Readers’ Perceptions of Leading Vernacular Dailies in Ahmedabad, (Gujarat, India)

Abstract

The vernacular Indian print Industry is growing at a dynamic pace. With the readers today getting an array of options to choose from and the intensified competition between the players in the vernacular print industry, catering to the tastes of the readers has become not only difficult but also an imperative for the vernacular dailies. Further, competition along with survival is becoming the order of the day for them. The present research paper is an attempt to find out the key attributes considered by the readers while evaluating the vernacular newspapers in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India). Next, we attempt to map the readers’ perceptions of leading vernacular dailies in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India). In addition, through this paper an attempt to find out whether there is an association between the importance attached to attributes and the demographics of the readers surveyed for each of the leading vernacular dailies in Ahmedabad. The study is a combination of exploratory and descriptive research which was carried out using both primary and secondary data. The findings provide insights about the various attributes considered by the readers of the papers while evaluating the vernacular newspapers. The results of attribute based perceptual mapping indicate each newspaper’s unique position as perceived by its readers.