Not in My DNA!

Now everyone who's anyone knows the grip that The Times of India has over Bombay. With the readership of the newspaper far greater than even all the other English language dailies combined, it is no surprise that the wannabes(read: DNA, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express; no wait! DO NOT read DNA, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express!) are always keen on trying to get a piece of the readership that The Times commands in Bombay. Continuing its efforts to harp about its status as the 'second largest and fastest growing newspaper in Bombay', the paper carried an amusing ad(click the image to see it enlarged) that had me roll my eyes at the desperation in the DNA camp to dethrone The Times in Bombay(as if that is ever going to happen!) Are they trying to tell us that 31% of DNA readers do not read DNA? It sure was hilarious!

But just how can The Times be dethroned? The Times of India sure isn't what it used to be. A glance at it and one can hardly say that it is living up to its 170-year old legacy of being 'The Masthead of India'. Hopefully the guys at The Hindu are planning to launch the Bombay edition of the acclaimed newspaper. We want The Hindu in Bombay, 'coz that is the only newspaper worth giving The Times a run for its money, which in turn will hopefully make it pull up its socks and work harder on the journalism front and not just live by content presentation. And I'll get to read another classy newspaper.
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* Tailpiece *

For those keen to know how DNA became the 'second largest and fastest growing newspaper in Bombay', here is my theory. At the time of its launch the newspaper was offered at a subscription rate of Rs. 199 per year. People calculated that the amount of raddi(waste paper sold for recycling) a year's supply of DNA would generate more money than Rs. 199, and so DNA was in vogue! I do not have any other explanation. Of course, The Times won the 'waste paper for free' war years earlier when they started offering Mumbai Mirror free with every copy of The Times.

Well, they also try and say that the DNA Money supplement is the second largest read financial daily(!) or something like that, in Bombay, behind The Economic Times! Can you dig that?!
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