Sakal

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Sakal
Daily Sakal's first issue. Published on 1 January 1932.
"Rise of the future newspaper" (उदय भविष्यपत्राचा)
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Sakal Media Group[1]
Editor-in-chiefRahul Gadpale
Founded1 January 1932
LanguageMarathi
Headquarters595, Budhwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Circulation1,064,721 Daily[2] (as of 2022)
Sister newspapersSakal Times
Agrowon
Websitehttps://www.esakal.com/

Sakal ("Morning") is a Marathi daily newspaper published by Sakal Media Group, headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is among the largest circulated Marathi newspapers. Sakal is the flagship paper of the group.

Pratap Pawar's joined the board of Sakal in 1985 and is currently the chairman of the group. According to a report by the Audit Bureau of Circulation's (ABC), Sakal has the highest circulation in Maharashtra with a daily circulation of approximately 1.3 million.[3]

Nanasaheb Parulekar was the founder of the paper. Sakal is published in major cities across Maharashtra, including Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Solapur, Nagpur, Satara, Akola, Amravati and Jalgaon.[4] The group's operations include regional newspapers, magazines, and Internet publishing, employing over 3,000 people. Its online website, eSakal, reports reaching over 300,000 Internet users globally.[5]

History

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Sakal originated during the pre-independence nationalist period.[6] Its founder, Dr. N.P. (Nanasaheb Parulekar), was influenced by American newspapers during his time at Columbia University. He launched Sakal to support Mahatma Gandhi's's independence movement and introduce daily journalism to the region.[7] Although started as part of the nationalist cause, after Indian independence, the Sakal newspaper became a commercially successful publication by reporting on daily concerns of Pune and its rural surroundings.[citation needed][8]

By the 1960s, Sakal had appointed full-time correspondents, each equipped with a phone, in every town in its coverage area. It organized training camps for journalists, promotions and cultural events for readers, and published letters to the editor on its front page.[6] Under Nanasaheb Parulekar, the paper maintained political neutrality and endorsed candidates for local, state, or national elections based on their merit.[citation needed]

When Nanasaheb Parulekar died in 1973, he left the paper with established ethical practices and traditions. It survived the initial changes brought by advancements in newspaper technology and continued for over 10 years. Pratap Pawar's took over Sakal in 1985.[9][10] Pratap Govindrao Pawar converted the paper into a public limited company in 1989, becoming the managing director.

List of editors chronologically

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  • N. B. Parulekar – 1 January 1932 to 31 December 1943
  • Ramchandra Balawant a.k.a. Babasaheb Ghorpade – 1 January 1944 to 20 February 1951
  • N. B. Parulekar – 21 February 1951 to 8 January 1973
  • Shridhar a.k.a. S. G. Mungekar – 9 January 1973 to 9 February 1985
  • V. D. Ranade – 10 February 1985 to 30 April 1987
  • S. K. Kulkarni – 1 May 1987 to 31 July 1987
  • Vijay Kuwalekar – 1 August 1987 to 7 August 2000
  • Anant Dixit – 8 August 2000 to 15 July 2005
  • Yamaji Malkar – 16 July 2005 to 9 May 2009
  • Uttam Kamble – 10 May 2009 to 31 July 2012 (Editor in Chief)
  • Shriram Pawar – 1 August 2012 to 28 February 2018 (Editor in Chief)
  • Nand kumar Sutar - 1 May 2013 to 16 June 2019 (Executive Editor)
  • Rahul Gadpale – 1 March 2018 – to date (Editor in Chief)

Current status of the group

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Abhijit Pawar is currently the managing director of the group.[1] The group launched Agrowon, described as the first and only agriculture daily.Agrowon The official website states that it is the "first media company to organize events & exhibitions as well as the first media group to implement 6-sigma processes across the company." The company recently launched 515 agriculture marts in Maharashtra under the name of Agrowon Agrotech.[11][12]

Controversies

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In 2005, the Supreme Court of India directed Sakal Papers Pvt Ltd to pay Rs 3 crore to one of its directors, Claude-Lila Parulekar (daughter of founder Nanasaheb Parulekar) for the illegal transfer of 3,510 of her shares in the company to the Pratap Pawar's group. [13][9][14]

Pull outs, sections and multimedia

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  • Today – Sakal introduced a separate pull-out section for local content. Titled 'Today', this English-language pull-out was launched across major cities of Maharashtra in 2006–2007. The Pune edition began on 14 August 2006, providing space for local content and advertisers.
  • Garcia Design – Garcia Design, focusing on multimedia activities, redesigned the Sakal newspaper in 2007–2008. This redesign was implemented across Maharashtra.
  • Newzine – In 2010, Sakal adopted a "Newzine" style of presenting news, combining elements of news and magazines.
  • Features – It publishes weekly supplements targeting specific sectors: Saptrang (सप्तरंग) for family (Sunday), Jobz for employment (Tuesday), Pratibimb for hyper-local content (Thursday), Family Doctor for health (Friday), and Balmitra (बालमित्र) for children (Saturday).
  • Masthead – Its masthead is dark blue. Previously, it was black, with a red masthead published each Sunday. The masthead changed to blue reverse in 2008.
  • Tagline – The current tagline of Daily Sakal is 'Uday Bhavishyapatracha' (उदय भविष्यपत्राचा), meaning "rise of the future newspaper." The previous tagline was 'Mitra Navya Shatkacha' (मित्र नव्या शतकाचा), meaning 'A friend of the New Century.'

Sakal's multimedia platforms include:

  • Mobile app – Sakal news is available on smartphones through native apps for Apple and Android.
  • eSakal.com—Website, www.eSakal.com, adopted a new design by Mario Garcia (Jr.). It added interactive features and launched an epaper facility for various publications including Sakal. The website includes news updates, interactive elements, and citizen journalism features.
  • agrowon - Agrowon, described as the first newspaper exclusively about agriculture, was established on 20 April 2005.[15]
  • Agrowon.com - website : www.agrowon.com is the digital extension of the Agrowon newspaper.
  • SMS – Sakal initiated the Push SMS service, Sakal Live, for registered users, using the 54321 SMS short-code for news alerts and engagement.
  • Saam TV – In 2008, Sakal entered the television business with a Marathi General Entertainment Channel, Saam TV.
  • 3 km App: 3 km is a hyperlocal platform connecting neighbourhoods, offering local news, business information, and commerce features. It is an initiative by Sakal, powered by Bulb and Key.[16]
  • Sarkarnama Portal – Sarkaranama is a news portal launched by Sakal Media Group in 2017, focusing primarily on political news.[17]

Events

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Events and activities are organized by the group, targeting sectors such as Education, Agriculture, Travel-Tourism, and Business. Its international event, 'EDUCON', serves as a forum for Vice-Chancellors from across India to present their vision for Indian higher education.[18] Other events include Property Mahayatra, Education Mahayatra, MPL, Pune Shopping Festivals, Family Health, Sakal Edugain, Sakal Investneet, Sakal Vastu, and Sakal Shagun. The Group has established clubs for specific audiences, such as Madhurangan (मधुरांगण) for women, Young Buzz and Sakal NIE (Newspaper in Education), and Family Doctor Club.

Pune Bus Day

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Pune Bus Day is an event organized by Sakal Media Group. The initiative, led by company managing director Abhijit Pawar, aimed to address traffic congestion in Pune.[19] For Pune Bus Day, Sakal Media Group aimed to arrange 1,500 buses to supplement the existing fleet of 1,650 PMPML buses, demonstrating how using a sufficient number of buses with high frequency could potentially reduce traffic congestion. The tagline for the initiative was 'Come, let's travel by PMPML bus on 1 November 2012'.
At the time,[when?] the perceived lack of sufficient buses prompted commuters to opt for private vehicles, contributing to issues like traffic congestion, vehicular pollution, and accidents. According to a study conducted by city-based NGO Parisar in 2009–10, the bus service run by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) was found to be comparatively expensive, with lower service quality and a higher breakdown rate when compared to transport utilities in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

A web portal developed by a Pune-based IT company provided information about bus routes and other details, utilizing real-time information on bus schedules from the PMPML.

Pune Half Marathon

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The Pune Half Marathon is another event organized by the Sakal Media Group. The event was launched in 2018 with a focus on promoting wellness and fitness among Pune residents. The second edition was held on 22 December 2019, and saw participation from over 20,000 runners.[20] US Olympian Janet Cherobon-Bawcom was the event ambassador for the 2019 edition, which focused on supporting the Indian running community.[21]

The first edition in 2018 collaborated with Dr Jack Daniels, a former Olympic medalist described as a prominent running coach. The race collaborated with Dr Daniels' The RUN Smart Project, which devised free training plans for participants. Dr Daniels provided training talks and mentored aspects of the event execution.[22][23] American runner Ryan Hall was the event ambassador for Pune Half Marathon 2018.[24][25]

Bajaj Allianz were the title sponsors for the first two editions of the race.

Books and publications

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Other publications include the English-language daily (which replaced The Maharashtra Herald), Gomantak, and Gomantak Times, Marathi and English language dailies published from Goa, respectively. Agrowon is a daily dedicated to agriculture. The group also publishes several supplements, such as Pratibimb, Young Buzz, positive (Financial supplement), and Job Buzz. Sakal also has a book publishing division that covers various subjects, including health, entertainment, sports, spiritual, and children's literature. Published titles include Ayurvediya Garbhsanskar by Shri. Balaji Tambe and Timeless Inspirator edited by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, as well as a comic strip book of Chintoo.[26]

Sakal Social Foundation

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Tanishka Logo

Sakal Social Foundation is a social initiative wing that works primarily in Maharashtra, focusing on areas such as health, poverty, education, environment, and governance.

Magazines

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Sakal Group publishes several magazines, such as Sakal Saptahik (सकाळ साप्ताहिक). According to a 2010 IRS (Indian Readership Survey), Saptahik Sakal was the most popular magazine in Maharashtra.[27] Tanishka (तनिष्का) is a monthly magazine for women. Premier (प्रीमियर) is a monthly magazine covering the entertainment industry.

References

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  1. ^ a b Official website of Sakal Media Group (Accessed on 24 September 2013)
  2. ^ "Highest Circulated Dailies, Weeklies & Magazines amongst Member Publications (across languages)" (PDF). Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Sakal emerges as the most-read newspaper in Maharashtra". mediavataar.com.
  4. ^ "Sakal Epaper – Today's Marathi Daily – Sakal Online Newspaper". epapersland.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  5. ^ "KD". konkandirect.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Jeffrey, Robin (1997). "Marathi: Big Newspapers Are Elephants". Economic and Political Weekly. 32 (8): 384–388. JSTOR 4405111.
  7. ^ "Abstract". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. ^ Goel, Karuna (2016). ""A Critical Study & Review of Marathi News Papers in Pune Region"". Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal. 6 (6): 1.
  9. ^ a b "SMT. CLAUDE-LILA PARULEKAR versus M/S. SAKAL PAPERS PVT. LTD. & ORS". rishabhdara.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  10. ^ Pal, R. "Smt. Claude-Lila Parulekar vs M/S. Sakal Papers Pvt. Ltd. & Ors on 18 March, 2005". /indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  11. ^ Pune based consultany to launch India's first agri collective Archived 2021-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Helping Farmers With Smart Solution | Sakal Media Group | Agrowon Mart". www.agrowonmart.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021.
  13. ^ "SC orders Sakal to pay Rs 3 crore to its director". Business Standard. India. Press Trust of India. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. ^ S. K. Aggarwal (1989). Media Credibility. Mittal Publications. pp. 227–235. ISBN 978-81-7099-157-1.
  15. ^ "Home". Agrowon. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Pune Tulsibag Global Sakal 3km Application". Sakal. Pune. Press Trust of India. 25 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Sarkarnama: Maharashtra Political News | Latest Political Marathi News".
  18. ^ "Educationnewsindia.com". educationnewsindia.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Transformation Through Respect: 5 Questions with Abhijit Pawar". Business Insider.
  20. ^ "Bajaj Allianz Pune Half Marathon sees massive turnout". Sakal Times. 24 December 2019.
  21. ^ "US Olympian Janet Cherobon-Bawcom joins Pune Half Marathon as ambassador". The Times of India. 16 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Dr Jack Daniels to conduct workshops in Pune". Sakal Times. 17 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Pune Half Marathon returns on December 22". Outlook India.
  24. ^ "Ready, get, set and go". Pune Mirror.
  25. ^ "Ryan Hall to be in city for Pune Half Marathon". 6 December 2018.
  26. ^ Pawar, Abhijit. "News and Publishing | Sakal Media Group". Sakal Media Group Website.
  27. ^ BestMediaInfo Bureau, Delhi, 10 May 2010 IRS 2010 Q1: Top Magazines In Regional Markets (Accessed on 25 October 2012)