its editorial department. This team of edit and design has time and again brought changes in the newspaper construct and design as an ever evolving process.”
New content ideas can be found in every single page of the newspaper, thus making stories more accessible to the readers and enhancing the ease of reading. A new set of fonts specifically designed by Bhaskar has been introduced. The Edit Page has been made more relevant to a younger readership.
Some of the major changes include: adapting the learnings from Browser in the Internet space – the entire newspaper has been made available/opened up on the browser on the front page; standardised design for all 41 editions and numerous pullouts, thus a Bhaskar reader in Hissar (Haryana) will get the same quality of content that is available in, say, Udaipur (Rajasthan) or Sirhol (Madhya Pradesh).
New fonts and redesigned layouts of newspaper along grids make it easier for readers to read all the stories on a page. A new approach to the Edit Page helps showcase opinions of others before the opinion of the editors is shared.
Humour and quick edits have been introduced on this page. For lighter reading, there is a regular humour/satire column; a blog, ‘Aaj Khaas – Gyan Ka Pitara’; and regular inspirational columns – ‘Jeevan Darshan’ and ‘Jeene Ki Raah’.
There is separate space for national and global news round up. Dainik Bhaskar claims to be one of the few Hindi national newspapers to have dedicated pages for international stories. New content elements on education, city life, self activism, consumers, etc., have been introduced in the newspaper.
The Business Page has been redesigned to include international, national and local market quotes. Changes have also been introduced in use of photos, new colours, new fonts, heading and overall layout to improve the readability of the paper.